Gabriel Landeskog ain't coming cheap.
The Colorado Avalanche captain and his trade prospects were discussed on TSN's "Insider Trading" on Tuesday, and Darren Dreger had the latest on what general manager Joe Sakic is asking for:
It's a lot, and you can understand why it would be a high price. We're talking about a top-level defenseman, a first-round pick, plus.
The Boston Bruins have been linked to Landeskog, 24, but reportedly aren't willing to trade defenseman Brandon Carlo, and Dreger made note of interest from the Eastern Conference, adding that some teams believe the initial asking price to be "a bit outrageous."
Landeskog's signed through 2020-21 at a salary cap hit of $5,571,429, and has four times registered 50 or more points in a season, including each of the last three. He had a career-best 26 goals and 65 points in 2013-14.
Much like Colorado, though, he's struggling this season, with only seven goals and six assists in 29 games.
Pierre LeBrun added, in the same segment, that teams monitoring the situation in Denver may believe the offseason will be a better time to talk trade with Sakic about Landeskog, Matt Duchene, and perhaps more, when the salary cap isn't as much of a factor.
"I think more globally," LeBrun said, "the Avalanche have to decide if this is a full tear-down or a retooling of this team that once again has disappointed this year."
