It will be a spectacle rarely, if ever, seen before in the AHL.

Gabriel Landeskog has joined the Colorado Eagles on a conditioning assignment and will dress when they host the visiting Henderson Silver Knights tonight (9:00 ET) in a special FloHockey broadcast. FloHockey, the AHL, and the Eagles have teamed up to bring the game to fans free.

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To be sure, there have been several high-profile assignments to AHL teams in the past. Alex Mogilny went to Albany in the final season of his dynamic career. Wade Redden spent two seasons in Hartford, playing 119 regular-season games and pulling down $6.5 million per season. Hockey Hall of Fame member Chris Chelios plugged away with the Chicago Wolves at 48 years old. Scott Gomez, Dany Heatley, Andrew Ladd, Cory Schneider, and Sheldon Souray spent the remaining years of their playing careers in the AHL working to get back to the NHL. Jonathan Cheechoo and Alexandre Daigle found themselves in the AHL after their careers had stalled. Rick DiPietro’s injury problems led to AHL stints as he tried to regain his earlier form and health. Like Chelios, there have been players like Mike Keane, Matt Moulson, and Rick Vaive who simply had the AHL as a place to keep playing the game.

There have been the odd conditioning stints here and there. Carey Price and Brendan Gallagher had quick appearances with the Laval Rocket, but those came during the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign inside the empty Bell Centre.

But Landeskog? A player who has been through nearly three years of surgery and extensive rehabilitation? An NHL captain whose last competitive appearance came 1,020 nights ago, the night that he lifted the Stanley Cup? That night with the Colorado Avalanche – June 26, 2022 in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals facing the Tampa Bay Lightning – marked the peak of Landeskog’s standout career.

Tonight figures to be something much different for Landeskog, the Eagles, and the AHL.

Now a 32-year-old forward, he had come to the Avalanche as the second pick of the 2011 NHL Draft, stuck with the team as an 18-year-old out of training camp, and quickly became a franchise fixture after winning the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s top rookie of the 2011-12 season. He had been with the Avs for their slow decline early in his career, the glory days of their Stanley Cup dynasty having long since passed. Colorado qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs just once in his first six pro seasons. He went through a 22-56-4 disaster of a 2016-17 season. Then came a 47-point improvement the following year. Teammate Nathan MacKinnon went from a good, young player to a superstar. Other pieces came into place. Cale Makar and Devon Toews arrived, and soon the Avalanche had added another Stanley Cup to their collection, their first in 21 years.

But after that peak on that night in Tampa came countless setbacks. He had already been through knee surgery three months before that championship night. His injury trouble had started back in the summer of 2020 when he sustained a laceration above his right knee. No 2022-23 season. Then came right-knee cartilage transplant surgery in May 2023. No 2023-24 season, either. 

And no 2024-25 season.

Until now.

For the Eagles, this move further cements their status as a mainstay in the Northern Colorado sports landscape. In business since 2003 and an AHL affiliate of the Avalanche since 2018, the team has been among the top success stories in the league’s westward move across the past decade. Eagles tickets are always difficult to find. The team has a 110-game sellout streak. Tonight? Good luck finding a spare ticket or two.

For the AHL, tonight is a chance to showcase its product even beyond Landeskog’s stardom. Henderson will feature 2024 first-round pick Trevor Connelly and rising goaltending prospect Carl Lindstrom. Eagles fans are quite familiar with the team’s success, but tonight’s game has key implications for the team. Three points ahead of the surging Abbotsford Canucks for the Western Conference lead, the Eagles could further position themselves to claim that title with the Calder Cup Playoffs approaching in a little more than 10 days.

And for Landeskog, tonight is the critical next step in a well-documented and trying comeback from a serious injury and a rare surgical procedure for a pro athlete. Should all go well, should Landeskog wake up Saturday morning and not feel a lot of discomfort, that would mark still one more significant move ahead in his comeback. Maybe it means another game with the Eagles on Saturday night when they match up with Henderson again. Or maybe it’s back to the Avalanche immediately as they ready themselves for what could be a long trip through the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

No matter what, the hockey world’s eyes tonight will be on Landeskog, the Colorado Eagles, and the AHL.

How To Watch AHL Free Stream On YouTube

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on YouTube. The home team's broadcast will be shared as a free stream on FloHockey's YouTube page. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop. Check FloHockey and AHL social channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

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How To Watch AHL Free Stream On X

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on X (formerly known as Twitter). The home team's broadcast will be shared as a free stream on FloHockey's Twitter page. The free broadcast will begin shortly before puck drop, posted on FloHockey's X feed. Check FloHockey and AHL social channels to see which game will be streaming each week.

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How To Watch AHL Free Stream On Facebook

On Saturdays throughout the season, the AHL and FloHockey will present a free Game of the Week on Facebook. You can access the game multiple ways on the Facebook. FloHockey will stream both home and road (if available) broadcasts on its Facebook page. The game can also be found live on the AHL's Facebook page.

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The AHL is streaming on FloHockey and the FloSports app. Live games, replays, highlights and breaking news will be on both platforms. 

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