Matt Duchene present at Avalanche training camp

Matt Duchene talks about how difficult it was for him and some of his Colorado Avalanche teammates to stay competitive during the 2016-17 NHL season and how moving on from the team is not his decision.

Despite constant trade rumours, Matt Duchene is reportedly in Denver for the start of Avalanche training camp.

Until now, there was speculation the 26-year-old wouldn’t report to camp. He missed a couple of the team’s optional events leading up to the opening of camp on Thursday — a charity golf tournament and an informal skate.

Duchene has two years left on his contract before becoming a UFA and is coming off a 41-point season, his lowest output of any season in which he played at least 60 games.

“I burnt out in January,” Duchene told Sportsnet’s Ryan Dixon over the summer. “I think a lot of guys did. Nobody really knows how tough that situation was. We were out of it by mid-December. To play the rest of the year out, after playing big hockey at the start of the year with the World Cup, it was really hard.”

It is believed the Avalanche are still shopping Duchene, but the reported asking has been in the ball park of two young players and a first-round pick. The Avalanche are in dire need of defencemen, so that need would seem to top the list.

Teams that have been rumoured interested in Duchene include Carolina, Columbus, Nashville and Pittsburgh.

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