The Avalanche open a three-game road trip Tuesday in Philadelphia, but will they have the same roster after Wednesday's 3 p.m. ET trade deadline for Thursday's game in Ottawa?
Here are the GAME NOTES.
Will general manager Joe Sakic make a splash, a ripple or do nothing before the deadline passes?
Matt Duchene and Gabriel Landeskog have been the hot names in rumors and speculation, but the Avalanche also have a number of pending unrestricted free agents that surely are available.
I don't think there's any question Sakic would like to do Jarome Iginla a favor and deal him to a contender for what probably would be his last chance at a Stanley Cup. But Iginla is 39 and has just 18 points (eight goals, 10 assists) in 60 games. He probably could help a team's power play, but that's about it.
The others eligible for unrestricted free agency: Rene Bourque, Cody Goloubef, Andreas Martinsen, John Mitchell and Fedor Tyutin.
You're not going to get much value for any of these guys, though it'd be nice to fetch any kind of draft pick at this point. Happy birthday to coach Jared Bednar, who turned 45 Tuesday.
Like the players, Bednar will be happy once the deadline, and all the chatter that goes with it, passes.
"I've talked with a handful of our guys," he said. "They know the situation. The ones that are dealing with some of those rumors are mature guys and have been through it multiple times before in most cases, so I think it's outside of our locker room and we try to talk more about controlling what we can control, and that starts with our daily routine.
"It's a couple more days, so I think the end is near and I think that's a good thing."
***** Bednar said after practice Monday that goalie Calvin Pickard was feeling "a little bit better" after sitting out Saturday's game against Buffalo because of a stiff neck, but Jeremy Smith will start against the Flyers.
Bourque and Erik Johnson both practiced Monday and showed no ill-effects from playing their first games Saturday after lengthy layoffs. Bourque missed 11 games with head and neck injuries, Johnson 36 games to recover from a broken fibula.
"The day off (Sunday) probably helped them, and then getting in another practice," he said. "Those guys seem to be fine. That's a positive sign, especially for guys that have been out of our lineup for quite some time. There's always that doubt that they can get through it and continue to play. I think both those guys handled it pretty well the other night."