Gabriel Landeskog isn't giving up on resuming his career, but he acknowledges simply making progress in his recovery from a long-term knee injury has been an achievement in and of itself.
"I've decided to see this thing through, no matter how long it takes," the Colorado Avalanche captain told The Athletic's Peter Baugh on Tuesday night. "At the end of the day, I started it. I plan on finishing it."
Landeskog clarified that seeing it through no longer necessarily means picking up where he left off, performance-wise.
"I used to think the only way this is ending is if I come back and finish my contract and have a great finish to my career, and I can play pain-free and be the player - if not better - that I was pre-injury," he said. "I've come to realize through a lot of work and deep reflection that the fact that I'm still going at this thing, the fact that I'm still doing this, I've already sort of won in a way.”
Landeskog hasn't played since Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final in 2022, when the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 to win their first championship since 2001.
He played almost 22 minutes in the decisive contest and helped set up the tying goal despite playing through knee pain for most of the spring. Landeskog had dealt with issues since he first hurt his knee during the 2020 postseason in a collision with teammate Cale Makar.
The Swedish forward has made strides in his recovery this season, at times skating with his teammates at practice, but still remains without a timeline for a return.
"Here I am, 32 years old, really wanting to play hockey and really wanting to continue and see where I can take this thing," Landeskog said. "I think that’s maybe where we are in terms of this whole thing: How far can I push it? How good can I get it?
"And I understand I'm probably not going to skate completely pain-free again, but I want to be able to get to a point where I can at least manage it and then make a decision for myself and see where we end up."
Landeskog is still under contract through the 2028-29 campaign, though the Avalanche have buried his $7-million cap hit on long-term injured reserve. Despite his lengthy absence, the veteran ranks sixth in games played (738) in franchise history, as well as eighth in goals (248), ninth in assists (323), and ninth in points.
