Why are Predators Fans So Obsessed With Matt Duchene?

Around the All-Star Break, Matt Duchene's name started floating around in all sorts of trade rumors. Team X was working to trade for him, while teams Y and Z were trying to create an offer that was more enticing for the Avs. With the Preds being one of those teams linked to him, the fanbase started to stir. The thought of Duchene in a mustard colored sweater was enough to make most of us, including myself, salivate. Anytime there's a rumor that YOUR team could land an All-Star caliber forward, excitement is bound to get everyone talking and playing armchair GM, but just how well would Duchene fit with the Predators and what is it exactly that makes the fans want him here so badly?

Why Do Most Preds Fans Love Him?

This answer is quite simple: he's shown an affinity for the city and most importantly, country culture. Now, I'm not calling Nashville a hicktown or a redneck haven, but it's a city that has country music and boot-scootin' boogie coursing through it's veins. During the 2016 ASG festivities, he donned a sweet looking cowboy hat as he participated in the Breakaway Challenge. On more than one occasion, he's raved about the fans and the atmosphere of the city. The "Home Team" t-shirt he wore in a post on Instagram only fanned the trade rumor flames.

What Can He Add to This Team?

Matt Duchene is a wonderful player. It'd be hard to find people that would disagree with you about that. He's been one of the lone bright spots for the Avalanche over the last few seasons, especially during the 2016-17 campaign when they finished dead last in the league and couldn't even get the top pick in the draft. He finished last year with 18 goals and 23 assists over 77 games played. Not terrible numbers on a squad that only managed to win a whopping 22 games. Yikes! He put up VERY similar numbers to Mike Fisher, the player he'd be brought in to "replace", only finishing one assist behind him. Of course, Duchene is the younger of the two, with Fisher recently deciding to call it a career and skate off into the sunset. Duchene is still capable of putting up ridiculous numbers. Most might consider the 16/17 season a bit of a down year for Duchene. As recently as 2013-14, he reached 70 points(23 goals, 47 assists) as he helped lead the Avs to a Central Division Title and 112 points. In the two seasons prior to his "drop off", he put up two 50-plus point seasons and even notched 30 goals in the 15/16 season. Any team in the NHL, especially the Preds (who are looking to replace both a second line center, and a top line caliber forward in James Neal), would LOVE to add a player with this kind of skill and ability. 

What Would it Cost to Get Duchene?

My southerners may like this. When you go fishing for a big catch, you have to use big bait, and the same is true for sports trades. Colorado's GM, Joe Sakic, has made it clear that he wants a nothing less than a top-4 defenseman in any trade for his young center. While it's perfectly alright to value your players that highly, recently-christened NHL GM of the Year, David Poile covets his defensemen. The only exceptions to that being the constantly talked about P.K. Subban/Shea Weber deal and the equally eybrow raising deal that sent Seth Jones to Columbus in exchange for another top Center, Ryan Johansen. Most pundits and fans would agree that Poile would have to move either Ryan Ellis or Mattias Ekholm. Losing one of those guys would definitely create a big hole on the defensive side of the puck. Ellis had a career year and became a leader in the locker room. Ekholm was a star during the Stanley Cup Final, along with partner P.K. Subban and was vital in shutting down several of the league's top lines during the playoffs. Sakic of course wants more than one player if he is to move one of his top talents as he tries to restock the farm system in the Colorado organization. Rumor had it, he was asking for a NHL ready D-man, a first round pick AND a top prospect. That means Poile would have to sweeten the already sweet deal by adding a guy like Dante Fabbro, Samuel Girard or Vladislav Kamenev. As a fan, and a guy who looks forward to the future quite often, I'm not quite ready to part with all of that for Duchene. He will be an unrestricted free agent after 2018/19, so it could make more sense to wait out his contract and then attempt to lure him to Nashville when the time comes. Personally, I like the sound of that more. Should only cost us a few gold-plated steel guitars, right?