SUNRISE, Fla. \u2014 The Colorado Avalanche players weren\u2019t the only ones with Gabe Landeskog on their minds as they tried to play the final 38 minutes of a hockey game after watching their captain gingerly leave the ice surface following a scary crash.<\/p>\n
The Florida Panthers were concerned about the health of Landeskog as well. Florida won the game, 2-1, handing Colorado its third regulation loss of the season.<\/p>\n
But some things are more important than two points on a Sunday night in early January.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe respect he has in this league \u2014 so many players come up to him and wish him well, love to see him back,\u201d Avalanche star Nathan MacKinnon, who helped Landeskog leave the ice surface, said. \u201cMultiple Florida guys came up to us and were asking if it was his knee. Very classy of those guys to do that. It just shows the respect he has around the league and obviously in our room.\u201d<\/p>\n
It was a collective sigh of relief for everyone involved, plus hockey people on multiple continents, that Landeskog has an upper-body injury. Normally, that word is associated with bad things, mostly concussions, but the immediate concern with the Colorado captain was his inability to put any weight on his legs after crashing into the Florida net and then the end boards behind him.<\/p>\n
Landeskog missed 1,020 days \u2014 three full regular seasons \u2014 with right knee issues, and needed four procedures before he was eventually able to return for two games with the Colorado Eagles and then the final five contests of a 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs series against the Dallas Stars.<\/p>\n
There was almost a collective checklist. OK, it\u2019s not the worst-case scenario \u2014 his right knee. OK, it\u2019s not the second-worst outcome \u2014 a major injury to his left knee.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s clear that Landeskog was in a lot of pain though. He returned to Denver on Monday instead of traveling with the team to Tampa for a Tuesday night tilt against the Lightning.<\/p>\n
Scott Wedgewood said he had heard the injury was in Landeskog\u2019s \u201crib-cage area.\u201d MacKinnon said that bones heal normally, while tendons and ligaments are scary.<\/p>\n
The Avs will likely have more of an update on the captain\u2019s status Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur hearts go out to them, especially with what Landeskog has gone through and how hard he had to work and the impact that he\u2019s had on that team,\u201d Florida coach Paul Maurice said. \u201cWe know, probably better than any other team in the National Hockey League the cost of losing your captain and your leader. I think that had an impact on the game.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Panthers have won the Eastern Conference each of the past three seasons, and are the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions. Just as Landeskog was unable to play after the Avalanche won the Cup in 2022, Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov is expected to miss all of this season with a torn ACL.<\/p>\n
In a different universe, Barkov and Landeskog could be the captains of their rival countries at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan next month. But Barkov will not be able to play, and now an entire nation waits with bated breath to find out if Landeskog will be available or not.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you love the game, you follow what he\u2019s had to go through to get back,\u201d Maurice said. \u201cYou\u2019re also very aware of how important he is to that team. They were a contending team every year without their captain, but they had two regulation losses coming into (Sunday night). I\u2019m just hopeful that it is short term.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s been through enough. He\u2019s too important to the game of hockey. We need him on the ice.\u201d<\/p>\n
For the Avalanche, this is the most adversity of the season to date. Colorado has played stretches without goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood and forward Valeri Nichushkin, but Devon Toews and Landeskog are now both going to \u201cmiss some time,\u201d according to Avs coach Jared Bednar.<\/p>\n
The Avs won\u2019t have Landeskog, Toews, Blackwood or Joel Kiviranta against the Lightning. When this road trip started, the Avs had 14 players who had appeared in every game. That\u2019s the most in the NHL this season.<\/p>\n
It will be 12 when the puck drops in Tampa. And they are missing three integral pieces of what has been the most dominant team in the league this season.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou go back on \u2026 last year,\u201d goalie Wedgewood said. \u201cIt\u2019s next guy up mentality. It\u2019s hard to do with the presence that he brings. But I don\u2019t think it\u2019s a three-year thing, knock on wood. It\u2019s unfortunate, but we know how to play our game as a team.<\/p>\n
\u201cGuys have been moving up and down the lineup already this year. It\u2019s a couple setbacks right now, but I think we led the league in guys missed last year so there\u2019s some experience with that. We obviously can\u2019t replace his shoes, but we\u2019ll do what we can to keep winning hockey games and wait for him to return.\u201d<\/p>\n