from Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic,

There isn’t a day that goes by that Rick Bowness doesn’t sit back and wonder.

How safe is it for him to stand behind the bench this summer if the NHL’s 24-team tournament goes ahead as scheduled?

“I’ve been giving it an awful lot of thought. Without a doubt. I’m 65,’’ Bowness told The Athletic this week. “Am I nervous? Absolutely I am, to get this thing.’’

To be clear, he is currently planning to coach the Dallas Stars this summer. But he’s certainly eyeing the situation closely. As he should be.

And he’s not alone. There are 12 active members on NHL coaching staffs that will be 60 or over by the end of the month — Bowness being the oldest head coach at 65.

All these coaches need to be thinking about this right now, considering we are just a few weeks from the proposed starting date of training camps, set to open on July 10.

continued ($$$)