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Matt Duchene joined the Powers Brothers on the Empty Netters Podcast, released today, and dropped a tiny emotional bit about an exchange he had with Joe Sakic upon being traded back in November of 2017. Here's the clip:
Matt Duchene was on the @NettersEmpty @Friday_Beers podcast and gave a little more detail into what happened between he and Joe Sakic after he left the ice for the final time as a member of the Avs. Pretty cool story. pic.twitter.com/Vr9Oo9GjyN
— Evan Rawal (@evanrawal) December 15, 2022
I may be reading into this exchange way too much, but this tells me that Joe Sakic didn't want to trade Duchene when he did but was doing so to honor the young Duchene's request to leave.
The Duchene trade is the second blockbuster that seemingly catapulted the Avalanche into glory, with the first being the infamous Patrick Roy trade. The difference is, imagine if the Canadiens won a Stanley Cup shortly after trading Roy. Imagine if the Roy trade made the Habs an instant competitor due to the return, not the other way around.
The most important part of the Avalanche success outside of the Matt Duchene trade comes from Hobey Baker, Norris, Conn Smythe, and a Stanley Cup-winning defender named Cale Makar. The Duchene trade did, however, return Andrew Hammond, Shane Bowers, Bowen Byram, Mathew Steinburg, Sam Girard, Justus Annunen, Daniil Zhuravlyov, and Vladislav Kamenev. Yeesh.
It blows my mind, but to be honest, Avalanche fans owe Matt Duchene a thank-you for wanting out. It sounds crazy, but would the Avalanche have hoisted if not for that? I doubt it. Sakic also deserves a nod for being respectful and personal when the trade broke. Super Joe.
What is your reaction to this clip? Let us know in the comments!
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