Colorado Avalanche confirm Gabe Landeskog is week to week, return date unresolved

Sunday at 11: 30 a. m. ET, the colorado avalanche announced captain Gabriel Landeskog will not play against the Minnesota Wild and is “week-to-week” with a lower-body injury. What remains unresolved is how much time he will miss, and the next team update on his status will determine when he can rejoin the lineup.

Gabriel Landeskog’s lower-body injury forces an immediate lineup change

Landeskog was ruled out for Sunday afternoon’s game against Minnesota at Ball Arena in Denver, with the team listing him as week to week. The injury stems from Friday’s game against the Dallas Stars, when Landeskog took a shot from teammate Cale Makar to the groin area at American Airlines Center.

Landeskog still returned to the ice after the shot and logged 22: 54 in the contest, finishing with an assist in the 5-4 shootout win. After the game, he showed reporters his athletic cup, which had a puck-sized dent.

For the season, Landeskog has 29 points (nine goals, 20 assists) in 47 games. Since returning from the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026, he has seven points (two goals, five assists) in six games with Colorado. On Jan. 4, he sustained an upper-body injury but recovered in time to play in the Olympics, where he had four points (two goals, two assists) in five games for Sweden, which finished seventh.

Colorado Avalanche await clarity on timing as “week-to-week” label leaves key questions open

The team’s designation clarifies that Landeskog will miss at least some time, but it does not confirm a specific return date. As of 11: 30 a. m. ET Sunday, the only confirmed guidance is “week-to-week, ” leaving unresolved whether his absence will be limited to a short stretch or extend deeper into the schedule.

That uncertainty matters because Landeskog’s recent availability has already been shaped by interrupted stretches. He missed the last 14 games before the Olympic break after crashing into the net and end boards during a game in South Florida, then returned to the lineup for the first six Colorado games after the break. Earlier in his career arc, he also missed three full regular seasons from 2022-25 due to right-knee problems and had multiple surgeries, including a cartilage transplant on May 10, 2023.

For now, the colorado avalanche are moving forward without their captain against the Wild while also integrating a major roster addition: Nazem Kadri is in the lineup against Minnesota for the first time since the 2022 Cup Final. Kadri signed a seven-year contract with the Calgary Flames shortly after Colorado’s 2022 title run, and the Avalanche brought him back in a trade Friday just ahead of the deadline.

Early in Sunday’s game, with five minutes played, the score was tied 0-0, with Landeskog not in uniform.

Central Division margin and the next medical update that will settle Landeskog’s timeline

Colorado’s place in the standings is clear. The Avalanche are 42-10-9 and sit first in the Central Division, seven points ahead of the Stars and nine points ahead of the third-place Wild.

What will change the story next is not the standings math but a concrete health determination. The observable trigger is the next official team update that either keeps Landeskog labeled week to week, confirms he is close enough to return to practice, or confirms he will miss additional games beyond what fans might infer from the broad designation.

Two details will clarify the trajectory when the next update arrives:

• Whether the Colorado Avalanche confirm Landeskog has resumed skating or practicing with teammates.
• Whether the team upgrades or downgrades the “week-to-week” label to something more specific.

The immediate next event already confirmed is that Landeskog is out Sunday against Minnesota. If the Colorado Avalanche later confirm a change in his status from “week-to-week” to available, his return is expected to follow once he is cleared to play in a game, but no clearance or return date has been confirmed as of 11: 30 a. m. ET Sunday.