Colorado Avalanche And Paul Stastny Nowhere Close On A Deal
By Andrew Dill
November 12, 2013; Raleigh, NC, USA; Colorado Avalanche forward Paul Stastny (26) reacts against the Carolina Hurricanes at PNC Center. The Carolina Hurricanes defeated the Colorado Avalanche 2-1. Mandatory Credit: James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports
If you were hoping to see the Colorado Avalanche re-sign Paul Stastny, well, it’s looking bleak. Stastny’s agent Matt Keator came out last week and said the team and his client are nowhere close on a deal, “nothing is imminent”.
The center just finished his five-year, $33 million dollar contract with the Avalanche which a lot of Avs fans would agree he was overpaid. However, in a contract year, the 28-year-old put up 60 points in 71 games while collecting 25 goals and 35 assists. Stastny was also a force in the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs where he collected 10 points in the first-round series with the Minnesota Wild (5 goals, 5 assists).
Losing Stastny would be tough to see but the Avalanche should focus on having Ryan O’Reilly as their top target. The 23-year-old led the Colorado Avalanche in the 2013-14 season with 28 goals in 80 games played. What’s more impressive about O’Reilly’s play is his discipline. He would collect just two penalty minutes the entire regular season – wow.
Colorado has the fire-power to replace Stastny as the first-line center where they can either slide Nathan MacKinnon into that spot or Matt Duchene. It would be nice to have Stastny back however where they could keep playing the youngster MacKinnon on the wing with Paul and Gabriel Landeskog.
Stastny’s name is also tied in with the St. Louis Blues and Anaheim Ducks as they are both interested in the centerman — two Western Conference teams.
Avalanche fans know this much that they should trust in Patrick Roy and Joe Sakic and we will see what happens from this point on.