Gabriel Landeskog announced Thursday he will not return for the playoffs due to a knee injury that has kept him out all season.
DENVER – In a packed media room with a somber mood, Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog said he will not be playing in the playoffs due to a knee injury that has kept him out all season.
Landeskog said the injury initially occurred in a game played during the COVID bubble in 2020 and has progressed over the last two seasons. He specified that it was a cartilage injury on the bottom of his patella.
“First surgery obviously and was feeling good for a couple games. Then we managed it throughout the playoffs. I still thought I’d be fine, ready to go after the summer. Obviously a very short summer. I realized fairly quickly that things had gotten worse. We started seeing some experts and doctors and started seeking out opinions and we’ve explored just about every option at this point to make sure I’d be ready to go," Landeskog said at a news conference before the matchup between the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.
"I thought I was going to be able to play the second half of the season. We’ve given it our best shot and it just hasn’t worked out. Moving forward we continue to explore options. But I felt like this was the decision I had to make at this point for everybody involved and for my teammates and myself,” he said.
Landeskog said it was a very tough decision but he made it himself with the support of his family, teammates, the Avalanche organization and friends.
“Everybody at some point or another has reached out and the times when I was away from the team always stayed in touch with the team in as much as I can with guys and checking in on how things are going,” Landeskog said.
This injury could roll over into next season, the 30-year-old admitted. But he is remaining optimistic about the recovery and continues to be diligent with all his possible options.
“For me, it’s been a long road up to this point, but I’m hopeful and optimistic and confident that eventually, we’ll come out on the other side of this. But we haven’t quite got past it yet obviously,” he said.
The Avalanche captain said he plans on traveling with the team throughout the playoffs and sticking around the guys while he continues to move forward with the course of getting back on the ice.
“I think I'll be around the team as much as I can at the same time as I have to take care of this and deal with this as best as I can. So as long as that matches up, and that works, I'll be around the team as much as I possibly can,” Landeskog said. “For my sake, but also I think for the team and, you know, being around the guys, I think would be good for myself, especially for selfish reasons, just being around 25 of some of my closest friends that I have, so that'll be good.”
As for his opinion of the team from afar, Landeskog said he’s enjoyed watching how they have stepped up in the second half of the season. He said they’re a fun team to watch and he likes their chances in the postseason.