When Joe Sakic and Bill Guerin talked Tuesday afternoon about swapping third pair Ian Cole and Greg Pateryn, the deal made sense in part for every general manager because the Colorado Avalanche was in Los Angeles and the Wild in Anaheim.
There are pages and pages of COVID-19 protocols this season, and any commercial aviation after a trade will require a quarantine.
But with the Avs right on the highway, private car transport would make Pateryn technically available to the Avs if they want to play him against the Kings on Tuesday night and Cole available to make his Wild debut against the Ducks on Wednesday night.
‘Ian is a man I know well from my Pittsburgh time and someone I trust on the ice. “I like the way he carries himself,” said Guerin. ‘And when Joe told me he would be available, we quickly worked on it and did something. I think the fact that they were right down the street in LA, and we are …