Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog to Miss Entire 2023-24 Season

Update: Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog spoke with the media on Tuesday and said he is not considering retiring from the NHL. He also hasn't ruled out returning in time for next year's playoffs but acknowledged it's too early to tell.

A bad situation continues to get worse for a key member of the Avalanche core. 

The Colorado Avalanche announced on Tuesday morning that captain Gabriel Landeskog is expected to miss the entire 2023-24 NHL season after undergoing a cartilage transplant procedure in his right knee scheduled for May 10. 

This update comes after the 30-year-old had sat out the entire 2022-23 season and playoffs as a result of undergoing knee surgery over the summer. And despite reports that Landeskog had resumed skating down the stretch in March in an attempt to return in time for the playoffs, he was ultimately ruled out entirely soon after and will now miss his second straight full season. 

This is obviously a massive blow to an Avalanche team that still has championship aspirations. Landeskog is the heart of their core, a money-in-the-bank goal-scorer and quintessential power forward who produced an impressive 30 goals and 29 assists for 59 points in 51 games in 2021-22 before also chipping in 11 goals and 11 assists in 20 playoff games to help captain the club to its first Stanley Cup in two decades. 

With a second full campaign now wiped from his ledger, it's unclear as to when Landeskog will return to action in the future or how effective he'll be in the event that he does. 

Regardless, here's hoping Landeskog makes a full recovery as soon as possible.