Dater’s Daily: ERod To Wear No. 9 with Avalanche; NHL Trade Rumors

A good Monday to all. Another picture-perfect day here in T-Town. Temp to be 90, though. A bit warm for this old pale-skinned redhead. Still no word on the start of Avalanche training camp. I have a hunch that might pop today though. We’re hearing Day 1 will be Thursday. Meantime, some notes, news and links, starting with one on Evan Rodrigues:

• If you missed this in my story yesterday on him, Evan Rodrigues will wear No. 9 with the Avalanche – his number in Pittsburgh too. Contrary to what many believed, this is not the first time an Avalanche player has worn that number since Matt Duchene left in 2017. Dennis Gilbert and Dylan Sikura also wore it, albeit briefly.
• Rodrigues is in town now and skating with his new teammates, but he trained most of the summer in the Boston area, where he maintains his permanent residence. He skated a lot with former Boston University and Buffalo Sabres teammate Jack Eichel, along with some Boston Bruins players.
• Today’s Rookie Faceoff game between the Avalanche and Arizona Coyotes, which starts at 11 a.m., can be streamed here (Coloradoavalanche.com)
• Former Avalanche forward (yes, he was a forward when he played here) Johnny Boychuk is now on the Islanders’ player development staff (NYI Hockey Now)
• Trade rumor out of Montreal: The Canadiens are looking for a right-shot defenseman (Montreal Hockey Now)
• Joe Thornton continues to skate with the Sharks (San Jose Hockey Now)
• Seven NHL teams currently do not have a captain (Sportsnet)
• Todd Bertuzzi’s son, Tag, is trying to make the Florida Panthers (Detroit Hockey Now)
• Matthew Tkachuk can pitch too (Florida Hockey Now)
• Want $5 off a full-year Colorado Hockey Now subscription, a 20% discount from $29.99 to $24.99? By all means, use the promo code word 5off in the easy checkout box (Checkout box)