'My Heart Is In Colorado': Gabriel Landeskog Signs 8-Year, $56 Million Contract With Avalanche

DENVER (CBS4) - Gabriel Landeskog is staying with the Colorado Avalanche. After agreeing to an eight-year contract extension on Tuesday night, Landeskog met with the media on Wednesday morning and shared his excitement about his new deal.

"The uncertainty is definitely hard, but at the end of the day, for me, I was sure what I wanted. My heart is in Colorado. Denver is our home. That's where we put down our roots, and that's where I've always wanted to be," said Landeskog.

"Coming down to it I was very certain about where I wanted to be. My heart was nowhere else. There's no place I'd rather be than in Denver and play for the Avs. Very happy that we got it done. Relieved, happy and obviously very thankful."

Landeskog has been the captain of the Avs since the start of the 2012-2013 season and was set to become an unrestricted free agent on Wednesday if he had not agreed to terms with the Avs.

"The ultimate goal is to win the Stanley Cup. That's what I've said from day one. I grew up with poster of the Avs Stanley Cup winning team in 1996 and 2001 in my room. That my goal and my dream, to be in a picture in an Avs jersey and holding the Stanley Cup, and that is something that is always going to be the goal, and until you win the final game of the season we're going to continue to work towards that."

The Avs recently reached a long-term deal with Cale Makar and are in the process of negotiating with goalie Philipp Grubauer who is now an unrestricted free agent.

Landeskog says he hasn't talked specifically to Grubauer about re-signing with the Avs.

"At the end of the day that's his decision. I would love to have Gruby back, believe me. He's the backbone of our team and a huge part of our success this season, but at the end of the day, I'm not going to tell Gruby what to do, just like he didn't try to tell me what to do. I'm hoping he comes back. We'll see what happens."