Q>> I’m aware no one knows at this point, but I’m interested in your best guess: How many games do you think Landy will play next season, and how many points will he produce?

— thriller1, via Reddit

Corey>> That has to be one of the biggest questions for the Avalanche when training camp begins: How much will captain Gabe Landeskog play after his dramatic comeback during the 2025 Stanley Cup Playoffs? Here’s what Avs general manager Chris MacFarland said about his captain on July 2:

“For the first time in many, many years, we are going into the offseason with the expectation that Gabe is going to not only play, but play consistently and be able to play well.”

There’s no reason to think Landeskog is just going to come back and play 82 games, or even try to. He did play almost every game in the COVID-shortened 2020-21 season, but he missed 59 games over the next two years while dealing with knee issues.

Even if the knee is good as new, the Avs will likely try to give him some nights off when there are back-to-back games. Given the Olympic break, there might be a few more of those than usual. There could be other minor issues that crop up as well.

There are a lot of joints and muscles beyond his knee that haven’t been through the grind of an NHL schedule in three years.

The most important thing is for him to be as healthy as possible and not worn out in early April. Even if he only plays 20 regular-season games, if he’s available for the playoffs and plays as well as he did against Dallas, that’s all that matters.

The over-under should probably be around 55 games. If Landeskog can avoid other minor injuries, he might push 65-70. If he plays like he did against Dallas, Landeskog could produce at a per-82 game pace of 25 goals and 60 points.

Q>> Will Jared Bednar healthy scratch Brent Burns for the first game to put the ironman streak to bed and remove any silly pressure to keep him in the lineup all season?

— AllRushMixTapes, via reddit

Corey>> No. If Burns is healthy early in the season, he’s going to play.

Unless you’ve spent a little too much time reading the thoughts of online Hurricanes fans, there’s not a lot of reason to believe Burns can’t be a solid player for the Avs. There is a big difference between “maybe he shouldn’t play 23 minutes a night as the No. 2 guy” and “he should be a healthy scratch.”

At a minimum, he’s been very good on the penalty kill and should be one of the top three or four guys in PK ice time per game for the Avs. His Net Rating, an all-inclusive metric from The Athletic’s Dom Luszczyszyn, was plus-6. That was higher than everyone on Colorado’s defense corps last season behind Cale Makar and Devon Toews.

At his age, I wouldn’t expect him to play all 82 games. I’d be surprised if his play is bad enough that the Avs would consider scratching him. He’s 75 games from 1,000 in a row, but 40 would move him into third place and 65 would put him second — and first among all defensemen.

Q>> Is there any universe where the front office will allow Martin Necas to start the season without an extension? How far do you think they will reasonably let it go before a trade is inevitable?

— Play-it-again-Milo, via reddit

Corey>> I think starting the season without one is plausible, so yeah, this universe, maybe. It would be a surprise as of right now if Necas finishes the season without one.

A lot can happen — injuries, better than expected play (or worse), etc. Every situation is different, as Mikko Rantanen and his teammates found out when they all expected him to stay, even if it meant going down to the wire like Landeskog did in 2021.

I think if Necas starts the season without a contract and plays well, the Avs and his agent will figure something out. If the negotiations don’t go well … well, MacFarland has shown everyone that he is willing to hit the eject button.

The best-case scenarios for the Avs are either that Necas agrees to a below-market value contract, or another team offers them a deal they can’t refuse. In between could get tricky.