Avs Talk - A Colorado Avalanche Blog

I'm in shock. I didn't want to believe the rumors. In fact, during the trade deadline I was quite emphatic that it was all bunk. Turns out, I was wrong.

The Avalanche have traded Ryan Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings. I haven't yet heard what we're getting in return but I'd guess Doughty is not an option.

This frees up $3M in cap space which should help with Kroenke's goal of driving away fans...I mean trimming payroll. It would also create some extra space to allow both Sakic and Duchene to fit on the squad. So maybe I'm not wrong on Sakic...

UPDATE 1: AD has the early scoop on the details: Tom Preissing, Kyle Quincey and a 5th-round pick next year. Without researching more on those players, it's a "meh" from me. And dangerously close to a "WTF?".

UPDATE 2: Tom Preissing was looking like a stud early in his career but he completely tanked in LA and ended up spending time in the AHL. I remember him now from his time with the Ottawa Senators during their run in '07 and he looked like a blossoming defenceman so I'm not sure what happened but based on his last two seasons, he's not worth $2.75M. But I suppose if you want someone to take a big contract off your hands, you've got to take back an unwanted one in return.

Kyle Quincey actually had a solid season with the Kings and could be an excellent pickup. He spent time in the Detroit organization and there are definitely worse places to be trained. The Wings did waive him this season, leading to his LA picup He scored 38 points in 72 games with the Kings and feels a bit like John-Michael Liles' doppleganger. There are worse things to be, especially with a 500K price tag.

The 5th-round pick should have been a 2nd or 3rd-round pick since those later rounds are basically throw-aways. Yeah, yeah, Datsyuk, Zetterberg, blah blah blah.

The end result leaves me going "WTF?!". Note the extra exclamation point. It's not the loss of Smyth, it's the lack of return. I know Smyth had a large contract for what some viewed as limited point production, but Smyth did so much more than just put up points. This leaves room for young guys to step up which I'm actually excited for, but I still feel Smyth was worth more than this. It's probably the 5th-round pick that's really sticking in my craw.

Logjam in the backend
This possibly squeezes out Kyle Cumiskey for another season since there is a bit of a logjam on defence now. To be honest, I'm not that sold on Cumiskey and Quincey looks to be a better version. Of course, I say that without having had enough time to really watch Quincey.

Surely you would think there's another d-man on the move. That's a lot of salary on the backend for a squad of that calibre and there's a lot of offensive d-men, and not many shutdown guys. But when you're in cost-cutting mode, I'm guessing filling roles is a secondary priority.

Youth Movement
So it's officially time for the youth movement (come on, let's spin it a bit). There's now room on the squad for T.J. Galiardi, who should make the team based on his play last year, as well as Matt Duchene.

But just because you're going younger doesn't mean you trade the vets for nothing. I'll say this, Duchene better be as good as we all hope he is and Stastny better stop blocking shots with bare body parts. And for the love of Pete, let's hope Hejduk stays healthy. And that Wolski picks up his game. And that Svatos decides to score 30+ again. And that...oh hell, let's just call next season a full-on rebuild season and get it over with.

Leadership
This leaves a lot of leadership room that needs to be picked up by guys like Milan Hejduk, Scott Hannan and Adam Foote. Especially if I'm wrong on Sakic coming back. Smyth, Sakic and Ian Laperriere contained a lot of leadership. Losing all three at once would be a big hit.