Francois Giguere got a lot of offers at the NHL trade deadline Tuesday. For just about all of them, he found reason to refuse them.
Teams called about many of his players, the Avalanche general manager said, but at the end of the day his two moves were relatively minor: Brad May was sent to Anaheim for 21-year-old goalie prospect Michael Wall and enforcer Scott Parker was reacquired from the San Jose Sharks for a 2008 sixth-round draft choice.
Otherwise, when teams asked about Paul Stastny, John-Michael Liles, Milan Hejduk or Wojtek Wolski, Giguere wasn’t interested.
“My goal was to make the organization the best it could be for this year,” he said. “To keep our young players together, keep our core group. I thought it was important. I think our team has worked real hard and competed every night, and I thought it was important to send the message that I still have faith in them.”
Giguere said he was not interested in getting draft picks from teams for some of his established players.
The Avs have some potential unrestricted free agents, including Joe Sakic, Ossi Vaananen and Ken Klee. The Avs never considered trading Sakic as a rental player, and the offers for Vaananen and Klee may not have been to Giguere’s satisfaction.
“As far as I am concerned, Joe Sakic will never wear another jersey besides the Avalanche. As long as Joe wants to stay, we’ll have a place for him,” Giguere said.
In Wall, the Avs got a player about whom Giguere said, “My scouts tell me he is an NHL prospect.”
Wall played four games for Anaheim this season, going 2-2 with an .877 save percentage. He will report to Colorado’s minor- league affiliate, the Arizona SunDogs of the Central Hockey League.
“We’re going to let the last quarter of this season go and then sit down as a group this summer and evaluate what’s best for the organization,” Giguere said.
Parker, who played parts of four seasons with Colorado before being traded to the Sharks, has played only 21 games the past two seasons – partly because of injuries. He is making $575,000 this season.
May, 35, played 10 games for Colorado this season. His nearly two-year stay was initially marked by controversy over comments he made while with the Vancouver Canucks that were construed as a “bounty” on ex-Av Steve Moore – who was later seriously injured by Todd Bertuzzi.
May has been advised by doctors not to fight anymore this season, after recovering from shoulder surgery. He could have become an unrestricted free agent.
Footnote
Rookie Kyle Cumiskey was recalled from Albany (AHL).
Adrian Dater can be reached at 303-954-1360 or adater@denverpost.com.
