Gabriel Landeskog's playoff fate was revealed by Elliotte Friedman in a recent report.
The Colorado Avalanche have been playing without their captain for nearly three years after the team's 2022 Stanley Cup-winning run.
After years of recovery, it appears the player is getting close to making a return.
Indeed, he was sent to the Colorado Eagles in the AHL for a conditioning stint.
Elliotte Friedman discussed his situation in a recent intervention on Sportsnet.
He stated that the Eagles, the Avs' AHL affiliate team, play a few games before the end of the NHL regular season, meaning that he could get back in shape in time for the playoffs, and could join the team in the first round.
'I looked at the schedule between tomorrow night and next Saturday for the Colorado Eagles in the AHL, and they play five times: tomorrow, Saturday, Wednesday, then next Friday and Saturday. I believe it's his plan to play. I think he intends to play.The one thing I was warned about is that, because he's still recovering from a pretty significant injury, I shouldn't guess which games he's going to play in, and I also shouldn't assume that just because he takes the morning skate, he'll play that night. I've been told that the goal is for him to play-they'll see how he feels.'
Jared Bednar, the Avs' head coach, opened up on Landeskog's recovery process and the possibility of being able to count on the team captain during the playoffs:
'He's making strides. Obviously, this rehab is not linear. There's lots of peaks and valleys in it, and sometimes it's two steps forward and one step back, but he's still making progress and obviously feeling comfortable enough to come out and join the team with certain drills. So, hopefully that continues and continues to grow and [he's] working to a point of a return.It's really hard to say [when he'll play again], but things are going great and it's certainly nice to have him back on the ice with our team. Just the energy and sort of attitude that he brings to the ice, I think, helps everybody.'
The Avalanche will play against either the Winnipeg Jets or the Dallas Stars in the first round, and being able to count on Landeskog for the first round would be a huge confidence booster for the team.
-1743684953-q80.webp "Bills WRs Shakir, Coleman disrespected in ESPN fantasy ranking despite Josh Allen")
-1741766840-q80.webp "4 Things For the Flyers to Focus On the Rest of 2024-25")
