Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Topics Of Interest Today

08/11/2017 at 11:58am EDT

from Jim Cerny of The Sporting News,

...here are five important questions which still need to be answered before training camps open in four weeks or so.

Will Matt Duchene be traded, and, if so, to whom?

In one of the longer divorce proceedings in recent NHL memory, the Avalanche continue to entertain the possibility of trading 26-year-old center Matt Duchene. However, GM Joe Sakic continues to frustrate potential trade partners, Avs fans and Duchene himself in failing to pull the trigger on a deal, prolonging a situation that first picked up steam at last year's trade deadline.

Most experts believed Duchene would have had his Rocky Mountain tenure ended by now, likely by the draft in June, but Sakic -- somewhat to his credit -- seeks a major haul in return for Colorado's top trade chip. Of course, there are others -- count Islanders' general manager Garth Snow in this camp you'd have to imagine -- who see Sakic as gun shy and afraid to get burned by dealing away a player who scored 30 goals two years ago and has 418 points in 572 games despite an off year in 2016-17....

Don't the Rangers still need a center?

As mentioned above, perhaps signing Alex Kerfoot would fill the Rangers' void down the middle where the club has yet to fill the departed Derek Stepan's skates. Mika Zibanejad assumes the No. 1 center role with Stepan traded this summer to the Coyotes, and Kevin Hayes moves up from third line to second. Veteran David Desharnais signed as a free agent, but at this stage of his career, he's more of a fourth-liner and special teams option....

more on each of the above topics plus three more question...

Create an Account

In order to leave a comment, please create an account.

About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

Email Paul anytime at [email protected]

Most Recent Posts

Most Recent Comments

Comment by dca in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Seider's Year - 5 minutes ago
Comment by Paul in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 7 minutes ago
Comment by detroitredwings in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 14 minutes ago
Comment by dca in Abel to Yzerman from the entry A Good Point But Not Enough - 21 minutes ago
Comment by Kate in Abel to Yzerman from the entry Same Lineup Tonight - 26 minutes ago