It seems strange, doesn’t it? This is supposed to happen in Chicago or Columbus, not Colorado.
But as today’s 1 p.m. trading deadline approaches, the Avalanche is in 10th place in the Western Conference, is a longshot to make the playoffs, and thus is in theoretical position to consider any offers for its veterans with expiring contracts.
Or to consider offers for anyone, including the seemingly marketable John-Michael Liles or Milan Hejduk, without “having” to worry about what the roster would look like in the postseason.
Or to see if any deal can be worked out that would allow Colorado to get out from under goaltender Jose Theodore’s $6 million salary and $5.3 million cap number for next season, the final year of the contract the Avalanche inherited in the March 2006 deal with Montreal.
The Avalanche didn’t practice Monday, after its middle-of-the-night arrival following a Sunday night loss at Anaheim, and Colorado faces the Blue Jackets tonight at the Pepsi Center – six hours after the deadline.
Are the Avs looking over their shoulders?
“No,” Liles said. “What can you do? You can’t control it. All you can do is go out there and play as well as possible. That’s pretty much all anybody can say, really.”
Liles, 26, has one season remaining on his contract, and his cap number is $1.33 million. After returning to the lineup this month after recovering from a broken foot, he spent a brief period in coach Joel Quenneville’s doghouse and got limited ice time.
But his ability to generate and join the attack remains a valued commodity, and – especially if prized rookies Wojtek Wolski and Paul Stastny are considered untouchable – he is one of the Avalanche’s major potential bargaining chips in trade discussions.
“I don’t even know what to say on that,” Liles said. “I guess you’d rather have people want you than not want you. But as far as that goes, I’m just trying to play as hard as I can right now.”
Hejduk is signed through 2009-10, with a cap number of $3.9 million. He has been revived a bit lately, but the issues the Avalanche will ponder are whether the former 50-goal scorer is delivering sufficient bang-for-the-buck in this era, and whether it is worth at least listening to offers for him the season before a no-trade clause in his contract is activated.
“I’m trying to focus on the games right now,” Hejduk said. “We are in a deep hole and we’re trying to get out of this hole. We definitely don’t want to be the first Avalanche team to miss the playoffs, so that’s what we’re battling for.”
Joe Sakic, who could be an unrestricted free agent July 1 and has indicated his preference for one-year deals as his career winds down, said the deadline hasn’t been a distraction.
“Know that, that goes with every team over the course of the year, every year,” he said. “You’d have to ask each individual, but I’ve never looked at it, myself.”
Quenneville said the trade speculation “is all part of our business and beyond everybody’s control. You got to be aware of the business at hand, and that’s playing hard.”
The veterans on the active roster with expiring contracts are Sakic, Ian Laperriere (with a mutual option clause for next season), Marek Svatos, Ossi Vaananen, Tyler Arnason, Brett McLean, Ken Klee, Kurt Sauer, Brad May, Mark Rycroft and Ben Guite. Sauer and Svatos would be restricted free agents July 1 if they receive qualifying offers. The rest would be unrestricted.
Defenseman Jordan Leopold, who is on the injured list with a broken wrist, could be a restricted free agent. Patrice Brisebois and Pierre Turgeon, both on the injured list, also have expiring deals and almost certainly won’t be offered new contracts.
Terry Frei can be reached at 303-954-1895 or tfrei@denverpost.com.
