Colorado Avalanche forward Matt Duchene was not in attendance for the team's pre-training camp captain's practices on Tuesday.

The camp is not mandatory as veterans do not have to report until Sept. 14 while rookies get going on Friday. Other missing players included unsigned restricted free-agent defenceman Nikita Zadorov and centre Nathan MacKinnon, who is in New York for the league's media tour, according to Chambers.

Duchene, who has been the centre of trade speculation this summer and most of last season, attended a wedding in Vail, Colorado, on Saturday.

Captain Gabriel Landeskog did attend and said he expects Duchene to be there when training camp gets underway.

“I talked a little bit with Dutchy. He’s not here; that’s not a secret,” Landeskog told Mike Chambers of the Denver Post. “But we’ll have to wait and see. As of right now, he’s a part of the Avalanche organization and we all expect him to be here when training camp starts. I don’t really know what else to tell you right now.

“Nobody has to be here but it’s a tradition that everybody gets in early, shows up (for captain’s skates) and is excited to get going. For whatever reason, (Duchene is) not here. But I know everybody that’s here right now — we’re all excited to be part of this team and we’re all excited to get going with the season. Ultimately, we all want to figure out a solution to this problem — that’s what we’re really excited about, and what we’re looking to do.”

The 26-year-old is coming off the worst season of his career, netting 18 goals and 23 assists for just 41 points over 77 games. He also had a minus-34 rating for the last-place Avs. 

Selected by Colorado third overall in the 2009 Draft, Duchene has spent his entire eight-year career with the club, recording 174 goals and 244 assists over 572 games. The centre has appeared in just eight playoff games.