Gabriel Landeskog participates in full Avs practice for first time in 995 days

[Freaky Styley]

And if they put Wood and Manson on LTIR tomorrow and take Landeskog off then I’d be happy. So long as those other two don’t return come playoff time.

My stance is pretty simple. If a player finishes the season on LTIR they shouldn’t be eligible for the playoffs. If a team can’t take them off LTIR and remain cap compliant then that means they were able to find a replacement using that LTIR space.

You shouldn’t be allowed to double dip.

Obviously the league doesn’t care. Hence the Oilers doing this same crap with Kane.

I just think it’s BS lol

As long as you're happy. There's always one

The reason the Landeskog situation is unique is because there's a good chance if/when he comes back, it's not going to be long-term. He even said himself he's pretty much given up on the idea he can skate pain-free.

There were changing timelines throughout the process. He thought he might be back for last playoffs, then around December this year. Obviously the needle kept moving and it was a very unpredictable process. You think the Avalanche should need to keep $7M in cap space free on the chance that their captain can return during the regular season and play a handful of games before retiring? if he did return near December and could have played most of the season it's obviously a different story.

As others have said, the rule that gets exploited likely exists for legit scenarios just as this. Kucherov and Stone went on IR months before the playoffs to come back and play 1st line minutes. Landeskog will get minimal time and slot into the bottom 6. This is not the same lol

If they put a clause in the LTIR rule that the player needs to be out a minimum of 500 days to be eligible to return for the playoffs THEN would you be satisfied? If Klefbom could have a shot at returning for a playoff run, you think the Oilers should keep his cap space free just in case?

 

[SomeDude]

It's okay for people to ask questions here.

As long as no speculating occurs.

 

[Bear of Bad News]

As long as no speculating occurs.

 

[Freaky Styley]

This has classic “die a hero or live long enough to become the villain” written all over it.

He’ll be a popular morale boost for their 5 or 6 playoff games, but when his broken body starts counting 7 million against the cap for the next 4 years, the “this contract is killing us” chatter will start halfway through next year.

The most likely scenario is retirement after one more Cup run IMO. Big reason why they brought EJ back

 

[GirardSpinorama]

That doesn't make any sense to me. Once the LTIR space is filled, its filled. Regardless of if the player has been gone for 2 weeks or 3 years. If a team wants to have a player eligible for the playoffs than they should be able to be cap compliant with him off LTIR. Otherwise just make him ineligible. Black and white. No room for grey. No room to double dip.

Again, this is nothing against the Avalanche or Landeskog. I've rallied against this same shit with Tampa and Vegas too.

Maybe this is the wrong thread for it, but someone else brought up the question of it. It's a good thing Landeskog is returning. He was a great player and it's awesome he's getting healthy enough to play again.

But its not the same as Vegas and Tampa. Landeskog's injury is actually career threatening.

 

[Freaky Styley]

Incredibly easy to trust that after a missed 3 years he’d be ready for day 1 of the playoffs but not game 82 of the regular season.

Real question. If he can only end up playing 5-6 games you think he should still need to be eligible to return before game 82?

 

[BallardEra]

How can anyone not respect this guy for his perseverance and dedication to keep going?

So many would have packed it up, collected the cash and called it a career.

 

[seafoam]

But for those interested, how much does this cost Colorado, and how much is counted against the cap?

 

[GMR]

I expected Forsberg to play again before Landeskog.

 

[LokiDog]

Incredibly easy to trust that after a missed 3 years he’d be ready for day 1 of the playoffs but not game 82 of the regular season.

The fact that anyone is making this argument is wild.

A guy like Stone or Kucherov misses 6 months while being a full time active NHLer and participating in practices for some of that time, comes back for the playoffs, it’s one thing. A guy like Landeskog literally has not played in 3 years, barely participated in a real practice in nearly 3 full years… the odds of him being at NHL level is absurd. If anything, it’s the feel good story and morale boost that is the story… imagine bringing Chara back for the playoffs this year, and not on a league minimum 1 year deal, but on a large AAV. Expecting him to play like a 6M defenseman would be lunacy. It’s the same with Landeskog. The dude has not even PRACTICED in nearly 3 full years.

 

[Spawn]

Real question. If he can only end up playing 5-6 games you think he should still need to be eligible to return before game 82?

I think it needs to be cut and dry. No room for loop holes. No room for teams to take advantage of it. I think if you finish the season on LTIR you should be ineligible for the playoffs. If your team thinks you might be able to play come playoff time then they need to take you off LTIR before the season ends. You don't need to play in any games. But your team should need to be cap compliant to end the season.

 

[Andrei79]

One of the most impressive sports stories of the last decade.

