Aarif Deen
Colorado Avalanche longtime captain Gabe Landeskog received two NHL honors on Tuesday, both of which highlight who he is and what he’s gone through over the last several years.
Landeskog received the Mark Messier Leadership Award and the Bill Masterton Trophy. The Messier Award is given to a player selected by Hockey Hall of Fame center Mark Messier to honor an individual who leads by positive example through on-ice performance, motivation of team members and a dedication to community activities and charitable causes.
The Masterton Trophy, which Landeskog was also a finalist for in 2024-25, is awarded annually to the player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. Landeskog’s three-year rehab and return from knee cartilage replacement surgery made him a shoe-in for this Trophy at some point.
The Colorado chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association selected Landeskog to represent the Avalanche in the award voting process. The PHWA then voted as a whole, selecting from the 32 finalists, of which Landeskog received the most votes.
The 33-year old has been Colorado’s captain since he was 19. At the time, Landeskog had just completed his rookie season in the NHL after the Avalanche selected him No. 2 overall in the 2011 draft. Landeskog was highly regarded as a teenager for being mature beyond his years. Former NHL GM Brian Burke met Landeskog when he was 18 years old at the Draft Combine and said he’d have a future in management.
That’s the type of leader Landeskog has always been. It’s fitting that he receive the Leadership Award for that alone. But when you account for the lengthy recovery from an injury no NHL player had ever successfully returned from, and not missing any games because of his knee in 20245-26, it only adds to Landeskog’s leadership.
With Landeskog back, Colorado won the Presidents’ Trophy and had the best regular season in its 30-year history, finishing with 55 wins and 121 points. Landeskog had 14 goals and 35 points in 60 regular-season games and added six goals and 11 point in 13 postseason games.
The Avalanche were 8-1 through the first two rounds but got swept in the Western Conference Final. Landeskog had three of Colorado’s seven goals against the Vegas Golden Knights.