SAKIC ADDRESSES ROSTER SCENARIOS
SEDALIA» Before teeing off at his annual charity golf tournament Thursday, Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic addressed several issues swirling around the franchise.
Center Matt Duchene, he said, remains on the trading block, but he expects the 26-year-old to be at training camp next month.
“I will be listening to offers. Right now it’s quiet on all fronts,” Sakic said at Sanctuary Golf Course. “But I’ll listen to offers on how we can get better. I’ll never name names, but I’ll sit there and if something makes sense for the way we want to go, with our team, we’ll really look at that. (Duchene’s) with us. He’ll be here at training camp.”
Sakic also provided updates on:
• Unsigned defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who has threatened to suspend his NHL career and play in the Kontinental Hockey League next season.
• Losing the exclusive negotiation rights to Will Butcher, the 2013 Avalanche draftee and former University of Denver defenseman who chose to become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday.
• Possibly beginning the season with three rookie defensemen in Andrei Mironov, 23, and 22-year-olds Chris Bigras and Anton Lindholm.
Colorado has just three big-league defensemen under contract: Erik Johnson, Tyson Barrie and Mark Barbario. Zadorov, a 22-year-old restricted free agent, has reached agreement to play for CSKA Moscow of the KHL if the Avs don’t give him a better offer.
“Both sides agreed to a two-year deal and we just have to figure out the numbers,” Sakic said. “We’ve got our NHL comps that we’re going with and he’s got to make a decision at some point on what he wants to do.”
If Zadorov chooses to play next season in his native Russia, he will be eligible to represent his country in February’s Winter Olympics, which will not feature NHL players for the first time since 1994.
“You’re not playing against NHL players, so I don’t know the allure for a guy who’s playing in the NHL,” Sakic said. “You’re not playing against the best. It would be a different tournament.”
About Butcher, who became a free agent Wednesday after turning down Colorado’s contract offers, Sakic said the DU captain and 2017 Hobey Baker Award winner “has got that right. … He’ll see what’s out there for him and see where that goes.”
Sakic talked about how he intends to complete his defensive corps, and noted the Avalanche, which finished with the league’s worst record, will continue to have first dibs on the waiver wire if Mironov, Bigras or Lindholm don’t appear ready for the NHL or a Duchene trade for a defenseman happens.
“I’d like to see them and then we’ll see how training camp goes. There’s a lot of things that can happen during training camp,” Sakic said. “Right now, everybody’s content. It’s August and I want to give these young guys a chance. Lindholm is going to be here, Mironov — who I really expect is going to be here and help us out — and Bigras, who unfortunately got hurt (last) year.”
Footnote.
Avalanche forwards Joe Colborne, J.T. Compher and Tyson Jost, along with unsigned 2013 draft pick Ben Storm, made up a foursome at Sakic’s tournament. Storm, a forward/defenseman who played four years at St. Cloud State, became an unrestricted free agent Wednesday but will attend Avs camp next month on a tryout contract.