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Avalanche React to NHL’s Big Gabriel Landeskog Announcement

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Michael Gallagher | Last updated May 2, 2025 10:18 PM ET

The Colorado Avalanche are locked in a heated Stanley Cup playoff battle with the Dallas Stars, and they’re just one win away from avenging their second-round playoff defeat to their Central Division rivals last postseason.

And while Avalanche fans are hyper-focused on Saturday’s Game 7, they did have a small reason to celebrate on Friday.

The NHL announced that team captain and star forward Gabriel Landeskog was one of three finalists along with Minnesota Wild goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury and Columbus Blue Jackets forward Sean Monahan for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, which is given annually “to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey.”

The finalists were the three highest vote-getters from nominations submitted by the local chapters of the Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA).

The nomination is big news for Landeskog, who’s tallied a goal and four points in four games this postseason after missing the entire 2023 and 2024 regular seasons following cartilage transplant surgery.

After getting their captain back from his two-year absence, the Avalanche celebrated Landeskog’s Masterton nomination with a strong four-word post on social media.

“O Captain! Our Captain!” the Avalanche wrote on X.

O Captain! Our Captain! pic.twitter.com/xieJ19lf8L
— x - Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) May 2, 2025

The five playoff games Landeskog has played this year is his first NHL action in over 1,000 days.

He missed the 2022 season after having arthroscopic knee surgery following the 2022 Stanley Cup. Landeskog was only supposed to miss 12 weeks but he ended up being sidelined for the entire year.

From 2013 to 2021, Landeskog was one of Colorado’s top offensive players.

He had two 30-goal seasons and seven 50-point seasons during that span, and he recorded three straight postseasons with double-digit points, including an 11-goal performance during the 2021-22 postseason.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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