A Big Three-Way Trade In The NHL

The NHL just made news on a Sunday, something that I've never seen happen for quite some time. It involved a big trade with three teams: The Colorado Avalanche, the Ottawa Senators, and the Nashville Predators. But who was at the center of the trade?

Center Matt Duchene, now formerly of the Colorado Avalanche. He was sent to the Ottawa Senators on Sunday as part of that three-team trade that also sent center Kyle Turris from the Senators to the Predators.

Duchene had originally played for part of the Avalanche's game at the Islanders for about two minutes in the first period before being removed because of the trade news.

Duchene said about joining the Senators, "I'm excited...I'm extremely grateful for my years in Colorado. It was my favorite team as a kid and it was an absolute honor and privilege to play here. It's bittersweet for sure, but I'm excited for a new opportunity in Ottawa...They've got a team that can win the Stanley Cup."

Well, unfortunately for Duchene, he probably shouldn't have been at the Nuggets game on Wednesday night. It was probably bad luck. They won that game, but this news comes on the heels of them losing their game to the Warriors on Saturday. Ok, well, he didn't affect the game, but he was definitely invested in Nuggets basketball. And now he's in Ottawa, where there's no basketball, unless you want to drive to Toronto to see it.

As for what the Avalanche got? Well, they got goaltender Andrew Hammond, the first-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft and a third-round pick in the 2019 draft, and forward Shane Bowers from the Senators, and they got a second-round pick in 2018, a defenseman Samuel Girard, and forward Vladislav Kamenev, from the Predators.

For Kyle Turris, he had just signed a six-year, $36 million contract and it will keep him in Nashville through the 2022-23 season, meaning that the Predat
ors got a good scorer.

Ottawa is the clear winner in this trade. They get a guy in Matt Duchene who has 10 points so far in 14 games with Colorado this season, including a goal and assist in the Avalanche's win over the Flyers on Saturday night. In 77 games last season, he had 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists), but it didn't help because Colorado was dead last in the NHL with 48 points and a record of 22-56-4. Clearly, the trade indicated that he's a great player but that the Avalanche are rebuilding and no longer have use for him.

For the Predators, it really means nothing, because I think Turris is a fine, young player who can help this team with their offensive production, and I don't think it affects how they play or where they are in the standings. The team that benefits most from this trade is the Ottawa Senators, because they are trying to make the next step and getting Duchene, who is a reliable goal-scorer and assist guy, helps with that next step. The thing is, he'll most likely be the focal point now for that Senators offense. He's going to have to produce, score, and allow others the ability to work, and I think he's willing and capable of doing that. He did that in Colorado for so many years, but that team is rebuilding, and I think what Ottawa gets is definitely something to build on.

I love Matt Duchene. I wish he stayed in Colorado, but it was the end of the road there for him. He now gets to go to a new environment and a new opportunity to win with another team that has big aspirations now. If Matt Duchene can do what I mentioned and be a reliable teammate and goal scorer, he's got a bright future there and he could win a Stanley Cup there. It might not be this year, but they have the potential and Duchene is going to be a part of that.