Morning Flurries: evaluating the Colorado Avalanche post-Duchene

The Colorado Avalanche are back home, safe and sound in Denver, where they’re waiting out their first game back stateside following the two-game series played overseas in Sweden this past weekend.

It’s been a busy week or so for the Central Division club, who made an international trip and adjusted to life without their longest-tenured player at the start of the year. Their last two games were the first two Colorado had played without Matt Duchene on the roster since 2009, and it’s going to take some getting used to.

With that in mind, the team needs to find a new 2C to slot in permanently in the top six - but who will fill the role best? [Mile High Hockey]

Speaking of Matt Duchene... it appears that the Pittsburgh Penguins threw their name into the ring for the forward last week, only to get beat out by the Ottawa/Nashville duo. What does that mean for Pittsburgh, that they were vying for the center? [Pensburgh]

It’s also time to take a look at the team’s prospects from this past week. Who did well, who needs some work, and who’s still sitting on the sidelines with injury? [MHH]

Speaking of the team’s future, take a look at this excellent goal by 2017 second-round pick Connor Timmins from Monday:

Want to know what the Four Nations tournament was like live and up close? SB Nation’s Tanya Rezak got a chance to witness the tournament in person, and had a lot of thoughts about the experience. [Pension Plan Puppets]

Some good news out of the AHL, as Spencer Martin earned the honors of Goaltender of the Week during a dominant run with the San Antonio Rampage recently. [MHH]

Finally, some nostalgia.

Teemu Selanne and Paul Kariya seemed to do everything together, right up until they didn’t. That included, of course, their brief stop together with the Colorado Avalanche in the 2003-04 season, where they were a part of one of the most powerful lineups in the modern era.

Here’s a look back at that brief, one-year pit stop in Denver for the duo. [MHH]