Dater’s Daily: Avs players, coaches anxious for word on next season

Good Friday to you all. Sorry for being off the radar last few days, but I went back east for a few days of R ‘n’ R, to visit some family and friends. I write to you right now from the great state of Vermont, in fact. But this is a hockey site, so enough about me. I’ve been in touch with a few Avs players and coaches in the meantime, and the big takeaway from my conversations has been: when are we going to report for camp, when can we start making our way back to Denver?

Unfortunately, there is nothing certain on that yet. While the NBA reportedly is finalizing plans for a Dec. 22 start to its season, consisting of 72 games, the NHL has put forth no formal plan on anything yet. The Jan. 1 “target date” to a new season remains in effect, but there also remains plenty of speculation that it might be later than that, perhaps as late as Feb. 1.

Keep in mind: the Winter Classic, always slated for New Year’s Day, Jan. 1, has already been postponed. It was slated to be in Minnesota this season – and still is, but it won’t be on Jan. 1.

Let’s hope we start to get some kind of a game-plan, rough-sketch blueprint for an NHL season soon. Remember, many players in the league haven’t played a meaningful game since March. Most NHL players have gotten only one or two meaningful paychecks since March, too. They want to play some hockey – and they want to be paid to play hockey.

Of course, the fact that we keep setting records in the United States for cases of the coronovirus is NOT helping the situation at all. Not at all.

Some links:

• Martin Kaut’s stats from his first three games with MODO of the Swedish League? Very good! (hockeydb)
• Vladislav Kamenev, whose NHL rights still belong to the Avs, has pretty good stats his first seven games in the KHL too (hockeydb)
• No pity parties needed, but young NHL (and AHL) players are starting to feel the pinch financially right now (Philadelphia Inquirer)
• The OHL plans to ban body checking this season (The Hockey News)
• My thought on that? Just don’t bother with a season then. That’s ridiculous. That’s not the game of hockey.
• Agents were polled on a variety of topics at PuckPedia, and some of the responses were interesting (PuckPedia)