Joe Sakic says talks ongoing but no trade imminent
Paul Stastny patiently answered the same types of questions he has been hearing for days as the Wednesday 1 p.m. trading deadline approaches.
First, Stastny — whose $33 million, five-year contract is up after this season — emphasized he hadn’t spoken with his agent, Matt Keator, in the previous 24 hours and didn’t know anything new about where negotiations stood with the Avalanche.
Asked if he had been brought into contract discussions, Stastny said: “I stay out of it, unless something very important comes up. Like I said before …”
At that point, Stastny laughed and added: “I give the same answer because that’s too much for me to think about. That’s how I’ve always been. It’s not just now. We’ve been together for 10-plus years, coming out of college, and my first couple of years. It keeps my mind at ease to not have to worry about it and just worry about on the ice.”
Stastny added he “absolutely” would be willing to grant the Avalanche a discount. The trick there is how that’s defined, especially since it’s generally conceded that while he has played well as a two-way center, doing a lot of the intangibles, and is a major contributor to this team, his $6.6 million salary the past five seasons raised eyebrows.