Barring a miraculous finish, the Avalanche is going to miss the playoffs for the second time in three years.

It's quite a comedown for a team that won division championships its first eight seasons in Colorado, advanced to the Western Conference finals six times and captured a Presidents' Trophy.

And, of course, there are the two Stanley Cups.

In the past, the Avalanche could be counted on to make a big splash around NHL trading deadline time. Among those acquired: Dave Andreychuk, Rob Blake, Ray Bourque, Theo Fleury, Darius Kasparaitis, Bryan Marchment and Jose Theodore.

Last year, when the Avalanche was battling to get into the playoffs, general manager Francois Giguere signed free agent Peter Forsberg, reacquired Adam Foote and traded for Ruslan Salei.

This year's deadline is at 1 p.m. MST Wednesday, and for the first time since the Avalanche arrived in Denver, it will make a lot more sense to shed veterans in exchange for prospects and draft picks.

Sad, perhaps, but true.

It's impossible to predict which players will be traded, but the most likely are those eligible for unrestricted free agency July 1.

The most valuable players in this category: defenseman Jordan Leopold and forward Ian Laperriere, who is one of the team's most popular members. Center Tyler Arnason also will be free to sign elsewhere after the season, but with five goals in 58 games he doesn't have much trade value.

Defensemen Brett Clark and Salei, who both have another year left on their contracts, also have been mentioned in trade speculation.

The same is true of Ryan Smyth, who has three years left on his five-year, $31.25 million contract. Smyth and Milan Hejduk, easily the Avalanche's two best players this season, have no-movement clauses and want to remain in Colorado.

Let's hope management isn't foolish enough to try and convince either one to leave.

"If the right deal comes up, we're going to make it," coach Tony Granato said. "The majority (of rumors) are someone creating something that looks like it fits for both teams. I think that's where it starts."

Regardless of what the Avalanche does before the deadline, rebuilding needs to go full force in the summer.

Does Joe Sakic want to be part of such a process or will he retire? Will the Avalanche finish low enough in the standings to secure a lottery draft pick? It's long shot, but junior star John Tavares (49 goals and 40 assists in 50 games) is expected to be the top pick in the NHL entry draft.

The Avalanche also will have to figure out what it plans to do in net. This team isn't going to win a championship with Peter Budaj or Andrew Raycroft as its No. 1 goalie, so that crucial position will need to be addressed.

OFF THE RECORD

It's inevitable that Martin Brodeur will break records held by Patrick Roy and Terry Sawchuk for career wins and shutouts, respectively.

For now, the New Jersey Devils goalie is more concerned with showing that he can still play at an elite level four months after undergoing surgery for a torn tendon in his left biceps.

"The records have been pushed to the side a bit," said Brodeur, who before Thursday's game against the Avalanche needed eight wins to break Roy's record of 551 and six shutouts to shatter Sawchuk's mark of 103. "I've always said they will come when they come. There will be time for records.

"This is about the playoffs. It's about getting myself ready to lead this team deep into a postseason. The regular season really doesn't matter that much."

RHYMES WITH LEMIEUX

Claude Lemieux is still Public Enemy No. 1 in Detroit, where he was booed each time he was on the Joe Louis Arena ice when the San Jose Sharks visited Wednesday.

"I thought they were cheering me," Lemieux joked with reporters. "You know, Le ... meeuuuuww."

Lemieux, now 43, was at the forefront of the Red Wings/Avalanche rivalry when the teams were literally slugging it out for NHL supremacy.

"I had an opportunity to be part of these great rivalries," he said. "It was good for hockey. I think hockey was at its best as far as TV ratings and the interest of the hockey fans. They couldn't wait to sit down and watch those games. We need more rivalries of that kind to help promote our game."

The Detroit/San Jose rivalry isn't quite the same, but the clubs are competing for the top playoff seed in the Western Conference.

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