The Colorado Avalanche kicked off an insane 36-day stretch with a bang Tuesday night, picking up a much-needed victory over the Philadelphia Flyers, 4-0 at Wells Fargo Center.
The win brings Colorado to 5-9-1 on the year and finally gets them over the double-digit point threshold – the last team in the Central Division to reach that mark.
With the Avs’ early struggles, questions are already starting to fly about whether or not Colorado should consider moving some of its more valuable assets to shore up a blueline that continues to need improvement. One name that caught fire when it started circulating just a few days ago was none other than Matt Duchene, Colorado’s top draft pick and No. 3 overall in 2009.
Moving Duchene would be a tectonic shift for the organization, who has spent the last seven years assembling a club around him (and fellow top-three draft picks Gabriel Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon). Duchene’s arrival in Denver marked the beginning of the #AvsNewAge (not officially trademarked and hashtagged until some years later), but that new age has produced just two playoff appearances in that time, which includes Duchene’s rookie season.
In many ways, Colorado seems to be running on a treadmill – in motion, but going nowhere. Already 13 points back in the division, Joe Sakic has some hard decisions that may come down to a fundamental question: Will he be loyal to the player or the organization in the case of a possible Matt Duchene trade?
Duchene has been a cornerstone for the Avs for seven years now, but at 24 years old (25 in January), and with big skills and no playoff success to show for it, Sakic may have to consider moving him to improve the team overall, so says Josh Davis and J.J. Jerez.
Davis and Jerez tackled this very tough question of loyalty on The Press Box Insider on Mile High Sports AM 1340. Davis thinks Sakic won’t openly shop Duchene, but should be quick to act on the right offer. Jerez says Colorado can’t keep moving top-six players and expect to build.
