Dan’s Daily Links: Sidney Crosby Greatest, Leafs Captain, and Canucks Chaos

It’s been an interesting week in the NHL. Nothing has occurred which will alter the bedrock of the space-time continuum, but perhaps it was the first sign of interesting controversies before everyone begins preparing for training camp, next month…and situations begin to crystallize. Jarome Iginla said goodbye, Nova Scotia “honoured” Sidney Crosby, and the Vancouver Canucks took a page circa the 2014 Pittsburgh Penguins personnel changeover manual.

Sidney Crosby was a near-unanimous choice as the greatest Nova Scotia athlete of all-time. He was honored Thursday night (CBC).

Jarome Iginla officially retired, Wednesday. I’ve told the story before, but Iginla’s friendliness and gregarious personality helped my career immensely. I was a young man in radio who was dealing with shuffling bosses and decreased opportunity as stations changed formats but started a small internet radio show–long before podcasts and internet audio was a thing. I was a young reporter covering the Penguins for radio stations in Pittsburgh (which means I stuck out the microphone then created soundbytes for quick use in news updates). After a morning skate in Pittsburgh, Iginla was kind enough to do a short five-minute interview with this nobody. It was a great interview. He laughed. I laughed. A few weeks later, my little show began to be picked up by radio stations across Canada. In due time, it hit 15 radio stations across the U.S. and Canada, then NHL Home Ice on SiriusXM and eventually Sportsnet. The tinder Iginla’s graciousness.

Godspeed, sir. The voice of the Calgary Flames, Pete Maher, has great retrospective. (Calgary Sun).

James O’Brien who is still cranking out hockey content on NBC Sports looks at the summer moves of the Metro Division, including the Penguins (NBC Sports).

Things are weird in Vancouver. No, not San Francisco weird, but something isn’t right. The Canucks pushed beloved alumni and Canucks President Trevor Linden out the door. Said they would replace him quickly. Then sent their GM and coach to explain they wouldn’t replace him at all. The Canucks still haven’t even explained why they split (The Province).

The Athletic is doing a wonderful serial on the role of assistant coaches (The Athletic).

Will Auston Matthews or John Tavares be the Maple Leafs captain? Oh to be doing Toronto sports radio. Matthews addressed the situation (TSN).

The Penguins signed Tristan Jarry to a two-year deal. Year one is two-way, year two is one-way. (PHN).

Pittsburgh Hockey Now also examined prospect Teddy Blueger’s play in the Da Beauty League–a summer league of high-end talent (PHN).