Avalanche Notebook: Physicals Today, Camp Tomorrow

Well, here we go. Today is the day players of the defending STANLEY CUP CHAMPION Colorado Avalanche are to report for physicals and physical testing. The Avalanche will hold a “media day” session at 4 p.m. as well, and we should get some answers to questions like “Will Valeri Nichushkin be ready to go?” and “What are your thoughts, coach Jared Bednar, on who will be the second-line center?”

Some Avalanche stuff from their Twitter from this morning:

Flowin’ Byram 🚶‍♂️#ContentDay #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/anDQsA49Kp

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 21, 2022

Two best friends in a room check.#GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/LjMFTJehLk

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 21, 2022

Here, again, is the training camp schedule, open to the public on a first-come, first-served basis:

Thursday, Sept. 22

Training Camp at Family Sports Center
Group 1 on ice – 8:45-10:15 a.m. (player media availability to follow)

Group 2 on ice – 11 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. (player media availability to follow)

Jared Bednar available following the second session

Friday, Sept. 23

Training Camp at Family Sports Center

Group 1 on ice – 8:45-10:15 a.m. (player media availability to follow)

Group 2 on ice – 11 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. (player media availability to follow)

Jared Bednar available following the second session

Saturday, Sept. 24

Training Camp at Family Sports Center

Group 1 on ice – 8:45-10:15 a.m. (player media availability to follow)

Group 2 on ice – 11:15 a.m. – 1 p.m. (player media availability to follow)

NOTEBOOK: Nathan MacKinnon’s signing of his new deal on a golf course was the perfect touch for him. I’m not sure he’s still the same passionate golfer he was a few years ago, but he loves to play the game.

Officially official. #GoAvsGo pic.twitter.com/B9LGa1Gjik

— Colorado Avalanche (@Avalanche) September 20, 2022

…I talked with a couple of other agents around the league last night, and there was consensus that MacKinnon could have gotten more – probably a lot more – on his AAV if he really insisted on it. If he had gone full UFA next summer? “He’d have gotten $15-16 million from someone,” one well-known agent told me. …I don’t know this for a fact, but reading between the lines of what was said by MacKinnon yesterday, he probably could have gotten a higher AAV from the Avalanche, but it might have come at the expense of a year on the term. MacKinnon said getting a max of eight years was important to him. In that case, he could give up a little on the AAV. As I said yesterday, I think this deal was good for both sides. … New colleague Brennan Vogt (more on him in the coming days) reports that Martin Kaut looked real good at informal practice yesterday. This is a huge camp for Kaut, the former first-round pick.