Avs GM MacFarland gives grim update on Landeskog situation after almost three years of not playing
Mar 3, 2025, 12:53 PM | Updated: 8:18 pm
It has been 981 days since Gabriel Landeskog has been on the ice for the Colorado Avalanche.
In one of the most bizarre injury scenarios in all of hockey, the Avalanche captain has been fighting to get back onto the ice for his team day after day, but it has almost been three years since he was last on the ice in an Avs sweater, lifting the Stanley Cup.
Avalanche general manager Chris MacFarland spoke about Landeskog’s situation Monday, and it was not the update that Avalanche fans wanted to hear.
“I don’t for-see in the next day or two, or week or two here,” MacFarland said. “I think you guys can figure out where this is kind of going.”
That’s very bleak coming from MacFarland, and signals that a return is less imminent than once imagined, a feeling all too familiar for Avs Faithful.
This is very unfortunate for the Colorado captain who has been such a key component of this franchise dating back to his debut in 2011. Every time there seems to be a sliver of hope for him to return to the ice, bad news comes out about his status.
Disappointing but at this point it’s March 3 and we’ve got to be realistic.
Still, this pretty much blows up when Landeskog said “mid-September to April” and a matter of “when not if.” Tough break for the Avalanche captain. https://t.co/Y5DYNJDKCZ
— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) March 3, 2025
Last May, Landeskog announced that he was not retiring after the Avalanche suffered a second-consecutive postseason loss without their captain out on the ice.
A few months later in August, Landeskog gave a promising update on his knee, and said that “It’s not so much if, it’s when” regarding his return.
Neither of the comments made by Landeskog in the offseason have particularly aged well for the 32-year-old.
While this isn’t the best news for the team, MacFarland did make sure to mention the work that Landeskog has been putting in to possibly make his way back and that there is “a chance” he could play in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (if the Avalanche hold onto a Wild Card spot).
He did say he’a grinding every day and that there’s “a chance” he returns in the playoffs. Says Gabe has earned the right to continue battling to return.
— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) March 3, 2025
At this point in time, words don’t mean a whole lot in this ongoing dilemma. The only thing that will matter and actually mean something to fans in term’s of Landeskog’s return is seeing him out on the ice in an Avalanche sweater. For now, it seems that if that were to ever happen again, it would be in the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs while the Avs chase a fourth Stanley Cup.
