Since news first broke that Colorado Avalanche GM Joe Sakic had reportedly talked a potential Matt Duchene trade with the Ottawa Senators and, quite possibly, any number of other NHL teams, most in and around the league have done their best to dismantle the report and, in certain instances, distance themselves from the original TSN reporting. But Darren Dreger, one of TSN's NHL insiders who appeared as part of that initial Insider Trading segment wherein the Duchene report was first revealed, doubled down on Tuesday morning, suggesting that Sakic really was calling around with the intent of gauging trade interest in Duchene.
"And then a few days later, those who are trying to get in the story are knocking it every which way but sideways, right, and saying, 'Well, it wasn't actually Sakic that was making the calls. Other teams are calling and asking about the possibility.'
"Well, that's not how it went down," Dreger said, while appearing on an episode of Edmonton's TSN 1260, via Today's Slap Shot.
Of course, since the report of his possible availability emerged, Duchene has been red-hot, scoring four goals and amassing eight points en route to being named first star for the NHL last week. And Sportsnet's Elliotte Friedman also reported Tuesday that while he heard Sakic did, indeed, call around on Duchene, that hasn't put the team or the meda on Duchene Defcon 1 - at least not yet.
Despite Duchene's uptick in play and Friedman's report though, the Avs continue to flounder. Patrick Roy's group is 7-9-1 and now ahead of only the Calgary Flames and the Edmonton Oilers in the Western Conference.
Per Dreger, Sakic is very aware that "it's not all well" at this point, suggesting that "holes" in the Colorado lineup are what has the veteran NHLer and Avalanche personnel man considering something as seemingly drastic as dealing Duchene.
In the end, Duchene is likely to remain an Av, especially considering Sakic has already parted ways with elite forwards like Paul Stastny and Ryan O'Reilly over the last couple of seasons. But with a defense struggling mightily to play what can even come close to being considered NHL-caliber hockey and the team continuing to lose ground in the early-season playoff race, something has to give at some point.
