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Giguere backs captain Landeskog, but ‘other guys have to take charge sometimes’

Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Gabriel Landeskog

Goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere #35 and Gabriel Landeskog #92 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrate their teams 4-1 victory over of the Anaheim Ducks at Honda Center on April 10, 2013 in Anaheim, California. (April 9, 2013 - Source: Jeff Gross/Getty Images North America)

Colorado Avalanche goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, 35, ripped into his teammates for not caring enough about winning.

He later apologized for his remarks and it was ultimately too late to spark a season-saving Avalanche turnaround.

Still, if anyone’s going to try and light a fire under his teammates, shouldn’t it have been the team’s captain, Gabriel Landeskog?

“He’s going to be a tremendous captain,” Giguere said in a Denver Post report. “He’s a natural-born leader. He’s been very vocal in the dressing room for us.

“It’s hard. You’re a last-place team and you’re 20 years old and you’re the captain. It’s not easy. Some other guys have to take charge sometimes. It’s not just about him.”

Landeskog is 20 and has played in just 113 career NHL games. Beyond just being the team’s leader, he represents where the Avalanche could be going if their young core’s development goes according to plan.

Regardless, the vast majority of the 2013 squad is already signed through the 2013-14 campaign and that’s part of the reason why Giguere thinks it’s important that they finish the season on a positive note.

“This is the group that will be back. I’m sure there might be changes around the edges and things like that, but most of us probably will be back, and I know we have character in this group,” Giguere said. “But it’s never too early to start a good foundation. Because if you don’t, it’s so hard to get out of a losing mentality and change it.”