Matt Duchene skipped voluntary skates with his Colorado Avalanche teammates last week, leading to speculation he could hold out when the team officially reports to training camp on Thursday.

Avalanche general manager Joe Sakic told Adrian Dater of BSN Denver this weekend he expects every player under contract to report for camp.

“He’s under contract and I expect him to be here on the 14th,” Sakic told Dater. “He doesn’t have to be here ’til the 14th. Not everybody always come to camp early. It’s not for me to (say), but I assume on the 14th, he’ll be here.”

Duchene has been the subject of trade rumours since last season's trade deadline, with Sakic believed to be actively shopping the 26-year-old centre. 

Duchene's agent, Pat Brisson of CAA Sports, was asked by TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Frank Seravalli last week whether Duchene would attend camp. "All I want to say is, for the moment Matt is skating in Toronto,” Brisson responded.

“Well, I don’t have to worry about that right now,” Sakic told BSN of Duchene possibly no-showing. “Training camp is Thursday. There’s nothing to think about right now. Training camp isn’t until the 14th and we expect everyone that’s signed to be there, like every other year.”

Sakic said he's hopeful restricted free agent Nikita Zadorov will show on Thursday despite the defenceman not yet having a contract in place.

Duchene was placed atop the TSN Hockey Trade Bait List on July 1 and remains at the top spot on the pre-season list. Newsday reported in June the Avalanche turned down Travis Hamonic, a first-round draft pick and a high-end prospect for Duchene, while TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger reported both the Columbus Blue Jackets and Nashville Predators also submitted trade offers for the former 30-goal scorer.

Duchene scored 18 goals and 23 assists in 77 games last season with the team that drafted him third overall in 2009. He appeared to be on track to crack the 20-goal mark for the sixth time in his career, but scored just two goals in his final 26 games of the season.

He and teammate Tyson Barrie tied for last in the NHL with a minus-34 rating on the season.

It was a steady decline in production for the Haliburton, Ont., native this past season, who scored a career-high 30 goals during his 2015-2016 campaign. Duchene has tallied 174 goals and 244 assists in 572 career regular-season contests and six assists in eight career playoff games.

He is entering the fourth year of a six-year, $30 million deal signed before the 2013-14 season and carries a $6 million cap hit.

The Avalanche finished last in the NHL in 2016-17, posting a 22-56-4 record.