With Wednesday’s NHL Trade Deadline quickly approaching, many people are hoping that the Colorado Avalanche make a major move with an eye towards the future of the franchise. According to Terry Frei of the Denver Post however, doesn’t feel that general manager Joe Sakic necessarily needs to make a move right now.
“The worst thing Joe Sakic could do would be to make a deal just to show people he’s doing something,” Frei told Ryan Edwards and Danny Williams on Mile High Sports Radio. “That’s the preamble to a disaster.”
This season has been an unmitigated disaster for the Avalanche. Sitting at 17-40-3, they are far and away the worst team in the NHL. In some ways however, that takes the pressure off of them at the deadline.
“What’s the incentive for them to do a deal now?” Frei asked. “They’re not looking at trying to make the playoffs. That’s impossible. They could win every game the rest of the year and not make the playoffs. There’s really no reason for them to have to do a deal now.”
Frie instead suggests that, if Sakic’s high asking prices aren’t met, that he may just wait until this summer to make a move.
“The deadline is a deadline, but it doesn’t mean you can’t make any deals in the offseason,” he said. “When they get rid of the UFAs coming up, unrestricted free agent status on July 1, and they get that money off, off their payroll and off their cap, they think well, maybe will have some more flexibility then.”
Listen to the full interview with Terry Frei, including what he thinks led to Patrick Roy‘s departure and if the Avalanche can turn it around, in the podcast below.
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Catch Ryan Edwards and Danny Williams every weekday from 9a-11a on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.
