DENVER (AP) 鈥 It鈥檚 becoming clearer and clearer that Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog may miss a third straight regular season.
What鈥檚 becoming murkier is if he can give it a go come playoff time 鈥 or even at all.
A lingering right knee injury has kept Landeskog from suiting up for Colorado since June 26, 2022, when he helped the Avalanche claim the Stanley Cup with a Game 6 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning. He procedure on May 10, 2023, and has been on long-term injured reserve.
鈥淗e's grinding. He's doing everything he can. I didn鈥檛 think June 26, 2022, the injury would be three years,鈥 Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland said Monday as he talked about the recent trade that landed Colorado defenseman and forward Jimmy Vesey from the New York Rangers. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no playbook for this. We鈥檒l just continue to chip away at it."
Chicago Bulls point guard Lonzo Ball underwent a . He returned to the court for a preseason game in October, which offered a hopeful glimpse of a possible timeline for Landeskog's return.
Landeskog has shown up on the ice every so often with the Avalanche, going through some light skating and puck-handling drills. But he hasn't been practicing with the team as they gear up for a playoff push, and MacFarland doesn鈥檛 anticipate that changing anytime soon.
鈥淚 think you guys can figure out where this is kind of going,鈥 MacFarland said. 鈥淗opefully it鈥檒l keep going well.鈥
MacFarland isn鈥檛 closing the door on Landeskog 鈥 now or down the road.
鈥淭here鈥檚 a chance,鈥 he said. 鈥淥bviously, I can鈥檛 predict the future, but he continues to rehab.
鈥淗e鈥檚 an unreal hockey player. I can鈥檛 even imagine how he鈥檚 dealt with this, day in, day out. ... For me, I hope it鈥檚 going to happen for him.鈥
Landeskog was the second overall pick by the Avalanche in the 2011 draft. Despite missing three seasons, he's still in the franchise鈥檚 top-10 in goals (248), assists (323), games played (738), blocked shots (534) and hits (1,464).
The 32-year-old Landeskog is in his 13th season wearing the 鈥淐鈥 for the Avalanche, which makes him the third-longest serving captain in the NHL behind Sidney Crosby (18th season) and Alex Ovechkin (16th).
With Landeskog on LTIR, the team can use his $7 million of his salary鈥檚 worth as an exemption on the cap. It could come in play when the Avalanche try to make moves ahead of Friday's trade deadline.聽
Landeskog still has four seasons left after this one on an 8-year, $56 million deal he signed in 2021.
鈥淓verything we do is with the hope that he鈥檚 going to play hockey again," MacFarland said. "The hockey world wants to see it. You want to see him get back out there and see how he can do. I think everybody鈥檚 behind him.鈥
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