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Sundays at the Rinks: Gabe Landeskog working his way back for the Avs as trade deadline frenzy sweeps through the Eastern Conference

Jesse Montano Avatar
Jesse Montano
February 26, 2023

Jesse’s Observations

Gabe Landeskog

After literal months of hearing next to nothing regarding the status of Colorado Avalanche Captain Gabriel Landeskog, we were finally told to expect to see him on the ice for the first time since before Christmas.

Selfinshly, I was just happy to finally have something to say to the countless number of folks who have asked me  “what’s going on with Landy?” over the last several months. 

I had an expectation that his first skate would maybe be a let-down for some who were maybe hoping to see him to jump out there and start passing, shooting, and power skating with skills coach Shawn Allard like most guys would when they are ready to get back on the ice following an injury. 

I was assuming it would be a *slightly* harder skate than what I saw him doing back on December 8th.

That’s pretty much exactly what it was, and honestly I thought that was totally fine. That’s still a huge step in the rehab process. To now have a weekly schedule for being on the ice regularly, not to mention, just being back around the team and in the locker room again. Being back at the practice facility and in meetings. That was far more important than how he looked on the first day back. 

I left Family Sports Center, the Avs’ practice facility, thinking that we were probably looking more realistically at something like a 5-7 Week timeline more than we were a 3-4 Week timeline. Which would put him back right around the final week of the regular season. Again, I thought that was probably fine. 

Two days later, my opinion changed again. Landeskog looked NOTICEABLY better on Wednesday versus how he looked on Monday. In talking with just the very small cluster of assembled media, we all agreed that there was a significant step forward in his on-ice progress. 

Two days later he was back out there and again looked noticeably better, and now today (I’m writing this on Saturday February 25th at 1:35pm – the time is important because we’re talking trade deadline in a minute)  he was on the ice around the time that the team would normally have taken morning skate had they not played last night. 

We’ve still got nothing for a timeline, but if he keeps progressing at this rate, I honestly could see 3-4 weeks being a realistic timeline, IF everything goes well and there’s no setbacks. We’ll have to wait and see obviously, but either way, I think his presence alone is going to give this team a boost. 

Concussion Protocol

Alright, I’m not going to take a lot up your valuable time with a bunch of words for this one, but I am going to drop a video that I think is worth a watch. 

After Cale Makar was diagnosed with his second concussion in less than two weeks, question had to be raised about how he was treated and what the protocol that is in place to protect players looks like. 

In the first practice back home following Makar missing the homes game against Edmonton, Jared Bednar spoke with the media for nearly fifteen minutes in total, with basically the first half of it all being about what happened with Cale Makar.

I give Bednar credit, he was very clear and concise with he answers. Said what he meant, and meant what he said. This is a serious topic. The best defenseman in the NHL got two head injuries within 11 days. Aren’t the protocols there to prevent this? 

According to Bednar the protocols are there, and are helping, but its’s impossible for it to be perfect. Cale Makar passed every test he needed to for a week before getting back to game action, and the second he felt any signs of symptoms they pulled him out right away. 

Again, I encourage you to watch the full video. A lot of interesting details.

So what do you do, right? Would it have made a difference for him to not go back into the game against St. Louis? Or is that just something that the teams, league, and concussion spotters need to be better about?

In general, I tend to side with Bednar in this instance, now with this information. What else are you supposed to do? You followed the protocol to a tee, you listened to the player. The only thing I think you could point and and truly say you would have liked to see them do differently was Makar returning to those games. Given the time remaining in both instances, just let him call it a night and be a little extra cautious. Other than that though, it’s hard for me to point fingers at all in terms of him returning to the lineup.

I said I wasn’t going to write a lot in this section, but here we are. 

One last little side story here. Some of my colleagues talked to Bowen Byram in the locker room that same day and asked about his concussion recovery. Among many things he said, one that stuck out to everyone was about how when he was coming back from his last concussion last season, he waited an additional 20 days from the day that he said he first felt ready to to be back. 

So, he felt ready to play and was cleared, and then waited three more weeks just to be extra sure. Of course there is a massive difference between Bryam’s situation last year and what Makar is currently dealing with, but it’s really just an extra note that says two things.

One, all head injuries are different, and that’s what makes them so hard to deal with. 

And two, there’s nothing wrong with being a little extra careful when we’re talking about your brain. 

