Matt Duchene insists he wasn't too hurt by Peter Forsberg's call for him to be benched and traded.
“I saw it," the current Colorado Avalanche forward told reporters, according to Mike Chambers of the Denver Post, after a 4-0 win over the Boston Bruins on Monday afternoon.
"I don’t think it was meant to be anything personal," Duchene added. "He and I have a great relationship. So I’m not taking it personally. I think he’s just commenting on the situation. A lot can get lost in translation.”
On Swedish television over the weekend, Forsberg said the Avalanche should sit Duchene and trade him because the legendary former member of the organization would rather play "with someone that wants to be there."
Forsberg won two Stanley Cup championships with Colorado and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2014.
“He was a guy I idolized growing up," Duchene said Monday. "I still have the same admiration and respect for him as a player and a guy - he was a guy I looked up to a lot as a kid.”
Avalanche head coach Jared Bednar made it clear he disagreed with Forsberg's remarks earlier Monday, saying it's hard for someone outside the Colorado dressing room to say what Forsberg did, and praising Duchene for his play so far this season.
The current Avalanche center, who's been on the trade block since last season, notched a goal and an assist in the season opener, fired five shots on goal in Colorado's second game of the campaign, and chipped in an assist on Monday.
