Prior to the NHL preseason in September, Colorado Avalanche center Matt Duchene made it clear that he no longer wanted to be a part of the Denver-based hockey club mainly due to the fact he wouldn’t get a chance to fight for the Stanley Cup. Well, his wish finally came true on Sunday evening when the Avalanche dropped a bombshell and traded the 26-year-old as part of a three team deal. The deal happened around 7:30 PM.
The Nashville Predators and Ottawa Senators were the other two teams involved in this blockbuster move. Kyle Turris will be going from the Ottawa Senators to the Nashville Predators, and he signed a 6-year extension worth $36 million the minute he was acquired! The Nashville Predators received prospects and picks from the Colorado Avalanche, namely 19-year-old defenseman Samuel Girard.
That just leaves Matt Duchene. Matt Duchene was sent to the Ottawa Senators to close out the trade. And in a funny twist of irony, the Ottawa Senators are set to travel to Stockholm, Sweden at the end of the week for the NHL’s international series. And who do they play? Yep, you guessed it. The Colorado Avalanche.
Duchene received word of the trade while on the ice in Brooklyn as the Avalanche were playing the New York Islanders and sources say his bags were already packed for him! According to Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic, from a report via insider Dan Rosen, he says that Duchene asked to be traded around Christmas time last year.
Now that Duchene got his wish, let’s see if he can make another dream come true in hoisting Lord Stanley’s cup at the end of the summer.
