CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Colorado's captain is staying with the Avalanche.
Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog began a team press conference Thursday by announcing he is not retiring.
Landeskog appeared at the club's post-season media briefing in Centennial alongside General Manager Chris MacFarland.
Landeskog, 31, has missed two full seasons with a knee injury. He hasn’t played since helping the Avalanche to the 2022 Stanley Cup title.
"I just can't wait to be back out there and come give my family big hugs after the game," said Landeskog.
Asked if playing sometime next season is a realistic goal, Landeskog joked that he would like to be ready between training camp in September and the start of playoffs in early April.
Landeskog is more than a year removed from cartilage replacement surgery on his right knee. Landeskog has five seasons left on a $56 million, eight-year contract signed in 2021.
The Avalanche were eliminated from the Stanley Cup playoffs on Friday with a Game 6 loss to the Dallas Stars.
"We can't go get a guy that the caliber of Gabe is," said MacFarland. "His injury has been challenging in a lot of ways, but not more challenging than what he's going through. He loves the game. He's a massive cog in what we're trying to do. He's earned the right to have as much time as it takes to get out on the ice."
"We'll be 100% behind him whether it's September, October, November, whenever that day is, we'll be super excited to see it, that's for sure," MacFarland said.
The club is also looking to determine whether Valeri Nichushkin can be counted on after leaving in the middle of a second straight postseason for off-the-ice issues.
MacFarland said that the Avalanche will look at all options. The first priority is for Nichushkin to get the help he needs and it's also probable that he will be back with the team.
"Val is a teammate of ours, he's a friend of ours, he's someone we raised the Cup with and had lots of good memories with, and lots of challenges you've gone through with," Landeskog said. "So you care for him and you want him to get help and want him to get right. Now what happens moving forward is up to him, how he's going to handle it. Obviously we're pulling for him and hope everything goes well."
"Devastating to lose a guy like that going into Game 4 in a playoff matchup where you know that the margain for error is so small. I'm sure in that Game 4 guys were pretty rattled about it and pretty hard to just set aside and go play as much as you want to be mentally strong and just go out and win with whoever's out of the lineup, it's obviously a big piece."
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