Josh Davis, host of The Press Box Insider on Mile High Sports AM 1340, has seen loyalty play out in bad ways for teams both here in Colorado and beyond. He’s concerned that undue loyalty to Matt Duchene – who has helped lead the Avalanche to the playoffs just twice in six years – could hamstring the team in the same fashion that Todd Helton did with the Rockies or Kobe Bryant is doing currently with the Lakers.
Duchene turns 25 in January, so he’s still many, many years away from being well past his prime as Helton was for the final (let’s be honest) four years of his career. And Duchene’s currently on a large, but not astronomical, contract – $6 million per year for the next four years, including this one. But Colorado can’t stay forever loyal to Duchene and pass out another big contract, especially when the playoff results aren’t there and the value window for Duchene is still wide open.
On several occasions, the Rockies had the opportunity to trade Todd Helton when his value was still high. As Davis points out, they showed loyalty to Helton (see Helton’s parting gift, a horse). That’s rare in this day and age, especially in sports. But what did it get them? A five-time All-Star first baseman who had 44 home runs and a .264 batting average combined over his final four years. Yes, Helton got to retire with the Rockies and have his number retired, but the franchise has not had a winning season since 2010 and has posted three of the club’s five worst seasons since 2012. Not moving on Helton kept them stuck in a hole they’ve still yet to escape.
“If I’m the GM,” Davis says, “I pull the trigger on the right deal, even if I’m not shopping Duchene.” Sakic, in Davis’ eyes, needs to be loyal to the franchise first and the player second. Duchene hasn’t been given an astronomical contract like Helton, which helps his trade value in the present. The closer he comes to a bigger payday, the harder he will be to move. And the Avs certainly don’t want a Paul Stastny situation, in which they lose a top-six forward for nothing in free agency.
Duchene would bring the biggest ransom right now, and Davis is resolute that Sakic shouldn’t be overly loyal to his player if he can improve his team with a trade. J.J. Jerez, who covers the Avs for Mile High Sports, doesn’t necessarily agree. He thinks the Avs need to stop leaking top-line players and build around them.
