[sureLoss]

Dreger on Sakic's asking price for Duchene:

https://www.fanragsports.com/dreger-...duchene-trade/

Sakic may feel less pressure to trade Duchene while the club is putting a few wins together, but eventually another team will have to pay the piper to get the talented forward off that Avalanche roster.

So where do things stand on that asking price, anyway?

“It’s been three pieces,” reiterated Dreger. “That’s kind of been the ask from the get-go. My understanding is Sakic has changed his view on the type of defenseman he needs. I think at the draft he was pretty specific. He wanted a young left-shot D as part of the package, and then a prospect – a highly-touted prospect – and a big-time draft pick.

“My understanding is, from those with interest, that maybe he’s shifted a little bit. But he still wants a real good Top 3/top-pairing defenseman, and a good prospect, and a top draft pick. And my sense is he hasn’t relented from that position yet.”

In addition to the apparent slight shift of the specific left-shot defenseman Sakic had been seeking, he may also be wanting or willing to go even a tad younger on the already-young main acquisition pieces.

This is what Elliotte Friedman had to say about a Duchene deal during a recent radio appearance.

“I get the sense that what is going on here is that I think they’re going to hold him for a bit – I mean, famous last words, I’ll hang up and he gets traded – but I think they’re going to hold him for a bit. But what I think they’re going to do is they’re going to do some pretty heavy scouting of team prospects. I think it’s possible now that teams may not want to give some stuff up off their roster, so I think what they could be doing is looking at some guys who may be in juniors or the NCAA or the minors. Guys who are legit prospects, but simply aren’t ready yet or aren’t at the NHL level yet. And that takes time. I did get some indication this week that that could be happening.”