#1 – There is never any warning. If you hear a rumor about it, it’s not going to happen. Nothing leaks from this organization. NOTHING.

#2 – Trades always happen when you least expect them. For example, I think our beat writer has been asleep, on a plane with his phone off, and taking a nap for the past three (Johnson, Varlamov, and Downie). We always get lulled into the “there’s no way the Avs are going to make a/another trade today” before he strikes.

#3 – The move will seem crazy at first, but typically ends up working out in the end. However, expect question Sherman’s sanity when you first hear about it. If you’re an Avs fan, panic is also a good initial reaction.

“I do regret it [reporting the injury]. Because if I didn’t say anything, I wouldn’t have missed those six games,” he said. “You’re trying to play through injury, trying to play your best, but it’s better than coming out of the lineup because you don’t get back in.” -Quote taken from a Mike Chambers article at the Denver Post from 12/29/11

I think this comment may have rubbed the Avs’ management the wrong way. Add in the fact that he’s certainly not been our best defensemen this year (he hasn’t done anything really remarkable since early in the season while everyone else has been getting progressively better) and that he takes a lot of stupid penalties, and it’s not too hard to suppose that management wasn’t exactly thrilled with him. I don’t think he was a locker room cancer like some recent tweets suggested, but he definitely wasn’t as key to the Avs’ long term plans as he probably thought he was.