Avalanche Could See a Very Different Gabriel Landeskog This Season
For the last several years, the conversation surrounding Gabriel Landeskog has been about his health. Could he come back? Could he stand a full season of NHL action? Would he stay healthy?
Now, the Colorado Avalanche captain has answered all those questions. It is finally time to ask something else.
How good can Gabriel Landeskog be?
Landeskog played 60 regular-season games in 2025-26, in which he scored 14 goals and added 21 assists for 35 points. He followed that up with six goals and 11 points in 13 playoff games.
Given that he missed three consecutive regular seasons before finally returning during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs, if he just came back to be a dependable player, everyone would have been happy.
That’s not what he did. He did considerably more.
That makes his 2026-27 season one of the most exciting storylines surrounding the Avalanche.
Last Season Was the Comeback
It had to be a good feeling for Landeskog to finally enter a season healthy and able to approach training camp like a regular member of the team. Given the injury history and all that he overcame, that was incredible progress.
There were still questions surrounding the star. They were questions no one knew the answer to until the season got underway.
Would his surgically repaired knee respond to the grind of a full NHL season?
March 2022 was the last time Landeskog had taken the ice for a regular-season game. As everyone knows, there are huge differences between being medically cleared to play and being able to practice, travel, play back-to-back days, and the true physicality of the NHL.
This is not easy on the body; it never has been. Landeskog proved he could do it.
He missed time after suffering some broken ribs in January, but the knee that threatened to end his career didn’t come into play. He was a regular contributor again.
By the end of the season, the conversation around Landeskog wasn’t about his health anymore.
Landeskog Just Kept Getting Better
If there was a doubt, he erased it and he just kept putting exclamation points on the proof as the year went on.
When the stakes increased, so did Landeskog’s level of play.
Nathan MacKinnon even weighed in that he thought Ladeskog improved throughout the season.
The stats supported the idea that his elite level was still within him.
He finished the regular season with 35 points in 60 games. Postseason he finished with six goals and five assists in 13 games.
That’s an 11-point playoff run from a player who just one year earlier was facing the fact that he hadn’t taken the NHL ice in more than 1,000 days.
At this point in the progression of the Avalanche, they don’t need him to be the 30-point player he once was. Of course, that could be the difference at the end of the year, but there’s no doubt Landeskog will emerge as the veteran leader he has always been. His presence on the ice just makes the team better.
Expectation Can Change Now
That’s what is going to make 2026-27 different. He’s not trying to live up to any measurement. He’s not proving he’s ready or that he’s healthy.
Success was defined last year by his rallying throughout the year. He made it. He finished the year, and he contributed.
Then he captained Sweden in the Olympics and won both the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and the Mark Messier NHL Leadership Award. He helped Colorado produce the best regular season in franchise history.
Now, he’s the Landeskog everyone knows. He’s tough. He’s healthy. He can be evaluated just like everyone else.
The conversations can now focus on whether he can get to 20 goals again or whether he will be a physical presence in front of the net consistently. No more questioning whether his body will let him play.
That’s progress, and that’s exciting.
Laura Lambert resides in Wiggins, Colo. with her husband, Ricky and two sons, Brayden and Boedy. She attended the University of Northern Colorado while studying economics. She is an accomplished rodeo athlete and barrel horse trainer along with being a life-long sports fan. Over the years, Laura has been active in journalism in a variety of roles. While continuing to cover western sports and country music, she is currently enjoying expanding her reach into multiple sports including MLB, NHL, NCAA and WNBA. Laura covers the Miami Marlins, Houston Astros, Texas Rangers, Detroit Tigers, Colorado Rockies, Toronto Blue Jays, Colorado Avalanche and Rodeo for On SI. You can reach her at lauralambertmedia@gmail.com