Landeskog, selected No. 2 overall by Colorado in the 2011 NHL Draft, scored 571 points (248 goals, 323 assists) in 738 regular-season games and scored at least 25 goals four times, including 30 in 51 games when he last played in 2021-22. He also recorded 67 points (27 goals, 40 assists) in 69 playoff games.
His return could be a big help for the Avalanche, who begin the season without forward Valeri Nichushkin and possibly also without forward Artturi Lehkonen. Nichushkin is suspended until at least November after the 29-year-old was placed in Stage 3 of the NHL/NHL Players’ Association Player Assistance Program on May 13. Lehkonen is recovering from shoulder surgery this season.
Bednar said forward Logan O’Connor, who is recovering from hip surgery, should be ready to start the season, but called Lehkonen “a question mark.”
“It’s going to be interesting at the beginning of the year because we’re talking about three really good players who might not be able to start the season,” Bednar said. “But I think it’s an opportunity for some young players. We’ve got some players knocking on our door.”
The team discusses the offseason moves at the Avs. Nikolai Kovalenko (24), Jean-Luc Foudy (22), Oskar Olausson (21), Ivan Ivan (21) and Calum Ritchie (19) are among the young forwards who will be put to the test in training camp.
“We’ll try a lot of things in training camp,” Bednar said. “Often the roster is already set and you might be looking for one or two more players. We’re definitely looking for players who can help us at the beginning of the year.”
If the Avalanche can get through the start of the season with few players, they could be in a good position to integrate Landeskog, Nichushkin and Lehkonen within the first two months.
“You’re talking about two wingers on the front line and Lehkonen, of course, the same kind of thing,” Bednar said. “All of those players are going to be moved around in our top six depending on who we want them to play with, but three players that can make as much of an impact as those three players obviously changes the whole dynamic of our team.”
With an intact Avalanche core that includes Nathan MacKinnon, who won the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player last season, as well as forwards Mikko Rantanen and Lehkonen and defensemen Cale Makar, Devon Toews and Samuel Girard, Colorado is expected to be back in contention for the Cup. The return of Landeskog and Nichushkin would help that.
“It seems like forever since we won, and it’s only been two years,” Bednar said. … “We’re all hungry to get back on that court. It’s a challenge every year, but I hope some of these dominoes that we talk about with our players work, and I know we feel like we have a competitive team again.”
