Sweden hoping to have healthy Landeskog for 2026 Olympics
NHL players will be back on the Olympic stage this February at the 2026 Miano Cortina Games, and Sweden is hoping to have one of its most accomplished veterans available to take the ice.
Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog was among the six players named to the team’s preliminary roster on June 16, joining forwards Adrian Kempe, William Nylander and Lucas Raymond, along with defencemen Rasmus Dahlin and Victor Hedman.
The 32-year-old hasn’t played in an NHL regular season game since the 2011-22 season due to various knee injuries. However, Landeskog played in two AHL games down the stretch of the season and made a triumphant return to the Avs’ lineup during their first-round series against the Dallas Stars, tallying one goal and four points in five games before the team was eliminated in Game 7.
Sweden general manager Josef Boumedienne said in an interview with NHL.com he’s hoping the 32-year-old remains healthy and can bring some toughness to his team that was unable to reach the final at the 4 Nations Face-Off last February, losing two of its three games.
"I'd like to see a little more grit. I'd like to see a heavier game. A healthy Gabe Landeskog would have made a difference, I think. He finished the year in Colorado and hopefully he has a good summer and is able to start off on the right foot in the fall. A healthy Gabe Landeskog would really help with the grit in the way he plays,” Boumedienne told NHL.com’s Aaron Vickers.
A former All-Star, Landeskog was one of the key pieces of Colorado’s Stanley Cup title in 2021-22, scoring 11 goals and 22 points in 20 postseason games that spring. He had arthroscopic knee surgery shortly after the Cup Final, kicking off a long list of procedures, and missed essentially all of the next three seasons.
Internationally, the Stockholm native has represented his country several times on the world stage, helping the team to gold medals at the 2013 and 2017 World Championships, as well as a silver at the 2014 Sochi Olympics, the last time NHL players participated on an Olympic stage.
"I think history is important," Boumedienne said of building his country's roster. "You learn about the players the more we spend time with them. The Olympics is a little longer than the 4 Nations as far as the amount of games. But obviously you have to be healthy, have a good start to the year, but we definitely put an emphasis on the history as well.
"Have you played in high-pressure games? Have you performed at the biggest stages? Have you played in the playoffs? Won championships? That's definitely something we take into consideration."