It feels quite weird, but we are writing this from home base. Pittsburgh. North Side. With an empty fridge and a full laundry hamper, we dug into what we learned on the Pittsburgh Penguins’ latest extended road trip. It wasn’t insignificant. Also, in the Penguins universe, as expected, Harrison Brunicke is headed to Team Canada camp, and Ben Kindel is absolutely not.
Elsewhere, Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley escaped serious injury last week, but the hockey gods didn’t let him off the hook. He appeared to have suffered a significant injury Friday, and the diagnosis Monday was not good. The NHL trade chatter surrounding Quinn Hughes in Vancouver is only growing louder, and now every day, a reporter has something more, as Vancouver traveled east to play *ahem* the Detroit Red Wings and soon the New Jersey Devils. And different outlets are interpreting Bill Daly’s remarks to the Board of Governors differently, Sportsnet saying the NHL is optimistic about the Olympic ice in Milan, while TSN terming the NHL mood as frustration.
Honest to goodness, they should have been figuring out a Plan B, or Plan 9 from Outer Space, or whatever they needed to do, months ago. If the NHL has to disinvite the second-tier nations so they can host a private tournament in North America, rather than go to the Olympics, so be it. The players would play in Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre if they had to, so long as the ice is good. The Peeps Zamboni!
Then again, I suppose my outlook is a little different, eh? You’re on a privately built website and national network started when I knew my radio career was in trouble because I lost interest in the Pirates and didn’t “talk enough” Steelers. So, after working to build a radio network for another print outlet and being told that they didn’t want my writing services, I used a good bit of built-up hate and started my own outlet, which very well might be the most-read Penguins coverage in the market. But that’s me, and I don’t play well with others when they’re amateur hour quality, and the NHL appears to be working with, yeah…
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Harrison Brunicke isn’t yet guaranteed a spot, but he’s headed to Team Canada camp.
I apologize for several typos in the original draft of our Monday column. The travel got me, and thank you for not calling it out harshly. It’s all fixed up and pretty now–From Tristan Jarry’s game to the rising feeling on the inside, here is what we learned on the Penguins’ road trip.
Steelers Now: You may have noticed footballs flying further than 20 feet, or about six yards, Sunday. Alan Saunders dissects what it means going forward for the Steelers’ offense.
Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Well, at least they made the offer. Kyle Schwarber received a four-year offer from–wait for it–the Pittsburgh Pirates.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
Olympic Ice: Let’s put them side by side, and you can decide from which glass of water you drink. The half-full glass is from Sportsnet, that the NHL is optimistic about the Olympic ice sheet.
And the TSN Insiders took a decidedly different tone and headline. The NHL is frustrated with the IOC and the Olympic arena.
NHLtraderumors.me: Uh oh. Logan Cooley survived one close call, but the second time, he fought a goal post, and the goal post won. The Utah Mammoth announced Cooley is out indefinitely.
The Province: From the Vancouver perspective, they have quite a bit of leverage in any Hughes trade talk. The talk will only elevate, but Ben Kuzma looked at some of the specific trade returns and players that Vancouver will want in return.
Kuzma did a nice job on that story–every time someone puts out a (real) trade report, the first question is–what will they get back? Usually, we only have vague outlines, but Kuzma got some answers.
Detroit Hockey Now: On the road in Detroit, Hughes had to address that very real Red Wings trade talk.
New Jersey Hockey Now: It’s not just Hughes. James Nichols writes that it can’t be only Hughes. There needs to be multiple Devils trades.
Philly Hockey Now: Rick Tocchet dug his heels in and defended himself against public criticism for playing the fourth line late in the game against the Colorado Avalanche. Tocchet explained what he is building with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Different organizations use the fourth line differently, but if they can’t defend, they’d better make a pretty big impact in the first 50 minutes.
Florida Hockey Now: One of the teams chasing the Penguins is the two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers–the banged-up, injury-depleted, tired Panthers. But they’re getting some wins and some help as Carter Verhaeghe is on a heater.
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