Just a few days ago the Colorado Avalanche shipped out defenseman Kyle Quincey in return for gritty winger Steve Downie from the Tampa Bay Lightning.

While the deal was polarizing because Quincey was seen as a sturdy pillar on Colorado’s blue line, the move makes sense due to the amount of defensemen in the Avalanche system. During the offseason, just before the draft, the Avs traded away John-Michael Liles, due in part to the fact that they had another, younger, puck moving defenseman waiting in the wings, Stefan Elliott. Elliott has had more than his fair share of playing time this season and it is clear that he has developed nicely so far, earning a more lasting role on the team.

But just how well was Quincey meeting expectations? He came to Denver in a move that included Tom Preissing in return for the humiliating salary dump of veteran Ryan Smyth. Smyth went on to further excellence in Los Angeles and Tom Preissing flamed out of the NHL in a big way. Quincey had a phenomenal first season in Colorado, the second best of his career, putting up 29 points in 79 games and finishing in the positive.

Heading into training camp the following season, a lot was expected of the sophomore. He appeared to be taking a leadership role on the team and the future was bright. Yet Quincey just didn’t seem to take off and was eventually injured trying to lay a check on Alexander Ovechkin. He played just 21 games that season, one of the worst in franchise history.

This year Quincey was doing the right things. He managed a nice 23 points across 54 games but also wasn’t happy when a groin injury kept him out of the lineup. Once healthy, Quincey saw his ice time held from him in an effort to give both Elliott and Matt Hunwick some time to showcase their talents.

Flash forward to yesterday when Yahoo! Sports Nick Cotsonika coaxed Quincey into needlessly bashing his former team, publicly stabbing his defenders in the back. Wrote Cotsonika:

“Everyone is ready to get shipped out any day,” Quincey said. “There’s a lot of guys, their bags are packed beside the door, and they wouldn’t be unhappy to go – trust me. I know I had a big smile on my face, and all the guys were jealous. I think there’s a bunch of guys that were pissed off they weren’t in a package deal.”

It’s obvious that Quincey isn’t thrilled about the situation. Most guys want a solid place to play with a lengthy contract and job security. Hardly anyone on the Avalanche roster has that right now. Still, to call out your comrades as being unhappy with the club is doing them a disservice. But then Quincey plays the pity card, attempting to look the victim ahead of Monday’s trade deadline. Wrote Cotsonika:

“There’s guys that have been talked about for two, three weeks – and I was, too, right?” Quincey said. “That’s all I’m saying. With guys getting talked about all the time, your mindset kind of changes. It’s tough there because they’re in a dogfight. When you get talked about every day, it kind of wears on you. You start thinking, ‘Where am I going?’ “

The mindset changes to what? Why compete if I might get traded?

Remember John-Michael Liles? He was the subject of every traded rumor regarding the Colorado Avalanche for at least the last three years. It got so bad last year that there was a twitter movement – #DontTradeLiles – in support of keeping him in town. Yet did Liles cry to the media, exclaiming “woe is me” every time his name popped up? No. He put his head down and did the work.

That isn’t to say that rumors aren’t a distraction and the prospect of having to move immediately can’t be stressful. Though it certainly comes with the territory when you’re a professionally paid athlete. It becomes sad though when a player that fans enjoyed reveals just how classless he really is. A character guy Quincey certainly is not, as his true colors come to light.

Last season the Avalanche acquired Matt Hunwick from the Boston Bruins and fans immediately found themselves a goat, the likes of which hadn’t been seen in town since the days of Martin Skoula. Hunwick continued to log minutes despite less than stellar play. This season, Hunwick has played just 12 games. Yet there have been no headlines, no quotes, and certainly no drama from zen master Hunwick. In fact, he’s had the picture perfect, Peter Budaj attitude and is seemingly a great teammate.

This is probably one of the reasons why he is still around while Quincey has ended back on the team that refused to put his name on the Stanley Cup or recognize his contributions during that winning season. Does the Avalanche really need a guy like him on the roster? A guy that has reportedly been more concerned with himself than the overall team. Many players, including Kevin Porter, leapt to his defense when his character was questioned – John Buccigross from ESPN was an accuser – but the airwaves have been eerily quiet for the last few days.

Ultimately, this quick explosion in the media has proved two things, that the Avalanche should be prepared to make signings as soon as the new CBA is reached this summer and that Kyle Quincey wasn’t a player worth keeping around. He can join Chris Stewart amongst overrated, overpaid players that can go flounder in another market. The Avalanche are rebuilding and the last thing they need is a poisonous, selfish player sabotaging the proud history of the Colorado Avalanche in the hopes of a bigger payday.

The best thing the Avalanche could do is take the money they saved from taking out the trash and put it into Ryan O’Reilly and Matt Duchene. Those kids are the future and have certainly earned an increase. The keyword there being earned.

It doesn’t matter that Quincey apologized to Avalanche management and his teammates. The apology, from Adrian Dater:

“The last thing I wanted to do was throw Colorado under the bus, an organization that was great to me, and I loved Colorado. I shouldn’t have said what I said and I’m sorry. I didn’t mean for it to come out like that. It wasn’t meant to be ‘Colorado-specific.’ I was talking about the trade deadline in general and it came out wrong. I don’t want any of the teammates I went to war with in Colorado to think I don’t think and wish anything but for the best for them.”

Word were said in haste and people know who he is.

What do you think?

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