Jarome Iginla is the lucky one. He got out. The rest of us are stuck with the Avalanche, a team so wretched that Denver is embarrassed to admit it’s a hockey town.

Avs general manager Joe Sakic did Iginla a solid and traded him to the Los Angeles Kings, giving the 39-year-old winger one last chance to chase Stanley Cup glory.

Now, if only Sakic would do the rest of us a favor and admit he has made such a hot mess of the Avs that it’s time to let somebody else try his luck at returning a once-proud hockey franchise back to respectability.

Despite weeks of speculation and hand-wringing, the NHL trade deadline passed Wednesday without a deal that moved either Matt Duchene, who leads the Avalanche with 16 goals, or Gabe Landeskog, the team captain.

There was no blockbuster trade. And I’m OK with that. Duchene and Landeskog might not be the answer to everything that ails the Avs. But they’re definitely not the main problem here.

Sakic is the problem. Joe must go.

The Avalanche now have until the NHL draft in June to decide if the first step in a roster overhaul is to part ways with Duchene or Landeskog. And, quite frankly, there’s no reason to trust Sakic to make the right decision.

Let’s be honest. Since coach Patrick Roy abruptly quit last summer, the team has been in a free-fall. His replacement on the bench, Jared Bednar, looks hopelessly lost. He was a lousy hire by Sakic.

The Avs are bad. But they are not as bad as their 17-41-3 record, which puts them on a pace for 50 points, the worst performance by any NHL team since the Atlanta Thrashers in 2000. When a team is historically bad, heads must roll.

Yes, injuries have caused Semyon Varlamov and Erik Johnson to miss extended time, but the crying shame is defense might no longer be this franchise’s biggest problem. With 121 goals, Colorado is by far the worst offensive team in the league, and that simply should not be possible with the firepower of Nathan MacKinnon, Duchene and Landeskog. Remember the good, old days of last season, when the major complaint was Colorado could not hold a lead in the third period? Well, the Avs have not played a truly meaningful period since before Christmas. Related Articles September 15, 2020 Kiszla: The Nuggets did what? How Joker and his little buddy Jamal shocked the Clippers and the NBA world (again).

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Landeskog has repeatedly professed a desire to stay in Colorado, while Duchene has admitted he wants to win. It’s time for the Avalanche to hit the reset button. The team would be ill advised to wait beyond this summer to trade Duchene, because with only two seasons left on a deal that expires in 2019, the time when looming free agency will begin to make him a less-attractive trade chip is rapidly approaching.

The time between now and the merciful end of this sad Avalanche campaign need not be wasted. Team president Josh Kroenke can research and reach out to potential candidates for the job of rebuilding the team. Here are three names to consider: Norm Maciver, assistant general manager of the Chicago Blackhawks; 66-year-old Florida Panthers executive Dale Tallon, who might be long in the tooth but knows how to build a winner; and Rob Blake, the former Avs defenseman now working for the L.A. Kings in the front office.

Before dealing Duchene or Landeskog, the Avs need to make the painful but necessary move of saying goodbye to Sakic.

Joe must go.