Dan’s Daily: Flyers Dealing; More Trouba Trade Rumors; Penguins Dig In

The NHL trade rumors are getting a little wild a few days after Jacob Trouba agreed to the trade, which sent him to the Anaheim Ducks. There are more rumors that Anaheim will flip Trouba back to another team in the East. There are more rumors in Philadelphia, which team president Keith Jones substantiated. The Pittsburgh Penguins are digging in. For subscribers, Dave Molinari takes you inside the Penguins’ locker room. Pittsburgh native Logan Cooley made his hometown proud by beating the Flyers with a power play goal. And Sportsnet examined who will make the best linemates for Sidney Crosby on Team Canada.

Beer recommendation to follow…

I must admit, I did a lot of work but very little writing on Sunday and then decided to watch the Steelers game with friends. After a quick stop at a small beer distributor, I discovered my new favorite cheap beer: Shiner Holiday Cheer. It’s a dark Belgian beer made with peaches and pecans. Of course, since it’s a Dark Belgian, it does pack a little bit of a kick, of which I was not aware until afterward. I know Shiner has been around for generations, but I’ve never had one before. The Holiday Cheer was so good that the $10 six-pack didn’t make it through the first half (I had to share–I didn’t knock down an entire sixer).

I dare say the beer replaced Mad Elf and Hersehy’s Chocolate Yuengling as the very best Christmas beer. It goes down too easily, so how fast you drink is up to you. And the Steelers not stinking filled a Penguins off day nicely.

With any luck, today we’ll be able to announce a new Philadelphia Flyers beat writer (it’s really tough for young sports writers to get dumped into the deep end, and it’s on me for not being more hands-on. We’ve lost a few newbies, including a couple to be announced in the coming weeks. Then again, when I’m hands-on, the young writers get angry or defensive, too. Such is our business. It eats the young, and the ones who survive get roughed up a few times before it clicks. I surely had my career struggles in my 20s).

Pittsburgh Penguins

PHN+: Playoffs?! Believe it or not, the Penguins are merely one point out of the second wild-card spot. Normally, players don’t pay much attention to the standings for quite a while, but as Dave Molinari had a few conversations in the room, everyone knew. This team is paying attention. Dave takes you inside the Penguins locker room.

New subscribers can use code coupon Dave10 to get $10 off your new PHN+ subscription!

Steelers Now: There are so many headlines from AFTER the Steelers crushed the Browns 27-14. Joey Porter Jr. got into a bit of a fight with Browns WR Jerry Jeudy. JP2 explained his side of the fight in the Steelers postgame.

Our Derrick Bell delivers the Dudes and Duds of the big win in the Steelers report card.

**Pittsburgh Baseball Now: I know a lot of you older Pirates fans are going to say … FINALLY! It will probably be the last Cooperstown induction of a Pittsburgh Pirate for a long, long time. The Cobra. Dave Parker was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

TSN: Trading your captain two months into the season? We’ll start with TSN’s TV debate on just what the heck happened to Trouba and the Rangers.

Sportsnet: Multiple reports question if Anaheim will keep Trouba, instead projecting a trade flip for a profit because Anaheim can eat salary. I’ll link to the free article rather than paywalled stories because it’s now the hot NHL trade rumor that Trouba isn’t long for Anaheim either.

Forever Blueshirts: The outlet has a blog name because it used to be a blog, but Forever Blueshirts is now run by longtime NHL.com editor and former New York Rangers reporter Jim Cerny. Rangers GM Chris Drury isn’t in a rush to make more moves. Instead, expect New York to “let the dust settle” before we see more Rangers trades.

Real Kyper & Bourne is one of the big Canadian podcasts that discuss hockey seriously. Hosts Nick Kypreous and Justin Bourne had Flyers president Keith Jones on the show, and he did nothing to quell the trade chatter around the Flyers and more than likely poured gasoline on it.

Back to Sportsnet: Bourne penned a fun column all about the lines we’d love to see for Team Canada at the Four Nations Face-Off. Of course, Crosby is front and center in a few of them. Will we see him with the Nova Scotia crew or with Connor McDavid?

NYI Hockey Now: Turning Point? The Islanders have been in turmoil with only a few wins to their name in recent weeks, but a red-hot weekend has them feeling pretty good and back to .500. Have the New York Islanders turned the corner?

Montreal Hockey Now: Patrik Laine is finally healthy, and the results have been immediate. Here are the top three things to expect now that Laine is back in the Montreal Canadiens lineup.