Brad Stuart had an inkling he could be on the trading block over the summer following yet another disappointing postseason for the San Jose Sharks, who blew a 3-0 series lead in the first round to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Los Angeles Kings.
Stuart, who turns 35 in November, said the Sharks were looking to get younger and, if he wasn't going to be in their plans, hoped for the chance to join a team that expects to gain a playoff berth and do some damage there.
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound defenseman got his wish July 1 when the Avalanche acquired him from the Sharks in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2016 NHL draft and a sixth-rounder in 2017.
"I kind of knew they wanted to get younger," Stuart said Saturday at the Family Sports Center in Centennial, Colo., where the Avalanche practiced and scrimmaged for the second day in a row. "If I wasn't going to be part of their plans I'm glad they gave me the opportunity to go somewhere and be on a good team and have a chance to win. From what I've seen, everybody loves playing here and I can see why."
(Here's the Avalanche training camp roster.)
The Avalanche added Stuart, a 14-year NHL veteran, for his experience, physical play and the fact he knows what it takes to win, having been a member of Detroit's Stanley Cup championship team in 2008. Coach Patrick Roy repeated Saturday that he intends to pair Stuart with 6-4, 232-pound Erik Johnson. That didn't happen in the first two days of camp but will Sunday in the Burgundy and White Game at the University of Denver.
"I've heard that, that'd be great," Stuart said. "Erik is an outstanding player, he's a big body and he can shoot the puck. He's got all the tools. I think it's going to be a situation where I just try to support him, on the ice and off the ice, make sure he's feeling good and develop some chemistry."
Roy is happy with what he's seen so far of Stuart, who was paired with Stefan Elliott in scrimmages the past two days.
"Pretty impressed," Roy said. "He really looked confident out there. You could tell he's a guy that has had some success, winning the Stanley Cup. Looking at him in those scrimmages, sometimes he could take it lightly and it's not the case. He's playing hard every time he's on the ice. I think he's going to be a great fit for us. (Sunday) he's going to play with EJ and we'll see how they connect together. In preseason games they're going to play together and we'll see how they connect. I think it will be a nice challenge for both of them to play together."
Stuart arrived in Colorado a month ago to get his family settled and his children enrolled in school.
"It's a beautiful area, the kids are going to great schools and we're all excited about it," said Stuart, who last season had three goals, eight assists, 35 penalty minutes and a plus-4 plus/minus rating in 61 games. Stuart missed 13 games because of an upper-body injury and had 122 official hits and 114 blocked shots, finishing third on the Sharks in both categories. He had 12 blocked shots in seven playoff games.
"It's a good situation for me," said Stuart, who in 985 regular-season games has 77 goals, 245 assists and 549 penalty minutes. "They have so much young talent here and I can be the veteran guy who can come in and play an important role and help the younger guys, especially on the back end. I'm looking forward to it.
"They had a good year last year and the goal this year is to improve, not necessarily have more points but to continue where it left off and get into a position in April where we're playing for something. I'm excited. I have a real good vibe just being here for a month that it's going to be a good season.
"I just want to be physical, a guy that can kill penalties and play good defense, be a guy that my teammates know is going to go out there every night and work his butt off and do the little things -- maybe things other people don't notice but if your teammates notice it that's all I care about."
As for Stuart's first impressions of Roy: "He's very detailed, he's intense, but I can see that he's fair with his players. As a player, that's all you can ask for. You want to go out and work hard and you want to know the guys behind the bench kind of have your back."
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Center Matt Duchene said his knee is completely healed and he has looked as fast as ever during practices and scrimmages. He missed the final eight regular-season games and first five playoff games last year after getting injured in an on-ice collision with teammate Jamie McGinn 32 seconds into a March 29 game with San Jose.
"I actually got off really lucky," Duchene said. "I was very, very close to doing some big time damage. My conditioning and my flexibility actually helped me avoid something major there and I've had a great recovery. I'm feeling as good as I've ever felt, if not better. We worked real hard this summer and it's awesome going into my training because it doesn't take long for me to feel good again and I felt like I had a great summer and I can't wait to help this team get further in the playoffs this year."
Duchene, who skated with Ryan O'Reilly and 2014 first-round pick Conner Bleackley the first two days in camp, wore a brace in the playoffs and said he probably wouldn't have played if the games against the Wild had been in the regular season.
"I probably would have taken a little bit longer," he said. "I didn't have my speed and I had a brace on. I can't wear a brace, it's tough for me to wear that and still skate and move the way I can. I went out there and at that point it didn't matter to me if I was a hundred percent or not. No excuses, I just tried to do everything I could to help the team. Unfortunately, we came up short. I had a really hard time getting over that after the season, but the page is turned now.
"Everything feels good," said Duchene, who had 23 goals and career highs for assists (47) and points (70) despite missing 10 games overall. "Everything the last few weeks has felt awesome and I just keep getting better."
As for his outlook heading into the season, Duchene said: "I love our team. I think it's probably the deepest team I've ever played on at any level. Danny Briere and I were talking today and I said on any given night any one of our lines can be our best line, and that's a special thing."
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It was standing room only for fans at the Family Sports Center on Saturday.
"It's great to see that many fans here," Roy said. "I guess it reminds me of my (playing) time. It's great to see that the people appreciate the team. Our fans are reconnecting with us and that's what we want and that's what our players want. Just looking at some guys shooting and scoring goals and hearing the fans, it was great for them and I'm sure it motivates them even more."
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Roy will put together his top two lines Sunday in the Burgundy and White Game, with Duchene centering O'Reilly and Jarome Iginla, and Nathan MacKinnon in the middle with Gabriel Landeskog and Alex Tanguay. "We're going to use six goalies; they're all going to play one period," Roy said. "I'm going to use four lines on each side and I think we're going to use six defensemen. There are some guys that aren't going to dress."
MacKinnon, who lived with Jean-Sebastien Giguere and his family last season, has a new landlord. Giguere retired and MacKinnon has taken up residence with Max Talbot and his family ... The Duchene- and O'Reilly-led Blue team defeated the Black team 3-0 to win the two-day championship. The Grey Team edged the Burgundy team 2-1 in the consolation game ... Center John Mitchell, who has been experiencing migraines, skated hard on the second rink after the remaining players left the ice following team drills.
Rookie defenseman Duncan Siemens and forward Cody McLeod nearly came to blows in the late stages of the Blue/Black game but were separated by the on-ice officials. Roy said he's been impressed with Siemens, 21, a first-round pick (11th overall) in the 2011 NHL draft. "I'm very happy with the way he's been playing in this camp," Roy said of Siemens, a 6-foot-3, 205-pounder who was paired with Johnson. "In practices he looks sharp. We put him with EJ and wanted to see what Duncan could do, give him a fair chance, and right now it seems like he's taking advantage of it." ... Roy said he plans to carry 13 forwards and eight defensemen when the season starts.