As Gabe Landeskog was leaving the locker room Monday after practice, the Colorado Avalanche captain said he is playing Wednesday night in Toronto.

He’s not, obviously. He was just having some fun with the assembled media and equipment staff.

But, that Landeskog was even in the locker room at Family Sports Center is notable. He participated in parts of practice, sitting out the 5-on-5 portion and any drill involving contact.

It was the first time this season he’s been a non-contact participant in a team practice. He was on the ice with the team for longer than he has been at any point since the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

And he was in good spirits.

“Well, he’s looking good,” Avs coach Jared Bednar said. “I thought he looked great in practice today. Obviously, just like sort of the flow-and-go, non-contact stuff. Certainly nice to have him out there. He’s making strides.

“Obviously, this rehab is not linear. There’s lots of peaks and valleys in it, and sometimes it’s two steps forward and one step back. But he’s still making progress and obviously feeling comfortable enough to come out and join the team with certain drills.”

Landeskog has not played since lifting the Stanley Cup in 2022. He had knee cartilage replacement surgery in May 2023, and is attempting to be the first NHL player to come back and play after the procedure.

There have been several setbacks since the surgery, the first of which was a torn patella tendon in December 2023. Landeskog revealed that injury Sunday during the second episode of a docuseries, “A Clean Sheet,” that focuses on his grueling recovery process.

The original timeline for that recovery was 12-16 months, but it passed the 21-month mark a week ago. When the team plays Saturday in Montreal, it will be 1,000 days since Landeskog last suited up for the club.

“It’s really hard to say (on a return), but things are going great and it’s certainly nice to have him back on the ice with our team,” Bednar said. “Just the energy and sort of attitude that he brings to the ice, I think helps everybody.”

Avs general manager Chris MacFarland all but ruled out Landeskog for the rest of the regular season a few days before the trade deadline, then made trades that would make it nearly impossible to activate him because the club is so close to the salary cap ceiling.

Landeskog said he is still hopeful to return during the 2025 playoffs, just as he was trying to return at the end of last season.

Bednar said he and Josh Manson, who is out with a lower-body injury, are going to travel with the team this week to Eastern Canada. Landeskog has traveled with the team on some of the road trips this season, but he hasn’t been a full participant in a practice or morning skate in a visiting arena.

“We’re going to start traveling here with (everybody),” Bednar said. “We don’t have many road trips left, so we’ll bring everybody that’s able to skate or do anything.”

Bednar said Manson, who left the game in Calgary with an upper-body injury and didn’t play Sunday against Dallas, should have a firmer timeline in a couple of days.

“He’s getting looked at today,” Bednar said. “He’s been looked at already. He’s getting other opinions and looking at trying to figure out what the rehab process is like. I don’t have a timeline, but again, it’s not day-to-day.”