When the Colorado Avalanche ripped off the band-aid with their trade of Matt Duchene, it revealed the scarring of a scab too frequently picked at that clearly never properly healed. That scar is the original rebuild operation the Avs began after the 2008-09 season when they overhauled their decision-makers in the front office and found themselves with the third overall pick, their highest at the time since moving to Colorado.
They used that selection on Duchene and followed it up with what should have been a franchise-altering draft class that included Ryan O’Reilly and Tyson Barrie. Getting three All-Star caliber players in the same draft is extremely difficult and ideally would have set Colorado up for the perfect transition from the Joe Sakic-era into the great beyond.