Avs Off-day Notebook: Namestnikov still day-to-day; Kamenev to Russia?

Today was a full day off for the Avs, who just completed a back-to-back and will wrap up a four-games-in-six-days schedule come tomorrow afternoon. No practice, no meetings, just some much-needed R&R for the boys today. 

Before they could enjoy their day off, head coach Jared Bednar, Ryan Graves and Pierre-Edouard Bellemare held their media availability this morning. But the biggest bit of news coming from the Avalanche today didn’t come from that Zoom call nor was it addressed by any media. 

Reports out of Russia this morning indicate that Vlad Kamanev intends to sign with IHC SKA Saint Petersburg. However, CHN’s Adrian Dater reached out to the Avs, who say it’s news to them, and Kamenev’s agent, Mark Grandler, says it’s not true. 

Either way, it was probably a good bet the Avalanche were planning on moving on without the services of Kamenev, who is set to be a restricted free agent this offseason and didn’t even make the cut to join the 31-man team in the Edmonton bubble. Injuries and his role as the 14th forward most nights limited Kamenev to just three goals and 13 points in 64 games in Colorado. 

The most substantial bit of news coming from Bednar’s Zoom call this morning was that Vlad Namestnikov is still day-to-day, according to Bednar, who adds he’s “not sure if he’ll be fit to play tomorrow or not.” I probably wouldn’t bet on him returning to the lineup.

In other lineup news, to the surprise of no one, coach Bednar wouldn’t tip his hand on who gets the start in net tomorrow…but you and I both know it’ll be Philip Grubauer. 

Other news and notes:

• Coach Bednar said he “feels the exact same way” today as he did watching the game live yesterday. That is to say, “there’s room for improvement,” but he added he really liked the team’s last 30 minutes but they just couldn’t capitalize on some opportunities.
• Yesterday was the deadline for the Avalanche to extend contract offers to two of their collegiate prospects, forwards Cam Morrison and Denis Smirnov, who both just wrapped up four-year careers at Notre Dame and Penn State, respectively. They’re free to sign anywhere now.
• Not signing Smirnov maybe isn’t that big of a surprise given his average NCAA numbers, outside of his 47-point freshman year. 
• Morrison, however, is a bit of a disappointment. The former 2016 second-round selection was considered a very promising prospect. He was OJHL Rookie of the Year in 2015 and the USHL top rookie the following season in 2016. His numbers got steadily better throughout his four years at ND, but given the wealth of talent coming up the pipeline, Morrison just became irrelevant. That’s just how it goes sometime.