The Colorado Avalanche are stocked with some top-end forward talent but have by far the worst record in the NHL. For that reason, many expected them to make waves at the NHL trade deadline. But as the deadline passed Wednesday, all Colorado did was splash around a bit.
Forwards Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog will both be on the Avalanche's roster for the rest of this season. Neither were moved after their names were included in trade rumors over the last few weeks.
Colorado ended up trading away veteran forward Jarome Iginla to the Los Angeles Kings and hard-hitting left wing Andreas Martinsen to the Montreal Canadiens. The Avalanche got back a conditional fourth-round 2018 draft pick for Iginla and little-used right winger Sven Andrighetto, who's got two goals and six assists in 27 games this season, for Martinsen. Not exactly a monster haul.
"I don’t have to make any major moves," Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic said on a conference call after the deadline. "That’s the big thing. As far as looking for anything big, I’ve always stated that if there’s something that’s going to help our organization long-term, that’s something I’ll do.
"We moved Jarome Iginla. Gave him an opportunity to go to a great place in L.A. to compete and try to make the playoffs and win a Stanley Cup. I felt like that was the right place for him. We traded Andreas Martinsen for Sven Andrighetto, a strong and skilled forward who’s looking for more of an opportunity. We like his speed and hockey sense and skill, (and) we think he can help our power play."
Sakic chose not to delve too deep into how close he was to possibly moving Duchene or Landeskog. He didn't say much except that he had "conversations with a lot of guys." He'll now go into offseason with both of them still on the team. The 26-year-old Duchene has 16 goals and 20 assists this season, while the 24-year-old Landeskog has scored 13 times and notched 13 assists.
Sakic repeated on the call his desire for Colorado to "get younger."
"There’s no guarantees on any trades," he said. "We’re going to do what’s best for our organization long-term. We want to get younger. That’s what we’re looking to do. This offseason we’ll free up some cap space, and we’re going to try to get younger and younger and faster."
The Avalanche didn't get significantly younger Wednesday. Perhaps that will change this offseason.
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