Don’t count on the Avalanche acquiring a top-four-type defenseman before the Feb. 29 trading deadline.
That was one of the messages from Colorado general manager Joe Sakic Thursday, when he met with the media to talk both about the Feb. 26 Red Wings-Avalanche alumni game at Coors Field and the trading deadline three days later.
“We’ve been trying to add some pieces here to help the team, so we’ll see where that goes,” Sakic said at Family Sports Center. “It just seems that right now with so many teams in, (and) there’s not a lot of teams out of it right now, so everybody’s just deciding where they’re going to go. … I’m not trading high picks and some of our top prospects for rental players. If we’re going to move some of those, it’s going to have to be for a player or two that’s going to help us down the line.”
Sakic added, “We could use a puck-management forward and a solid (defenseman). You’re not going to get top-four ‘D.’ Teams aren’t giving those guys up. But just to add some more depth, we’ve been trying to do and we’ll continue to try to do.”
There’s no way to land that top four D-man?
“We tried,” Sakic said. He smiled and added, “I tried to get a No. 1. They don’t want to do it.”
Sakic has put on the equipment and skated several times in recent weeks, preparing for the outdoor alumni game.
“It’s coming,” he said of his conditioning. “It’s not where I want it to be. But I ran out of time. No choice now. The game’s a week away. We are where we are now and we’re all excited to play in the game and get through it healthy and then the next morning put the equipment back up in the garage.”
Will this alumni game be a complete lark or will the competitive juices get flowing?
“I think the first period is going to be, ‘Let’s get into the game,’ and try to get the flow going,” Sakic said. “From everything I’ve heard, and I’ve talked to some of the Detroit guys who have played in them, if the game is close, intensity will pick up. But I know on both sides, we don’t want to embarrass ourselves.”
Sakic said, “I think I’ve skated four or five times now. The equipment feels comfortable now. I’ll get maybe one more in next week before the game. I’ve realized in the last three or four skates that I’m not getting any better, I’m just getting more comfortable. . . It had been a while since I put on equipment, maybe two years.”
Sakic was asked about the perception that there’s at least as much interest in the alumni as the Red Wings-Avalanche Stadium Series game the next day.
“I don’t think that’s the case, but what I do think is the rivalry we had, it was just an incredible rivalry,” he said. “It was great to be part of that. The further you are away, and it was a long time ago, and I know I speak for myself and probably a lot of players that were part of it, I think you look back and really appreciate being part of something like that. That was a special time for the two organizations. Obviously it was heated, the two teams didn’t like each other, but you had a lot of respect for everybody that was part of that.”
Terry Frei: tfrei@denverpost.com or @TFrei
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