NHL Central Division Captains, Ranked Worst To First

No. 4: Colorado’s Gabriel Landeskog

Mr. Elbows was named captain of the Avalanche in 2012, the youngest in league history at 19 years, 286 days. And his tenure has seen its ups and downs.

More from Editorials

• Blackhawks: List Of Things To Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving
• Blackhawks: Changes to the coaching staff are a step in the right direction
• Chicago Blackhawks: Reasons for optimism and cause for concern
• Blackhawks: Kick off four game road trip against Kraken
• Recapping the Jeremy Colliton era with the Chicago Blackhawks

The highest point for Landeskog so far was when Colorado won the Central Division in what may’ve been the league’s ultimate surprise of 2013-14. The Avs outlasted St. Louis by a point and Chicago by five, and for that Landeskog has to be commended. He potted a career-best 65 points that regular season, and his brand of leadership certainly worked with that team.

But the rest of his tenure has been so-so. He netted just 36 points in a full season two years ago, then 33 in 75 games last season. A combination of the captaincy and playing for noted crazy person Patrick Roy could have been weighing on him.

With a new coach in place this year, Landeskog could feel refreshed and get back on track. He’s just 23 years old, so he has potential to be one of the franchises better captains. Of course, if he struggles again this season, new leader Jared Bednar could make a switch in the 2017 offseason to the likes of Nathan MacKinnon or Matt Duchene.

Next: Captain No. 3