DALLAS – It’s the four words Colorado Avalanche fans have waited nearly three years to hear.
Gabe Landeskog is back.
The Colorado captain was activated from long-term injured reserve Monday afternoon, hours before Game 2 of the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs opening-round series against the Dallas Stars. Avalanche coach Jared Bednar did not confirm that Landeskog will play in Game 2 after the team’s morning skate, but he did indicate Landeskog could replace Ross Colton, who was injured in Game 1.
This will likely be Landeskog’s first NHL game since June 26, 2022, when he ended the night of Game 6 in the 2022 Stanley Cup Final by lifting the championship trophy.
Landeskog has not played an NHL game in 1,030 days because of his issues with his right knee. It started with an accidental skate cut just above the knee during the 2020 playoffs inside the NHL’s “Covid bubble” in Edmonton.
He played through pain off and on throughout the next two seasons, culminating in winning the Stanley Cup in 2022. Landeskog has had a series of procedures since, including knee cartilage replacement surgery in May 2023.
The Avs captain will be the first player to have that procedure and return to NHL action. Lonzo Ball had the surgery in March 2023 and returned for the Chicago Bulls earlier this season.
Landeskog made his return to professional hockey last weekend in Loveland, playing two games for the Colorado Eagles during a conditioning assignment. He made an emotional return Friday, April 11, then had a goal and an assist the following night.
Landeskog and Fresh Tape Media have chronicled his recovery process with a docuseries, “A Clean Sheet,” which has aired over the past five weeks on TNT and can be streamed on Max. It was originally announced as a five-part series, but the fifth episode promised a sixth “TBD.”
It’s going to have quite the ending.
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