Avs deal Ryan O'Byrne on quiet deadline day

The Avs weren’t crazy busy in the lead-up to Wednesday’s NHL trade deadline, but they did pull off one move.

Colorado dealt defenseman Ryan O’Byrne on Wednesday to the Toronto Maple Leafs for a 2014 fourth-round pick. O’Byrne’s name had been mentioned in trade rumors for several days, but the 28-year-old was ultimately shipped for a minimal price.

O’Byrne, a British Columbia native, was acquired from the Canadiens in November 2010 in exchange for prospect Michael Bournival.

The Cornell grad notched two goals and 19 assists in 169 games in three years in a Colorado uniform.

Colorado also dealt prospect Cameron Gaunce to the Dallas Stars late Tuesday in exchange for Tomas Vincour.

The Avalanche did not make any other moves before Wednesday’s 1 p.m. trade deadline.

Late goals doom Avalanche 3-1 in Nashville

Everything seemed to be going against the grain for the Colorado Avalanche on Tuesday night, and in a positive way.

The Avs didn’t give up early goals and actually took a lead well into the third period, but a late avalanche of goals from the Avalanche’s opposition led to a 3-1 Nashville Predators victory on Tuesday night in Nashville.

J.S. Giguere, starting in place of the benched Semyon Varlamov, had shut out the Predators for nearly two-and-a-half periods before a late flurry of goals doomed Colorado.

After a scoreless opening two periods, Matt Duchene finally broke the deadlock a little over a minute into the third with his team-leading 15^th goal of the season, handing Colorado the 1-0 lead and all the momentum early in the third.

But a few minutes later, and an onslaught of Predator goals dug in the slumping visitors.

Patric Hornqvist equalized for the Predators on the power play with a smidge over 11 minutes to go, and Dave Legwand gave the Preds the late go-ahead tally with 1:14 to go, and Paul Gaustad’s goal with 15 seconds left sealed the Avs’ sixth loss in their last seven games.

Colorado remains firmly entrenched in last place in the Western Conference with just 28 points through their first 36 games of the lockout-shortened season, and with Florida’s win on Tuesday night, the Avs are now first in one thing: They are the worst team in the NHL, two points behind both the Panthers and the Flames.

After a back-to-back in Detroit and Nashville, the Avs head home for a showdown with the rival Red Wings on Friday night at Pepsi Center. Puck drop on Friday is scheduled for 7 p.m.