Report - Western Conference team waiting to activate player for Game 1 of the playoffs similar to 'Kucherov' situation
When the Tampa Bay Lightning won the Stanley Cup for the second time they were heavily criticized for their usage of long-term injured reserve. The NHL opted to not make any changes or updates to their salary structure and this has opened up other teams to follow in the Lightning footsteps.
The Colorado Avalanche are the reigning Stanley Cup Champions and it appears they're willing to do anything possible to repeat in a similar style as the Lightning. The Avalanche have battled injuries all year. Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Bowen Byram, Josh Manson and Valeri Nichushkin have all missed considerable time this season, while Gabriel Landeskog hasn't played a single game.
Similar to the Kucherov situation, Landeskog underwent surgery during the offseason. Landeskog has recently been back with the Avalanche taking part in practice, again in a similar manner to Kucherov. Now according to sources it appears Landeskog is 'ready to go'.
The team will decide when is the right time to slot him into the lineup. This could be game 1 round 1, could be round 2. We won't know. But there's been enough chatter to suggest it's pretty much certain Landeskog will return for a run at back to back Stanley Cups
While it will be great to see Landeskog return to the lineup, the questions really need to be asked, if Landeskog is ready now, how is he able to remain on LTIR until the playoffs? Doesn't this situation just circumvent the entire purpose of the salary cap?
| POLL | ||
AVRIL 5 | 248 ANSWERS Report - Western Conference team waiting to activate player for Game 1 of the playoffs similar to 'Kucherov' situation Should teams be forced to follow the salary cap in the playoffs? | ||
| Yes, that truly keeps things fair | 189 | 76.2 % |
| No, the current system is fine | 59 | 23.8 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Hurricanes | 18 | 14 | 4 | - | 28 | |
Capitals | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1 | 27 | |
Wild | 18 | 12 | 3 | 3 | 27 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Devils | 21 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 17 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 19 | 12 | 6 | 1 | 25 | |
Stars | 18 | 12 | 6 | - | 24 | |
Golden Knights | 19 | 11 | 6 | 2 | 24 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||