The Avs captain has returned to Denver after rehabilitating for the last six months outside of Colorado.
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog is back in Denver after rehabbing outside of the state for the last six months. Head coach Jared Bednar said he and his family are settling in and he's getting the kids ready to go back to school after the holiday break.
"It's great having him around. He just brings that leadership and calmness and he's got a real steady approach to the game — it's almost like having another coach around," Bednar said on Wednesday last week. "But it's a guy that's in their locker room playing with them and going to battle with those guys. We miss him immensely but I don't think the guys right now are necessarily just thinking about Gabe because he hasn't been around all season."
Landeskog has been around the team and staff since returning to the Mile High City, Bednar said, and plans on being present for the remaining six December home games.
The 31-year-old Swede announced that he would miss the entire 2023-24 season before he underwent surgery for a cartilage transplant in his right knee in Chicago on May 10. Since then, he has been recuperating and rehabilitating outside of Colorado, most recently in Toronto.
The last game Landeskog played was June 28, 2022, when the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 to win the Stanley Cup. He missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season.
Landeskog participated in Media Day before the 2023-24 season started in late September and said he felt really good four and half months post-procedure.
"Just because you're hurt doesn't change the fact that you're part of the team," Landeskog said on Media Day. "And the only reason that I'll be not here every single day of the season is because I need to focus on what I need to do and that's to get myself better and put myself in the best spot to continue to progress physically. I'll be supporting my teammates from a distance at times and then at some point or another I'll be back here and rockin' and rollin' with the guys down the line."
The elite center was on the bench during morning skate prior to the game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, but it has not been reported if he interacted with his teammates during the last two losses at Ball Arena.
Not that the Avalanche coaching staff is an issue, but as the team has struggled in different areas as of late, there could be a players-only meeting — if there hasn't already been one — led by Landeskog and the other leaders in the room. At this point, any and all options should be explored to help get the team back on track and playing a more consistent game.