The Colorado Avalanche, rolling along with a 10-1 record, traded a winger who had spent the season on their first line, in exchange for a veteran checker. Numbers Game looks at the Steve Downie-Maxime Talbot trade. The Flyers Get: RW Steve Downie. Downie, 26, missed nearly all of last season after suffering a torn ACL in the second game of the season, but hes proven to be healthy this year, playing 16:43 per game through the first 11 games of the season, contributing one goal, seven points and a plus-4 rating for the Avalanche. While those numbers look like a positive start to the season for Downie, digging deeper can reveal some reason to have more modest expectations. For one thing, while Downie has fine possession stats, it wouldnt be right to ignore the contributions of Matt Duchene, especially since Duchene drives play more consistently and has been one of the leagues top players early in the season. Downie does offer a rare blend of talent and ability to wreak havoc on the ice. From 2009-2010 through 2011-2012, there were three players to score 40 goals and register at least 400 penalty minutes: Downie, Steve Ott and Scott Hartnell, who is going to be Downies teammate in Philadelphia. Returning to Philadelphia, where Downie played 38 games before he was traded early in the 2008 season, certainly puts Downie in a top-nine role, but theres going to be competition for playing time among the other Flyers wingers. Based on Philadelphias line combinations last game, it would be easy enough to slot Downie in for rookie Michael Raffl, alongside Claude Giroux and Vincent Lecavalier on the top line, but Scott Hartnell, Wayne Simmonds, Jakub Voracek and Matt Read are among those competing for ice time on the wings and its easy enough to see how Downie could still end up playing in a third-line role for the Flyers. If he does end up playing with Giroux and Lecavalier, that is a good opportunity for Downie to put up points, maybe even challenge his career-high 46 points that he had with Tampa Bay in 2009-2010. Downie, who comes with a cap hit of $2.65-million, will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season. Given the Flyers depth up front, they dont have to make a commitment to anything long-term but, given the Flyers history when it comes to handing out contracts, who would be surprised to see Downie land a multi-year extension? The Avalanche Get: LW Max Talbot. Talbot is a 29-year-old who has surprisingly strong puck possession numbers, even though he played a decidedly defensive role -- C Sean Couturier was the only non-fourth-liner with a higher percentage of defensive zone starts for the Flyers this season. Talbot scored a career-high 19 goals and 34 points for Philadelphia in 2011-2012, but dropped to 10 points in 35 games last season and has two points in 11 games this year. Hes not a gifted offensive player but, with the Avalanche, he doesnt have to be. Talbot can slide into a third-line role and be the defensive conscience on the wing with rookie centre Nathan MacKinnon. Part of Talbots appeal, in addition to championship experience gained in Pittsburghs 2009 Stanley Cup win, is that he has versatility and can play centre as well as either wing. The immediate beneficiary in the Colorado lineup is PA Parenteau, who had already moved up to skate on right wing with Duchene and Ryan OReilly in practice this week. Parenteau and Duchene played together for the most part last season, so there is a familiarity there and Parenteau upgrades the skill level of the trio. Talbot is under contract for two more years, after the current season, at a cap hit of $1.75-million, though his actual salary over the final two years totals $2.25-million, so he comes at something of a bargain relative to his cap hit. In total, Downie is likely to make more of an impact than Talbot, but theres no guarantee where that contribution will be happening beyond this season, so there is some asset management at work here for the Avalanche. While the Flyers might be confident that Downie will be part of their future, its possible that the Avalanche werent so assured. If thats the case, securing the services of a reliable veteran, who has 39 points in 77 career playoff games, who is under contract for a few more seasons may provide long-term value that helps mitigate the potential loss incurred by trading away a younger, more skilled player. Scott Cullen can be reached at Scott.Cullen@bellmedia.ca and followed on Twitter at http://twitter.com/tsnscottcullen. For more, check out TSN Fantasy on Facebook. Nick Holden Jersey . Leverkusen said on Friday it signed Schmidt on a two-year contract. He guided Red Bull Salzburg to the Austrian championship this season. Jon Merrill Jersey . Bradley is one of eight players selected to the team who also played in this years World Cup in Brazil. The MLS all-stars will compete against German giants Bayern Munich in Portland on Aug. http://www.goldenknightssale.com/authent...knights-jersey/. With the win, the Marlies complete a three-game series sweep of the Admirals and move on to the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs. T.J. Brennan added an empty netter with less than 25 seconds remaining for his second of the playoffs. Ryan Reaves Jersey . And I