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Duchene ‘started laughing’ when people wondered if he’d been traded

Anaheim Ducks v Colorado Avalanche

DENVER, CO - APRIL 09: Matt Duchene #9 and Gabriel Landeskog #92 of the Colorado Avalanche warm up prior to facing the Anaheim Ducks at Pepsi Center on April 9, 2016 in Denver, Colorado. the Ducks defeated the Avalanche 5-3. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

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Matt Duchene was sick.

Really sick.

That’s why he missed Monday’s game against San Jose.

And even as he battled a bad stomach virus, he got a good laugh that so many people thought he might have been traded.

“I started laughing,” Duchene said, per the Denver Post. “I never thought of it at the time. I thought if we announce that I was sick, there wouldn’t be any questions about it. But I guess there was. I mean, I understand it. It’s part of the business and it’s something that may or may not happen at some point here. It was not a big deal. I just kind of laughed it off. It’s to be expected, I guess.”

Indeed it is. Things have gotten so bad for the Colorado Avalanche (13-30-2) that it’s now expected that Duchene, Gabriel Landeskog, and/or Tyson Barrie will be traded. It may not happen before the March 1 deadline, but at some point fairly soon, a big move seems inevitable.

Read more: Fixing the Avs’ defense through trades will prove tough

Duchene, 26, leads the Avs with 15 goals. He scored a career-high 30 last season. And with a reasonable cap hit of $6 million through 2018-19, he represents a significant chip for GM Joe Sakic to play.

Duchene will be back in the lineup tonight at home to Vancouver.

Related: Sakic doesn’t plan on trading MacKinnon, Rantanen or Jost