How much did the Avalanche lose without Landeskog these past three years?

Gabriel Landeskog made his remarkable return to the Colorado Avalanche in the first postseason series in late-April. That was his first NHL action since he hoisted the Stanley Cup after their series win against the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2021-22.

Landeskog’s troubles began when the skate of Cale Makar grazed his knee, causing a cut. The injury developed into a cartilage issue, and he had to have cartilage replacement surgery in May of 2023. Little did anyone know, but Landeskog would miss several years because of ongoing issues with the knee.

The Avalanche faced some difficult times as time went on without their captain. They lost in the first round of the 2022-23 postseason 4-3 to the Seattle Kraken, and then 4-2 in the second round to the Dallas Stars the year after. This time around, with Landeskog, they fell short again, 4-3 to the Stars. That was quite a tough pill to swallow for a number of reasons—one being that many felt the Avalanche were the better team. Another being the Stars’ addition of Mikko Rantanen. Colorado could have won a lot more games had Landeskog not gotten hurt. Heck, maybe they could have even gone back-to-back.

Results likely would have been different for the Colorado Avalanche had Gabriel Landeskog not gotten hurt.

Landeskog has proven that he is a huge part of the team’s success. Starting out, Landeskog won the Calder trophy in 2011-12 as the league’s top rookie. He scored 22 goals and 30 assists, while playing in all 82 games that season and averaging 18:37 of ice time per game.

In his most recent full season, Landeskog had 30 goals and 29 assists (51 points). Oh, and he played in only 51 games. It really blew my mind how many games Landeskog had missed in his career, not even counting the years away due to his kne injury. He played in all 82 games twice in his career, missed one game in 2013-14, but then the results went south, as in 2012-13, he played in 36 games. In his most recent last three seasons, Landeskog played in 54, 54, and 51 games. That’s 159 games out of a possible 246.

Landeskog’s presence isn’t only felt on the ice, but as the team’s captain since his second year, he was chosen to be that voice that teams need both when things are at their greatest heights, but most importantly when things seem to be going on a downward spiral. He was the youngest player to be named captain of his team, but that label was since removed when the Edmonton Oilers named Connor McDavid their captain.

The team struggled at certain points several times in Landeskog’s absence. Most notably for me was in the 2022-23 season, where they had two stretches of tough losses: four-straight losses out East, to the Bruins (twice), Flyers, and Rangers (December 3 — December 9, 2022) and then a five-game losing streak to the Arizona Coyotes, Los Angeles Kings, Toronto Maple Leafs, Vegas Golden Knights, and Vancouver Canucks (December 27 — January 5, 2023).

Though Landeskog did question what he would even have to say as their leader during the times he couldn’t be around, I’m sure that even just his presence around the team would have been significant. I understand the difference between him being on the ice and being in the locker room, though. Unfortunately, he couldn’t even be on the bench during the games that he actually attended.

The Colorado Avalanche were on a tear during their Stanley Cup-winning season, but even before that season, they won the President’s Trophy for most wins in a season by a team. That was 2020-21, the year before their Cup win. Landeskog had 52 points in 54 games that year, an amazing pace.

I truly believe that the Avalanche could have won at least one more Stanley Cup following the 2021-22 season if Landeskog didn’t get hurt. His presence on and off the field was visible, as the team tried to find its identity but failed at times. Here’s hoping that their captain’s struggles are behind him going forward, and that they can find their way back to the Stanley Cup Final and perhaps pull off another win.