Dan’s Daily: Robertson Still Wants Trade; Penguins Foundations

Somebody once told me the world was going to roll me. Toronto Maple Leafs winger Nick Robertson has been unmoved by the team’s need for him and still wants to be traded. Former Pittsburgh Penguins Kevin Stevens and Matt Cullen were elected to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. For PHN+’ers, we did a deep dive on what is necessary for a Penguins rebuild, and it’s so much more than losing for high draft picks. In fact, high draft picks are neither necessary nor a guarantee. Calgary honored the Gaudreau brothers with their vigil and warmly emotional tributes. And Sportsnet reexamined the NHL trade market for goalies after the big-name summer shuffle.

And Alex Goligoski retired.

We can tell it’s the first week of the NFL season. Only diehards are paying attention to hockey. Fortunately, that’s who we cater to–you diehard hockey folk who read or browse every day. It’s been a lot of fun to examine the team from every possible angle this summer.

Perhaps this weekend, I’ll dig through all of the articles and pull the five or 10 that you really should read to get caught up. Since I’ve written over 400 stories through June, July, and August, even our most loyal have missed a few. I was reminded of that during the Live Chat when a few folks asked me questions I thought I had gone over in detail, but then I remembered that the world does not, in fact, revolve around me. We’ll dust off some of the deeper stories this weekend and next week.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Honors for former Penguins and well deserved. A pair of former Penguins were elected to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame–Congratulations, Kevin Stevens and Matt Cullen.

PHN+: No, it’s not as simple as losing, getting high draft picks, and finishing the rebuild. A lot of Penguins fans assume it happens just that easily. However, almost everyone forgets the core was supposed to be Marc-Andre Fleury, Brooks Orpik, Ryan Whitney, and Evgeni Malkin. Yeah, it would have been a different world. For the third renewal, there are three things the organization will need for the Penguins rebuild.

Use code Dan10 to save $10 on PHN+ and join this band of hockey-loving rebels.

Steelers Now: Burning questions. Past is prologue, and this team isn’t so different from last season, so it’s quite important to learn the lessons from last season. Here’s what we know about the Pittsburgh Steelers.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

TSN: The Overdrive crew broke some news on Thursday evening. Despite a glaring need in the Toronto Maple Leafs lineup, winger Nick Robertson is nonplussed with staying in Toronto and continues to want a trade. Here’s the full dish on the saga.

Sportsnet: Goalies were the hot commodities at the NHL trade deadline and into the summer. The deficient teams were very deficient, and it impeded a few teams. Then, Jakob Markstrom and Yaroslav Askarov were traded to needy teams, New Jersey and San Jose, respectively. So, what does that do to the goalie trade market?

Detroit Hockey Now: One of the teams in the big bag of middling is Detroit. Colleague Bob Duff broke the bad news–the Motor City has a pair of unsigned RFAs who are vital cogs in the winged wheel machine. Duff reports there is no deal imminent with Lucas Raymond.

Philly Hockey Now: It seems like an era is coming to a close. The second of three Staal brothers in the NHL has tapped out. Former Rangers, Flyers, Red Wings, and Panthers defenseman Marc Staal retired.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Training camp is approaching, and free agents, especially fringe NHL players, are starting to buckle. The swamp monsters landed Markstrom, but goalie depth is still an issue. GM Tom Fitzgerald inked a couple of notable PTOs Thursday, including trying to bolster the New Jersey Devils’ goalie depth chart.

Washington Hockey Now: If Washington could make the playoffs despite an awful goal differential, then the much-improved team would be even more formidable, right? Nate Moser examines one of the most important battles of the coming Washington Capitals training camp.

The Province: One team that might have to tap the NHL trade market is the Vancouver Canucks. Both of their goalies are nursing injuries, and starter Thatcher Demko is healing slowly after a knee injury. President of hockey operations Jim Rutherford is exercising patience, but he might need to tap the goalie market for help.