Mark Kiszla, sports columnist: Not quite

After a storybook comeback of Gabe Landeskog, what’s the next twist in this tale?

During the playoffs against Dallas last spring, Captain Gabe shocked me by looking as good as new after a freak, career-threatening injury kept him off the ice for 1,032 days. So how much should we expect from him this season, when he turns 33 years old?

I shamelessly confess to being an unabashed fan of Landeskog, who stands right there among my personal favorite Avalanche players of all time, alongside Patrick Roy and Peter Forsberg. I thought Landy’s leadership was the most underrated aspect of Colorado’s run to a championship in 2022, and watching the Avs get bounced early from the playoffs during his lengthy absence only reinforced that belief.

But this is also the reality: Landeskog hasn’t played more than 54 regular-season games since 2019. While I’m convinced there’s still plenty of fight in Landy and think he can still score at a rate of .75 points per game as a second-line winger, should coach Jared Bednar consider load management that requires regular nights off as a healthy scratch? Is load management even a thing in the tough guy world of hockey?

I’m convinced Colorado will be a more focused and accountable team with Landeskog back in the lineup on a regular basis. But for the Avs to hoist the Cup again, their best players have to be their best players, eh? So this team will go as far as Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar and Mackenzie Blackwood can take them. Landeskog is here to give ‘em a push — and perhaps a kick in the pants, if needed — along the way.

Evan Rawal, Avalanche team reporter: Yes

Comparing the Avalanche’s post-2022 Stanley Cup teams, this one looks pretty solid. In fact, I’d go as far to say this looks to be the best opening-night roster the Avalanche will put on the ice since that 2021 opener.

For the past three seasons, there have been major question marks entering the year for this team. What’s Gabriel Landeskog’s status? Will he ever return? Is Valeri Nichushkin going to be welcomed back to the locker room his recent seasons ended? And is there any reason anyone should trust Colorado’s goaltending?

Those major question marks don’t exist right now. Sure, it’s fair to wonder how Gabe is going to hold up over a full season, which includes the Olympics, by the way. I also think the bottom six is a work in progress. That being said, how can you not be optimistic about Landeskog after what we all saw with our own eyes in the postseason? He stepped on the ice and almost immediately looked like the Gabe of old.

You have Nathan MacKinnon. You have Cale Makar. And you feel good about the goaltending tandem entering the season. Mackenzie Blackwood had an up-and-down series against Dallas, but you still feel better with him in net than Alexandar Georgiev.

The Western Conference, specifically the Central Division, is going to be a gantlet yet again. It won’t be easy, but this team is still built to win the Stanley Cup right now — and a healthy Landeskog is a big reason why.