Avalanche might trade Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog, but not at discount

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Lace ‘em up. Time for the Morning Skate.

The playoffs are out of the question for the Avalanche (no, really, look at this), so questions about nuking their core have dogged them all season. And it makes a certain kind of sense. Outside of one playoff run a few years ago, the Avs under Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene & Co. have gone absolutely nowhere.

To be fair, Colorado has been under more than just those two players. General manager Joe Sakic might lose his job this offseason as well. But in the meantime, he has some hard decisions to make about some of his top players before the trade deadline. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reports that aside from Nathan MacKinnon and Mikko Rantanen, the Avalanche are for sale. But for the right price. A panic move isn’t in the works, and Sportsnet reports the price is very high for Duchene, Landeskog, and even Tyson Barrie.

But that price might come down if teams make young defensemen available. And recent history shows that teams can be willing to make such a move for a high-end forward. The Predators traded Seth Jones for Ryan Johansen. Who’s to say a similar one-for-one swap couldn’t happen with the Avs?

The semifinals are here! USA-Russia kicks off at 3 p.m. ET and Canada-Sweden starts at 8 p.m. ET.