Avalanche captain Landeskog expects better season

DENVER -- Gabriel Landeskog expects his second season as Colorado Avalanche captain to go more smoothly than his first. Named captain by coach Joe Sacco before the lockout-shortened season started, Landeskog missed 12 games with a head injury, slumped to nine goals and 17 points, and the Avalanche missed the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the third year in a row.

"Last year was a little weird, to say the least, coming in after a lockout and having the 'C' on my jersey for just a few months," said Landeskog, who won the Calder Trophy in 2011-12 after scoring 22 goals and 52 points in 82 games. "It was a little weird. Now I know more what to expect. I'm not saying I'm the perfect captain, but it takes a while and there are a lot of great guys around here who are going to help me.

"(New Avalanche coach) Patrick (Roy) knows what it's like to be a leader in the dressing room, and I'm going to talk to him a lot. We're looking forward to having a little bit of a fresh start."

Roy said Landeskog would remain captain but expects other players to provide leadership.

"I never had a 'C' on my jersey; that does not mean I can't bring leadership on our team," Roy said. "The leaders of the team don't need a 'C' or an 'A' on their jersey. We have great leaders on this team. We have (Cory) Sarich, (Alex) Tanguay, (Jean-Sebastien) Giguere. [Gabriel] won't be alone. There's other guys that I'm counting on: (Matt) Duchene, (Ryan) O'Reilly, (Paul) Stastny. These guys are ready to take the lead on this team."

Landeskog said he is excited about the chance to play for Roy and executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic.

"We all know they could have been on any golf course in the country playing right now, but they want to be here to help this team," Landeskog said. "Now it's on the players. It's up to us to respond and to deliver. We're tired of losing and we want to change that and we're all looking forward to that."