The NHL news is not voluminous Tuesday but it is significant. Pete DeBoer may have let the cat out of the bag about a ridiculous problem with the ice surface in Milan for the Olympics, which is nothing “short” of ridiculous. The first of the acquitted Team Canada players will make his debut Tuesday night, but not before a local reporter asked some basic, but quite pointed follow-up questions. And we’ve got the day after Penguins analysis.

Yes, the Daily is quite late today, but I’ll beg your pardon with an awkwardly timed flight that didn’t have Wifi. I chose to get my two hours of sleep instead of writing the Daily. Also, I’m getting a little bit of a break today as the Penguins will not travel to Tampa until later Wednesday, but I’ve beaten them here by a day.

Perhaps I’ll get into downtown Tampa for Eddie’s & Sam’s pizza. They import the water to make the dough from New York. Yes, it makes a difference. However, I’m staying a few miles outside of downtown at a vacation resort, which I HATE to do, but as I’m told, a developer bought a few hotels downtown and jacked up the rates. The per night rates far…FAR exceeded ol’ Dan’s budget. Even the off-brand river walk spot that I’ve always enjoyed was a few hundo per.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Most of our content was geared toward the Flyers game Monday. If you like the 5-1 win and some good Sidney Crosby running gags, then check out the Penguins recap.

Philly Hockey Now: And just for fun, here’s the flip side of how the beatdown looked from the Flyers’ perspective.

Tell you what, I did not expect the Penguins to smack the Flyers as they did. There were several key differences, including calling up Rutger McGroarty. From the new-look lineup to goaltending, special teams, and tactical proficiency, we really dug into the Penguins analysis.

The guys did post my new podcast Monday. Unfortunately, the Penguins beat them to the punch and called up McGroarty. So, just ignore that, or bask in exactly how right I was about the lineup change. Either way–make sure to download the show wherever you get your pods. You can start on our podcast page here.

And the postgame video from Philly is here.

You see why I needed at least a nap before flying.

NHL News, Rumors, and NHN

Sportsnet: For (expletive deleted) sake. Pete DeBoer broke the silence. It looks like they might get the ice arena in Milan done in time, but the goobers building it are not only way behind schedule, they’re making the ice surface TOO SHORT?!

Anyone who has done business in Italy understands the unique culture. As an importer once told me, “Sure, sure, tomorrow” doesn’t mean tomorrow. It means not today.

If the NHL decides it can’t play, I don’t care what rink and what city they choose. Pick a spot in North America. Edmonton or Florida, doesn’t matter, and let the boys and girls go at it. I don’t think the actual medal matters.

Ottawa Sun: Alex Formenton, one of the acquitted Team Canada players, remains a restricted free agent. As such, his deadline to sign a contract with Ottawa, or any team, was 5 p.m. Dec. 1. Yep, that has passed, and he will not play in the NHL this season.

Vegas Hockey Now: Our Hannah Kirkell is not in an easy position. She’s covering the Golden Knights as faithfully as anyone, but it’s a controversial story for which there isn’t an opinion or angle that won’t deeply upset a good chunk of people.

Carter Hart will start in goal Tuesday. And he held a media scrum Monday, with a few pointed questions. Hannah did a nice job of playing it straight down the middle (as she’s supposed to do) as the Vegas Golden Knights break the seal.

BTW–if you don’t, follow Hannah Kirkell on X.

SinBin Vegas: Now, my hockey colleague and Vegas friend Ken Boehlke has a much different story. He spoke with sexual assault survivors who run a Canadian podcast that closely covered the trial. It’s a pointed read that draws distinctions between moral and legal, takes a different opinion than the judge clearly took, but meets in the middle on the Hart story.

I took a similar view to the judge on the trial, but there was one point the podcasters broached with Ken that really made me think it over. In the end, neither you nor I were there, and if I’m being blunt, I don’t even think the participants know what really happened. And that’s where I’ll leave it.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The players honored Brendon Dillon for his 1000th game with patches and Dillon jerseys, but they also didn’t wear helmets in warmup. Our James Nichols was first on the story, and yes, the league will reprimand the New Jersey Devils for no lids.

Tags: carter hart nhl rumors Olympics Pittsburgh Penguins

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