The Colorado Avalanche’s 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators officially eliminated them from playoff contention and the long-term ramifications could be significant.
Failing to qualify for the post-season two years in a row after winning the Central Division in 2014 may prompt a torrent of roster changes in the off-season. One of the toughest decisions the Avalanche face is what to do with star centre Matt Duchene.
Joe Sakic has proven since being named the team’s general manager in 2014 he isn’t opposed to making big moves. Last summer he sent Ryan O’Reilly to the Buffalo Sabres in a blockbuster. The question now is, could Duchene be next?
“I’m sure [trading me] will be thought about,” Duchene told reporters following Tuesday’s loss. “Early in the year, there were lots of rumours, and it’s part of the business. All I can do is be the best I can be and play as hard as I can for my teammates and do whatever I can do to help this team win.”
In November, speculation swirled when his name was being floated around. Duchene has now reached the 20-goal plateau five times in his career and set a career high in goals this season. The smooth-skating 25-year-old would be a coveted commodity regardless of what it might cost to acquire him.
When a player is mired in trade rumours like Duchene was it often negatively impacts their performance. That never occurred in this instance. In fact, all the speculation seemed to fuel Duchene. After registering just two points in 10 games in October, the Haliburton, Ont., native began lighting it up. Duchene had 11 goals and 20 points in 14 games en route to being named the NHL’s third star for November – he became the first Avs player to score 11 or more goals in a calendar month since Milan Hejduk did it in February 2003.
Despite the fact he ended up leading his team in goals and points, the 2015-16 campaign will go down as a disappointing one for Duchene and perhaps his last with the Avalanche, the team that drafted him third overall in 2009.
Earlier this week, Avalanche coach Patrick Roy criticized Duchene for the way he celebrated his 30th goal of the season and ripped into the core of the Avalanche.
“We have some good leadership, but not enough from our core,” Roy said. “Our core hasn’t proved that they have the leadership to bring this team to another level. Eventually we have to admit it. I love these guys. I think [Gabriel Landeskog] is pretty much alone in that. I think [Erik Johnson] is trying. We need more from these guys. Our core players are having a hard time carrying this team. That’s the bottom line.”
After Tuesday’s loss, Roy added: “Obviously, I am very disappointed. I am sure we’re going to have a lot of time to talk about it, but that’s not what we expect from this team. We expect more from this team.”
That means it’s going to be an interesting spring and summer for Sakic, Roy and the Avs brass.
Pending unrestricted free agents Mikkel Boedker and Shawn Matthias will likely be off the books, but Colorado has to be careful when navigating the salary cap.
Restricted free agents Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie are due for major raises and Johnson’s $3.75-million cap hit increases to $6 million when his seven-year extension kicks in. Semyon Varlamov, Landeskog, Jarome Iginla, Carl Soderberg and Francois Beauchemin also boast significant salaries. Those five cap hits alone add up to approximately $26 million.
Duchene has three seasons remaining on his contract, which comes with an annual $6-million cap hit. Unlike Landeskog, Johnson, Iginla and Soderberg, Duchene’s deal didn’t come with any protection in terms of a no-trade or no-movement clause. That, along with the previous trade rumours and the fact you can get a solid return for a player of his calibre, lends credence to the belief Duchene is the core player mostly likely to get moved.
