Gabe Landeskog’s return is a reflection of the best of us

When you think about some of the great miracles in history, there are a lot of great examples to pick from. The multiple miracles of Lourdes, the Miracle on Ice, when Harry got out of the friend zone with Sally, when I found a salad I actually liked.

Now, we add the return of Gabe Landeskog to the list.

During the three years Landeskog was missing from the Colorado Avalanche, the team struggled to replace his on-ice ability but it clearly also missed the leadership and steadying presence he brings to a locker room. Watching Landeskog’s emotional return to the ice in Game 3 of this Round 1 series against the Dallas Stars has stirred up all kinds of feelings.

Given the twists and turns of his injury, surgery, and unprecedented recovery, there was a healthy chunk of skepticism about him ever returning to the NHL. Instead of this season feeling like he was building towards a triumphant return, it felt like we were saying a long, drawn-out goodbye to one of the greatest players to ever suit up for the Avalanche.

Every time Landeskog skated and then disappeared for another few weeks, it felt like we were getting closer to the reality that he would not be the first hockey player to ever return from the cartilage transplant procedure he had done on his right knee in May of 2023. Meanwhile, the team he was still the captain of was struggling throughout another injury-plagued season where the Avalanche looked like they couldn’t get on track to be the Stanley Cup contender they consider themselves these days.

It was a process that got increasingly hard to watch from the outside because you just knew the pain he was going through had to be excruciating. Yes, Landeskog has made a lot of money in his life, but that does not make him immune from the struggles of, you know, still being human. While we all struggle with the roller coaster that is life, very few of us reach the pinnacle of our professions.

When Landeskog raised the Stanley Cup in 2022 following Colorado ending the dreams of a Tampa Bay Lightning dynasty, he had climbed the tallest mountain of his profession. To be the captain of a Stanley Cup-winning team is rarified air. By my count, he became the 61st different captain to hoist the trophy and just the second captain of Swedish descent to do so.

For Landeskog, it was a lifelong dream realized.

What none of us knew at the time was how bad his knee injury really was and that it would threaten his ability to ever play again. Athletes are built to be superheroes, especially in hockey, as the tales of their perseverance through physical pain is one of the legendary hallmarks of the sport. Landeskog played arguably the best hockey of his career in the run to eternal glory in 2022 as he scored 22 points in 20 games and finished tied for third in the NHL in postseason goals with 11.

And then he was gone.

For three full years, we all watched as Landeskog was reduced from superhero to just another guy in his 30s whose knees hurt. Where we once saw the physicality, grit, and competitiveness that has made him such an effective NHL player, we found not a player anymore, but a person; a person whose place in the world was uncertain, whose confidence was shaken and whose future was in flux.

Throughout each of our lives, that could be the description of our own realities at different times.

This entire journey has been painful. Landeskog has been the steady captain of the Avalanche ship, even when that ship was doing its best Titanic impression in 2016-17. When the Avalanche approached him to talk about the possibility of a trade, Landeskog declined. He wanted to be part of the solution in Denver, not take the easy way out so he could “play playoff hockey” somewhere else.

In life, we learn who we really are when the times are hardest. Landeskog became “one of us” when he chose to stay in Colorado and not only be part of the next era of Avalanche hockey, but lead it. He didn’t run from the challenge of helping turn around the 48-point Avs, he embraced it.

As a result, his return to the ice became one of the most incredible stories we could ask for. Just to see him on the ice again was one thing, but to see him essentially be the player he was before the injury took him away from the game? For THREE full seasons? It’s unbelievable theater. When Landeskog’s shot beat Jake Oettinger last night, he was officially back.

Freed from the stasis of uncertainty, it’s time we say goodbye to the goodbye.