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Colorado Avalanche Decade in Review: 20 Memorable Moments

By Nadia Archuleta

DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 30: Joonas Donskoi #72 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers with his bench at the Pepsi Center on October 30, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Panthers defeated the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images)
DENVER, COLORADO - OCTOBER 30: Joonas Donskoi #72 of the Colorado Avalanche celebrates a goal against the Florida Panthers with his bench at the Pepsi Center on October 30, 2019 in Denver, Colorado. The Panthers defeated the Avalanche 4-3 in overtime. (Photo by Michael Martin/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN – NOVEMBER 11: Andrei Mironov /

17. Memorable Moment: Colorado Avalanche Trade Matt Duchene

Matt Duchene had been the subject of trade rumors for the better part of two years. He requested that GM Joe Sakic pull the trigger on said trade back in December — an act he said was the hardest thing he’d ever had to do.

However, Sakic kept him on the team for the remainder of the 2016-17 season, the summer, and the beginning of the 2017-18 season. His impending trade was an open book — and as hard as it was for his fans, it had to be exponentially harder for the player.

Well, about 11 months after the trade request, Sakic finally pulled the trigger. I’d say this trade still stands as the biggest in his history. It involved three teams and nine pieces. The Ottawa Senators got Duchene, while the Nashville Predators got Kyle Turris from them. The Avalanche in turn got the following:

  • Sam Girard
  • Vladislav Kamenev
  • Shane Bowers
  • Andre Hammond
  • 2018 second round draft pick (traded)
  • 2019 first round draft pick (Bowen Byram)
  • 2019 third round draft pick (Matthew Stienburg)

I’m not going to speak to the trade request or to the rumors that Duchene was an alleged “cancer” in the locker room. I will say that he gave his all on the ice and to the fans when he was a Colorado Avalanche. He left his mark.

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