Avalanche captain Gabe Landeskog will never forget Sept. 4, 2012, the day he was summoned to the Pepsi Center to meet with then-coach Joe Sacco and then-captain Milan Hejduk.
At age 19, Landeskog became the youngest captain in NHL history, replacing the 36-year-old Hejduk. Hejduk went on to play the final year of his 14-year NHL career in the lockout-shortened season of 2012-13.
It was because of that meeting, when Hejduk graciously concurred with his coach to hand off the C, that Landeskog will have fond memories of what unfolds Saturday night, when Hejduk has his jersey retired in a pregame ceremony at the Pepsi Center before the Avs play Minnesota.
“That was a good day,” Landeskog said. “Kind of shows you what kind of guy he is.”
Hejduk, 41, will be the sixth Avalanche player to have his jersey retired. He amassed 805 career points (375 goals) in an NHL career exclusively played in Colorado. The 2001 Stanley Cup champion won the 2003 Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s leading goal-scorer, with a career-high 50.
Hejduk’s parents and other family members from the Czech Republic will attend Saturday’s ceremony. He said he is thrilled to complete the “starting lineup” of retired Avalanche jerseys. He is the third forward to have his jersey retired, joining Joe Sakic (19) and Peter Forsberg (21). Defensemen Raymond Bourque (77) and Adam Foote (52) and goalie Patrick Roy (33) complete the lineup of retired sweaters.
The Avalanche is asking that fans be in their seats by 5:45 p.m. — 90 minutes before the game is scheduled to begin.
“It’s going to be a lot of fun,” Landeskog said. “I haven’t seen Hejdie in a while. He deserves this honor.”
Second-year forward Mikko Rantanen of Finland has the Pepsi Center stall Hejduk used to have — just to the right of Landeskog if the players were sitting side-by-side.
“He was a great stall-mate and taught me a lot of things,” Landeskog said.
Said Rantanen: “It’s probably going to be a packed house. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s a big honor to sit in his seat.”
The Avalanche (21-16-3) is on a season-high four-game winning streak and could tie the Wild (22-16-3) for eighth place in the Western Conference with a victory in regulation. The Avs are 4-1 on their six-game homestand.
“We’re playing well. We’re realizing where we’re at in the standings and how important this homestand is,” Landeskog said. “We have to play desperate and that’s what we’ve been doing the last four games. We’re getting rewarded.”
