The NHL trade deadline has passed, and
Matt Duchene and
Gabriel Landeskog remain with the Avalanche, who didn't do much of anything Wednesday by the time the clock struck 3 p.m. ET.
"I'm sure I'm going to have conversations with both of them, but I'm not the one who's going out there and throwing names around," general manager
Joe Sakic said in a conference call after the deadline.
Sakic did trade future Hall of Famer
Jarome Iginla to Los Angeles for a 2018 conditional fourth-round draft pick, and he acquired forward
Sven Andrighetto from Montreal for forward
Andreas Martinsen.
Sakic said moving Iginla to the Kings gives him an opportunity with a team in the playoff hunt. They are one point behind St. Louis for the second wild card in the West.
"I thought that was the right thing to do for him," he said. "It's a place, after talking with him and his agent Don Meehan, is a place where he wanted to go. It's a respect thing, it's a respect for Jarome Iginla, for him as a person, for him as a hockey player, a Hall of Fame hockey player, for his career.
"I wanted to give him an opportunity in a great place where he wanted to go. Obviously he has a relationship with their coach (
Darryl Sutter)."
Sakic said the main condition for the pick would be if Iginla re-signs with the Kings.
Sakic said Andrigetto is a "young, skilled forward looking for more of an opportunity ... with his speed and hockey sense and skill he can help our power play."
Forward
J.T. Compher has been recalled from San Antonio of the AHL and will join the Avalanche for Thursday's game in Ottawa. Compher, 21, has 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 41 games with the Rampage, his first pro season.
There were two minor league trades: Forward
Brendan Ranford was acquired from Arizona for forward
Joe Whitney, and goalie
Joe Cannata was acquired from Washington for defenseman
Cody Corbett.
If the Avalanche are going trade Duchene and/or Landeskog, that will happen in the offseason when there will be many more options.
"I don't have to make any major moves, that's the big thing," Sakic said. "If my players are looking for anything big, I've always stated that if there's something that's going to help our organization long term, that's something that we'll look to do.
"There are no guarantees on any trades. We want to get younger and that's what we're looking to do. This offseason we free up some cap space and we're going to try and keep getting younger and faster."
They are stuck with pending unrestricted free agents
Rene Bourque, Cody Goloubef, John Mitchell and
Fedor Tyutin for the rest of the season. Tyutin was probably the most valuable of this unimpressive bunch as a depth guy, but there obviously were no takers.
"I had a lot of conversations with different teams about different players," Sakic said.
As for Iginla, he deserves what probably will be his last chance at a Stanley Cup.
Iginla, 39, has 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 61 games this season. He had 124 points (59 goals, 65 assists) in 225 games after signing a three-year, $16 million contract on July 1, 2014. He had 29-30-59 his first season in Colorado and 22-25-47 last year.
A classier person you won't find, so best of luck to him. He has been reunited with Sutter, his coach in Calgary in 2003-04 when the Flames went to the Stanley Cup final.
"We spent a lot of years in Calgary together, so that familiarity is really nice," Iginla told the
NHL Network. "When you go into a different dressing room, a different coach, coaches coach differently, everyone has their own style. I think it will help the transition, it did feel nice to be able to talk to him.
"Time flies and I've kept in touch with him over the years, when you see him on the road and different places. I think that will help (the move go) smoother. I do know the organization is a great organization, he's a great coach ... he lets you know what he wants and what he expects and he definitely pushes the guys."
Iginla wear will wear No. 88 with the Kings out of deference to
Marian Gaborik, who already has his familiar No. 12.
"I'm very excited about (the trade)," Iginla said. "I think the Kings are a team from watching them getting
(Jonathan) Quick back and getting
(Ben) Bishop and playing against them and hard how they are to play against ... this time of year they seem to get better and better, and they're a very competitive group. They excel in the playoffs and I'm thrilled with the opportunity to join them.
"I think I can be more effective than I have been lately," he said. "Hopefully I get on a hot streak and I can help whatever way I can."
*****
Andrighetto, 23, is from Zurich, Switzerland. He has eight points (two goals, six assists) in 27 games this year. A 5-feet-10, 187-pound right wing, Andrighetto was Montreal's third-round pick (No. 86) in 2013. He has 11-17-28 in 83 NHL games.
Martinsen, 26, has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 55 games this season, with 7-11-18 in 110 NHL games, all with the Avalanche. The 6-3, 220-pound Martinsen's seven NHL goals are third all time among Norwegian-born players.
*****
Ranford and Cannata will be assigned to San Antonio of the AHL.
Ranford, 24, is a 5-10, 190-pound left wing. He had 6-11-17 this year in a combined 46 games with Texas and Tucson of the AHL. He was Philadelphia's seventh-round pick (No. 209) in 2010. Whitney, 29, has 11-17-28 in 55 games with the Rampage.
Cannata, 27, is 6-1, 200 pounds. He's spent most of the season with Hershey of the AHL and went 11-5-1 with a 3.22 goals-against average and .876 save percentage. He was Vancouver's sixth-round pick (No. 173) in 2009. Corbett, 23, had 2-8-10 in 23 games with the Rampage and 2-3-5 in seven games with the Colorado Eagles of the ECHL.
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