On the eve of free agency, the hottest NHL conversation topic has to do with potential trades.
That's usually the case once the market opens but this year, talk has been surrounding the Colorado Avalanche for some time. They've made it known that center Matt Duchene is available for the right price -- a price that many would deem too high -- but that hasn't stopped clubs from calling GM Joe Sakic to get a deal done.
During Friday's segment of "Insider Trading" on TSN (Canada), hockey insider Darren Dreger dropped some interesting tidbits pertaining to both Duchene and the Blue Jackets.
"The two most persistent and interested organizations - the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Nashville Predators. Obviously he (Sakic) doesn't quite like what he's getting from the Blue Jackets or the Nashville Predators, or a deal would have been made by now."
Dreger said any deal for Duchene must include a top-four defenseman, which would seem to discount the Nashville offer. Their GM, David Poile, has reportedly said he will not make changes to his top defense pairings, a group that led the Predators to the Stanley Cup Final this spring.
The Blue Jackets, meanwhile, are playing the waiting game along with other teams in pursuit. Ryan Murray has been rumored to be part of the Columbus trade offer, which would make sense considering the ties to Chris MacFarland, the current Avalanche assistant GM who was part of the Blue Jackets front office that drafted Murray at No. 2 overall in 2012.
And so, we continue to wait.
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