Ryan S. Kralkapur 11, 2025, 02:56 PM ET
Closeryan S. Clark is an NHL reporter for ESPN.
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landescog will play Friday for the franchise’s AHL affiliate in his first professional game in nearly three years.
The Colorado Eagles, the Avalanche AHL team, announced that after morning skating, Landescog will play in a match against the Vegas Golden Knights AHL affiliate Henderson Silver Knights.
On Wednesday, Avalanche sent Landescog to the Eagles for a conditioning stint. Landeskog has spent the past few days with the Eagles, who play more than an hour away in Loveland, Colorado.
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Landeskog’s final appearance appeared in Game 6 of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final. He led the Avalanche to the third championship in club history. He then missed the entire 2022-23 season with a knee injury and underwent knee cartilage replacement surgery in May 2023. Landescog missed the entire 2023-24 season.
The 32-year-old has been traveling with the team in recent years, working on the ice away from the team. However, this season has led to Landeskog gradually spending more practice time in the avalanche.
AVS coach Jared Bednar told reporters after practice Friday that he had no plans other than to monitor Landeskog’s progress and play against the Silver Knights. If AVS wants to expand Landeskog, there’s that option, considering that the Eagles have four more games before the regular season ends next Saturday.
Returning Landeskog to the playoffs could potentially offer a two-way winger, as well as a captain, a two-way winger that offers another top 6 and/or top 9 options depending on how he uses it.
Entering Friday, Avalanche (48-28-4) was third in the Central Division standings, finishing the regular season with the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday after facing King Los Angeles on Saturday.
