Gabriel Landescog, 92, takes to the ice at the morning skates before Game 7 of the First Round of the NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs on April 30, 2023 at Ball Arena. Landskog did not play due to a knee injury. (Photo: Andy Cross/Denver Post)
Avalanche Gabriel Landescog will undergo a cartilage transplant in his right knee on Wednesday and is expected to miss the 2023-24 regular season, the team announced Tuesday morning.
It will be Landskog’s fourth surgery dating back to 2020 as he attempts to recover from a kneecap cartilage injury that has forced him to miss the entire 2022-23 season, including the playoffs. After next season, he will miss 187 straight regular-season games.
Landescog and Avalanche did not make a decision on his fate for the remainder of 2022-23 until the March 2 trade deadline. At a press conference on April 13, Landesog said he was seeking a medical opinion and that surgery was an option for him. “I think it’s a big decision, so we need to do as much homework as possible about the different options,” he said at the time. not here.”
Landskog knew at the time that the chronic injury was “very likely to last into next year,” but he was sure it wouldn’t be the end of his career.
On September 2, 2020, Landescogg’s right knee was amputated on the skate of teammate Cale McCarr during Game 6 of the playoff series against the Dallas Stars. Landeskog missed Game 7 and took minor steps. His knee started “hasting me on a daily basis” early in his 2021-22 season, culminating in another surgery on March 14, 2022. His 22 points in his 20 games helped lead the Avalanche to a Stanley Cup his championship.
But by the time the playoffs were over, the captain had stopped attending Colorado’s morning skates. It was supposed to keep him out until. Rehab has been a slow process since then. Landskog finally returned to the ice on his February 21st, but while the nature of his injury has not prevented him from walking normally, it has affected his skating at an elementary level.
The uncertainty surrounding his absence last season prevented Colorado from trying to navigate around the $7 million annual average by the trade deadline. Avs was ultimately eliminated in the first round of his Cup playoffs by Seattle to Stanley.
This time, knowledge of Landeskog’s status ahead of the 2023-24 season mobilizes general manager Chris MacFarland. Avalanche could put Landskog on the long-term disabled list and top the salary cap with a $7 million cap hit, giving him more wiggle room in the free agency and offseason trade markets.
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