Matt Duchene has been the center of trade speculation for nearly six months already, and it doesn’t seem like it is stopping anytime soon. He remains one of the prizes of the offseason if anyone can meet Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic’s high price. In perhaps what is a telling answer, Duchene spoke about his future with Dan Rosen of NHL.com.
My identity will be with a team come training camp. I don’t know what team that is yet.
It’s hard to believe that Sakic wouldn’t have made it clear to Duchene that he was going to be an Avalanche next season if he was off the market, which means many will continue to speculate on which team could land the star forward before the start of the season. Even after a down year when he scored just 41 points, he remains a game-changing talent that can use his speed to create offense all on his own.
The New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, Columbus Blue Jackets and Carolina Hurricanes have all been linked to Duchene at various times, with others like Pittsburgh being listed as dark horse candidates to acquire his services. That will only happen if Sakic gets what he wants though, as there have been reports of frustration from around the league that he won’t accept what would be considered an “even” trade. Sakic needs to score a big win in any deal for Duchene after some disappointing results from the Ryan O’Reilly package and a terrible drop off in on-ice performance by the whole team.
Very candid and honest response, something we’re not used to seeing from NHL players. You have to figure he’s frustrated with Sakic at this point seeing as he’s been a focal point of trade talks for almost a calendar year now. His game fell off a cliff post-trade deadline and I’ve seen it suggested that not being traded at that point played a part in that.
I for one wouldn’t mind seeming in an Avalanche uniform next season.