Gabriel Landeskog on the ice; Olympic return to the air

The The Colorado Avalanche were without Gabriel Landeskog having suffered an upper body injury in the first week of January – but the captain has just taken a big step towards returning from injury.

Stanley Cup Champion was on ice in Toronto on Tuesday morning, as first reported by Pierre LeBrun of the Athletics.

It’s great to see Landeskog back on the ice after suffering the injury early in the second period of a 2-1 loss to the defending champion Florida Panthers on Jan. 4. The veteran lost his footing while driving to the net and crashed into the goal; he had to be helped off the ice and was later expected to miss “a few weeks.”

Avs captain Gabriel Landeskog on the ice here in Toronto as he continues his recovery from injury, hopefully in time for the Olympics for the Sweden captain. pic.twitter.com/6Nk6uCn16M

— Pierre LeBrun (@PierreVLeBrun) January 27, 2026

Although Landeskog’s status for the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan next month is up in the air, head coach Jared Bednar gave an encouraging update late last week.

“He’s getting better,” Bednar said Sunday, per NHL.com. “He’s working more and more in the gym, hitting the ice now, he’s still a little limited. He’s sore. Time will tell, but the goal would be to be able to play for the Olympics, and he’s still aiming for that.”

The bench boss continued: “He really wants to play and I really want to play. There’s always a bit of nervousness when you play players who may not be fully healthy but he’s going to do the right thing and I really hope we can watch him in the Olympic tournament because that’s something he really wants to play for his country. He wants to play for his country again. I hope it all works out but it’s going to be tight.”

It’s looking increasingly like Landeskog will be a game-time decision for the Olympics, though he’s still aiming to recover in time to play for Team Sweden. The 33-year-old has seven goals and 22 points in 41 games in 2025-26.

Defensive end Devon Toews, also out with an upper-body injury, is in Colorado for a four-game road trip. He missed his 10th straight game on Sunday but could play before the Olympic break, Bednar said.

The Avalanche defeated the Maple Leafs 4-1 on Sunday afternoon, and with a few days off before Wednesday night’s game against the Ottawa Senators in the Canadian capital, the team stayed in Toronto.

He’ll likely make his way from one major Canadian city to another at some point Tuesday night ahead of a showdown with a seven-goal Sens team at the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday.

The puck should drop on the Avalanche-Senators just after 7:30pm ET from the Canadian Tire Center on Wednesday night.