- Craig Custance of ESPN: The Avalanche stirred up the market when Joe Sakic said they would be taking a forward with the first overall pick.
“He’s trying to drum up a market,” Oilers GM Craig MacTavish said Wednesday. “It’s going to garnish a lot of attention … virtually everybody will be contacting Colorado about what their intention is.”
The Avs are close to getting back into playoff contention. By trading the pick and moving down a little while picking up some other assets would help get them there quicker. By saying that they are taking a forward and not Seth Jones, it makes other teams go through them and not the Panthers at No. 2.
- Chip Alexander: Alexander is hearing that if the Hurricanes target is not there at No. 5, they could trade down. They are unlikely to move up.
