Landeskog healthy, ‘grateful for the opportunity’ with Team Sweden at Olympics

MILAN -- Gabriel Landeskog already has an Olympic medal in men’s hockey.

He won it playing for Team Sweden in 2014 in Sochi, the previous time NHL players participated before the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026.

The forward was 21 at the time, in the middle of his third NHL season with the Colorado Avalanche.

Landeskog has that medal at home with some of his other hockey memorabilia. In fact, a few months ago friends were visiting and while looking at some of his other hockey trophies, they found it.

“One of them pulled out the medal and was looking at it, and my daughter comes up to him and says, ‘What's that? What's that?’ Landeskog said at the Sweden National Team headquarters on Monday. “She had never seen it, because it's not something I pull out to brag about. But if it was a different color, I'd probably show her.”

The color of that medal is silver, not gold. It was given to him after Sweden lost 3-0 to Canada in the gold medal game in 2014. The color and what it represents is why it’s not proudly displayed in his home.

Twelve years later, it’s still a sore point for Landeskog.

Hours before puck drop, Sweden forward Nicklas Backstrom was ruled ineligible after he tested positive for an elevated level of pseudoephedrine. Months later, the International Olympic Committee determined it was because of allergy medication and he was reinstated.

But it was too late.

“(Winning gold was) not something we were able to do, and the gold medal game felt … obviously, we were dealing with some outside circumstances that were pretty unfortunate right before the gold medal game,” said Landeskog, now 33. “But at the end of the day, you look back at it as a great experience and as a fun couple of weeks, but you're left wanting more when you leave with a silver medal.”

He's had to wait a long time to get another chance with these Olympics being the first involving NHL players in 12 years.

“I remember in 2014 I thought we were going to get to do this in 2018 and then 2022, but you realize those opportunities don't come around very often,” Landeskog said. “And now here in 2026, I feel very fortunate to get this opportunity again.

“It's going to be a great couple of weeks. And we're, we're excited for the opportunity here.”

It wasn’t always a given Landeskog would be able to play in the Olympics again, or the NHL for that matter. He missed three full regular seasons from 2022 to 2025 for the Avalanche due to problems with his right knee, going through surgeries, including a cartilage transplant on May 10, 2023, and several setbacks. Part of that absence included missing 4 Nations Face-Off one year ago.

And then on Jan. 4 of this year, he sustained an upper-body injury and hasn’t played since, but he’s ready to go for Sweden, which opens the tournament against host Italy on Wednesday (3:10 p.m. ET; Peacock, USA, CBC Gem, SN, TSN, CBC).

“It's a part of my story now,” Landeskog said. “I’ve been open and honest about some of the struggles along the way, and there were definitely days where I thought I wouldn't be standing here, and there were days where I thought I'd have to retire and find something else to do for the rest of my life. But it's something I'm always going to have as part of me and the challenges that I faced and whatnot.

“But I think I just come out on the other side feeling very grateful for the opportunity to play a sport again and do what I love doing and competing against the best in the world, and here's another great example of that being at stake.”

It’s also given him a new outlook on life and hockey.

“Losses and tough stretches in hockey, a tough overtime loss, now I’m talking about NHL regular season, but they don’t feel quite as stressful as not knowing if you're ever going to play hockey again.” Landeskog said. “It puts things in perspective for me. I've been able to spend great quality time with my two young now, three, growing kids. So, there's a silver lining in that as well.

“So, just appreciate the little things a lot more. And I think before my knee struggles, it was, it was easy to get wrapped up into kind of the small things.”

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Erik Karlsson, who also played for Sweden in the 2014 Olympics, said having Landeskog back is a massive boost.

“He's a fantastic person and a fantastic player,” Karlsson said. “He's something on our team that we've been missing for a while. Being able to have him here, and for him to be able to be here and being able to participate and play up to the standards that he knows, that he feels comfortable with and happy with, is obviously huge.

“And like I said, he's someone that's been around for a long time and he's that type of player and personality that, you know we on Team Sweden, appreciate and need.”

It’s a big reason Landeskog was named Team Sweden captain on Sunday.

“There’s been a lot of talks between me and my players and me and my staff,” Sweden coach Sam Hallam said. “It came down to the (symbolism) and his journey coming into this season overall, being ready.

“I just know how every player on our team for this tournament respects him, who he is and what’s he’s done. So, it came down to the feeling that he’s the natural leader for our team.”

He's been that for the Avalanche, too, serving as captain since Sept. 4, 2012. At the time, he became the youngest captain in NHL history (19 years, 286 days), 11 days younger than Sidney Crosby when he became Penguins captain in 2007. Connor McDavid passed Landeskog on Oct. 5, 2016, when he was named captain of the Edmonton Oilers at 19 years, 266 days.

Selected by Colorado with the No. 2 pick in the 2011 NHL Draft, Landeskog had 593 points (255 goals, 338 assists) in 779 games. He won the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year in 2011-12 and the Stanley Cup in 2022.

Now he’s in Milan hoping to add another award he can proudly display for his family and friends.

“My wife said, ‘If you're going to go (to the Olympics), you might as well come home with a gold,’” he said.