Trade Market Shrinking Rapidly

My goodness, I’m legitimately worried about even writing this section. I can’t imagine things don’t change drastically… if not by the time theses published, at least by the next day. So my apologies in advance if you’re reading this 18 hours after it comes out and every team has traded 50% of their roster and I don’t mention a single deal.

I keep looking around waiting to see Vin Diesel show up because the trades are coming in fast and furious around the NHL as the Eastern Conference has apparently decided to arm itself to the teeth, while Western Conference teams appear to be satisfied letting the East kill itself from the inside. After all, only ONE team from the East can make it to Final and boy oh boy are they going to be beat up bad. 

After I wrote that, the Winnipeg Jets made a move to acquire Nino Niederreiter from the Nashville Predators. That’s a nice piece to add and really the first relatively big addition we’ve seen made by a team in the Western Conference so far.

In all seriousness I can’t believe what we’re seeing out East. Toronto, Boston, the Islanders, and the Rangers (more here in a second) are all in an arms race ahead of the March 3rd deadline, and it is shaping up to be an incredibly fun playoff out East. 

Members of the Toronto Maple Leafs’ front office are fighting for their jobs this season. A borderline unbelievable recent string of Round 1 Playoff failures has the organization desperately looking for answers on how to make things work in the post season, despite already being home to some of the best players in the NHL.

Well, GM Kyle Dubas isn’t leaving anything on the table. I’ve said it on the podcast this past week, but I think this is the best trade he has made since becoming GM in Toronto. For the first time it feels like they’ve truly got a dynamic look to their forward core.

Something the Avalanche front office has made a specific point of doing over the last number of seasons is giving themselves a variety of different types of players. Even going back to last season, they swapped Tyson Jost for Nico Sturm at the deadline. It wasn’t because Sturm was a decidedly better player than Jost, but he was a break from that old of player that the Avs felt they maybe had too many of in their bottom six. 

I’ve always thought that was Toronto’s problem up front in the playoffs, and they’ve addressed that. I think they’re scary. Too bad they are going to get Tampa Bay in the first round again. 

Boston with a nice piece of business bringing in Dimitri Orlov and Garnett Hathaway. These are the type of tweaks experienced teams make this time of year. Good value for a forward and a defenseman that will have an impact in your lineup. 

The Islanders bringing in Bo Horvat and re-signing him isn’t new news, but with them sitting a little more solidly in a playoff spot for now, I just think that acquisition looks a lot better and is going to make them a pretty tough Round 1 out should they finish in a Wild Card spot.

I really did think the Avs were going to try and take a nice swing here at the deadline for a big-name player.

Truthfully, I think that has always been the plan going back to last season. I believe that’s part of the reason why they were so adamant about holding on to their 2023 first rounder.

I think they really believed in the group they had last year with Kadri and Burakovsky in the top six, plus the emergence of Nichushkin. That’s why they added names from what most would consider to be that “second tier” of players that were available. 

Obviously pretty much every guy they added played a big role in winning the Stanley Cup, but you know what I’m saying. None of the players Colorado added at last year’s deadline were considered “big fish”. 

I think they knew they would be losing a couple key guys, and they knew they had one last deadline where Nathan MacKinnon has a comically low cap hit. This was the deadline to make the big move and really go for the back-to-back. 

Now though… I don’t think that move exists anymore. 

Vlad Tarasenko, Ryan O’Reilly, Johnathan Toews, Bo Horvat, Patrick Kane. All either traded or no longer available. Now add in the fact that Anaheim’s Adam Henrique is out with an injury and the reports are that her’s going to be “out a while”… who is left?

To me, all of this points to two guys up front, and couple options for the back end. 

Assuming we do eventually see Erik Johnson moved to LTIR, the money really shouldn’t be much of an issue. 

The Avs want to add to that middle-six up front. I believe they feel like they need a little more depth, and someone who can feel like a difference maker. In my opinion it should be down to Jesse Puljujärvi or Max Domi. 

Both are players who wouldn’t cost much to acquire, don’t cost much against the cap, could be difference makers in the middle or bottom-six, and both would have the potential to return next season, with Puljujärvi being an RFA and very likely to stay. 

Just given how the forward market has shaken out, those two make the most sense. Besides, it seems like Mikko Rantanen likes the idea of it. 