The guy is a warrior.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

I think it needs to be cut and dry. No room for loop holes. No room for teams to take advantage of it. I think if you finish the season on LTIR you should be ineligible for the playoffs. If your team thinks you might be able to play come playoff time then they need to take you off LTIR before the season ends. You don't need to play in any games. But your team should need to be cap compliant to end the season.

Whats the point of LTIR then? Wouldn't it just be regular IR? Basically if any of your star players gets injured at any point in the season for any period of time or miss any period of time; you can only sign/trade for a player with a minimum cap hit. Because you will need to send down the replacement player to be cap compliant for the playoffs.

I would propose something more in the middle. No more LTIR mid-season; to prevent teams from just conveniently shelfing their players before the deadline in order to boost their playoff roster. If your player is injured enough to have to sit for an unpredictable amount of time, at a MINIMUM of 1 season; you get the cap relief. Otherwise; we just get into the conversation of having a salary cap for the playoffs; which is apparently a big no-no with the NHL.

 

[Jayevs]

Torn perbix

Really gotta wonder how his AE/60 gets affected when he’s back

 

[centipede2233]

wow what a warrior I'm really impressed . Don't want to be rude but I don't think our Carey Price (I'm a Habs fan) put this effort to come back.

Carey got paid and wanted to drift off to retirement

 

[centipede2233]

I have the avs winning the cup this year

 

[Gregor Samsa]

I think it’s safe to assume that after a 3 year layoff he won’t be be the caliber of player he was before

 

[Spawn]

Whats the point of LTIR then? Wouldn't it just be regular IR? Basically if any of your star players gets injured at any point in the season for any period of time or miss any period of time; you can only sign/trade for a player with a minimum cap hit. Because you will need to send down the replacement player to be cap compliant for the playoffs.

What do you mean whats the point of LTIR?

The point of LTIR is to allow teams to replace a player while they're injured for an extended period of time. See what your team has done with Landeskog the last three years. See what teams do all the time in season when they need to put someone on LTIR and then call up replacement players until that person is back healthy.

The point of LTIR is not to then allow that team to ice both the replacement player(s) AS WELL as the guy who they are replacing come playoff time. It only works the way it does because the league turns a blind eye to teams waiting until the end of the regular season to activate guys.

 

[GirardSpinorama]

What do you mean whats the point of LTIR?

The point of LTIR is to allow teams to replace a player while they're injured for an extended period of time. See what your team has done with Landeskog the last three years. See what teams do all the time in season when they need to put someone on LTIR and then call up replacement players until that person is back healthy.

The point of LTIR is not to then allow that team to ice both the replacement player(s) AS WELL as the guy who they are replacing come playoff time. It only works the way it does because the league turns a blind eye to teams waiting until the end of the regular season to activate guys.

I definitely see your point. I also would like the LTIR loophole addressed. The NHL is turning a blind eye because players want to play in the playoffs and fans want to see star players in the playoffs. To not allow them playoff games because of cap compliance/they were injured is gonna be a headache for the NHL. I would rather see a more strict enforcement of whats considered a long term injury so that this isn't exploited as obviously as it has been by Vegas; instead of just punishing teams and players with legit long term injuries.

 

[Ncit3]

Keep telling yourself it’s different. It’s exactly the same.

And sure they can hold a team to a hard deadline. The NHL is littered with hard deadlines.

Oilers fans

 

[BagHead]

I've got mixed feelings about this for practical reasons, but more I'm definitely more happy than sad. I hate to see careers end early due to injuries. Though, if he had to go out early, having your last hockey moment be lifting the Cup as your team's captain is a heck of a way to.

C'mon you old douche, lace those skates up and come play against us!

Nobody freaking out about this??!! Or is that only when Tampa or Vegas does this kind of stuff lol

Had he not missed several years in between, I'm sure people might think he was faking it. This, though, would be a heck of a long con.

 

[Dread Clawz]

Even if he's only a 3rd liner now, this makes the Avs freaking scary

 

[josra33]

people get mad when they LTIRetire and people get mad when you try and come back and never give up after 3 years of career threatening injury. Can’t please everyone.

 

[josra33]

Keep telling yourself it’s different. It’s exactly the same.

And sure they can hold a team to a hard deadline. The NHL is littered with hard deadlines.

I’m sure your post history has plenty of times you’ve talked about Kane shouldn’t be allowed back for the playoffs?

 

[Cypher]

995 days.

Morning skate of the game 6 2022 Stanley Cup victory over Tampa Bay. The last time Gabriel Landeskog participated in a full Avs practice.

He's participated in many morning skates, shootarounds, but today, he stayed for full practice. Rotated on the top line (MacKinnon-Necas) with Lehkonen for drills. Still a ways to go, but starting to ramp up to be ready for playoff hockey in 1 month.

Love him or the Avs or hate him/them, you have to be rooting for a guy like this to come back and play the game he loves.

Main board jinx thread