If the Colorado Avalanche are going to repeat as Stanley Cup champions, they'll have to do so without their captain.
Gabriel Landeskog won't play in the 2023 postseason due to a knee injury, the team announced Thursday. Landeskog has missed the entire 2022-23 regular season.
The 30-year-old has undergone at least two knee surgeries in the past 13 months. He had one procedure in March 2022 before he returned for the playoffs and helped lead the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup. The Swede had another knee surgery in October and was given a 12-week timeline, but he never returned.
Head coach Jared Bednar said earlier Thursday that Landeskog had been working hard to make himself ready for the playoffs.
"He’s pushing himself to the limits of what he feels he can do," Bednar said, according to The Athletic's Peter Baugh.
Landeskog recorded 59 points in 51 regular season games a year ago and added 11 goals and 11 assists in 20 playoff contests. The Avs signed him to an eight-year, $56-million contract in July 2021.
The Avalanche have been hampered by injuries this season. In addition to Landeskog, the team is also currently without defensemen Cale Makar and Josh Manson, although the former is expected to return for Game 1 of the opening round.
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