Trading Smyth, no surprise

Since finishing last in the West with a high payroll, there has been a mandate from Avalanche ownership: Get younger, get cheaper and rebuild.

Part of that mandate was filled Friday night when the Avs traded left wing Ryan Smyth to the Los Angeles Kings for two young defensemen — Kyle Quincey and Tom Preissing — and a fifth-round draft pick in 2010. The trade will not become official until the players pass a physical.

It may come as a shock to some Avs fans that the team would trade the former all-star, but it has been a poorly guarded secret for a while now that the Avs were trying to trade him. When he signed a five-year, $31.25 million free-agent deal in 2007 that included a no-trade clause, the 33-year-old Smyth was hailed by management as a critical piece in getting back to the Stanley Cup Finals. But after a last-place finish this season, Smyth’s age and contract were seen as undesirable.

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