NHL Insider still thinks a Duchene trade is likely; Takes a shot at Sakic

On Friday afternoon, Darren Dreger was on WGR550 in Buffalo discussing a number of thing NHL related including the departure of Adam Foote from the organization. Along with that, Dreger added some even more interesting information about the Colorado Avalanche - that he believes a Matt Duchene trade is still likely to happen this offseason

Here is what Dreger had to say about Duchene.

“I know that CAA group pretty well. Pat Brisson, of course, is the lead agent for Matt Duchene in this. This guy is a deal maker. He’s a negotiator. I suspect that he’s not terrorizing Joe Sakic on a daily basis with text messages or phone calls, but he’s been persistent in his belief that the best outcome for both the Colorado Avalanche and for the client, Matt Duchene, is to get a deal done.

Nobody wants to go through the awkwardness and potential ugliness of training camp opening and Matt Duchene perhaps not being there. I’m not suggesting that that is going to be the case, but sooner than later either Duchene or Pat Brisson or somebody from that side is going to step up and say, ‘Alright. Enough is enough. We’ve been really patient in this. We know that you expect and want a great return for Matt Duchene because he’s still a very, very good player in the National Hockey League. But it’s not going to be a good scene for anyone if he’s forced back into that dressing room.

I can’t say Buffalo isn’t an option, I think that certainly Matt Duchene is willing to consider any option that is thrown his way.”

Dreger makes reference to potential ugliness with teammates if Duchene is forced back to the Avs this fall. This goes along with remarks from Duchene himself earlier this month that suggested he’s ready to move on.

For a team that was in a very bad place to end last season, the last thing you want is to start training camp with an unhappy locker room.

Beyond the Duchene talk, Dreger also took the time to rip question Joe Sakic’s managerial strategy.

“Things are real strange around that Avalanche team and they have been for quite some time now. Joe Sakic is at some events, he’s not at other events in terms of following the young and developing players. He’s got an interesting management structure there.

He’s not the first to question what Sakic has been doing this offseason, and he most certainly won’t be the last. If nothing else, we know that training camp is about a month away so something is going to have to give soon.