Colorado Avalanche (1-1-0, 2 pts)
The Avalanche were the second team in the Central to venture up the east coast to open the season. After an impressive 4-2 win over the Rangers, Colorado followed it up with an uninteresting 4-1 loss to the Devils.
There is plenty of talk surrounding what to do with Matt Duchene and at this point there is no way to hide it from him or the entire club. I have been a proponent of having to move him, but for now he remains entrenched with a franchise that keeps him in limbo. To me, there is almost zero chance he finishes the season in an Avalanche uniform and the quicker they can get rid of this dark cloud hanging over the team, the better.
It’ll be a tough week for the Avalanche who get the Bruins twice and then have a back-to-back with Anaheim and Dallas over the weekend. Will Duchene still be centering a rebuilding Colorado squad come this time next week? I think this is a question we will be asking a lot in the coming days.