Gabriel Landeskog joins Mario Lemieux and others among the greatest comebacks in sports

And we were there to witness it all.

DENVER — Gabriel Landeskog is now forever etched in sports history.

In just his second professional game in 1,041 days, “The Captain” found the back of the net. With 6:50 remaining in the second period, Brock Nelson found Landeskog all alone in the slot and whisked him a pass. Landy subsequently unloaded a scorching slapshot past Dallas goaltender Jake Oettinger to give the Colorado Avalanche a 3-0 lead, sending Ball Arena into absolute delirium. It was Landeskog’s first goal since Game Six of the 2022 Stanley Cup Final, which ended with the Avs hoisting the immortalized trophy for the third time in franchise history.

It was the punctuation mark to a comeback that many saw as unobtainable, including some Colorado fans. Of course, also present was your fair share of X (Twitter) flibbertigibbets, who insinuated or flat-out accused Landeskog of feigning injury to allow the Avalanche to circumvent the salary cap. Why yes, Twitter graduate, Landeskog purposefully sat on his tochus for more than 1,000 days in this elaborate scheme that only the FBI could unravel. What!?

Stupidity aside, this journey is one of the most incredible comebacks in modern sports history. From a hockey perspective, the first player that comes to mind is Mario Lemieux, who initially retired in 1997 due to his battle with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and persistent back pain. But after his son, Austin, urged his father to play again, he embarked on a return for the ages.

After 44 months on the shelf, during which he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and became owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Lemieux scored a point just 33 seconds into his return when he assisted on a goal scored by Jaromir Jagr. And in the second period, Jagr returned the favor, finding Lemieux all alone by the left circle to beat Toronto’s Curtis Joseph to send a packed Mellon Arena into elation. Then, ESPN broadcasters Gary Thorne and Bill Clement were on the call that evening.

While Landeskog didn’t score a point in his first game back in Game 3, aside from Valeri Nichushkin, he had the most significant impact on the ice. Yes, the guy who hadn’t skated in a professional game in over three years was arguably the best player on the ice for Colorado that night.

It’s also essential to include a few additional details. First and foremost, this is the playoffs. Not to diminish Lemieux’s accomplishment, but the stakes couldn’t be higher. The Avalanche are facing one of their most hated rivals, the Dallas Stars, in the opening round of the postseason. Additionally, the game has undergone significant changes. The players today are faster, stronger, and have access to better equipment as well as enhanced strength & conditioning programs. The fact that Landeskog was able to have such a significant impact right from the start is a testament to his will, strength, and undeniable skill.

There have been other Landy-esque comebacks in other sports as well. In 2004, then-heavyweight boxing champion Vitali Klitschko, currently the Mayor of Kyiv, Ukraine, snapped his ACL nine days before he was set to face Hasim Rahman. He announced his retirement and underwent surgery to repair a knee injury. It kept him out of the ring for nearly four years. But on October 11, 2008, at the age of 37, Klitschko was rewarded with an opportunity to fight Samuel Peter for the same WBC belt that he vacated all those years before. He dominated their scheduled 12-round bout and knocked out Peter in eight one-sided rounds. Klitschko went on to fight nine more times, winning every single fight, and retired at the top of the sport, while his younger brother, Wladimir, also became a champion in the same weight class.

Sugar Ray Leonard was one of the greatest fighters of his generation. But in 1982, he announced his retirement due to an eye injury, a detached retina, and a lack of desire to continue fighting. But three years later, Leonard found the urge to fight again and immediately challenged the man considered to be the best and most feared fighter at the time, perennial middleweight world champion Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Although the result was deemed controversial and is still heavily debated by sports pundits today, Leonard won the fight, and Hagler retired from the sport, vowing never to fight again.

The late George Foreman, who passed away last month at the age of 76, was another famous case. Following a born-again experience, Foreman retired from boxing in 1977 to become an ordained Christian minister. Ten years later, he announced his return to the sport, and like Landeskog, very few gave him a chance that he’d ever return to the top. It took an additional eight years, but Foreman, at the age of 45, knocked out then-titleholder Michael Moorer, who was 19 years his junior, in the 10th round to become a two-time heavyweight champion.

However, the world has undergone significant changes since the 1970s. The past decade and a half has also seen some portentous changes. Heck, robots are taking over the world. But what Landeskog has been through is of larger significance in today’s landscape. Again, we’re not diminishing anyone else. We’re simply speaking the facts.

The proliferation of technology and the internet is considered one of the greatest inventions in history, yet simultaneously one of the most problematic. Social media is an excellent source of information and disinformation, but it has also been weaponized by specific individuals to attack others they would otherwise not confront in person.

“Landeskog [is] ****** irrelevant out there shoulda stayed on [injured reserve],” said one X user. They ended up deleting their tweet for the record, as many have once been forced to face the music.

This journey has pushed Landeskog over the edge at points. His documentary, titled “A Clean Sheet,” available on MAX, provides an in-depth examination of what the 2011 2nd overall pick has absorbed since the operation on his knee. “I’m tired of wearing a suit on game days,” Landeskog tearfully said as he had to take a moment to gather himself. That’s a few seconds. The excruciating pain and suffering started in 2020 and culminated with cartilage transplant surgery in 2023. Then, you add in another two years. A few seconds doesn’t even nip the surface. Try 94.6 million seconds. That’s three years’ worth. The internal battle is the pain, the loss of time, and the emptiness that comes with being unable to live life the way you want. Not being able to show your beautiful children what you’re truly capable of. The external battle refers to outside forces, i.e., cowards, the opprobrium of the populace who have nothing to do in life but act like complete dullards on the internet.

“Retire.”

“You’re washed up.”

“You’re a waste of a roster spot.”

In the meantime, Landeskog maintained his incredible resoluteness. He continued to practice and hone his craft. You knew this was coming if you witnessed his practices with the Avalanche and his two-game stint with the Eagles leading up to Saturday’s historic moment. It honestly looked as if he hadn’t lost a step.

That’s Gabriel Landeskog for you, folks, a true once-in-a-generation warrior. Treasure this man as he continues to play this game that we are so blessed to be a part of. And yes, the battle is far from over. We still have a Stanley Cup to win, and Landeskog is leading us back into the fight.

Find a way.