One of the biggest stories of the Colorado Avalanche is the potential return of captain Gabriel Landeskog. While there was outside hope early on in the year that he could come back from his severe knee injury during the regular season, it became evident that he wouldn’t be able to, not because he wasn’t healthy (he still might not be), but because salary cap restrictions just wouldn’t alallow it to happen—especially following the trade deadline.

With the 2024-25 playoffs starting in just a couple of weeks, word is spreading about Landeskog being ready at some point in the postseason. Whether that is for Game 1 (most likely against the Dallas Stars) or a bit later down the road, at least one teammate of Landeskog believes that he will make his return to the lineup soon.

This is pretty much the biggest update we have heard from anybody in the organization. Head coach Jared Bednar has been hush hush for the most part regarding a potential Landeskog return, and Landeskog himself said in the past several times that he doesn’t want to set return goal dates as to not get himself discouraged if he isn’t healthy enough by the date he sets the goal for.

Colorado Avalanche’s plan(s) for Gabriel Landeskog once he officially returns

For me, putting Landeskog on the fourth line to jumpstart his official return probably makes the most sense to me. While we obviously want to see him on a first or second line, the truth is that we just haven’t seen hm play in what will officially be three years. It’s not like he’ll for sure return to what he once was. In fact, I feel like that expectation is a complete pipe dream.

It might be ideal to see Landeskog play a few games with the Colorado Eagles to het his feet wet again. The great thing about this whole situation is that there is no salary cap during the playoffs. It would be an easy way to see if he can be in game shape for the long haul. He has been taking some hits in practice but they obviously aren’t too aggressive. The last thing you want is for him to get hurt in a practice.

His return could also come in the second round of the playoffs, if the Avalanche get there. The thing is that we don’t actually know his official status, so making an educated guess on his potential return becomes very difficult. It’s all speculation from people on the outside. I think Bednar, the coaches, and doctors have a goal in mind.

For now, it remains a waiting game.

The Avs close out the Eastern Conference portion of their schedule in Columbus.

Coming off of a dramatic come-from-behind victory over the Chicago Blackhawks Wednesday night, the Colorado Avalanche are right back in action this evening, as they wrap up the Eastern Conference portion of their schedule in Columbus against a desperate Blue Jackets squad.

The comeback effort was a welcomed sight for Avs fans last night, but the team that kind of effort came against made for a very frustrating evening. However, seeing the team struggle to generate impactful offense against a bottom feeder is not new over the last week. In the previous three contests, the Avs have only managed to score five goals, and the powerplay has struggled to mesh after a strong evening against the Los Angeles Kings just seven days ago. With the Stanley Cup Playoffs on the horizon, the Avs need to right the ship while there’s still a little bit of time.

Additionally, the offense may have to find a rhythm while losing one of its key cogs. Jonathan Drouin exited last night’s contest with a lower-body injury following a hit in the first period. Jared Bednar had no update on his status after the game, leaving him up in the air for the second half of this back-to-back.

Colorado Avalanche:

Wednesday night was messy for the Avalanche, but they managed to escape the chaos with two points. In the process, they appeared to lose Jonathan Drouin (and almost Martin Necas) to injury and nearly put up a complete dud of a performance against one of the league’s worst teams. A late third-period comeback helped fuel the Avs to a shootout victory and sets them up much more comfortably for tonight’s contest. They can also clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs tonight with a win in any fashion, so there’s a lot of incentive to come out and bring their A-game.