The Colorado Avalanche are undergoing a rebuild. But they shouldn’t trade captain Gabriel Landeskog.
The Colorado Avalanche traded Matt Duchene to the Ottawa Senators as part of a three-way deal early this season. He was long known to be unhappy in Colorado, and so the trade made sense. But it brought up a conversation – are the Avalanche selling more pieces?
If so, the next logical domino to fall would be Gabriel Landeskog. He’s the captain of the team, has 27 points this season, and plays a great style of hockey that will continue to generate production, including both on the power play and shorthanded.
It’s understandable why the Avalanche would trade him – it would bring back a fantastic return. But as part of the unpopular opinion series, here’s why the Colorado Avalanche benefit more from keeping Landeskog than trading him.
How Landeskog Benefits the Avalanche
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The captain forms an incredibly dangerous duo with Nathan MacKinnon. With Mikko Rantanen, their most common third linemate, the trio possesses 51 percent of all shot attempts at even strength, a 52 percent shot share, 65 percent goal share, and 63.64 percent of the high-danger chances. The Avalanche netminders perform admirably with this line on the ice, including a .930 save percentage. This might not be sustainable, but they’re scoring at an impressive rate.
Moreover, the Landeskog/MacKinnon duo has also played without Rantanen, albeit a tenth of the minutes. They continue to be incredibly productive, and hold the puck even better, with 55.17 percent of the even-strength shot attempts.
The duo owns 56 percent of the shot share and has not been scored against through 25 minutes. Landeskog helps to make MacKinnon better. Better than even Rantanen does. For that reason, Landeskog is the most important wing on the Colorado Avalanche roster.
He starts more than half of his shifts in the defensive zone, helps keep the net clear (.922 on-ice save percentage) and plays 20 minutes a game. Landeskog has more takeaways than giveaways, so his turnover ratio is excellent. His ability to be more selective with his hits this season helps wear down the opponent at crucial times. Landeskog also makes sure he stays in the play after a hit.
Landeskog is ninth on the team with 65:46 worth of penalty kill minutes. He’s able to help limit high-danger chances while doing so, with only two chances over those nearly 66 minutes.
Plus, Landeskog has played the fourth most minutes on the power play. He’s useful everywhere, and even as the Avalanche attempt to speed through a rebuild, he’s useful. Especially at 25 with three more years on his contract.
What the Potential Return Would Be
If the Colorado Avalanche make the ill-advised move of trading Landeskog, they will do it for an excellent return. Landeskog is barely 25 with three years past this one left at 5.5 million. For how much damage he does against the opponent when he’s on the ice, that’s a piece everyone should want.
Landeskog is a player who would fit in every top-six and be able to make his line better. Plus, he brings leadership as well. There’s a lot to like about him. With no clause affecting movement in his contract, everybody has a chance to get him if the Colorado Avalanche sell. So the Avalanche can get the highest bidder.
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The return package for a player like Landeskog with as much time as the team will get him for at the price point is a first round pick, a top-tier prospect, a second round pick, and maybe another prospect. Slightly less than what Matt Duchene brought back. But Landeskog will likely translate better to another team, so he might end up bringing back a very similar return.