Man proposes marriage to Matt Duchene in Minnesota, because it's legal there (Photo)

Matt Duchene has been out of the Colorado Avalanche lineup with a knee injury since late March, and while he's doing his best to get healthy, he's unlikely to return before Colorado's first round series with the Minnesota Wild is over. It's a shame, because the Avs would probably appreciate having Duchene around.

Same goes for this guy:

The fan brought this sign into Game 4 between the Avalanche and Wild, which took place in Minnesota.

Which makes the sign completely accurate. Minnesota became the second state in the Midwest to legalize marriage between same-sex couples a little under a year ago. Colorado, on the other hand, recognized "civil unions" right around the same time, but same-sex marriage has been banned by their state constitution since 2006.

Perhaps Duchene appreciates a guy who's up to date on his state-to-state legislation. If not, or if that's not enough to overcome the age difference, next time, we recommend a little more trickery, like this young lady employed in her attempt to win Gabriel Landeskog at the same game:

Clever girl.

According to the man behind the Duchene marriage proposal, who goes by DaneTrain05 on Reddit, he almost didn't get clearance to bring his clever sign into the building:

Security didn't know if I could have the sign because it was large so we waited for the higher-ups to let us know. After waiting about 5 minutes, they showed up, had a good chuckle, and allowed it.

I would have settled for that security guard but the heart wants what it wants.

I want to thank the workers at the center for being so nice about this. I know they get pooped on and people like to show them in a negative light but everyone we ran into was awesome.

I can't imagine why you wouldn't be nice. That piece of cardboard meets all the hallmarks of a great sign: it's funny, and most importantly, it's correct.