Entering his third year in the league, the Avs have shown their confidence in their young captain Gabriel Landeskog when they signed him to a seven-year extension worth $39 million.
After being drafted second overall in the 2011 NHL Draft, Landeskog has proven his worth for this young, talented team. After scoring 22 goals in his rookie season, Landeskog still performed well in the lock-out shortened season, totaling 17 points for the ‘Lanche.
Landeskog, who played on the top line last year with the likes of Paul Stastny and David Jones, is now expected to continue being a cornerstone of this young core. With Duchene, Parenteau, O’Reilly, and now MacKinnon, Landeskog will need to make that big jump in his third year in the league if the Avalanche are going to make the postseason.
“Gabe is and will continue to be a large part of the foundation of this hockey team for many years to come,” said Avalanche Executive Vice President of Hockey Operations Joe Sakic.
The Avs got a real steal on Landeskog as well. He’s not due to make more than $6.5 million in any year of his extension. That’s quite a bargain for what the Avs are hoping to get out of Landy.
What’s interesting to note about this contract extension, is how the Avalanche are giving the vote of confidence to Landeskog in only his third season. Notably, something they did not give to Matt Duchene until just this off-season, where he’s now entering his fifth season with the Avs. The Avalanche only gave Duchene a two-year extension after his rookie contract following his injury-plagued 2012 campaign.
But regardless, the Avs now have the majority of their young and talented core locked up for years to come in Duchene and Landeskog. Next up for a big extension, Ryan O’Reilly. Notably, the Avs cannot trade O’Reilly in 2013-14 when they agreed to match Calgary’s offer sheet earlier this year. So either extend O’Reilly, or lose him in the next off-season.
Quotes in this story are courtesy of ColoradoAvalanche.com.
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Anthony Rodriguez
Anthony is the Founder, Administrator, Editor and Publisher of Lightning Rod Sports. Originally from California, Anthony has been raised in the Rocky Mountains and Denver area for most of his life. Anthony works with the Emmy-winning student-run T.V. newscast at MSU Denver, The Met Report, as the Assistant General Manager, formerly the Sports Producer, as well as Lead Anchor and Production Assistant. He is currently the Play-by-Play Announcer, Color Commentator, and Production Assistant for the Metro State Broadcast Network, and calls games for Metro State soccer, basketball, volleyball, baseball, and softball as a “Voice of the Roadrunners.” In addition to that work with the Metro State Broadcast Network, Anthony also hosts the monthly 30-minute magazine show called "The Roadrunner Review" which airs on Altitude Sports and Entertainment. He hosts the bi-weekly "KMet Sports Show" on KMET Radio at MyMetMedia.com/KMETSportsShow. He is also the Founder, Administrator, Editor, and Columnist for his own Denver Sports website, LightningRodSports.com. Anthony is also part of the Social Media team at Examiner.com, and has worked with the Altitude Radio Network for the Avalanche and Nuggets. Anthony is a former Producer for Mile High Sports Radio, as well as a former Sports-Talk show host on the LightningRod Radio Network.