Gabriel Landeskog And The Captaincy

Gabriel Landeskog was appointed the youngest captain in the NHL’s history, but with inconsistent team effort and trade rumors flying recently should he keep the “C”?

I have complained about a lot of things this year on the site: I whined about the poor defense from all positions early in the year, I mused over the possible need of a culture change, and recently I angrily pointed to the fact the Avs only show up to play in about 3/4ths of their games.

I have also contemplated various trade scenarios, sometimes specifically to address the defense, but at times just to shake things up.

But one thing I have never brought up, or even really considered is taking the captaincy away from Gabriel Landeskog. And to be honest I’m a little shocked I never thought of it until recent comments by “Mark T” and “Shaker” when discussing the Av’s lackadaisical play. I mean I went through trading away superstars such as Tyson Barrie and Matt Duchene, I even had discussed the possibility of replacing Patrick Roy as coach at times.

But the possibility of Landeskog not being the captain just didn’t occur to me due to various reasons. First of all he’s been the captain for 3 and a half seasons now — it just seems to be a given that he is/will be the captain. At the same time replacing a captain is an even more radical move, in my perspective, than firing the coach. It’s the move of a team committed to rebuilding something, and I have argued viciously the Avalanche should not be doing that.

Yet I have spent the last several days thinking about it, and I see merit to both sides of the argument. And we’ll go over both sides of the argument, but I think the most important thing to remember is that just because Gabriel Landeskog may not actively deserve to be the captain does not mean he should necessarily be stripped of the “C”.

Next: What Makes A Great Captain

What Makes A Great Captain

Before we dive into the perspectives of whether Landeskog deserves to keep the captaincy let’s discuss what is expected out of a captain. Now I’m going to say everything included is important, however certain aspects are much more important then others. First we’ll start with off the ice items.

Locker Room Chemistry– The captain of the team is the unquestioned leader in the locker room. Different captains manifest this in different ways. Some are very active, extrovertly promoting chemistry and socialization. Others are introverted and focused on hockey. Either way the captain is responsible for making sure that everyone is being professional in the workplace.

Coach-Players Relationship– In the olden days the captain was the middleman between the head coach and the players. If the players collectively had a problem with something with the team it would be the captain who would bring it forward to the coach. However with the proliferation of assistant coaches and specialty defense/offense/powerplay/5v3 down by two goal coaches this aspect of the captaincy has diminished in my opinion.

Building Team Chemistry– This is different from the first bullet point in that it involves getting the guys together outside of the locker room, and building not just professional relationships, but teammate “Herb, we’re a family” relationships. Your retreats, team building paintball, standard HR stuff except with a bunch of guys varying from 20 year olds who just got rich to older guys who are married –harder than it sounds.

And then there’s the on ice responsibilities of the captain.

Referee-Team Communications– Technically speaking only the captain is allowed to speak to the officials, in the event of a captain being in the penalty box the alternate captains assume this responsibility (common misconception they’re “assistant” captains). Obviously this isn’t enforced. Coaches as well as every player on the ice frequently talk directly to referees, but I wanted to be thorough.

Setting The Pace– Here’s where I start to really get serious about the captaincy job. The captain is responsible for setting the bar in terms of effort on the ice, and calling out players who aren’t meeting the bar. For example, can you imagine Ovechkin calling out anyone for not backchecking before head coach Barrie Trotz was there? Of course not because Ovi rarely entered the D zone. The captain sets the bar in terms of effort.

Setting the Example– Every time the captain steps on the ice, the other team knows 100% effort is behind it. He never takes a shift off. He never blends it.

So I separated this from setting the compete level for a reason. A captain can go out and give full effort, but then get caught up in a stupid scrum and take a dumb penalty. Or he can get distracted by trying to deliver big hits instead of scoring and preventing goals. There’s no black and white rules here. The captain’s actions set the example for the team.

In the end the captain needs to be a true hockey player. Just as excited to block a shot as to score a goal. And I know that I write for an Avalanche site, I love the Avalanche. But if you want to ask me who the best true hockey player in the league I wouldn’t even think: it’s Zach Parise. Parise is nowhere as skilled as other superstars in the league, but his work ethic is phenomenal. That’s what I want out of my captain.

So we have the basics of what I expect from my captain. Let me add that I care more about the on ice elements than I do the off ice. Yes a great locker room is nice, but the ice is where games are won and lost, and thus the ice is where I care most about my captain’s impact. I’m not saying that the captain’s off ice roles aren’t important, but this is the NHL and the off ice only matters to the extent it affects on-ice performance.

Next: Why Gabriel Landeskog Should Keep The Captaincy

Why Gabriel Landeskog Should Keep The Captaincy

First let’s go back to when Gabriel Landeskog was named the youngest captain in NHL history. Then-coach Joe Sacco named Landeskog captain during some of the team’s darkest days.  For team rebuilding, it made sense to name such a young player captain because he had the potential to be the face of the team for years to come.

But looking purely at skill and age, you would think that would have been Matt Duchene who was a year older and a more prolific scorer. However, Duchene and Sacco disagreements have been well documented. And Sacco, a defense-first head coach, was not going to name a young and somewhat defensively inept Matt Duchene captain.

