The Colorado Avalanche traded their first round 2014 draft pick, 23rd-overall Conner Bleackley, to the Arizona Coyotes as part of a package that brought winger Mikkel Boedker to the team. Bleackley was unsigned at the time, and the Coyotes announced last week that they weren’t going to sign him. That makes 20-year-old Bleackley eligible to re-enter the draft and the Coyotes eligible for a compensatory pick, 53rd overall, to be exact.
That also left the Avalanche with apparent egg on their face. Indeed, the 2014 draft is seen to be a stinker by most Avs fans — and maybe to the administration themselves.