Dan’s Daily: NHL Trade Rumors, Dirty Trouba, Penguins Dialing In?

The Pittsburgh Penguins are never dull. The Penguins imploded against the Buffalo Sabres, then beat the high-flying Toronto Maple Leafs 24 hours later by correcting many of their mistakes. Are the Penguins dialing it in, or will wild swings be the norm? The NHL trade rumors are pointing at the Arizona Coyotes, but not in the way you’d expect. Arizona is shopping for legit NHL players to get better (finally), and no, you can’t send them all of your bad players for their good players. Patrick Kane is collecting data on teams, and we could see a decision today or tomorrow. Lastly, another dirty Jacob Trouba hit drew the maximum fine, but it should have been a lengthy suspension.

I must confess that covering the Penguins is a lot of fun. Sure, it stunk covering practice on Thanksgiving day, then heading to Buffalo at the crack of dawn the next morning, only to race home the next day filled with gas station coffee and salty Buffalo beef, so much so that I had to wear the stretchy suit pants while others watched from the comfort of their family couch sated with turkey leftovers as the Penguins game against the elite Toronto Maple Leafs was a HNIC tilt.

But witnessing and chronicling this team, this wild, up and down, inconsistent, overstuffed with Hall of Famers team, is a spectacle that is worth extra time and attention. I can’t speak for the coverage of anyone else, not the fellow scribes, radio, nor amateur writers and talkers who got their jobs by signing up on a website, but I feel like I’ve got my teeth into this team. I feel like I’m really starting to understand it and the dynamics.

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Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Erik Karlsson is a great interview. He spoke on the power play frustrations. So did Mike Sullivan. Are more changes coming? Go inside the Penguins locker room.

It’s Sunday. It’s the Dave Molinari Penguins wrap!

After the wild weekend of hockey that we witnessed, I tried to digest it all and put it into (far too many) words. From Noel Acciari’s Oreos to Alex Nylander’s fleeting chance and the team’s fight to find their optimal lineup, here’s what to like, what not to like, and the full Penguins analysis.

TSN video: The Maple Leafs rookies were in awe on Saturday. They got to play Sidney Crosby, and they took notes. They talked about it after. Oh, Malkin, Letang, and Karlsson, too.

Steelers Now / Pittsburgh Baseball Now

Kenny Pickett. I felt good for the quarterback and his most ardent supporter, Andrew Filliponi of 93-7 the Fan. It had been five years since the team put up that level of competent offensive numbers. The Steelers offense took a major step forward.

Andrew must have felt like John Cusak with the boombox at the end of Say Anything.

It was more than just removing Matt Canada. Here’s what changed with the Steelers.

Oh no. Johan Oviedo will undergo Tommy John surgery. That’s a blow to the Pirates pitching staff.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now:

And I’ll put the Trouba news up top. The NHL thought intentionally hitting a guy in the head with the stick was worth only 5k. I suppose he didn’t knock him out.

So, let me get this straight — Trouba, who has a long history of headshots, dirty hits, and flirting with the line so often it’s become a Ross and Rachael thing, isn’t a repeat offender worthy of a harsh penalty. Huh.

GoPHNX: Craig Morgan is the man on the Coyotes beat. He reports that GM Bill Armstrong is beating the bushes on the NHL trade market, looking for real NHL talent and dangling his plethora of draft picks and prospects.

That should make Logan Cooley a little happier, too.

NYI Hockey Now: It’s a small deal, but perhaps not insignificant. The New York Islanders acquired Tyce Thompson from the Devils. Here’s the Islanders trade.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Speaking of those Devils, coach Lindy Ruff moved Brendan Smith (brother of Penguins winger Reilly Smith) up to forward. The sandpaper defenseman is now a sandpaper winger, and the New Jersey Devils like it.

TSN Video: After the Canucks turnaround, should Rick Tocchet be the favorite for the Jack Adams Award?

Chicago Hockey Now: No one seems to know what the correct version of the story is. The result is that Corey Perry is stepping away from the Chicago Blackhawks.