On the Colorado Avalanche, Nashville Predators, New York Islanders and Carolina Hurricanes …
Chris Nichols: Pierre LeBrun on TSN 690 said “I believe the Nashville Predators have inquired” about Avs forward Matt Duchene.
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Elliotte Friedman on Sportsnet 960 talking about the Avalanche, Matt Duchene and when a potential trade could happen.
“I think it’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of does it happen now or does it happen later,” said Friedman.
Friedman notes that coming out of the All-Star weekend that the salary cap next year will be close to what it is this year. One player said the players may not use the five percent escalator. If this is the case, the Avalanche, Arizona Coyotes and Vegas Golden Knights will have plenty of cap flexibility to take advantage of.
“So I think Colorado is in a position where they’re going to have a lot of extra money. A lot of space to do some stuff. And that will only benefit their other decisions. I do think that Duchene is going to be traded. I just can’t pinpoint a time as to where that occurs. But I think Colorado having flexibility in the summer will give it some options to do some things.”
Friedman thinks the New York Islanders will have some interest in what the Avalanche may make available. The problem for the Islanders may be the Avs asking price.
The Avalanche are likely also looking at goaltending. It’s possible that they buy out Semyon Varlamov this offseason. The Avs will be looking for a young defenseman or two, and a young goalie.
The Carolina Hurricanes are a really good fit for the Avs.
“I’m going to tell you – you were talking about Carolina. To me, Carolina is a perfect match for what the Avalanche are trying to do. They have a lot of young defensemen, including guys like Haydn Fleury and Jake Bean, who aren’t even in the NHL yet. So Carolina is a team that could definitely do it.”
