NHL Trade Rumors: Hypothetical Rival Deals That Make Sense
By Ryan Ritchie
Avs-Wild Blockbuster
From an Avs point of view, this team is struggling and no matter what Joe Sakic says, this team core simply doesn’t work. I’ve been saying it over and over for more than a year now, but this two number one center system isn’t working for Colorado. It works for a team like Pittsburgh because they have a pair of legitimate superstars. Matt Duchene and Nathan MacKinnon are quality players, but not on the same level whatsoever. To start to fix the problem, the Avs need to trade Matt Duchene before his value starts to dip.
On the Wild end of things, Minnesota faces a serious conundrum on the blue line with expansion around the corner. As much as they’d love to save four defensemen in expansion, it might not be possible with the abundance of forwards on the roster. So, once the Wild protect Ryan Suter, Jared Spurgeon, and Matt Dumba, it leaves both Jonas Brodin and Marco Scandella on the outside looking in.
Minnesota fans are starting to believe they can compete for a Cup on goaltending/defense alone. That’s just not possible. Devan Dubnyk has been unbelievable between the pipes and Ryan Suter should be in the mix for a Norris Trophy at this point. But there’s not enough offensive pop in this lineup. When push comes to shove in mid-April and beyond, Minnesota could see another early exit.
They might not be able to stop Las Vegas from plucking a quality d-man in the expansion draft, but they can always trade the better blueliner and force George McPhee‘s hand on a guy like Scandella.
Hypothetical Deal:
Colorado trades F Matt Duchene and D Duncan Siemens to Minnesota in exchange for D Jonas Brodin, F Erik Haula, F Mario Lucia, and 2017 1st round draft pick