On the Colorado Avalanche and Matt Duchene …
Adrian Dater: Think that it’s 70-30 that Duchene gets traded, which is down from 99-1.
Adrian Dater: There is nothing imminent with Duchene. There is a good chance that he’s back with the Avs next year. Sakic won’t be bullied.
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Darren Dreger on TSN 690 on Tuesday talking about the Colorado Avalanche and Matt Duchene. Dreger thinks that the Avs have to trade Duchene.
“It becomes an immediate distraction. It was for Matt Duchene through much of last season. Imagine what it would be like if he’s got to go to training camp and go through all the process again. That’s not good for the player. It’s not good for the team and the dressing room, and it certainly isn’t good for the organization overall.
“So I think Sakic will find a fit at some point this summer.”
Joe Haggerty of CSNNE: There have been rumors that the Boston Bruins were involved in trade talks with the Avalanche about Matt Duchene. Aaron Portzline noted that the Avs were interested in Brandon Carlo.
“There are some teams that I’ve spoken with that may have players that we’re interested as well,” B’s general manager Don Sweeney said vaguely on July 1 after the first day of free agency. “I can’t guess where it actually falls in the next few days, but there are some players that .”
Carlo’s name came up in trade talks last season when the Bruins and Avs were talking about Gabriel Landeskog. Carlo is from Colorado Springs.
If there Bruins were to include Carlo, they would have to move some salary as well to make it work. Another issue would be that Duchene is a natural center – the Bruins already have Patrice Bergeron and David Krejci. Could Duchene play left wing beside David Krejci?
Haggerty thinks they shouldn’t include Carlo and try for a package involving Ryan Spooner and Jakub Zboril.
Aaron Portzline: (from a couple days ago) What ever the Blue Jackets had been offering, doesn’t get the sense that they will “sweeten” the offer to for Duchene. Yes, they would like to have him, but get the sense that they feel that they are competitors without him. There is lots of time to upgrade their roster – off-season and in-season.
Chris Nichols of FanRag Sports: Darren Dreger on TSN 690 with a quick note on the Nashville Predators in part of a bigger conversation about the Maple Leafs and some forwards they could have available.
“I look at a team like the Nashville Predators, who lose James Neal. They know that they need help up front. They added Alexei Emelin. Everybody jumped to the conclusion that, ‘Oh, well David Poile is positioning to make that Matt Duchene trade with the Colorado Avalanche.’ Except that wasn’t the direction initiated by Poile in the beginning when he landed Emelin. He’s looking for depth. But he’s got to address what his needs are up front.”
