Gabe Landeskog Injury Update
Gabriel Landeskog is out again after a violent crash into the net against the Florida Panthers on Sunday night, suffering an upper-body injury that the Colorado Avalanche expect will sideline their captain “for some time.” It comes less than a year after he finally returned from nearly three seasons lost to major right knee surgery. Ryan O’Hara (@OHaraSports) responded on X, tagging @NHL, to say the report needs correcting, clarifying that Gabriel Landeskog suffered an upper-body injury and asking for the information to be fixed.
Postgame, head coach Jared Bednar said Landeskog is “still being evaluated” but will “miss some time,” and the team is sticking with the vague upper-body label for now. Reports out of Denver and national outlets echo the same thing: the exact diagnosis and timetable aren’t public yet, and it’s unclear if he’ll stay with the team to finish this road trip.
There’s at least one reassuring detail: multiple reports note that the knee that cost him almost three full seasons wasn’t impacted on this play, even though visually it looked scary when his leg buckled before the collision.
What Happened to Gabriel Landeskog?
Landeskog went down on Sunday, January 4, in Sunrise when he lost an edge driving to the crease against Florida and went hard into the goalpost and end boards. He hit the net at full speed on his left side, stayed on the ice for several minutes, and needed help from trainer Matt Sokolowski and Nathan MacKinnon to reach the bench and tunnel.
The Avalanche ruled him out for the rest of the game with an upper-body injury, emphasizing that the issue is not related to his surgically repaired right knee, which will matter a lot to anyone who’s followed his comeback story. Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) announced on X that Gabriel Landeskog will not return to the game due to an upper-body injury.
How Serious is It and What’s His History?
Given his history, any awkward fall is going to spike anxiety for fans. Landeskog missed the entire 2022‑23 and 2023‑24 regular seasons after a series of knee procedures, including a cartilage transplant on his right knee in May 2023 that effectively wiped out another year.
That surgery came on top of multiple prior operations dating back to a cartilage injury from a skate cut in the 2020 bubble, and rehab kept him off NHL ice for about three seasons before he finally returned in the 2025 playoffs.
This year was his first full regular season back, and he’d played all 40 games with seven goals and 22 points, looking closer to his old self and stabilizing Colorado’s top six. That’s why this latest setback hits harder than a typical “upper-body” tag; some will remember how each small delay in his knee rehab turned into another lost year.
Disclaimer:
This article is based on publicly available reports and team statements about Gabriel Landeskog’s injury status and recent games. Information can change quickly due to new medical evaluations or roster moves, so readers should verify details with official Colorado Avalanche and NHL updates.
