Avalanche captain already ruled out for entire 2023-24 season

Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog missed the entire 2022-23 season due to a knee injury, and the team has already announced that he is going to miss all of next season as well. 

Landeskog will undergo cartilage transplant surgery for his right knee on Wednesday.

He addressed the situation during a press conference on Tuesday. 

"We continued exploring and I've done more studying in the last month than I have since high school," Landeskog via the Avalanche website. "[There's been] extensive research on my end and with the help of our medical staff on the team, I've talked to numerous doctors and medical experts and got opinions, learning more about what the different procedures would be. This is the one that we feel like is the best way forward and is the best solution for me to come back and play hockey again."

It is a crushing blow to the Avalanche roster as Landeskog is not only their captain but also one of their best players. His absence was felt this season as they struggled through parts of the regular season and lost in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs to the Seattle Kraken. 

It is also concerning for Landeskog because this means he will have missed two full seasons due to a significant knee injury and will be 32 years old when he is finally able to return. Hopefully. There is no way of knowing what his career will look like at that point after such a major surgery and two years away from the game. 

Colorado will be able to put him on the long-term injured list, which will give the team an additional $7 million in salary cap space to work with so it can try to replace him in the lineup. The class of unrestricted free agents is not particularly deep, but it could also open up trade options for the Avalanche to replace Landeskog.

Next season will be the third year of an eight-year, $56 million contract for Landeskog. The Avalanche selected him with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2011 NHL draft.  In 738 career regular-season games with the Avalanche, he has scored 248 goals, 323 assists and 571 points.