{"id":365375,"date":"2025-12-23T10:51:10","date_gmt":"2025-12-23T10:51:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/365375\/"},"modified":"2025-12-23T10:51:10","modified_gmt":"2025-12-23T10:51:10","slug":"notebook-landeskogs-growth-and-a-unique-year-for-trades-and-deadlines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/365375\/","title":{"rendered":"Notebook: Landeskog’s Growth, and a Unique Year For Trades and Deadlines"},"content":{"rendered":"

I\u2019m bringing back the weekly Monday Notebook, one of my favorite stories to write last season. This is where you\u2019ll find any quick-hit thoughts that came to mind over the past seven days that aren\u2019t necessarily long enough for a long-form story.<\/p>\n

Heading into the holiday break, after one last Avalanche game on Tuesday, here are the thoughts from this past week.<\/p>\n

Landeskog Keeps Jumping Hurdles<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t think any of us would\u2019ve expected, 35 games into the season, that Gabe Landeskog would have played every game and worked his way up the top line. It\u2019s unbelievable what he\u2019s doing. And quite honestly, it just shows how truly committed he was to this in those three years that he was sidelined.<\/p>\n

Landeskog looks like the guy we remember. It doesn\u2019t look like a player who missed as much time as he did. He had just four points in his first 16 games. But over the last 19, he has six goals, eight assists, 14 points, and a +13 rating. He\u2019s somehow getting better with more ice time, games, and physicality.<\/p>\n

He\u2019s also played 20+ minutes in each of the last two games. He only did it once before that.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a0The Aftermath: Avalanche Humble Surging Wild, Extend Winning Streak to 5 Games\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Trade Freeze is First of Few Unique Deadlines<\/p>\n

General managers love a hard deadline. The trade freeze has become somewhat of a mini deadline over the last couple of years.<\/p>\n

On Dec. 18 last year, just before the freeze, the Habs traded Justin Barron for Alexandre Carrier, the Islanders acquired Robert Bortuzzo from St. Louis, and the Rangers dealt Kaapo Kakko to the Kraken.<\/p>\n

This year, it was Philip Danault being traded to Montreal, and the Kraken making another move, sending Mason Marchment to the Columbus Blue Jackets.<\/p>\n

This season is going to be a touch more unique with those hard deadlines. There will be another trade freeze around the Olympics, and just 10 days between when NHL resumes in late February and the March 6 deadline. So, while the deadline is still two and a half months away, it\u2019s really less than two months\u2019 worth of games before it because of that lengthy break.<\/p>\n

For example, on Feb. 1, the NHL will be a month and five days away from the deadline, but the Avalanche will play just seven games in that stretch. January is ultimately the time for teams to decide which way they want to go, and that early February trade freeze might also see a wave of trades because of the risk of injury at the Olympics.<\/p>\n

READ MORE:\u00a010 Observations: Power Play Was Powerful, Landeskog Elevated, and Fearless Brindley<\/a><\/p>\n

Avalanche Statement Victory<\/p>\n

I wrote a lot about the Avs\u2019 incredible performance in Minnesota on Sunday, and I\u2019ll link those stories within this article for you to check out if you haven\u2019t already.<\/p>\n

But I\u2019ll leave you with this final thought: The Avalanche basically told the Minnesota Wild that, while it\u2019s nice they\u2019ve jumped all the way up to third in the league, it\u2019s not because they\u2019re close to being as good as first in the NHL. It\u2019s just that they\u2019re better than 29 other teams who are also behind the Avs.<\/p>\n

Sabres Are Intriguing Again<\/p>\n

We are about three years too late on the Buffalo Sabres finally moving on from the mess of a Kevyn Adams experiment. But the way they went about it makes them one of the more intriguing teams to watch between now and September 2026.<\/p>\n

Not only did they hire a GM in Jarmo Kekalainen, who has experience in the position and is known for making bold moves. But it\u2019s also a guy who came in last summer and had several months to see why the product in Buffalo hasn\u2019t worked.<\/p>\n

Kekalainen isn\u2019t starting his first week on the job. His thoughts as a GM don\u2019t start now. He\u2019s had months of information to put together on players, roles, and even future trades, contract negotiations, etc.<\/p>\n

I\u2019d keep an eye on the Sabres, even leading up to the trade deadline. Kekalainen\u2019s track record says so.<\/p>\n


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