Now, as Landeskog enters new territory for the first time in years, there still may be some load management involved this season. It will mostly be based on how his body responds to his return to regular play.
“We’re going to glean information on how he does in back-to-backs or three-in-fours or four-in-sixes and his practice schedule,” Colorado general manager Chris MacFarland said. “But we’ve got a pretty good grip on that, and I trust our staff and ‘Landy’ himself.
“So, the goal is to get him in as many games and keep him as healthy as possible. He’s a really important player, so I think we’ll glean that information as he does, how he feels, and we’ll read and react off that.”
Landeskog, who has 571 points (248 goals, 323 assists) in 738 regular-season games, is equally excited to start the season on the road, believing it gives the Avalanche an early chance to bond.
“You get together with the team right off the bat,” Landeskog said. “We’re able to eat dinner together tonight and get on the plane and kind of limit some of those distractions that sometimes a home opener can bring for you as a home team.”
The Avalanche fielding largely the same core from last season shouldn’t hurt either with a lot of early-season chemistry potentially already in place.
“I feel like our group is in a great spot; we’re excited to start,” Landeskog said. “Getting off to a good start here will definitely help that, and I think winning just kind of accelerates things like that. We’ve got such a great group of guys in here that we all want to pull on this rope together and pull it in the same direction, and we’re excited to start.
“It’s not going to be easy. It’s going to be a long season. There’s going to be lots of ups and downs, but we want to make sure we have a fast start and get to our game as fast we can.”
