Avalanche's Gabriel Landeskog Set to Miss 2023-24 Season After Surgery On Knee Injury

The Colorado Avalanche announced Tuesday that captain Gabriel Landeskog is expected to miss the entire 2023-24 NHL season as a result of knee surgery.

As part of the announcement, the Avs revealed that Landeskog will have a cartilage transplant in his right knee Wednesday:

The 30-year-old veteran underwent arthroscopic knee surgery at the conclusion of the 2021-22 season, and while he was only supposed to miss part of the 2022-23 season, he ended up missing the entire year.

Before the initial surgery last offseason, Landeskog played a huge role in the Avalanche's 2022 Stanley Cup title, which marked the franchise's first championship since 2001.

Playing alongside several highly skilled offensive players such as Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen, Cale Makar and Nazem Kadri, he posted 30 goals and 29 assists for 59 points in 51 regular-season games.

That marked only the second time in Landeskog's 11-year career that he averaged more than one point per game in a season.

The Sweden-born winger was even better during Colorado's playoff run, registering 11 goals and 11 assists for 22 points in 20 games. He ranked fourth on the team in playoff scoring behind only Makar, Rantanen and MacKinnon.

Additionally, Landeskog's leadership was key to Colorado's success, and that has been the case for several years.

After winning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's Rookie of the Year in 2012, Landeskog was named team captain. At the time, he was the youngest captain in NHL history at 19 years and 286 days old.

Over the next several seasons, Landeskog earned one All-Star nod and consistently put up strong numbers, including nine 20-goal campaigns, two 30-goal seasons and three seasons with at least 60 points.

In 738 career regular-season games for the Avs, Landeskog has recorded 248 goals and 323 assists for 571 points. He is also a plus-77 player, illustrating his defensive responsibility.

The Avalanche still managed to win the Western Conference's Central Division without Landeskog this season, as they finished with 109 points, but their playoff run was brief.

In the first round, the Avs were shocked by the Seattle Kraken in seven games. The Kraken are in the midst of only their second NHL season, and it was the first playoff series in franchise history.

Colorado clearly missed Landeskog's leadership, edge and offensive ability, and now the Avalanche are set to be without him for two consecutive seasons.

The Avs also have several important role players set to hit unrestricted free agency this offseason, including J.T. Compher and Evan Rodrigues, which suggests returning to Stanley Cup contention could be a huge challenge.