No general manager has changed his roster more since the start of the season than Chris MacFarland, but the future of one big piece remains unclear.
The most recent additions were defenseman Ryan Lindgren and forward Jimmy Vesey in a deal Saturday with the New York Rangers. They will make their Avs debuts Tuesday night against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The one name coach Jared Bednar will not be writing into his lineup anytime soon is captain Gabe Landeskog. He’s into month No. 33 since last playing for the Avs, and nearly two years removed from the rare knee cartilage replacement surgery he’s currently working his way back from.
The message, from Landeskog to Bednar and MacFarland since the end of last season has been “when, not if” for the captain’s return.
On Monday, MacFarland’s words were the clearest signal of a shift back to “if, not when.”
“Gabe continues to rehab,” MacFarland said. “He’s doing good. He’s grinding hard every single day, but I don’t foresee him joining practice in the next day or two, or week or two here.
“I think you guys can figure out where this is, where this is going. But hopefully it’ll keep going well.”
Where it’s going is Landeskog will likely miss a third consecutive regular season. The Avs have already used part of the long-term injured reserve salary cap relief available to them, and could use more before Friday’s trade deadline.
There is no salary cap in the postseason, so Landeskog could rejoin the team during the Stanley Cup Playoffs without MacFarland needing to move anyone off the active roster. The GM said he hopes there’s a chance for Landeskog to return during the 2025 playoffs, but he’s not setting any deadlines for his captain about next season and beyond.
“We’re going to continue to take it week by week here,” MacFarland said. “He is doing everything he can. I didn’t think (on) June 26, 2022, that the injury would be three years, right? So I don’t know. There’s no playbook for this. We’ll just continue to chip away at it. He’s doing everything he can, so we’ll see where it goes.
“It’s up to Gabe. Gabe has earned that right. As long as he feels he’s going to battle through and see where it can go, he’s earned that right — certainly with us.”
In a season chock full of injuries and trades, the Avalanche GM is still willing to tinker before the trade deadline but also seems resigned that the last big injured piece of the puzzle isn’t coming back anytime soon.
MacFarland has made six trades since the start of training camp. When the Avs play the Penguins, there will be six players on the active roster who have arrived since late November.
“I don’t think we’re totally satisfied,” MacFarland said. “If we can still find a way to improve the team, we’ll try. How? I don’t know.
“I think it’s no secret that we had to get deeper, both on the back end and up front.”
Colorado has added a first-line wing, two bottom-six forwards, a top-five defenseman and two goaltenders. The current rostered player who’s been linked to potential trades the most is Casey Mittelstadt, who has spent a large chunk of this season in a funk after a great start.
Moving him, months after signing him to a three-year contract that carries a $5.75 million cap hit, would likely only happen in a deal that returns a different No. 2 center. Or it could be a pair of deals that work in tandem, similar to how the Avs acquired Mittelstadt and defenseman Sean Walker for Bowen Byram, Ryan Johansen and a first-round pick in separate trades ahead of the deadline a year ago.
“We all saw what (Mittelstadt) did at the end of the year last year,” MacFarland said. “Then the start of this year was really good hockey. We definitely need to see that version of Casey. I’m confident we will.”
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