On D, which they will absolutely be looking to address, I really think you just go shopping through Anaheim’s closet and see what they’ve got and how much it costs. Dmitry Kulikov, Kevin Shattenkirk, or even John Klingberg would all be fine options now with Johnson out. It just depends on how much you want to pay. 

If they decide to go the Max Domi route, well that’s where they just do what we’ve been saying all season and just have Jack Johnson included in the package and make Chicago a one-stop-shop. 

I’ll finish with this… I did not expect this to be where the trade market was at still a 5 full days ahead of the deadline. 

Patrick Kane

Ok, I left the Rangers off the end of that because I wanted to expand on it here. 

You can assume where this is going given what is written in big bold letters right above this, but here we go. 

It sounds like this is all but done. Patrick Kane is going to get what he wanted and will likely be reunited with his friend Artemi Panarin in New York with the Rangers. 

I honestly can’t believe this. At the time of me writing this, the Rangers have moved Vitali Kravtsov to the Vancouver Canucks. With more moves on the way to clear enough space in order to be able to fit Patrick Kane’s cap hit.

Look, Patrick Kane is still a very good hockey player and absolutely makes the Rangers better. No doubt about it.

If you ask me though, part of what made acquiring a guy like Kane in this circumstance was the fact that he really wasn’t going to cost you much. Probably a 2nd Round pick and prospect. That’s crazy to think about if you consider what he probably would have gotten even just three years ago. 

The Rangers are all-in. I mean like ALL THE WAY, second-mortgage-on-your-house kind of all-in this year. Which I honestly think is funny given that they’re a team that stripped it down and rebuilt the “no shortcuts” kind of way, and now after one semi-flukey run to the Eastern Conference Final they’re ready to start betting heavy again. 

It could work. They’ve got the goaltending, a very good top pair, and now some really fire power up front. Let’s see how it all comes together. 

Avs acquire Keith Kinkaid

In hilarious fashion, the Avs made a trade while I was writing this. So I just decided to add a new section and keep going. 

The Shane Bowers era has officially ended in Colorado. So disappointing given how exciting of a piece he was in the Matt Duchene trade. I really liked him in his 1:49 of NHL action he got this season before ending up with a freak injury on an awkward fall. 

Veteran goaltender Keith Kinkaid comes back the other way and wow does this whole thing raise more questions than answers. This is another section I’m anticipating having to amend later tonight as new information becomes available. 

The immediate thought is, does this mean that Pavel Francouz’s injury is worse than expected? Is that why the Avs made this move now?

Truthfully, the answer is not necessarily. In fact I’d be surprised if that was the case. The Avs have made a habit of gearing up with a “third” goaltender of sorts this time of year. Someone that you don’t feel would be completely thrown to the wolves if he had to step in during an important game should you be a couple injuries deep. That’s honestly what this feels like more than anything else, and the biggest reason being is that they’re sending Kinked to Loveland to play with the Eagles to start. 

If they were truly concerned about the long-term availability of Francouz, I think they would have gone a level or two up on the goalie market… with no disrespect to Keith Kinkaid. It’s just that Kinkaid has primarily been an American League goaltender for the last couple of seasons, so I just don’t think that would be Colorado’s move in net if they needed a sure-fire backup into the playoffs. 

Again though, we’ll get more information a few hours and I’ll update this if needed, but for now I’m just going to assume this was Colorado’s front office getting another goalie in the mix organizationally so that both the Avs and Eagles have guys they are comfortable with heading down the stretch.

Meghan’s Observations

Alex Newhook’s Mural

At 22-years old, Alex Newhook can take pride in achieving a lifelong dream for many – becoming a Stanley Cup Champion. In his hometown of St. John’s Newfoundland, a mural of this crowning achievement can be seen by all who come to skate at DF Barnes Arena. The Arena is home to the Avalon and St. John’s Minor Hockey Association through which Newhook played in growing up.

Newhook spent his day with the cup in his hometown this past August when the mural was first teased. It’s a powerful reminder that could hope to inspire the youth of St. John’s to chase their dreams no matter what.

St. Louis in Shambles?

Last Thursday, the St. Louis Blues lost to the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 OT. After losing their captain Ryan O’Reilly to Toronto on the 17th and Vlad Tarasenko earlier this month, St. Louis sits at sixth in the Central with 57 points.

