Rumor: Two frontrunners identified in Duchene trade rumblings

Contract negotiations have reportedly turned sour, are teams ready to pounce now?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 5 years ago
Rumor: Two frontrunners identified in Duchene trade rumblings
Zuma Press

Earlier today it was reported that contract negotiations between Ottawa Senators owner Eugene Melnyk and pending unrestricted free agent Matt Duchene have “gone sour” over the owner’s unwillingness to relent on salary. 

Melnyk, of course, is notorious for being one of the stingiest owners in the NHL and it’s widely believed that his unwillingness to open up his wallet was one of the biggest reasons that the team traded captain Erik Karlsson this past offseason. Could history be repeating itself?



Should Sens GM Pierre Dorion be instructed to trade Duchene, there’s no doubt that he’d get plenty of offers on the trade market. But one team in particular, the Pittsburgh Penguins, seem to be a fit, at least in the eyes of NHL analyst Jeff Marek.

On the latest 31 Thoughts podcast released earlier today, Marek and co-host Elliotte Friedman discussed potential landing spots for Duchene, including the Pens, the San Jose Sharks and several other Stanley Cup contenders.

Check out this exchange between the pair:

Marek: “Could Pittsburgh be a fit for Matt Duchene?” 
Friedman: “I have thought that, but… the Penguins what do they have to trade for Matt Duchene?”
M: “Well… the Penguins, not exactly a secret that they’d like to free themselves of Derrick Brassard. They’ve moved Oleksiak to free up cap space.”
F: “Yep, but what do they have? Like, you know what Ottawa’s gonna want.”
M: “For someone like Matt Duchene who’s on a rental, they’re gonna want a first round draft pick and they’re going to want a young player.”
F: “There’s (Calen) Addison, the kid who plays out west, he’s probably Pittsburgh’s best prospect and I think Pittsburgh will go for it, I just wonder if it’s enough. If there’s a bidding war that develops out there… like the other team I see that’s out there is San Jose. I think they’re really good and they could use a big upgrade or would like to have a big upgrade just to make themselves better in a really top heavy division. But again, they’ve tied up a pick in Evander Kane, they’ve tied up a pick in Erik Karlsson. Eventually you reach the point where you say ‘We can’t do it anymore.’”
F: “The teams I wonder in all this are Nashville, Winnipeg, Vegas, Tampa… they’ve got the picks and the prospects to do it.”  


The 28 year old Duchene is well on his way to having a career season with 20 goals and 47 points in 41 games. Wherever he ends up, it’s clear that he’ll be a well paid man this offseason.