So Gabriel Landeskog got the captaincy, and I don’t mean to understate his achievements with it. He has hit the 50-point and 20-goal mark in every year except the lockout shortened season. He helped redefine the power play with his presence on the goal line close to the net, always there to walk out in front for a stuff in or a rebound. And he can be a very physical player who can skate well and deliver crushing blows. Perhaps most speaking to his on ice play, he has the guts and willingness to take the puck to the front of the net-often knowing he’s about to be crushed-to make a play.

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Statistically speaking Gabriel Landeskog has produced enough to earn the captaincy. And off the ice he seems to be a great captain. Jarome Iginla, longtime captain of the Calgary Flames spoke last March on Landeskog’s captaincy:

He does a great job because he knows what’s going on with all the guys, and he and Patty have a good relationship. They go in and they talk things out. I’m impressed. I was older when I was captain and there still was pressure and at times I felt it, but you don’t notice it with him.

And that obviously says a lot about Landy as a person, that he is respected by one of the most respected leaders (Jarome Iginla) in the game. In addition Gabriel Landeskog put together some great preseason bonding experiences in Vail Colorado. Many of the Av’s veterans praised the experience and the idea that Landy had put together there.

However, there are other reasons, less positive reasons, he still possesses the captaincy. First of all, stripping any captain of a “C” leads to locker room troubles. For example, the Sharks went one season without a captain after stripping Joe Thorton of it. That was a disaster, resulting in more turmoil than if they’d just given the captaincy to another player.

Basically, I’m saying even if in theory we’ve all made our minds up collectively as Avs Nation by the end of the post that Gabriel Landeskog doesn’t deserve the captaincy, that doesn’t mean we can take it away. Because once the “C” is taken away the locker room will never function again with that player in it. Even if Landeskog were to leave the team changing the captain is sure to have some negative effects on the locker room for a period of time.

Next: Why The Avalanche Could Use A New Captain

Why The Avalanche Could Use A New Captain

We talked about the captain’s responsibility of setting the effort bar earlier, and I’d like to quickly expand on that thought. There are some fans who believe that players are paid well to play the game at a high level and their motivation should be doing their job and earning their pay check. There are others who believe that it falls on to the coach to motivate his players-using positive or negative methods- to perform. Lastly, there are some who believe it falls on the captain to make sure the entire team is ready to go night in and night out.

If you are of the last mindset, there’s no question that Landeskog has not delivered this season. The Avalanche have come out looking bored and unfocused on numerous occasions this year. And although he’s creating a great environment apparently, it hasn’t motivated the Avalanche enough to play an 82 game season.

And part of the reason is Landeskog himself doesn’t bring it night in and night out. Even if the players look up to him and respect him and want to play for him, Landy hasn’t been consistent in his effort. In fact two distinct occasions come to mind where the team failed to put forth effort and Landeskog was right in the middle of the play.

In the first loss of the year I ripped Landeskog for standing idly by as Zach Parise stood on the back door wide open where he would pot the first goal of their comeback.

And recently I was extremely frustrated with Landeskog’s effort on this Patrick Kane goal:

All it takes is Landy taking one stride and bodying up on Kane to prevent that goal. Instead he does a one handed sweep and decides it’s someone else’s problem. True there were 3 people who had the opportunity to put a body on Kane in the play, but only one of them wears a “C” on his chest.

In addition, I have been annoyed this year with some of Gabriel Landeskog’s antics on the ice. I live in Minnesota, so I hear a lot of dumb stuff about the Avs, but one thing I’ve heard more and more is that Landy is a cheap player. Now I would disagree with that. I don’t think he’s a dirty player, and he certainly doesn’t have a lengthy suspension history.

However, he has taken a lot of dumb penalties this year (especially against the Wild). In fact when the game winning goal was scored against the Avalanche in the season opener Landy was in the box for an incredibly stupid interference penalty. At times he looks like Cody McLeod out there-constantly barking at players and ref’s and starting scrum after the play.

I don’t know if Landeskog is unaware that the Avalanche have Cody McLeod on the roster almost specifically for that reason, or if he just gets caught up in the moment. But it’s incredibly aggravating to see him lose focus on, you know, out-scoring the opponent to start little scraps — especially when he’s on the ice with Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon, the last two players on the team I want drawn into scrums or brawls.

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And although in the last slide I talked about how great Landy is off the ice is as captain, the ice is where it matters. Is it great that Landeskog’s created a supportive inclusive environment? Of course, I would love for every Avalanche player to be the best man at everyone’s’ weddings and go on California Vineyard tours.

But I care more about them doing their job on the ice, and that’s where I think Landeskog’s performance has been questionable. The effort from the team, and from him isn’t always there. And what kind of message is taking dumb penalties and focusing more on scrums and trash talking sending to the rest of the team?

The last argument I have for Landeskog losing his “C” is twofold. I have left him off of all my trade possibility pieces because of his captaincy. However, if he were to be traded, obviously losing the C in the process, the Avs could gain some much needed upgrades in addition to not rocking the boat too hard.

If you ignore the captaincy I think Landeskog is by far the most disposable, valuable asset the Avalanche have to trade. Add in the fact that it would allow the captaincy to be granted to Nathan MacKinnon — who spent the off season training to make himself bigger and stronger — and I can see it almost becoming enticing to trade Landy.