The Avalanche’s No. 2 center talked Monday about his decision to stay in Colorado. The Rangers have a new captain and the Blackhawks have a surprising PTO addition to their training camp roster.
All that and more on this edition of Deen’s Daily — September 16.
Colorado Hockey Now
The Avalanche’s media day Wednesday morning will include a pre-training camp availability for several of the top stars. If I remember correctly, that means we’ll hear from Nathan MacKinnon, Cale Makar, Gabe Landeskog, Devon Toews, Brent Burns, and I think there’s one more I’m forgetting about (it could be Martin Necas).
This is your reminder to make sure you’re following credentialed Avs media, myself and Colleen Flynn included, to stay in the loop for quotes from these guys on Wednesday.
Anyway, today is basically the last off day before things get going. But early Monday morning, I met up with the team at their charity golf classic in Castle Pines. Before they teed off, we got to speak to Brock Nelson, Parker Kelly, and Josh Manson.
I’ll have more on the latter two later, but Nelson’s interview was useful because it was his first time speaking since signing a three-year extension and avoiding free agency back in early June.
Here’s what he had to say.
Around The NHL
NY Rangers captain: The Rangers are never not fun to follow. On Tuesday they announced their next captain since the departure of Jacob Trouba last season. And it’s none other than J.T. Miller.
Chicago Hockey Now: The Blackhawks revealed their training camp roster earlier on Tuesday and I was surprised to see one particular name on the list. Matt Grzelcyk, who had 40 points last year with the Pens, is attending their camp on a PTO. It’s not that he’ll be there that’s surprising. It’s that he has to earn a contract rather than signing a deal after such a good season.
Speaking of which, what in the world is going on with Jack Roslovic? Shouldn’t he be making a decision before camp starts?
Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs badly need Kirby Dach to be healthy to truly see what they have in the young centerman. Here’s an update on his status ahead of camp.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Sidney Crosby did his annual tradition of delivering tickets to season ticket holders around town on Monday. He also answered questions, again, about his future and reiterated that he wants to stay in Pittsburgh.
There’s not much else he can say right now. We’ll see where he is when the Olympics come around and the trade deadline follows. Especially if Pittsburgh is way down at the bottom of the standings like they’re expected to be.
