(Denver) The Colorado Avalanche will attempt to defend their Stanley Cup title without captain Gabriel Landeskog.
The team announced Thursday that Landeskog will sit out the Spring Classic due to a knee injury that forced him to miss the entire regular schedule.
Landeskog underwent his second knee surgery of 2022 in October and was scheduled to be out for 12 weeks. However, he was unable to recover as quickly as hoped, preventing him from returning to play.
The 30-year-old Swede has spent the past decade as Avalanche captain, and he had 22 points in 20 playoff games last season en route to winning the Stanley Cup.
Landeskog still has six seasons to go on his eight-year, $56 million contract ratified in 2021.