When Joe Sakic and Bill Guerin spoke Tuesday afternoon about the exchange of third-pair defenders Ian Cole and Greg Pateryn, the trade made sense for every general manager, in part because the Colorado Avalanche is in Los Angeles and Wild. in Anaheim.
There are pages and pages of COVID-19 protocols this season and any commercial air travel after a transaction would require a quarantine.
But with Avs on the highway, private car transport would make Pateryn technically available to Avs if he wanted to play against the Kings on Tuesday night and Cole would make his Wild debut on Wednesday night against the Ducks. .
“Ian is a guy I know well from my Pittsburgh days and someone I trust on the ice. I like the way they behave “, said Guerin. “And when Joe told me he would be available, I quickly worked on it and did something. I think they were right on the street in LA, and we …