As many as eight teams are interested in Matt Duchene …
TSN: Darren Dreger said that there are as many as eight teams interested in Matt Duchene, but there doesn’t appear to be anything close. None of the teams that have talked to the Colorado Avalanche feel confident about trading for Duchene.
Dreger believes the following teams have reached out to the Avs: Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks, Los Angeles Kings, Nashville Predators, and Columbus Blue Jackets.
Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun: Sources are saying that Senators GM Pierre Dorion is aggressively going after Avs Matt Duchene. They are not close on a deal at this point.
The Canadiens, Hurricanes, and Predators are among the teams talking to the Avs.
In the past, the Avs have shown a strong interest in Cody Ceci, but the Senators view him as a building block on their blue line.
Bob McKenzie: Bob McKenzie thinks that the Avalanche would want Thomas Chabot in a Duchene trade, but “that’s a non-starter.”
AJ Haefele: Have been told by sources on multiple occasions that the Avs initial ask for Duchene from the Senators was Thomas Chabot and not Cody Ceci.
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Darren Dreger on TSN 690 talking about a potential Matt Duchene trade and that there are as many as eight interested teams.
“The Montreal Canadiens, I wouldn’t put them near the top of the list – they’re a team of interest. Marc Bergevin of course would have interest in Matt Duchene, that hasn’t changed. The problem that the Montreal Canadiens have is who on their defense are they willing to give up. They don’t have that right piece that is going to get a deal done or be part of a deal that gets done.”
After talking to GMs and executives, GM Joe Sakic may have already received the best offers for Duchene and passed on them.
The initial asking price was a top young defenseman (left-handed shot at first) had to be included.
“But the frustration from some general managers who have been active in the ongoing back and forth is Sakic will accept the offer in terms of, ‘Okay, I understand what you’re willing to do here,’ and then say, ‘Give me a week, give me a couple of days’ or whatever it is, and then he doesn’t get back to them. At least that was the case in the off-season. You have to believe that it’s changing now and he’s approaching this with more urgency.”