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NHL Rumors: Trade for Gabriel Landeskog will not come cheap

By Mark Wemken

Dec 20, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog (92) against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Avalanche 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 20, 2016; Saint Paul, MN, USA; Colorado Avalanche forward Gabriel Landeskog (92) against the Minnesota Wild at Xcel Energy Center. The Wild defeated the Avalanche 2-0. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports /
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Regardless of the struggles Gabriel Landeskog and the Colorado Avalanche are experiencing, General Manager Joe Sakic is convinced his captain is worth an extremely hefty price tag.

The Avalanche have a league low 13 wins and 27 total points on the season, so trade rumors are certain to begin circulating. Elite scoring center Nathan MacKinnon’s name has been brought up, as well as the captain himself, Gabriel Landeskog. It has already been established that MacKinnon is currently off the market, but what would it cost for a team to land the four-time 50 point scorer Landeskog?

A lot, is the immediate answer. TheScore.com’s Navin Vaswani reported some of the details regarding discussion on TSN’s ‘Insider Trading’, and Avalanche General Manager Sakic was confident in his captains outstanding value. Sakic is reportedly asking for a ‘first round draft pick, a top tier defenseman, and more’ if he is expected to deal the 24 year-old Swedish born left winger. A trade involving Landeskog could be the inaugural decision leading to a complete rebuild of the entire organization.

Landeskog was a former first-round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft. He has, at least statistically, returned on his investment since being selected second overall nearly six years ago. Landeskog has played at least 75 games in all but one season as a pro, and he has failed to net at least 20 goals only once in his career. Like his team though, he is struggling to find twine this season. Landeskog has just seven goals and 13 total points through 29 games, and he is currently on pace to finish with the worst plus-minus line of his career. These painful struggles coupled with the ridiculously high asking price make Landeskog untouchable at this point. Sakic is simply asking far too much for an underwhelming player that still has yet to realize his full potential.

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There are not many teams that could even afford the asking price for the former Calder Trophy winner, but a pair of teams that come to mind are the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins. With that in mind, it is unlikely either team would be willing to deal a first rate defenseman for an underperforming forward like Gabriel Landeskog.

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