Gabriel Landeskog signed a 7 year $39 million extension a few days ago with Colorado.  The 20 year old is the youngest Captain ever in the history of the NHL.  He scored 22 goals and 52 points in the 2011-2012 season winning the Calder Trophy as the best rookie in the NHL.  Last year he suffered a huge hit by San Jose defenseman Brad Stuart, suffered what was likely a concussion, missed 12 games and struggled when he came back, and he scored only 17 points. Landeskog plays on the left wing on Colorado's second line, but he gets lots of power play time, and we are big believers in his talent. We expect him to have a bounce-back year.  The Avalanche have already locked up center Matt Duchene with a 5 year $30 million contract, so Vice President of Operations Joe Sakic is betting the future on these two young forwards. He sees them every day, and understands what talent they have.  Expect Landeskog to have a big season with 70+ points. Antti Raanta The Chicago Blackhawks signed Finnish goaltender Antti Raanta to a one year contract in June. Raanta is 24 years old, and he was lights out in the Finnish league SM Liiga for Assat Pori.  He went 21-10-11 with a 1.85 goals against average and a .943 save percentage.  He was even better in the playoffs with a 12-4 record, a 1.33 goals against average and a .955 save percentage, and he was named the most valuable player of the regular season and the most outstanding player in the playoffs.  With Ray Emery gone to Philadelphia, Chicago brought in 40 year old Nikolai Khabibulin to be the back-up to starter Corey Crawford. Khabibulin is no longer capable of playing every day if something happened to Crawford.  When training camp opens we will see how well Raanta plays in North America, and if he can adjust quickly to the smaller ice surface.  The interesting aspect of this situation is that Crawford is an unrestricted free agent after this year.  While Raanta may start the season in the AHL, he may take over Khabibulin's back-up job, and if the Blackhawks have trouble in resigning Crawford, he may get a shot at a starting goalie job next year.  He appears to have all the skills necessary.  Watch him in training camp.

AVALANCHE LINE PLANS: According to Adrian Dater of the Denver Post, Avalanche Head coach Patrick Roy has set his line combinations before going into training camp: LINE 1: C Matt Duchene- LW Ryan O' Reilly- RW P.A. Parenteau; LINE 2: C Paul Stastny- LW Gabriel Landeskog- RW Alex Tanguay; and LINE 3: C Nathan MacKinnon- LW Jamie McGinn- RW Steve Downie. Very interesting, considering Reilly will be shifted to left wing, while Tanguay will play the right side on the 2nd line. If this hold true, then the Av's plan to hold on to all their young centers. Let's see how this plays out when the free agency period begins on July 5. read more

Landeskog was a late scratch Saturday with a torso injury.

Early indications show Landeskog will play the wing alogside Stastny and Jones.

Landeskog (concussion) hasn't played since January 26th. It appears he will return to the Avs lineup this weekend.

The Avs could use the services of their young captain as they have struggled without him. Monitor his status in the next couple days to see if he will be in the lineup against Los Angeles, Anaheim or San Jose.

Landeskog hasn't played since January 26th when he was hit hard by Sharks defenceman Brad Stuart and suffered multiple injuries. The Avalanche need him back but aren't going to rush their young captain. It appears as if he is still at least a week away from returning.

This will be the second game in a row that Landeskog has missed due to injuries sustained on the big hit he took from Sharks defenceman Brad Stuart.

Landeskog took a big hit from San Jose D-man Brad Stuart on Saturday. He only has one goal on the year, and it is unknown how long he'll be out but it doesn't appear to be serious.

***IN THE SLOT*** QUICK HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE NHL AWARDS: Evgeni Malkin wins the heralded Hart Trophy last night as league MVP. Erik Karlsson wins the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman. Henrik Lundqvist finally brings home a Veziny Trophy as the league's best goaltender. The Calder Trophy for the league's best rookie went to Colorado's Gabriel Landeskog. Stay tuned for the Primepucks NHL Fantasy Awards for 2012-13....