Dan’s Daily: Capital Comeback; Mooney Momentum; Karlsson Trade Deadline

Pittsburgh Penguins prospect Will Horcoff scored at the World Juniors Showcase for Team USA. The games were his audition to make the World Juniors team, but the USA White lost to Sweden. Pittsburgh native TJ Mooney has sparkled at the showcase. Shayna Goldman of The Athletic nibbled at the Erik Karlsson trade talk, and she put a bit of a timeline on it. Nick Backstrom is making a big comeback, but not in the NHL. And Happy Gilmore almost single-handedly defeated the startup Maxi Golf League.

Yes, he last news item is a nod to the increasingly difficult task of finding enough hockey content to put into the Daily. I do not recall previous years being so tough, but here we are. Even the rumor rags are quoting ridiculous sources to fill content. With some respect to the new breed of writers who pump out a myriad of 300-word “stories” as a means of getting paid, they are not exactly “Sources.”

Fortunately for you and me, it seems Google and Facebook are actively attempting to clean the mess they made when promoting that slop by reversing course. We’ll see if the cheaters and aggregators figure out a way around it this time.

Greetings from Warren, Pa. I planned to set up shop in Titusville yesterday and enjoy a little dive bar before heading toward Cherry Springs State Park for the double meteor shower tonight, but there was a flaw in my plan. All hotel rooms in town were taken. So, we rode to Warren. A nice little town. I could see spending a day here, but the restaurant scene isn’t so hot (I love small towns, but never expect a good meal. That’s one reason ALWAYS to get the hot roast beef sandwich at a diner!). However, the beer was pretty, pretty good.

First, I stopped to have a company meeting at a record store and coffee shop in Franklin, Pa (one of my favorite towns). I knocked down a hot roast beef sandwich at the Arcade Diner in Titusville for lunch–Arcade is a little gem with a 1950s retro flair. My bill with a drink was $10.60. Seriously folks, raise your prices. And then, I capped the evening at Wicked Warren’s micro pub in Warren with something they called a beer-seltzer fusion, which was really … really good. Of course, to get here, I had a little tribute to Ozzy.

Today, I’ll ride to Coudersport and my little motel/steakhouse to set up camp for tonight. I’m not sure if I’ll take Rt. 59 around the Kinzua Dam or Rt. 6 to Kane for lunch at Texas Red Hot diner. It’s the little pleasures. Normally, I knock this ride out of the way in May or June, but better late than never, and if you’ve never been to the astronomy deck at Cherry Springs, you’re missing out. It’s an experience you didn’t know you needed. More tomorrow.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Athletic: It’s a new take on the Erik Karlsson trade talk. I’m not sure we haven’t taken a similar stance with the need to trade Karlsson, but Shayne Goldman goes in a slightly different direction with the market forces and timeline working against the Penguins.

Truthfully, I’m dry on Penguins column ideas. We’ve done 90 stories this month–90 full-sized, 800 to 1200-word expositions. If there’s something you want to explore, drop it in the comments!

Steelers Now: There’s some really, really good analysis on Steelers Now today. In fact, there are three stories you should read. Derrick Bell begins with the training camp narratives–should you buy or sell on these Steelers storylines?

Alan Saunders is raising the question: Is it time for the Steelers to worry about Broderick Jones?

Coach Mike Tomlin and staff did a terrible job of developing Jones, and that’s all I’ve got to say about that. Any issues fall on them as much as on the player. Read the real story from Alan.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: In possibly his last start with the Buccos, Mitch Keller struggled, but Andrew McCutchen’s blast carried the day. Theeeeeeee PIRATES WIN!

In the minor league report, there is a potential budding star who is just 18 years old. We’ve got the latest on Andrew Florentino in the Pirates prospects report.

NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

NHL.com: The takeaways from Day 2 of the World Juniors Showcase. There’s not much about Will Horcoff’s goal, but there’s plenty of chatter about the latest Pittsburgh kid, LJ Mooney. Including the Penguins, there are a lot of teams that are going to regret passing on him.

Sportsnet: OK, at this point, the NHL trade chatter is merely lining up teams that would fit. How about seven teams who could and should take a run at Dallas Stars winger Jason Robertson.

TSN: The horror! How will Auston Matthews carry on without Mitch Marner? That’s what we’re discussing in Toronto–if Matthews can score 50 goals without the slick winger. Or is Marner a better bet to get 100 points in Vegas? That’s the debate.

NHL.com: Nick Backstrom will resume his playing career. Actually, it seems he could have done so previously, but we’ll let that one go. He’s been skating, he feels good, and will wrap up his career with his hometown team.

Boston Hockey Now: What’s going on with the Bruins? There’s a situation in goal, there’s a need for scoring wingers, and yet there’s talk of the playoffs?! Andrew Fantucchio digs into the Boston Bruins Q&A.

Montreal Hockey Now: I’m sure you’re not into the depth of the Habs’ prospects, but you may recognize this last name, and the kid has a real chance. Aato Koivu. Yes, Saku Koivu’s offspring is making a charge in the Montreal Canadiens organization.

Philly Hockey Now: The Flyers gave him a four-game NHL tryout last fall before former coach John Tortorella pulled the plug. He’s a high draft pick with elite skills. Is this the year Jett Luchanko will integrate into the Philly Flyers lineup?

Florida Hockey Now: It was you. It was always you. Aaron Ekblad was careening toward free agency, but signed before July 1. The former No. 1 overall pick admitted he was never going to free agency. It was always going to be the Florida Panthers.

So, what should we write about today? I don’t get the sense that many of you give a darn about the prospects individually until they’re in a training camp battle. We can’t exactly critique Dan Muse yet. In writing this sentence, an idea popped into my head, but what else have ya got? In August, we’ll do a lot of Top 5 lists and such just to keep going.