Numbers rarely lie. When Gabriel Landeskog was in the lineup this season, the Colorado Avalanche went 45-7-8. When he wasn’t, they managed a 10-9-3 record. That single stat — stark, unambiguous — tells the story of what his return meant to this franchise better than any award ever could.

And yet, on Tuesday night, the NHL handed him two of them.

Landeskog, 33, was named the winner of both the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy and the Mark Messier Leadership Award for the 2025-26 season, becoming the first player in league history to capture both honors in a career — let alone in the same year. It is the kind of distinction that arrives not through brilliance alone, but through suffering, patience, and an almost unreasonable refusal to quit.

The Masterton Trophy, awarded for perseverance and dedication to the game, needs little explanation in Landeskog’s case. Three knee surgeries. Three full seasons missed. A documentary series — “A Clean Sheet” — to chronicle the long, grinding road back. He returned in April 2025, over 1,032 days after his last NHL game, and promptly helped the Avalanche advance in the playoffs. This season, he stepped back into the lineup as if he had never left: 35 points in 60 games, 11 points in 13 playoff appearances, and a quiet consistency that lifted everyone around him.

The Messier Award tells a different but equally compelling story. Now in his 14th season as team captain — third-longest tenure in the modern NHL behind Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin — Landeskog carried his leadership beyond Denver. He captained Team Sweden at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, the first Games to feature NHL players since 2014, and contributed four points in five contests. Back home, his work with the National Sports Center for the Disabled, Vitalant Blood Donations, and over 20 Colorado schools reflected a commitment that quietly set the standard in the locker room.

What makes this moment resonate beyond the hardware is what it represents for the franchise. The Avalanche won the Presidents’ Trophy this season. They did it, in no small part, because their captain — the same man who hoisted the Stanley Cup in 2022 before watching three seasons pass from the sideline — came back and reminded them what it looked like to play through everything.

Some returns are celebrated. This one was earned.