The ship has sailed.
There will be no “legitimate” second line center (2C) joining the Colorado Avalanche anytime soon. It’s time to accept it and move on to a different strategy. This doesn’t mean stop attempting to improve the roster but the obsessive focus on finding a player to fulfill an ideal role without the resources to obtain it has led to multiple failures and continued to undermine the progress of building another championship contender.
Failure One: JT Compher
The first year after Nazem Kadri departed, the 2C reins were given to JT Compher and in hindsight his performance in that role was the best Colorado has enjoyed since lifting the Stanley Cup.