Dan’s Daily: Gibson Trade Rumors; Bettman Denies Cap Report; Penguins Spiral

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ problems are getting worse, if nothing else, by virtue of their persistence. The locker room tried to answer for those problems, even as coach Mike Sullivan gave some players the day off. We also chalkboarded just how bad the defense has been. Elsewhere in the Daily, the NHL trade chatter is picking up around goalie John Gibson, and the Penguins made Sportsnet’s list of four teams that quickly need a shakeup trade. NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman flatly denied as incorrect the recent reports that the NHL salary cap could balloon next summer if the NHL and NHLPA agree, and Patrik Laine’s return to practice has the Montreal Canadiens buzzing.

I’d like to thank everyone for their support of the podcast. The downloads on each episode have doubled from the previous episode. We’re getting there with PHN. The YouTube channel is adding dozens of new likes each day.

Despite my background behind the mic, we have been slow to adopt all of the audio/video media–and quite frankly, it is a lot of fun. Those years of home studios, driving hours to Toronto to host national shows every weekend, hosting evening radio shows in Pittsburgh after working all day, and otherwise being an overly opinionated jackwagon are coming back into usefulness.

We’ll have a Live Chat today at 1 p.m. I’ll be at practice and then race to the home studio. As always, the rules for X and Live Chats are that you can disagree, be angry, or otherwise bring some ideas, but if you get belligerent, I will spin you around and sarcastically mock you for my own amusement. Remarkably, I gain followers whenever I do it.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Chalkboard time. Just horrendous defense, even if Tristan Jarry deflected the second goal. Take a good look at the how and the who failed at their basic job in the Penguins analysis.

It didn’t happen Wednesday, and in fact, the exact opposite happened, which surprised me. Sullivan was breathing fire–have you ever felt a certain rage that lowered your voice and glared at the world through your eyeballs? Yeah, Sullivan was on his way there Tuesday night. Read on–examples and back stories of why I think Sullivan owes his team a full-on bag skate, a “no-puck” practice to get his message across and hold the Penguins accountable.

We rolled through the limited-availability locker room. Twenty-one games into the season, the Penguins’ problems are intensifying, not improving. With the spiral, where are the Penguins’ changes?

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

TSN: The Anaheim Ducks have dangled John Gibson on the trade market longer than any player in recent memory. Things might finally be coming to a head now that Anaheim has a hot-shot young goalie. There is one ream reportedly interested.

RMNB: Alex Ovechkin took a puck off the ankle later in the game Tuesday. There were fears his season was over, but the 39-year-old will be out some weeks, pausing his Wayne Gretzky chase. The scoop on Ovi.

Sportsnet: The Penguins aren’t the only team with higher hopes but are now in distress. Rory Borland has some early-season shakeup trade candidates beyond the Pens.

X: I had to dig around to find it, but the Donnie and Dhali show in Vancouver tried to tamp down some of the speculation surrounding J.T. Miller’s leave of absence. “There is nothing sinister.” Here’s the full segment and explanation.

Boston Hockey Now: After relieving coach Jim Montgomery of his duties, GM Don Sweeney went a few steps further. He didn’t just stop blaming the head coach and publicly held his player’s feet to the fire. There’s more tumult with the Boston Bruins.

DHN+: It’s been a horribly disappointing start for Detroit. The Yzerplan should be paying dividends very soon, but the team is sputtering. Which Detroit Red Wings aren’t pulling their weight?

The Score: Gary Bettman took dead aim at the recent Sportsnet reports that the NHL salary cap could spike next season if the players and owners agree to up it by more than the pre-determined maximum amount. In fact, Bettman flatly denied the cap could rise by $9 million, calling the report false.

Darn.