{"id":202286,"date":"2025-09-05T12:27:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:27:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202286\/"},"modified":"2025-09-05T12:27:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-05T12:27:12","slug":"3-questions-facing-avalanche-gabe-landeskog-goaltending-and-arrival-of-brent-burns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/202286\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Questions Facing Avalanche: Gabe Landeskog, Goaltending, and Arrival of Brent Burns"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019ve spent the last few days jumping around different kinds of season preview articles. I covered Jack Drury<\/a> and Mackenzie Blackwood<\/a> so far this week and will have more coming soon.<\/p>\n

But I came across a fun segment on the Puck Soup Podcast (I\u2019m a longtime fan of their work), and it quickly turned into a story idea.<\/p>\n

The guys on the show were answering three questions for each team, written by staff writers at NHL.com. When they got to the Avs, I found myself answering the questions and pausing the show to collect my thoughts for each one. Then I thought, hey, why not write them down and share on CHN? It\u2019ll likely spark some fun discussions.<\/p>\n

So here we are. The hockey bettors have been cautious about making the Avalanche one of the favorites, keeping them on the second tier. Based on the questions we get, Avs fans are cautious, too, but can use the Bet99 promo code<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I do want to credit NHL.com for the idea. I found the article and will link it here<\/a>. I took the three questions from the story, but I didn\u2019t read the responses from the writer. I\u2019d like to share my own thoughts without being compromised by their opinion on the matter.<\/p>\n

Enjoy.<\/p>\n

1. Is Gabriel Landeskog all the way back?<\/strong><\/p>\n

If we\u2019re asking if Gabe Landeskog is back to being the guy that, in 2021-22, scored 30 goals and 59 points in just 51 games and was the best version of No. 92 that we\u2019ve ever seen? Then no, he\u2019s not back. And that\u2019s fine.<\/p>\n

With regard to his health, I do believe he\u2019s all the way back.<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve always been more positive about his return. I\u2019m not going to pretend I knew it would happen, but I always felt that if he made his way back, he\u2019d look like his old self and would probably have an idea of how to work through the knee issues.<\/p>\n

The five-game playoff stint wasn\u2019t a big sample size, but it was enough to make me feel like, physically, he\u2019s back. And this theory is proving (so far) to be true.<\/p>\n

But I can\u2019t shake the fact that he\u2019s going to be 33 in two months. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s \u201call the way back\u201d because that would mean he\u2019s back to being at the top of his game, at the peak of his prime. I often wonder if we were robbed of a 100-point Landeskog season in 2022-23 or 2023-24 when Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen were setting team records for goals, assists, and points. But that\u2019s in the past. And we\u2019ll unfortunately never know.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think the Avalanche are penciling in Landeskog to be the guy he was four seasons ago. But I also still think he can score 30 goals and give you at or near 60 points in a full season.<\/p>\n

Like I said, I\u2019m generally pretty optimistic about Landeskog. Even if some might feel like he won\u2019t produce at that rate, or play more than 50 or 51 games.<\/p>\n

2. How big of an impact can Brent Burns have?\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve said this before, and I\u2019ll say it again. I am very, very intrigued by the Brent Burns signing.<\/p>\n

I wrote this morning about Zach Parise\u2019s election to the USA Hockey Hall of Fame and how his career ended in Colorado as a shell of what he once was. Burns is nowhere near the same player he was five, six, or seven years ago in San Jose. But he\u2019s still quite effective. And he\u2019s going to give you more than Parise did at 40 years old.<\/p>\n

How big of an impact can he have? That depends on two things. First, what\u2019s his role in Jared Bednar\u2019s system? Will he be a top-four guy? Or is he going to hover around 15 minutes on the third pair? And second, will he be accepting of his role?<\/p>\n

This is still the guy who, at this age, was playing on the top pair in Carolina and quarterbacking that team\u2019s power play.<\/p>\n

I see a scenario where Burns is consistently getting top four minutes and playing more than 20 minutes per game on occasion. I see him being the quarterback of the second power-play unit, with a new PP coach in Dave Hakstol that might allow the second unit to spread its wings with more than just 15 or 20 seconds of ice time. I see this scenario leading to a respectable 20\u201329 points, a steady force on the penalty kill, and perhaps some PP productivity while playing in 82 games as he so often does.<\/p>\n

This is the most likely scenario in my eyes. Even at his age.<\/p>\n

But there\u2019s also a scenario where his body starts to break down. He\u2019s not as effective as the team had hoped, and he\u2019s a third-pair guy who struggles with ice time and injuries. And someone who rarely gets power-play minutes because the Avalanche continues to ride the entire top unit for nearly all two minutes of each opportunity.<\/p>\n

If anything, Burns should give you an excuse to switch out Makar more often than not when the top unit isn\u2019t producing much. Even if it means replacing four guys and leaving MacKinnon out there for the full two minutes.<\/p>\n

3. Is the goaltending good enough?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes. Absolutely. Next question.<\/p>\n

No but seriously. The public perception of the Avalanche\u2019s goaltending has been severely underrated in recent memory. And I feel like it\u2019s largely because Philipp Grubauer was named a Vezina Trophy finalist in 2021 before leaving for Seattle and watching his career crumble.<\/p>\n

When Darcy Kuemper came in the following season, he didn\u2019t ever get the respect he deserved in the regular season. I understand people questioning his value in the postseason when he was a sub-.900 starter and a Stanley Cup champion. But he was also dealing with an eye injury.<\/p>\n

But the respect wasn\u2019t even there in the regular season. Throughout the year, people kept comparing him to Grubauer. And it was kind of weird.<\/p>\n

The Kuemper in Arizona, before his arrival, and the one that just finished as a Vezina finalist with the L.A. Kings this past year, both were given a lot more respect than the one that led the Avs throughout the regular season and playoffs in 2021-22. It\u2019s the same guy.<\/p>\n

All that\u2019s to say, I\u2019m curious why Blackwood and backup Scott Wedgewood are still being questioned. Can Blackwood take a step back this year? Of course. But that\u2019s true for probably 25 of the league\u2019s starting goalies.<\/p>\n

When it comes to sure bet No. 1 net minders, Blackwood is comfortably in the top half of the league. He\u2019s not Andrei Vasilevskiy, Igor Shesterkin, or Connor Hellebuyck. But he\u2019s good enough to be the guy for a team with MacKinnon and Makar.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s good enough to be what Kuemper was. And perhaps better.<\/p>\n

As for Wedgewood? He was a great backup in Dallas and had a sparkling 13-4-1 record with a .917 save percentage and a 1.99 goals against average for the Avalanche.<\/p>\n

So yes, I do believe the goaltending is good enough.<\/p>\n

(Yes, I purposely decided to gloss over the Alexandar Georgiev experience. Heh.)<\/p>\n


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