Gabriel Landeskog showcased a huge benefit to his presence Sunday for the Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche played two preseason games on Sunday, both of which consisted of different squads. Though some star players did not suit up for either—most notably Nathan MacKinnon—some of the team’s biggest names did.

Gabriel Landeskog, the team’s captain for a good while now, suited up for the first game along with Cale Makar, Valeri Nichushkin, Devon Toews, Jack Drury, and Scott Wedgewood—just to name the notable players taking part. Landeskog seems to be doing exceptionally well in his comeback from his knee cartilage transplant surgery.

In the game, Avalanche star defenseman Cale Makar got an elbow to the face from a Utah Mammoth player. Especially in the preseason, there’s no room for that in hockey. However, the instance provided fans in attendance what they want to see from their most respected player on the team: Sticking up for your teammates.

Following the elbow to the face of Makar, Landeskog decided to drop the gloves and stick with the Mammoth player, and proceeded to start a fight. The fight ended in less than 10 seconds, with Landeskog still standing. He took the Mammoth player to the ice with several hockey punches.

Gabriel Landeskog putting his fists up is a great example of leadership qualities and could be huge in 2025-26.

According to HockeyFights.com (Yes, it’s actually a thing), the Avalanche had 11 fights last season. It was the most fights by the Avalanche since the 2022-23 season. You can check them out here.

In no way do I condone aggressive fights where someone gets severely injured, but sometimes it can be quite fun for fans, especially if they attend the game. We’re all there for the entertainment aspect of hockey, aren’t we?

Landeskog also provided a brilliant quote regarding the fight:

I do believe that some of the team’s stars would willingly go and start roughing opponents up for each other regardless of Landeskog being there or not, but Landeskog is the obvious captain. He will be a crucial part of the team in 2025-26, and though we probably don’t want to see him get into it with opponents on a nightly basis, seeing him do it in a “meaningless” preseason game is a great start to what we could expect in the upcoming season.

Oh boy, hockey is back. Did you miss it as much as we did?!