Matt Duchene: Colorado's Optional Trade Piece

Matt Duchene should be made available on the trade market for Colorado in an attempt to fix what looks like, could be another long season in 2015-16. The Avs are off to a slow-start going 4-9-1 with nine points so far. It’s not a knock on Matt Duchene’s play, but for the trade value you need, he tends to be the odd-man out.

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Colorado has issues on the blue-line, particularly when you’ve got players such as Nick Holden pairing up with the offensive-minded Tyson Barrie, teamed with one of the worst third pairings in the entire NHL.

The only three players with enough value up-front to address defensive needs is Matt Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, and Nathan MacKinnon. Carl Soderberg and Mikhail Grigorenko aren’t going anywhere being the new arrivals. Jarome Iginla has seen a resurgence in his game in 2015-16, although he’s too far over the hill to get the necessary value in return.

You could conceivably trade Tyson Barrie, but the point of making a trade would be to strengthen the defense core, preferably to find an excellent stay-at-home defenseman to pair up with Barrie. You’re not moving the youngest captain in NHL history, and you’re certainly not moving your all-star forward coming off a sophomore slump.

It’s a bit like solving a multiple choice question. You eliminate the options that don’t work, and in this case leaves us with only one, forward Matt Duchene.

Oct 30, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene (9) skates with the puck against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Arena. The Hurricanes won 3-2. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports

Drafted 3rd overall at the 2009 NHL Entry Draft, Matt Duchene had an immediate impact with the Avalanche producing 55 points his rookie season. Since then, Duchene enters his 7th season in 2015-16, and has six points in 14 games so far. For his career, Matt Duchene has appeared in 433 games, scoring 324 points.

Duchene carries a $6 million dollar cap hit that carries through 2018-19, and according to generalfanager, Colorado has $10,011,406 currently in cap space. Finding trade suitors isn’t overly difficult. The money needs to make sense, and more importantly the team must have the means to move a defenseman, whether that be eight on the current roster, or depth in the minors that make a trade possible. The trade needs to make sense as well! For example Montreal and Dallas are playing extremely well, so why would they make a trade?

* A trade for a stay at home defenseman will be made even more necessary when offensively gifted defensive prospect Chris Bigras makes his NHL debut as a regular. He’s going to need exactly what Tyson Barrie needs now.

Potential Matt Duchene Trade Targets

Jack Johnson, Columbus Blue Jackets

Oct 14, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Jack Johnson (7) attempts to play the puck against Ottawa Senators right wing Mark Stone (61) in the third period at Nationwide Arena. The Senators won 7-3. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

I know, it said defensive defenseman, and here suggests an offensive defenseman with the worst plus minus over the past decade. The only reason the suggestion is made is because you could juggle your top two pairings, putting Barrie with one of Francois Beauchemin or Erik Johnson, leaving the other to play with Jack. In this scenario, the Avs could probably walk away with Jack Johnson and a roster forward such as Matt Calvert, Gregory Campbell, or William Karlsson plus a prospect or draft pick.

Jared Cowen, Ottawa Senators

Still only 24 years old, Cowen has been on a rollercoaster ride of up’s and down’s early on in his career with Ottawa. This may be one of those scenarios where a change of scenery is best for the player. He carries a $3.1 million dollar cap hit, and still has two to three more years of growth and development in his game. Along with Cowen, the Avs could probably fetch another roster forward such as Zack Smith, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Matt Puempel, or Shane Prince, along with a prospect or draft pick. Call this scenario less likely, as Ottawa may be less inclined to taking on another big contract up front.

Philadelphia Flyers Defense

Mar 19, 2015; Calgary, Alberta, CAN; Philadelphia Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald (47) controls the puck against the Calgary Flames during the first period at Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary Flames won 4-1. Mandatory Credit: Sergei Belski-USA TODAY Sports

The Flyers are carrying eight defenseman right now, and that’s not including Andrew MacDonald‘s $5 million dollar cap hit being buried in the minors. Philadelphia is still absorbing approximately $4 million of MacDonald’s contract against the cap. Luke Schenn could be a potential target, although he has a no-trade clause and becomes a free agent next summer.

Andrew MacDonald might be the best target, even with a lucrative $5 million dollar cap hit. He’s coming off one bad season in 2014-15, much like Tomas Fleischmann who teams absurdly passed on this summer until he earned a spot with Montreal. There’s no room for error in today’s NHL. A rookie can have a sophomore slump, but a veteran having a slump could push him completely out of the league. The Avs would be doing Philly a favor, and Colorado could get some additional quality pieces in return. Colorado might be able to get one of Sam Gagner, Matt Read, Brayden Schenn, Michael Raffl, or Scott Laughton.

Jake Gardiner, Toronto Maple Leafs

Another team with eight defenseman, although it’s not a case of being overly deep at the position. The Maple Leafs are re-building and moving Dion Phaneuf is near the top of many fans wish lists. The reality is that his $7 million dollar cap hit and no-movement clause make any trade extremely difficult. If Colorado and Toronto could find a way to make a Dion Phaneuf deal work, this could be the best option. Along with Phaneuf, Colorado could fetch another roster player or two.

A trade for Jake Gardiner may raise a few eyebrows as we’re once again targeting another offensive defenseman to address a strictly defensive issue. But Gardiner is still young and still working on getting stronger on both sides of the puck. He’s also a defenseman that can carry the puck out of the defensive zone and create a scoring chance all by himself. It’s the old saying “fight fire, with fire”. If you’ve got another creative offensive defenseman that can move the puck and get it deep in the offensive zone, then you’ll ultimately play less time in your own end. Gardiner carries more value than Phaneuf because of his age and contract in contrast to compared skills. Along with Gardiner, Colorado may be able to fetch Tyler Bozak or Peter Holland.

Next: World Cup of Hockey Projected Rosters

Final Thought

There’s clearly something wrong in Colorado with this core group of players. For too many years this team has fallen well-short of expectations. Management has done a poor job in identifying and addressing issues, and even head coach Patrick Roy has made some questionable choices behind the bench. It’s time to shake things up in Denver and make a big splash on the trade market, or else this team is once again destined to be a lottery team on the outside looking in.

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