Matt Duchene was traded by the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday night after almost a full year of speculation he was on his way out of Denver.

The 26-year-old centre was pulled off the ice during the first period of Colorado's 6-4 loss to the New York Islanders once the trade had been completed. After the game, Duchene's teammates said it was no secret in the dressing room that Duchene wanted out.

“He didn’t want to be a Colorado Avalanche anymore,” defenceman Erik Johnson told BSN Denver. “The fact that he didn’t want to be a player for the team anymore, I think guys in the room were kind of waiting for it (a trade) to happen too. We all want to win play for this team and win in Denver and he wanted to go somewhere else. That’s his right, but now we have the group in the room that we’re all going to be pulling on the same rope, in the same direction."

Johnson, however, praised Duchene for staying committed to the Avalanche throughout his wait for a trade. Duchene posted four goals and 10 points in 13 games with the team leading into Sunday night.

“For a guy who didn’t want to be here, he showed up every day and worked hard and had a good attitude,” Johnson said. “But at the end of the day, we all want to play for the Colorado Avalanche and do great things here. And he didn’t.”

Adrian Dater of BSN Denver reported that Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic told Duchene last December he would grant his trade request but gave him no timeline on a deal.

“Obviously, it’s no secret that (a trade) was something he wanted,” defenceman Tyson Barrie said after the game. “So, I think it’s probably good to put that behind us. We’re moving on. We wish him the best and it sounds like we got some good pieces coming back, so we’re excited to meet these new guys.”

The Avalanche received a first, a second and a third-round draft pick back in the trade, along with centre Shane Bowers, goaltender Andrew Hammond, winger Vladislav Kamenev and defenceman Samuel Girard

"It's good," centre Nathan MacKinnon said. "It's a thing that needed to happen - for Dutchy, just a change of scenery. He's been here for eight or nine years, he's ready to move on and I don't know if we're rebuilding, but we're kind of revamping. Obviously, it's tough losing Dutchy, but for the future it's great."

Duchene took to Twitter on Monday morning to say his final goodbye to Colorado.

"To Colorado... Thank you," he tweeted. "You gave me a dream as a kid, made that dream come true as a teenager and gave me a wife, a dog, and a home as a man. I cannot thank you enough for giving me such a blessed life. You will always hold a piece of my heart. 

"Thank you so much."