Will Gabriel Landeskog contribute to your roster anytime soon?

By rookie standards, Gabriel Landeskog had a very solid 2011-2012 season. He finished his rookie campaign with a Calder Trophy and gained enormous respect from the Avalanche players, management, and coaching staff. He showed so much poise and maturity during his rookie season, that going into his sophomore year, the organization decided to make Landeskog the youngest captain in NHL history, beating Sidney Crosby's record by 11 days.

—- Check out the 8th annual DobberHockey Fantasy Guide right here! —-

Landeskog demonstrated an excellent two-way game scoring 52 points in his first 82 NHL games, getting a promising career off to a great start. Over the course of his first season he was provided with ample opportunity, as the former second overall pick averaged over 18 minutes per game and was given a decent amount power play time.

Here is a look at Landeskog's 2011-2012 stats:

2011-2012 Regular Season

To cap the year off, Landeskog went on a tear during the final quarter of 2011-12, finishing the year on a 71 point pace, with 19 points in his final 22 games. He received just over 19 minutes per game and his power play time was consistent with the rest of the season. His opportunity was the same – but Landeskog raised his game to another level and cemented his Calder candidacy.

Here is a snapshot of Landeskog's fantastic run at the end of his rookie season:

 2011-2012 Fourth Quarter Summary

Courtesy of Frozen Pool, we can also evaluate Landeskog's most frequent line combinations during that successful final quarter of 2011-2012. He played most of the time on a line with Steve Downie (who was injured for most of 2012-13) and Ryan O'Reilly (who joined the team late in 2012-13 due to a contract holdout).

Landeskog seemed to have some decent chemistry with Downie and O'Reilly. It will be interesting to see if they play together more next season now that Downie is again healthy and O'Reilly is likely more prepared after his bizarre contract holdout last year.

Sophomore Jinx

Winning a Calder trophy and being handed the captaincy comes with enormous expectations, unfortunately, Gabriel Landeskog did not live up to those expectations last season. Despite an increase in overall TOI and PP TOI, Landeskog followed up his impressive rookie campaign by accumulating just 17 points in 36 games last season. To add to the disappointment, Landeskog missed 12 games due to leg and head injuries.

Here is a snapshot of his disappointing 2012-2013:

2012-2013 Regular Season

It is difficult to suggest line combinations were an issue last season as Landeskog spent more time with offensively gifted line-mates Matt Duchene, Paul Statsny, and P.A. Parenteau. Despite playing with team-mates that should have improved his statistics across the board, Landeskog struggled throughout the year.

Here is a look at Landeskog's most frequent line combinations from last season.

2012-13     Even Strength Line Combinations

2012-13 Power Play Line Combinations

Sample Size

With only 118 NHL games under his belt, it is too early to gauge Landeskog's value. A summary of Landeskog's point production from each quarter over the past two seasons does suggest there should be some concern. With the exception of that fantastic fourth quarter run during his rookie season, Landeskog has essentially contributed at a pace of .5 points per game.

2011-12 First Quarter             (10 points in 21 games)

2011-12 Second Quarter         (11 points in 21 games)

2011-12 Third Quarter            (12 points in 18 games)

2011-12 Fourth Quarter       (19 points in 22 games)

2012-13 First Quarter             (5 points in 11 games)

2012-13 Second Quarter         (11 points in 22 games)

Final Forensics Note

In his rookie season, Landeskog was 15^th overall in the league with 270 shots on goal and 18^th overall with 219 hits. If these are stats in your league, Landeskog is an elite LW for these categories.

Considering how much opportunity he was given in his first two seasons and the fact that the Avalanche just signed Landeskog to a seven-year contract extension that pays him 5.571 million per season, there is reason to be (cautiously) patient.

This is the last season of Landeskog's entry level contract which pays him 3.575 million this year. Next season his salary makes the jump. Poolies in salary cap leagues should beware.

This past summer, the Avalanche added veteran left-winger Alex Tanguay to supplement their top six. Keep tabs on how this impacts Landeskog on the team's depth chart this season.

Lack of depth at the center position is not an issue in Colorado. Landeskog is guaranteed to be on a line with at least one of Duchene, Stastny, or recent first overall pick Nathan MacKinnon.

This season expect Landeskog to contribute 78 games, 20 goals, 30 assists, 55 PIM, 270 SOG, 200 Hits, and a plus/minus that will likely end up in the single digits on the negative side.

Previously in FrozenPool Forensics:

Can Thomas Vanek Survive on His Own?

Sam Gagner – Seventh-Year Breakout?