Dater’s Daily: Death in the hockey family, Lacroix Hockey to debut, Colorado pols trying to end Comcast-Altitude impasse

Good Monday to all. The hockey world has had too much tragic death lately. We lost Columbus goalie Matiss Kevlinieks in July to a fireworks accident. We lost three teenage boys and hockey prospects in a car crash in Canada last week. And today, we lost Jimmy Hayes, who played in the NHL from 2011-18 for four teams. Hayes was just 31 and left behind a wife and two children.

There has been no cause of death listed as of yet. May he rest in peace and his family somehow find some peace as well.

Some links, thoughts, observations:

• Former Av Eric Lacroix, along with former Avs front-office guy and longtime pro scout Scott Masters, are launching Lacroix Hockey – a company whose mission will be to advise and manage hockey players.

Proud. Excited. Honored. Lacroix Hockey is here. Advising and managing hockey players while carrying on the Lacroix Legacy. Great things to come. Lots more! pic.twitter.com/KRzOOwuyiP

— Scott Masters (@scottmasters55) August 23, 2021

• Some Colorado politicians, including Denver Mayor Hancock, are sick and tired of the Comcast/Altitude impasse and are trying to come up with some kind of legislation to put an end to it. (CBS 4)
• That story I linked to is a couple months old, and I haven’t heard of anything concrete coming out of the state legislative chambers. I’m not holding my breath for any kind of breakthrough.
• It remains almost inconceivable that the drama between Altitude and Comcast has lasted this long, The latest I’ve heard on this whole thing is, essentially, “we’ll see what comes out of the ongoing lawsuit” that Altitude filed against Comcast. Until then, it’s the same old same old: Comcast subscribers (like me) won’t be able to see Avs games on Altitude this coming season. Not until something breaks the impasse, anyway.
• Did you miss the news that Nikita Zadorov is now a Calgary Flame? (Sportsnet)
• Marc-Andre Fleury got a pretty penny on the sale of his Vegas house (Review-Journal)
• NYI: Gary Bettman says Islanders fans “are going to love” the UBS Arena.
• Rick Jeanneret will hang up his mic in Buffalo following this season. Another colorful, fun announcer will say goodbye.
• I gave “Ted Lasso” a try, of about four episodes, but found it kind of, well, boring. Some people on Twitter seem to be pretty mad at me too, for not liking it.
• Then again, someone is always mad at me on Twitter.
• I highly recommend the three-episode Netflix series on the late automaker John DeLorean instead.
• The city of…Oakland…may court the Arizona Coyotes (San Jose Hockey Now)
• The most underpaid goalies in the NHL (Hockey News)