On the Colorado Avalanche and Matt Duchene …
Adrian Dater of BSN Denver: The reporting date for Avalanche veterans is Thursday. The Matt Duchene and Nikita Zadorov situations still hang over the team.
Duchene’s agent hasn’t said if Duchene will report to training camp or not, but Sakic expects him to.
“He’s under contract and I expect him to be here on the 14th,” Sakic told BSN Denver. “He doesn’t have to be here ’til the 14th. Not everybody always come to camp early. It’s not for me to (say), but I assume on the 14th, he’ll be here.”
Sakic isn’t worried about the idea of him not reporting just yet.
Sakic said that they have made several contract offers to Zadorov. Sources are saying that Zadorov is looking for $2.5 million and the Avs aren’t offering much more than $2 million.
“We’re confident with where we are in negotiations,” Sakic said. “At some point, he’s going to have to decide what he’s going to do. My only hope is that he will be here on Thursday.”
On the Los Angeles Kings and Drew Doughty …
Matt Larkin of The Hockey News: Defenseman Drew Doughty is still under contract until 2019 and laughs off any Toronto Maple Leafs rumors. Though from Ontario, he said he didn’t grow up a Maple Leafs fan. IF he were to sign with the Maple Leafs, it would be about winning.
“My first love will always be L.A.,” he said. “It’s one of the best organizations in all of sports, not just hockey. It’s unbelievable. They treat us first-class, and it’s a good place to play. Living in Los Angeles, you can’t beat it. I’d love to re-sign in L.A. But if our team isn’t going in the right direction…I want to win Cups. I don’t give a s— where I play. I just want to win Cups, and that’s the bottom line.”