Colorado Avalanche’s Gabriel Landeskog to miss 12 weeks after knee surgery

Colorado Avalanche Head Coach Jared Bednar confirmed to media Wednesday morning that captain Gabriel Landeskog will miss the next 12 weeks as he recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery that was completed Tuesday. 

Bednar says Landeskog suffered the injury last season. This is the second time Landeskog has had surgery on his knee, Bednar indicated that this is a new surgery. Last March, Landeskog underwent knee surgery and missed the Avalanche’s final 23 games of the season. He made his return in May during the Avs’ playoff run and helped the team hoist the Stanley Cup in Game 6 after defeating the back-to-back champions, the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Landeskog, 29, registered 30 goals and 59 points in 51 games last season. In the postseason, he collected 22 points (11 goals, 11 assists) in 20 games. 

Landeskog was the team’s second overall pick in the 2011 NHL Draft. That season he registered 66 points in 53 games with the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL). It didn’t take long for him to find his fit in Colorado, he won the Calder Trophy in 2011-12, collecting 52 points. At the time, in 2012, he was named the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 286 days. Through his career so far, Landeskog has totalled 248 goals and 323 assists for 571 points in 738 games. 

Landeskog, however, hasn’t had the easiest time staying healthy given his bruising style. He hasn’t played a full season since 2014-15 and has played every game in just two of his 11 seasons. He has missed 49 games over his past three seasons. He’s in season 2 of an eight-year extension carrying a $7 million AAV, signed in July 2021.