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Dan’s Daily: Toronto Disaster; Debating Penguins Trade Strategy

The scene for the Toronto Maple Leafs was devastating. The demand for changes, probably sweeping and painful, quickly spread through Toronto media as the Florida Panthers again handed Toronto a heartbreaking Game 7 defeat. The Maple Leafs have gone more than 20 years since a Conference Final appearance, and no one is happy. Elsewhere in the Daily, Dave Molinari examined the recent history of the NHL Draft to find out what kind of player the Pittsburgh Penguins can expect at No. 11. I published the Monday column, which calls for general manager Kyle Dubas to upgrade his trade strategy. There is also NHL trade speculation swirling around the Kings and Flyers.
I do have a small rant.
Streaming services are out of control. Pay for ESPN+? Great, but now you must also pay for another streaming service or purchase cable TV to watch the Stanley Cup Playoff games on ESPN. Say what?!
F1 races that were on ESPN+ are no longer streamed because … they too are on ESPN. Wasn’t that the point of ESPN+, to be able to watch what was on ESPN without paying for cable?! Oh sorry, now I need to buy Max, Hulu + Live, an additional ESPN subscription, or cable.
Watch Indy 500 qualifying? Sure. It’s on the Fox Sports app. Until it’s on TV, then it’s no longer on the app. Fortunately, I can get that channel over the air. Look, executives, I’ll give you the buck or two that cable companies pay, and I’ll watch the commercials. I don’t want to pay for cable TV because I still watch the same four shows and get disappointed at the slop that now pervades network and extended basic cable. I mean, have ya seen the terribly sad Night Court reboot? It makes those formulaic, insipid Disney Channel sitcoms of the 2000s look like deep studies in character arc and joke construction.
If you want people to be interested in the product, stop with the streaming shell game, eh?
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: No. 11. It’s the highest pick that the Penguins have had since they whiffed with Derrick Pouliot at No. 8 in 2012. It’s the highest pick the Penguins have earned since they selected Jordan Staal third overall in 2006. So, looking at recent history, what can we expect from the Penguins’ draft?
A thought occurred to me as I delivered unflattering assessments and grades on Friday on the weekly Report Card for Kevin Hayes and Philip Tomasino. They were both trade acquisitions. I peeled the onion a little further and came to a conclusion with which Dubas may disagree: it’s time to shift gears and graduate from taking on salary dumps and gambling on younger castoffs. It’s time to upgrade the Penguins’ trade strategy.
Steelers Now: Aaron Rodgers biographer should know a thing or two about the mercurial quarterback who both likes rowdy media appearances and isn’t afraid of mind-bending natural drugs. The biographer said to expect Rodgers to become the new Steelers QB soon.
Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Oh no. John Perrotto’s sources tell him that it is bad news, very bad news, for Buccos starter Jared Jones.
On the diamond, see if you can guess how this goes. Paul Skenes was dominant. He mowed down the Philadelphia Phillies like stray dandelions beneath a lawn tractor. He tossed a complete game. And yet, get the gruesome details here, the Pirates lost.
NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now
Florida Hockey Now: What a brilliant stroke it turned out to be for the Florida Panthers at the NHL trade deadline. Brad Marchand. He was a monster in Game 7. Seth Jones was equally good. Florida won 6-1, and Toronto is tearing the team apart. Marchand grew up a Leafs fan, but the pair destroyed Toronto once again, and the Panthers’ trades look great.
Sportsnet: Spitting fire. I’m not sure it was the first, but it was the first published article in the major outlets calling for the end of both Mitch Marner’s and president Brendan Shanahan’s tenures with the Leafs.
Marner? Gone. And no not to the Penguins, as the first person to float the Marner to Pittsburgh speculation two years ago, I can almost definitively say that it doesn’t work with the current situation. Two years ago, I thought the Penguins might still be trying to pry open the window with acquisitions in their 20s.
The Athletic ($): What will Ken Holland do as the new boss of the LA Kings? There are some signing and trade chips on the table.
Philly Hockey Now: Those trade winds are beginning to swirl around the league. Should Bo Byram be a primary target for the Philadelphia Flyers?
Colorado Hockey Now: I’m still on board for signing him. However, for the third straight year, the Colorado Avalanche have a decision to make, and Aarif Deen rendered his verdict on unrestricted free agent Jonathan Drouin.
Third-line center possible for a second liner? Yep.
Vegas Hockey Now: There’s plenty of talk of nuking the VGK. Another early playoff exit, and this one looked particularly bad. But Hannah Kirkell explains why, no, do not blow up the Vegas Golden Knights.