RIP Dan Avey

Just a few words for Dan Avey, the former Kings TV commentator who recently passed away at the age of 69....Dan was a welcome relief in the grim early days of NHL hockey in LA, providing enthusiasm during the rare good times and a dry sense of humor to soften the reality of the frequent bad times.....My favorite was one night when the Kings were in Oakland, and Dan innocently commented, "If Oakland had a player who stayed around in the locker room and helped the trainers & equipment men clean up...would he be known as the Good Housekeeping Seal ? ".....

In 1968, the Kings had a rookie goalie named Gerry Desjardins; a writer named Bill Libby actually wrote a book about Gerry ("Rookie Goalie !" ), but  he had a bad second year and was traded to the Black Hawks about the time the book came out. I was 13 at the time and fascinated with hockey and goaltenders in particular; and I wrote to Dan, asking how I could still get the book even though Desjardins was gone......Dan's response was to send me a new copy of the book, free of charge, with a nice note thanking me for my interest. Yeah, I know they probably had a hundred copies that they needed to get rid of somehow, but still the idea that he had taken the time to do that....I was then a hockey fan for life, and also got an early lesson in how "random acts of kindness" can make a difference in peoples lives...Thanks, Dan.... RIP