Evans: Dear Joe Sakic, please don’t waste the Duchene trade haul

Congrats to Colorado Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic for getting a deal done for disgruntled center Matt Duchene that has received nothing but positive reviews from around the NHL world.

I’m happy to see it finally happen. I’ve been calling for Duchene to be sent packing for several years now. Nothing personal against Matt, but it didn’t take long to see he just didn’t possess the attributes you’d expect in someone who was drafted third overall and who professed to grow up an Avalanche — and Sakic — fan.

His game lacked grit. He didn’t want to go into those areas of the ice where a physical price is paid in order to score hard goals. Sure, he would dazzle with a goal from time to time. But all that did was tease Avalanche fans, management, and coaches into thinking there was something special inside there just waiting to come out.

Unfortunately, it remained a tease, and Duchene became the poster child for an Avs core (step right up Landeskog, MacKinnon, Barrie and Johnson) that was soft on the puck, timid along the boards, and gun-shy in the crease area. Colorado became a finesse team that was long on perceived talent and short on the heart and grit it takes to win in today’s NHL.

I’ve wanted the Avs overrated core to be broken up for some time now. The organization stayed with this group too long, much too long for a franchise that has been irrelevant for a decade now.

It’s that “stand pat” attitude that has me worried, even in the aftermath of the Duchene deal that brought back seven assets — four players and three future draft picks.

What to do with it? My wish is Sakic takes all these new found pieces and gets bold and creative, taking young players and parts of his core and reshaping this roster into a mix of proven veterans and young up-and-comers who can compete now.

My fear is this influx of young players and draft picks gives Colorado the freedom to once again embark on another youth movement.

I hate youth movements. I think they are the big con in sports created by owners and GMs who would rather kick the can down the road and sell people on the dreams of tomorrow all the while charging big time prices today.

I’m tired of waiting. As someone who covered the Avalanche Stanley Cup teams up close and personal, I want that again. We’ve already gone through one youth movement that was defined by the likes of Duchene. That failed. I’m not interested in going through another one. Not after a decade of bad hockey.

So, good job Super Joe. You did what a lot of people didn’t think was possible. You made a great trade.

Now, go out and do something great with it. Don’t take the easy way out. Don’t hoard these young prospects and draft picks and try to sell us on the “next big thing.”

Avalanche fans deserve more.

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