Gabriel Landeskog’s return gave the Avalanche something they had been missing for a long time, but the bigger question now is whether Colorado can count on him to stay on the ice.
Landeskog finally resurfaced in the 2024-25 postseason after a severe knee injury wiped out three full seasons, a stretch that was as brutal as it was difficult to watch. Even with that comeback in the books, his regular season return still came with plenty of interruptions. He missed 22 games because of various injuries, and one of them was serious enough to require surgery.
That matters in Colorado for more than just the obvious reason that Landeskog can still play. He is the captain, the tone-setter, the player who gives the Avalanche more than net-front work and physical presence.
When he has been out, the team has felt it. Following the 2021-22 Stanley Cup win, Colorado went through seasons where things never quite looked right without him.
Now the pressure on his health is even sharper because the Avalanche are also dealing with the departure of Valeri Nichushkin to the Columbus Blue Jackets. That leaves another hole in the mix, and Landeskog is expected to absorb a lot of top-line responsibility as Colorado sorts out what comes next without Nichushkin.
It also puts more weight on the rest of the offense. The Avalanche cannot expect Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar to carry everything by themselves.
Depth has to matter, and someone has to help replace what Nichushkin brought. Moving Landeskog into that kind of role may cut against the usual idea of depth, but the reality is simple: the Avs need production from somewhere.
What stood out in Landeskog’s return was how physical he looked. After everything he went through, he still played with a fearless edge and kept attacking the puck. That part of his game was hard to miss.
Colorado also has another issue to clean up: the power play. Last season, it was a mess, sitting near the bottom of the league in success rate for most of the year.
That has to change. If the Avalanche are sticking with Dave Hakstol, then Hakstol and his power-play groups need to be much sharper and far more effective.
Changing the approach altogether may be part of the answer.
In Other News...
Former Avalanche First Round Pick Is Suddenly Back In Focus
Justin Barron is getting another runway in Nashville, and for Avalanche followers, his name is back in the conversation for familiar reasons. The Predators re-signed the defenseman to a one-year, $1.575 million contract, keeping alive his chance to carve out a steadier role on the blue line after he was acquired from Montreal and worked his way into 52 games last season.
Barron has now logged 208 NHL games across three teams without a Stanley Cup Playoff appearance, a reminder of how much his career has already moved since Colorado first brought him into the league. His path also keeps circling back to the Avalanches own history, because the move that sent him out of Denver remains tied to one of the defining trades of that era, and the kind of deal that still gets revisited whenever his name pops up again. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Avoid One Offseason Threat That Has Fans On Edge
For a team that has spent plenty of time managing the margins of its roster, the Avalanche at least get a quiet offseason break on one front. There does not appear to be anyone on Colorados current roster who profiles as an offer-sheet target this summer, which removes one of the more annoying forms of cap-related anxiety for a front office trying to keep its core intact.
The longer view is still worth watching, though, because the clubs next real restricted-free-agent questions are not immediate. Two forwards are under contract for the next two seasons before reaching that stage, and both are on modest deals with roles that make them unlikely to draw the kind of outside attention that forces draft-pick compensation drama. Colorado already saw one notable piece of business play out when Jack Drury was moved to Nashville and later landed a five-year extension there, so the Avalanche know how quickly these situations can change. [Read more 🡒]
Avalanche Offseason Overhaul Left One Huge Cup Question Unanswered
Colorado spent the offseason reshaping its forward group in a way that says as much about the organizations priorities as it does about the roster itself. The Avalanche moved on from several familiar pieces, brought in veteran winger Jaden Schwartz, and tried to strike a balance between adding experience and getting a little younger around the edges.
What still hangs over all of it is whether those changes actually address the biggest issue facing this group next spring. The projected bottom six should look harder to play against, but the real test is whether the new mix gives Colorado enough depth and bite to hold up when the games tighten and the pressure rises. [Read more 🡒]