Gabe Landeskog is still hoping to play for Team Sweden at the upcoming Winter Olympic Games. The Avalanche’s captain hasn’t played since suffering what appeared to be a rib injury on Jan. 4, but has not officially been ruled out for Team Sweden.
Following the Avs’ 4-1 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Sunday, head coach Jared Bednar provided an update on the 32-year-old’s status, courtesy of Pierre LeBrun.
“Getting better. He’s doing more and more in the gym, he’s hitting the ice now, he’s still limited a little bit, he’s sore,” Bednar told reporters at Scotiabank Arena. “Time will tell, but the goal would be for him to be able to go play for the Olympics. And he’s still targeting that. He really wants to play and I really want him to go play.”
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Bednar had already made it known that the decision is for Landeskog to make. The team will not sway it in either direction.
“There’s always a little bit of nervousness when you got players going that maybe aren’t fully healthy, but he’ll do the right thing, and I’m really hoping that we can watch him in the Olympic tournament,” Bednar said. “It’s something that he really wants to do, play for his country again, he’s earned that, with his season. Hopefully everything works out, but it’s going to be tight.”
Landeskog dressed in all 41 games to open the season before sustaining the injury on the road in Florida. He has seven goals and 22 points and was playing on the top line when the injury occured. Landeskog started the year with four assists in 15 games before posting 18 in the next 26. He was one of Sweden’s first six roster players named to the roster last summer.
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