After the close loss in overtime, head coach Craig Berube had some harsh criticisms of his team. The Blues have lost five straight since the O’Reilly trade. Once a team with nine 20-goal scorers, St. Louis sits at 21st in the league in goals for/games played in the league, and with 23 games left, only one player has hit that mark.

Following Berube’s comments suggesting his team’s stars aren’t playing inspired hockey, alternate captain Robert Thomas came forward to express his disagreement.

“I’ve been a part of this team for a long time, and what he said couldn’t be further from the truth.”

It’s a tough look for the entirety of this St. Louis team which points to disarray in the locker room and behind the bench. No doubt, abruptly losing their captain in the O’Reilly trade is sure to shake up the dynamic. For an already troubled Blues team, the loss of Tarasenko and ROR forced a looming identity crisis.

Last years’ team demonstrated an aptitude to score. They have not quite figured out what the emerging, younger core forged around Jordan Kyrou and Robert Thomas is to become. Interestingly, St. Louis has become among the teams interested in the Timo Meier sweepstakes.

With newfound cap space and picks to leverage, it’s a possibility, and the addition of Meier makes any team’s forward group better. However, would a bona fide top line winger to a team without an identity make much sense?

Akin to someone moving on too quickly after a breakup before taking the time to do necessary healing, Meier to the Blues would be an ill-advised rebound and St. Louis seriously needs to do some self-reflection.

Schedule Ahead

The temperature-check for the Avs feels pretty good. They’re second in the Central on the heels of Dallas with two games in hand and just shy three points. After the rigorous schedule including three back-to-back’s, Colorado will put much of that behind them with a far more favorable March.

“Every team we play, they’re kind of in a battle for a playoff spot which is crazy,” said Nathan MacKinnon.

“They’re all waiting for us each time too, so it wasn’t like they were on a back to back as well. It’s been a weird schedule, the whole week off and another back-to-back. Hopefully (we’re) getting started on a rhythm more here, play more frequently every other day which is definitely preferable.”

With nine home games and seven away, the schedule is broken up into more reasonable stretches. The Avs will get a chance to improve their record at home (15-9-4, 16th in the league) with two homestands of 1four and three games a piece.

The caliber of competition is varied with Anaheim, Montreal, San Jose, and Ottawa on deck as well as Dallas, New Jersey, and Toronto.

Since the All-Star break, the Avs have had the third best record in the league at 6-1-2. Of their recent back-to-back’s, the Avs secured 11 of 12 points even in spite of the tough home and away travel involved.

“It’s the ramped up commitment from our team,” Jared Bednar explained. “They know it’s an important stretch of games. I really liked this weekend especially because we got a little rest. We got two practice days (and) a couple days of rest. We were able to sit down and do a little video with individuals with the team. The team was fantastic this week: two really good, solid, complete games on both sides of the puck.”

“That’s what the league requires in order to win at this time of the year,” Bednar added. “It’s that commitment, that effort, the buy-in that you need to win at this point. Games are getting important and our team’s digging in.”

11-7: Good for now, but hopefully not for long

Six of Colorado’s nine games in February (so far) ran with eleven forwards and seven defenseman by my count. They’re 4-1-1 through those games, but it’s definitely tested their forward group – especially Nathan MacKinnon who has spot-shifted the most.

He led the forwards in ice time through this stretch with an average 23:19 TOI. Not so quietly, he’s also produced a team-leading 16 points in these last nine games with eight goals and eight assists.

“Physically, I think we all feel good,” said MacKinnon. “It’d be nice for us to get some guys back though. I don’t know when, but eventually it’ll be good. We’re definitely playing a lot with eleven forwards. We could use the twelve.”

Even though their play has supported them in this structure, the workload hasn’t been properly balanced. Kurtis MacDermid, among the seven defensemen, has not been able to average the double-digit mark with an average 9:01 TOI through this period of recent games.

It puts added pressure on the top pairing who have led the team in ice time, but it also leaves a hole on the fourth line. Without an assigned center, Matt Nieto and Denis Malgin have also played low minutes though their impact has certainly been a welcome boost (five goals in nine games combined this February).

Cale Makar has not been ruled out as an option for Monday’s home game against Vegas. He is progressing through concussion protocol. Whenever he is cleared to return, his presence will help to restore much needed balance that can hopefully bring about some relief to a team that is managing to do very well for themselves regardless.

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