Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog will undergo knee surgery on Monday, coach Jared Bednar said Saturday.
Though Bednar said there is “no timeline yet” with regard to Landeskog’s rehabilitation and recovery, he is hopeful the veteran will be back before the end of the regular season.
Colorado entered the weekend with 87 points, tops in the NHL, and is in clear position to be the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference, at the least. The Avalanche will likely battle the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes, among others in the Eastern Conference, for the Presidents’ Trophy and the No. 1 overall seed in the postseason, but their place in the West — 10 points ahead of all other teams in the conference through Friday night — should hold the rest of the way.
On a team loaded with offense, Landeskog is having a terrific season at 29 years old. He leads the Avalanche with 30 goals, and is fifth with 59 points. He is a staple on the power play, where he has amassed five goals and 20 points.
The news comes in the same week that Landeskog sounded off on the officials after a 2-0 loss to the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday. After a questionable call on teammate Nazem Kadri, Landeskog was handed a 10-minute misconduct penalty for arguing the call from the bench. Given the time left in the game, Landeskog didn’t return.
“I think it’s unfortunate. Sometimes it’s time for players to step up and speak their truth,” he said after the loss. “I’m the one looking like an idiot for getting thrown out of the game even though I’m just being honest.”
Landeskog prefaced his comments by saying “in 11 years, I’ve never sat and talked about referees in a press conference, ever,” but clearly, the incident had influenced him enough to speak his mind.
The left wing’s absence will likely ramp up speculation that Colorado is in the market for a top-tier forward to aid its postseason push. The Avalanche have been linked to Philadelphia Flyers forward Claude Giroux, a soon-to-be unrestricted free agent, who appears to be the most notable name in the trade market.