While the Colorado Avalanche hold the No. 2 overall selection in the 2011 NHL Draft, don't believe that the Avalanche will actively look to move the draft choice. Avalanche general manager Greg Sherman has said as much:
"It would have to be something paramount. But I'm not looking to move the pick," Sherman said after the NHL's most recent general managers' meetings in Boston. "There has been interest in the pick. Given the plan that we're on right now, it's not something we're looking to (trade)."
The last time a draft-day trade for the No. 2 overall pick occurred came in 2001 when the New York Islanders and the Ottawa Senators swapped players. The Islanders received Alexei Yashin from the Senators for Zdeno Chara, Bill Muckalt and the No. 2 overall pick. The Senators then drafted Jason Spezza.
Yashin went on to play 2001-07 for the Islanders, though for two seasons he played in about half of each season. He signed a 10-year, $87.5 million deal that the team bought out in 2007. He scored just 119 goals for the Islanders in five seasons and after the end of the 06-07 season he has played in Russia.
While Bill Muckalt never turned into much, both Chara and Spezza have gone on to success in the league. Chara spent a few seasons with the Senators before joining the Boston Bruins, for whom he is playing in the Stanley Cup Finals this season. Spezza has spent his entire career in Ottawa so far and has tallied 192 goals (532 points) in 526 games.
Do the Avalanche really want to trade the No. 2 pick and see someone like Adam Larsson run a defense for a decade or see Ryan Nugent-Hopkins pile on the goals elsewhere? Clearly not.
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