Matt Duchene probably didn't expect to be back at Avalanche training camp.
The star forward has long been involved in trade rumors, but Avalanche general manager and executive vice president of hockey operations Joe Sakic has been unable to find an offer to his liking. It's certainly not because of lack of interest in the 26-year-old. Duchene has the capabilities of a true No. 1 center - something every team covets.
The problem is, Duchene is coming off the worst full season of his career, in which he totaled just 41 points in 77 games. He's one of the game's fastest skaters, has silky, smooth hands, and is an elite face-off man. He's been a near-point-per-game player before, and is certainly capable of doing so again.
Sakic, however, is hoping to get a return befitting of a No. 1 center, but teams are likely low-balling him with offers, due to Duchene's lackluster season and also cognizant of the fact that he no longer wants to be in Colorado.
Those calling for Sakic to simply just trade Duchene for the best offer he can get are in the wrong.
The Avalanche were a historically bad team last season, and Duchene's individual statistics suffered because of it. Though the Avs certainly won't be a playoff team this year, there's no doubting they will have an improved offense.
Fellow cornerstone players Nathan MacKinnon and Gabriel Landeskog also had down years and will be looking to rebound in 2017-18. Mikko Rantanen should be able to build upon a stellar rookie season, while youngsters Tyson Jost and J.T. Compher will add more speed and creativity to the offense. Additionally, Colin Wilson and Nail Yakupov were brought in to provide scoring depth.
(Photo courtesy: Action Images)
The point is, Duchene's trade value has hit rock bottom. It can, and will, only go up from here.
Take the case of Jonathan Drouin, for example. After his holdout, many thought it was in the Lightning's best interest to trade him right away in order to remove the "distraction." Sound familiar? Lightning GM Steve Yzerman ended up waiting over a year for Drouin's trade value to rise, and then dealt him for a potential No. 1 defenseman in Mikhail Sergachev.
Duchene won't be an unrestricted free agent until after the 2018-19 season, so Sakic isn't exactly on the clock or anything just yet.
The return Sakic receives for Duchene is an incredibly vital step in Colorado's rebuild. They are in dire need of a true No. 1 defenseman - or at least someone with the potential to be one. There's simply no point in rushing something that doesn't need to be rushed.
In the end, Duchene is in the driver's seat. If he really wants to be traded out of Colorado, he will stop sulking and play to the best of his abilities so teams will be willing to pony up and meet Sakic's trade requirements. That's his quickest ticket out of Denver.
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