Hockey is a grueling sport. Just ask Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog. The fast and physical nature of the game requires the best teams to have talent spaced all throughout the lineup, given the fact that star players can’t spend the entire game on the ice. More often than not, the teams who go on to hoist the Stanley Cup have the better depth, no matter who the star leading the charge is.
For the Avs, the roster has taken some hits since June 2022 when they accomplished hockey’s greatest feat, and has resulted in a handful of early playoff exits. Three years later, some of the health issues that have plagued the team for so long finally seem to be heading out the door, and there are plenty of players ready to step up to the plate and assist Landeskog, Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar in their quest for bringing home another Cup.
Landeskog was very complimentary of the Avs’ depth at media day on Wednesday.
“I think the big change is, the big difference is that we’re sitting there now with a deep lineup, and you look at our top six, look at our bottom six, and you look at our D-core and our goalies, I see us having a very strong lineup from from from top to bottom, right off the bat,” Landeskog said.
Avs head coach Jared Bednar chimed in on the depth as well, saying this is “probably the deepest team we’ve had since 2022 to start the season… We feel like we’re a deep team right now. Guys are all excited.”
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar at his season opening press conference: “Probably the deepest team we’ve had since 2022 to start the season… We feel like we’re a deep team right now. Guys are all excited” pic.twitter.com/Y2BKSAuFjt
— Will Petersen (@PetersenWill) September 17, 2025
While things look good to start, Landeskog emphasized that they need to keep building on the depth throughout the season in order to compete with the Floridas and Edmontons of the league.
“You start there, and you build the chemistry, you build special teams right off the bat. You know where guys are going to be. You can tweak things as you go, but for the most part, you can start and set the foundation and then just build off of that and get better as the season goes on,” Landeskog said.
There are some new faces this season that will be able to mesh with some of the other guys that the organization brought in throughout the 2024-25 campaign. From veteran defenseman Brett Burns to third line forward Victor Olofsson, there have been some much-needed tweaks to the roster, especially after Ryan Lindgren and Jonathan Drouin left town.
One day closer to Avalanche hockey! pic.twitter.com/HGeiAa82Qe
— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 16, 2025
Something else that’s important heading into this season is that everyone is all starting under the same roof. Colorado added some players midway through the season, then made a couple of big splashes at the trade deadline, then welcomed Landeskog back to the lineup for Game 3 of the playoffs. That made it challenging for everyone to develop chemistry with one another, something that the captain knows will be easier this time around.
“Last year, a lot of new faces coming in at the end of the year, I come back in for the playoffs. It’s just a lot of a lot of things moving around. So I like where we’re at this time of year. Excited to get it started,” Landeskog said.
Preseason action for the Avalanche kicks off on Sunday in a split-squad matchup against the Utah Mammoth in Denver. The regular season is just under three weeks away, with the season opener scheduled for Oct. 7 against the Los Angeles Kings.
