What Giguere's Comments Mean For Gabe Landeskog...

Seriously though, Jiggy's "Vegas trip"
comment is among the best quotes ever.
(Doug Pensinger, Getty Images)

 At the conclusion of another lackluster performance by the Colorado Avalanche last night, goaltender Jean-Sebastian Giguere had a ton of rich, long-winded quotes for reporters after the team's 3-1 loss to the Calgary Flames. Calling Giguere frustrated would be an understatement. "Fuming with anger" or "handing back genuine rage" is probably a more appropriate way to describe his comments.
 Jiggy has always been known as a team-first guy, and stats and salary aside, he's a well respected person throughout the hockey community. So if he is this upset and not afraid to voice it with such colorful quotes, his feelings are probably shared with at least some of his teammates, putting a rift in the Avalanche locker room. What does this all mean for Colorado's 20 year-old captain, Gabriel Landeskog?
 Originally reported by Denver Post beat writer Adrian Dater, Giguere had the following to say about the team he backstops:

"At some point, we have to understand. There’s no more excuses. It’s not about being young, it’s not about … we have to put our head into the game."

"Some guys are more worried about their Vegas trip at the end of the season than playing the games, than playing every minute of the games. Quite frankly, I don’t care about your Vegas trip right now. "

"It’s embarrassing. I’m embarrassed to be here right now. It’s not even funny."

"I don’t know why we seem like we don’t care at points. I don’t know, I don’t know we seem like, you know — some guys are fighting to show that they belong in the NHL, some guys are fighting for contracts. And it’s just embarrassing, the way we, you know, the energy we have in the room and the way we approach practices and the way we approach this game. It’s not how you’re going to win any games in this league. I mean, [Calgary] is a team that we can beat if we set our minds to it, and every day is the same story. I don’t know what to say."

"There’s not one easy game in this league, so you’ve got to play hard and you’ve got to play well every night. You’ve got to find a way to get yourself motivated and focused. It has nothing to do with who you’re playing. It’s about how you prepare yourself and how you approach the game. It’s not about which team you’re playing. Yeah, everybody’s going to get motivated when you play the Hawks. I mean, the building is full and that’s easy to do. But can you get yourself going when you play the Calgary Flames? Can you do that right now? And obviously, we’re too immature to do that."

 Aaaaaand boom goes the dynamite.

(Getty Images)

 Now with that all out there and what a veteran like Jiggy considers to be pretty significant issues with the team, how does the youngest captain in NHL history have to respond?
 To say this is Landeskog's first test as a captain of an NHL team would be unfair to the Swede. He's been tested ever since he was named the youngest captain in league history, handling the title with class and honor. The Avs current issues just may become a more defining situation for his captaincy.
 Let's not kid around, the Avalanche aren't going to make the playoffs, but they can start playing the right way now, rather than taking the "there's always next year" attitude. Sure, Avs head coach Joe Sacco shoulders some of that responsibility, but this is the perfect time for Landeskog to step up and be a true leader. He needs to skate through the lines at practice, push his teammates, and he (along with Coach Sacco) need to stand-up to anyone who wants to give half an effort.
 Now, it still baffles me that some pro hockey players can be accused of "not caring", but apparently those kind of people still exist. That won't make Landeskog's job any easier, because the guys that give up on their season likely aren't the type that will take someone who has hardly played 100 games in this league as seriously when he tries to get your head out of your derriere. When Bill Guerin tells you to shut-up and listen, you're probably going to shut-up and listen. If Jarome Iginla wants to sit down and talk with you, you're going to ask him where and when. When a young hot-shot in a bit of a sophomore slump tries to help out a guy with an attitude problem, the message is understandably a little less likely to get through.
 If Colorado's year makes a turnaround in the final month of the season, give all the credit to Gabriel Landeskog, because chances are he set an example on and off the ice for that team to follow. If it doesn't turn around, I'm not going to call Landeskog a terrible captain, too immature to wear the "C", or a lousy teammate. He's far from that. I will be slightly disappointed, though, because he may have missed an opportunity to usher in a new, infectious winning attitude and work ethic to the Avalanche's locker room in the midst of a season that is living up to the club's namesake.