The Colorado Avalanche caught a bit of a bad break on Sunday. The club announced that captain Gabriel Landeskog will be out for the foreseeable future.
According to the club’s press release, Landeskog is dealing with a lower-body injury and will be week-to-week. That’s an unfortunate break for Colorado, which already has top-line winger Artturi Lehkonen on the shelf.
Gabriel Landeskog will not play due to a lower-body injury. He is week-to-week.
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) March 8, 2026
But news of Landeskog’s injury seems to be another confirmation of an Olympic conspiracy theory.
In the days leading up to the Olympics, there was speculation that several injured players were planning to play anyway. Sweden had several such players, including Landeskog. In fact, Landeskog had been injured in early January during a collision in a game against the Florida Panthers. Landeskog missed over a month, only hitting the ice again at the Olympics.
During the Olympic tourney, pundits posited that some players may be shut down following the Milano-Cortina Games as they were injured during the tournament, and likely needed time following the Games.
Now, Landeskog’s original injury was an upper-body one. Now, this injury is a lower-body ailment. But the timing seems interesting. The purpose, of course, of shutting Landeskog down now is to have him fully ready for the playoffs. That’s why it will be a miracle if Landeskog is back on the ice before the end of the regular season.
Landeskog facing injury-riddled season
Landeskog’s return to the NHL following his harrowing knee injury is worthy of legends. Last year’s triumphant emergence during the playoffs gave the Avalanche a major boost.
But expecting him to play a full season this year was a bit of wishful thinking. Interestingly, Landeskog’s ailments have been unrelated to his knee injury. He’s dealt with various issues, leading him to miss time on the ice.
That situation brings into focus the fact that Landeskog may never play a full season again. It will be interesting to see if this season is a bit of an outlier given the compressed schedule. Perhaps next season, with a more “relaxed” slate, could lead to Landeskog remaining healthier and spending more time on the ice.
In the meantime, the Avalanche will need to rely on the newcomers to help offset the loss of their captain. While he will hopefully be back in time for the playoffs, the situation does raise some concerns about his health moving forward.
The hope here is that this move is nothing more than a precautionary one.