Matt Duchene just taking things one day at a time

Matt Duchene broke his silence today at Colorado Avalanche headquarters, sort of.

Briefly speaking to reporters and team media after Avs practice Monday, Duchene essentially gave non-answers to questions about what he sees for his future with the team.

“I’m taking things one day at a time,” Duchene told BSN Denver, when asked his thoughts on possibly being with the team still by opening night in New York, Oct. 5 against the Rangers. “Not looking that far into the future. Less is more for me right now.”

Duchene, who is believed to be on the trade block still despite Avs general manager Joe Sakic never actually having said that at any point in time, told reporters when he arrived for the start of training camp Friday that he was here to “honor my contract” and “out of respect for the fans” and “for my teammates.”

Duchene hasn’t let the distractions from trade rumors affect his play so far at training camp. He has looked excellent, mostly skating on a line with Nail Yakupov and Alex Kerfoot. On Sunday, he watched the Avalanche’s Burgundy-White scrimmage from the press box with several teammates, such as Gabe Landeskog and Nathan MacKinnon. Duchene was smiling and conversing with teammates, not looking like a guy sulking his way through the preseason.

Sakic continues to maintain a “Whatever is best for the hockey club” public stance about the Duchene situation, but sources tell BSN Denver that things have been relatively quiet on the trade talk front since camp started. If Duchene is to be traded this season still, some teams may want to see how he starts the season on the ice in a Colorado uniform.