You probably don’t need any convincing to give your vote to the captain of the Colorado Avalanche, but in case you need a little push…
The NHL has revealed the official rosters for the 2019 All-Star Game, and what do you know: two of our Colorado Avalanche sons made it to the Central Division team. Fan-elected captain Nathan MacKinnon will be joined by teammate Mikko Rantanen, who is going to his first All-Star Game.
After the initial shock (happy shock, that is) of seeing Mikko’s name on the list, I realized there are some weird picks and names missing on the teams – including, but not limited to, the absence of a certain Avalanche top liner. The rosters are all set and ready to go… well, almost. Each team has one more place for a fan-picked player, and among the options for the Central Division is our captain, Gabriel Landeskog.
He didn’t ask for a campaign nor anything like that, but here are a couple of arguments to (further) convince you to vote for the Avs’ captain.
Two Words: Top Line
You have Nathan MacKinnon leading the Central team, and you have Mikko Rantanen on the team as well. Can you feel where I’m going with this?
Why wouldn’t you want one of the league’s best top lines present at the All-Star game? Yes, it’s a three-on-three format so we wouldn’t see the full top line in all its glory, but adding Landeskog to the team would make the Central team one to look out for.
The only actual threat I can find right now is the Atlantic Division team: Nikita Kucherov, Steven Stamkos, Auston Matthews, John Tavares, and David Pastrnak all in one team? That’s going to be good, but I have faith on my Central team (and the Atlantic’s defense is nothing spectacular so there’s that to balance it).
’Tis A Good Season For Gabe
Landeskog’s best season was back in 2013-2014, with a total of 65 points (26 goals, 39 assists), with last season as his second best with 62 points (25 goals, 37 assists). So far this season, he has 45 points in 41 games played (24 goals, 21 assists). To add to these good-looking numbers, per Yahoo Fantasy, Landeskog’s projected season remaining points at 14 goals and 15 assists.
Of course, these numbers can go either up or down (hopefully up, if coach wakes up), but our captain is on his way to one of the best seasons in his career.
It’s About Time
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Let’s make a minor throwback here.
Gabriel Landeskog was drafted by the Colorado Avalanche back in 2011, and made the roster for the 2011-2012 season. He won the Calder Memorial Trophy as rookie of the year for 2012 and was named team captain on September of that year. And yet, after all this time… no All-Star appearance yet.
Two rookies made it to the roster this year: Elias Pettersson (Vancouver) and Miro Heiskanen (Dallas). I say, it’s about time Landeskog is included in the All-Star weekend, and looking at the other players on the “Last Men In” list, he is an obvious choice – at least points-wise.
The ones closer (but not much) to him in points are Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and Dallas’ Tyler Seguin with 36 points each. But the hearts of hockey fans can’t be tamed by numbers, so the captain is on a popularity competition more than anything else. His biggest competition? Tyler Seguin.
Well, maybe Filip Forsberg too, because Nashville fans are passionate. But then there’s also Winnipeg’s Patrik Laine, who for whatever reason didn’t make it to the initial list. So yeah, Landeskog deserves the spot, but it’s up to Colorado Avalanche fans to give him his rightful place.
Voting closes on January 10 and you can vote up to ten times per day. Listen, the league works in mysterious ways and we all know that, so let’s show our support to Landeskog and get him to the All-Star. There’s a reason why he is on the list, right? Let’s do this for the captain.