Countdown to TradeCentre: Avs' Duchene 'open' to trade

The NHL's March 1 Trade Deadline is approaching and teams are making decisions on whether to buy, sell, and decide which players can make the biggest difference and hold the greatest value.

Check out today's trade rumours and speculation from around the NHL beat. And follow TradeCentre on TSN and TSN.ca through Deadline Day for all the updates.

Duchene 'open' to trade

Colorado Avalanche star forward Matt Duchene addressed missing the team's loss to the San Jose Sharks earlier this week on Wednesday. It had nothing to do with trade speculation but rather it was the flu, Duchene insisted with a laugh. That said, the 2009 third overall pick told Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post he would be open to a trade.

“I’m open to it,” Duchene told the Post. “When I say open to it, I know it’s part of the business, and it’s something that might happen. I’m not hiding from it. I’m not running away. I’m not banging my head. I understand it’s part of what we deal with as pro athletes.”

Kiszla goes on to suggest the Carolina Hurricanes and their young defenceman, Jaccob Slavin, could be a good place to start in GM Joe Sakic's potential quest to trade Duchene.

Sticking to the (Shana)plan?

The Toronto Maple Leafs currently sit third in the Atlantic and have to be considered favourites to earn a playoff spot in a forgiving division. All of this has led to speculation the Leafs could be Trade Deadline buyers for the first time in a long time, as TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun outlined earlier this week.

But TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger doesn't believe GM Lou Lamoriello is inclined to make a blockbuster move ahead of March 1. Talking on TSN 690 in Montreal, Dreger said his sense is the Leafs aren't prepared to move William Nylander for a defensive piece.

"It depends on what’s available to Toronto. If there’s the right defenceman in play, then I think that Lamoriello will make a move. As long as it doesn’t come at the expense of one of his young roster players like a Nylander," Dreger said. "I think that it’s way too early in terms of my understanding of the Shanaplan for them to consider something like that."

Dreger said another possibility for the Leafs would be to make a move in the off-season for a defenceman, with players like Tyler Bozak and Leo Komarov as potential trade chips.

Patience required

Dreger also touched on the steep prices teams are asking for their assets five weeks away from the March 1 Trade Deadline.

Dreger agreed the Arizona Coyotes' reported asking price for Martin Hanzal for the Montreal Canadiens - 2013 first-rounder Michael McCarron and another draft pick - was a case of asking for the moon early in the trade process.

"That’s exactly what John Chayka is doing. And I presume Joe Sakic and the Colorado Avalanche has a similar lofty asking price any time Matt Duchene or Gabriel Landeskog is mentioned in trade dialog," Dreger said, before adding the trade market will open up the closer we get to March.

"The price is going to come down. The Arizona Coyotes aren’t a strong enough organization where they can afford to allow good players to just walk out for nothing."

Hanzal is currently second on TSN Hockey's Trade Bait List.

Not a done deal

If Hanzal is expected to be moved out of Arizona by the March 1 Trade Deadline, team captain Shane Doan isn't so much.

After Doan said last week any scenario that would lead to a trade away from the Coyotes would have to be 'so perfect', GM John Chayka further distanced the possibility of a trade Tuesday night.

“With me, it’s been a bit overblown,” Chayka told Arizona sports radio 98.7, per FanRag. 

"This kind of narrative that comes out that there’s some issues with how he feels he’s being used or not used, or that we had some long, drawn-out, confrontational-type discussions in the summer – I mean, those are the things that are just frustrating because they’re not true.”

On the blue line

TSN Hockey Insider Bob McKenzie discussed both the New York Rangers' and Philadelphia Flyers' Trade Deadline possibilities on NBC Sports Network on Tuesday.

McKenzie said the Rangers have a need on the right side of their defence, and while Kevin Shattenkirk would fill that hole nicely for the team, a more likely scenario could be a defenceman that doesn't come with the lofty price tag the Blues have surely placed on Shattenkirk.

“Obviously a right-side defenseman is what the New York Rangers would like to get,” McKenzie said on NBCSN, per FanRag. “But here’s the problem: right now the Rangers are not necessarily in the mode and definitely don’t want to be mortgaging the future anymore. They gave up first-round picks for too many years in a row."

“So what’s more likely to happen is maybe a lesser defenceman."

Discussing the Flyers, McKenzie said he also doesn't see a blockbuster coming out of Philly at this point.

“I don’t think the Flyers are likely to make big moves between now and the deadline... (Flyers GM) Ron Hextall has charted a course for this team. He wants to build through youth and get that going."

McKenzie did say the Flyers have a lot of expiring contracts, and the depth in the minors to fill those holes, to make a move. That scenario would be become more likely should Philly fall out of the playoff race.

“They do have a bunch of guys on expiring contracts. On defence you’ve got Streit, Del Zotto, Schultz. Up front, Bellemare and Vandevelde. But, you don’t want to just throw the season away."

“They do have a lot of depth in the minor leagues with prospects who are ready to step up and play on defence."

Trade request

A player to keep an eye out leading up to the Trade Deadline is Detroit Red Wings forward Tomas Jurco.

Jurco, who has struggled to stay in the Red Wings lineup this year, requested a trade at some point this season according to Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press.

“It’s hard for me, for some reason, to stay in the lineup,” Jurco told the Free Press Tuesday. “I think most important for me is to maybe make some points, because I don’t think playing good is going to keep me in the lineup. When I have played before, and then (head coach Jeff Blashill) told me I was playing good and, the next day, I was scratched. So, I think I need some points."

The Free Press also talked to Blashill about the winger, and the coach didn't seem ready to give up on Jurco.

“I think Jurcs is a good NHL player. That is one of the reasons why my advice has been to be real reticent about giving up on him. I think he’s got lots of ability. He’s a guy who can be a top-three-line player in the NHL."

The 24-year-old Jurco has no points in 13 games for the Red Wings this season.