Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog reiterated Monday that he does not want to be traded, and hopes to remain a big piece of the team’s pending rebuild.
“I want to be an Avalanche, to stay an Avalanche and be in Denver for a long, long time,” the 24-year-old told the Denver Post.
The Avalanche are the worst team in the NHL and entered Tuesday having lost 10 of their last 12 games and with a 13-27-1 record, making a rebuild in the Mile-High City seem imminent.
Team general manger Joe Sakic acknowledged last week that he had been in trade talks with other teams, and was willing part ways with any player on the Avalanche roster other than first-round picks Nathan MacKinnon, Mikko Rantanen and Tyson Jost.
Despite the comments, Landeskog remains positive, and will not be changing his approach on the ice with the Feb. 28th NHL trade deadline looming large.
“Whether my name is floating around or not, I’m still approaching the game the same way,” said the Swede. “And that is to spread energy, be a good teammate, work hard and try to get better every day. Me being in trade rumours, that’s nothing I can control.”
Landeskog, who became the youngest captain in NHL history in 2012 at 19 years old (a record now held by Edmonton’s Connor McDavid), has struggled this season, registering just 14 points (eight goals. six assists) in 31 games.
He is now in the third year of a seven-year, $39-million deal, giving him an annual cap hit of just over $5.57 million.
