Avalanche fans pepper Duchene with boos and chants, and rightfully so

Nashville Predators center Matt Duchene heard loud boos and nasty chants from Avalanche fans in Games 1 and 2.

And they are well deserved.

Duchene, who played parts of nine seasons in Colorado after being drafted No. 3 overall in the 2009 draft, is back where it all began. Avalanche fans haven’t forgotten how it ended or his antics when he played in Colorado. Duchene was even peppered with 18,000 people chanting “Duchene sucks” on Tuesday night.

Duchene made the playoffs just twice in his tenure with Colorado. A 4-2 first-round loss to the Sharks in 2010 and a 4-3 series loss to the Wild in 2014. He played just two of the seven games in that showdown.

Regardless, Duchene experienced very little team success with the Avalanche, despite posting a lot of big individual numbers. And what do you know, the second he was shipped out of town, the Avs got a lot better. Duchene was infamously called off the ice on Nov. 5, 2017 against the Islanders because he had been traded. Good riddance. He wanted out of town and the Avs gave him his wish.

In a shocking twist, Colorado has not missed the playoffs since. They even rallied after Duchene left to make the 2017-18 postseason as the No. 8 seed. Nathan MacKinnon exploded without Duchene, putting up eye-popping numbers and coming just a few votes short of winning the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP.

Avalanche GM Joe Sakic got a haul in return for Duchene, including Samuel Girard and the eventual No. 4 overall pick from Ottawa that turned into young phenom Bo Byram. Duchene has played for the Senators, Blue Jackets and now Predators since he left — the Avalanche just keep getting better without him.

There was also the infamous 30th goal celebration in 2016 from Duchene that then head coach Patrick Roy ripped afterward. Duchene scored his 30th in a 5-1 blowout against the Blues, in a season that was going nowhere, and Roy was ticked.

“The thing I have a bit of a hard time with is the reaction of (Duchene) after he scores. It’s a 4-0 goal. Big cheer,” Roy said postgame. “Are you kidding me? What is that? It’s not the (reaction) that we want from our guys. Not at all.”

Avalanche fans soured on Duchene from that point on, and the disdain has grown even more after realizing how much better the team chemistry is without him. For good measure, the Avs are two games away from sending Duchene home for yet another long offseason after a quick playoff dismissal.

Boo away, Avs fans. Matt Duchene deserves it. But you may not get another chance, as this series likely isn’t coming back to Colorado.
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