wanted to take this opportunity to share some of my experiences gained through International competition and the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan. Seven NHL referees and six linesmen will be assigned upcoming games in Sochi by the IIHF as part of their 28-man officiating roster comprised of 14 refs and 14 linesmen. Griffin Reinhart Jersey . Each day, TSN.ca provides the latest rumours, reports and speculation from around the NHL beat. Defensive Depth TSN Hockey Insider Pierre LeBrun is reporting the Toronto Maple Leafs have considerable interest in unrestricted free-agent defenceman Dan Boyle.PHILADELPHIA - The NHLs Olympic break is less than two weeks away but the threat of terrorism is keeping the situation volatile. After deputy commissioner Bill Daly said the league would consider pulling out of Sochi if something "significant" happens before players arrive, those set to participate are trying not to worry about that scenario. "Between the NHL and the NHLPA and the Olympic people, in communication obviously with the people in Russia, theyre going to advise us if we shouldnt go," Ken Holland of Canadas management team said Tuesday. "Im looking at the lead of the NHL. "Until they tell us were not going, Im going to Newark and going to jump on a plane and go to Sochi." A Hockey Canada spokesman said the organization had no official comment, adding nothing has changed about the situation. Charter planes are scheduled to leave for Sochi on Feb. 9, two days after the opening ceremony. Security concerns are keeping athletes on edge well before that, though Daly said in an email to the Associated Press he doesnt expect the plan to change. "Obviously, if something significant were to transpire between now and February 9 that causes us to question that conclusion, we will re-evaluate," Daly told the AP. Forward Tomas Tatar, who will represent Slovakia, read about that Tuesday morning before the Detroit Red Wings morning skate. "There would (have to) be a good reason if something happens before," Tatar said. "Obviously that would be not everythings OK there, so I would probably agree with the people here — why we should go there if something is not good? Hopefully nothing will happen and I think everythings in good hands." Olympic teammate Andrej Meszaros, a defenceman for the Philadelphia Flyers, said that possibility is in the back of his mind even if he doesnt want it to be. "It would be disappointing, thats for sure, but safety first," Meszaros said. "Theres nothing you can do about it. "Unfortunately, the world is like it is with the threats and theres nothing you can do about it. People are (ticked) off. Well see what happens in the next few days." Mark Streit, who represented Switzerland in Salt Lake City in 2002, Turin in 2006 and Vancouver in 2010, is trying to keep his focus on the Flyers upcoming schedule and not the off-chance NHL players wont go to Sochi. "Thhe NHL will do what they think is the best for the players and for our safety and for the families safety," Streit said.dddddddddddd"Thats out of (our) control. Im not really worried about that." Jimmy Howard, whos expected to be the third U.S. goaltender, is more worried about bouncing back from another knee injury. He insisted hes not thinking about Olympic contingency plans or security concerns. "Im trying not to let that consume me,"Howard said. "I look at it as this could be possibly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. "Im hoping everything goes off without a hitch." U.S. forward James van Riemsdyk said after the Maple Leafs morning skate in Toronto on Tuesday he doesnt have any family members going and that its tough not to wonder about the safety of athletes in Sochi. "Theyve reassured us that theyre taking a lot of measures over there," van Riemsdyk said. "All the players want to play, thats not really the issue here. Safety is the No. 1 priority." Jakub Voracek of the Czech Republic is hoping the Russian government has spent enough money to keep everyone safe. "I think the security, its very tight there," the Flyers winger said. "Obviously its going to be a pain, probably, for the people that want to watch the games or something. But its what you got to do. "In todays world you never know what happens. You go into the mall right here and theres a shooting. You go to the movie theatre, you get shot. A lot of crazy people running around in the world today. Its not only in Russia. Youve got to make sure that the securitys very tight." While Howard hopes these are just "empty threats" against the Olympics, Holland recalled similar concerns going into Vancouver. Political concerns in that region of Russia have made this seem like a more dangerous situation. "I think in this world we live in today, unfortunately there are times that you always have concern," Holland said. "But you have to trust that the people that are in charge of security are going to be on top of things." The Players Association said in a statement "the NHLPA continues to be in contact with Olympic and security officials regarding plans for the Olympic Games in Sochi, and will work closely with all concerned to monitor matters in advance of and during the Games." 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