Matt Duchene
GP: 55 G: 16 A: 20 P: 36 +/-: -19 PIM: 6
Possible destinations: Carolina Hurricanes, Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders
I limited the possible destinations in this article to three, but let’s be clear, many more teams would be interested in adding Duchene. Players of his caliber, with term remaining on a team-friendly deal, just don’t become available very often.
In Duchene, a team would be getting a bonafide top-six player, who is capable of excelling at center or wing, and producing regardless if he is getting help or not. He has also emerged as an elite faceoff man, as his 62.3 winning percentage on draws is second in the league, trailing Antone Vermette by 0.1 points.
All these things considered, the price for Duchene is very, very high. The Avalanche are believed to be asking for at least a young defenseman capable of playing in their top-four immediately, two top prospects and a first-round pick for him. That price scared off the Ottawa Senators. The crazy thing is that that ask is completely reasonable for such a player. If he can’t get it, Sakic very well may just keep Duchene, and there’s nothing wrong with that either.
