According to reports, the Colorado Avalanche are making another pitch to try and sign Gabriel Landeskog to a new deal before the opening of NHL free agency on Wednesday morning. Previous reports were that the Avs were somewhere around $6 million times six years and Landeskog was none too happy about it.
After some of the emotion of that deal is now potentially removed, the Avalanche and Landeskog might be back at the table trying to work things out. Sportsnet insider Elliotte Friedman wrote on Tuesday, “Okay, working on some stuff. Biggest one is probably Landeskog…hearing 7×7 is on the table, and there are discussions about the possibility of eight years. We will see where this goes.” He added that the $7M x seven offer was from the Avs, the only other team that could have potentially offered that being the Seattle Kraken.
Further to that report, there is speculation that teams are willing to go higher than this. Rumors were that Landeskog was thinking around $9 million per season so this $7 million offer is still low compared to what he thinks he could get on the market. If the buzz is true that a team is willing to go seven years times $9 million, it’s hard to imagine Landeskog leaves $14 million on the table.
The Landeskog Watch is On
This is going to be interesting to watch. The deadline for teams to offer their own UFAs an eighth year on the term ends just before midnight tonight. If Colorado is going to do so, they can’t do it tomorrow when free agency opens. Of course, no other team can offer eight years either.
Will Landeskog test the market? Are the Colorado Avalanche at their max level on annual average salary? Perhaps it now in the player’s hands. If he wants to stay in Colorado, he’s going to need to prove it by taking less than he could make elsewhere.
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