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Dan’s Daily: Fleury in COVID Protocol, Ducks Called Pens About Kapanen
We’ve got a lot in the Daily, including Brian Burke declining THE famous Wayne Gretzky trade. Vegas Golden Knights goalie and current Vezina Trophy favorite Marc-Andre Fleury was placed in the COVID protocol. Eric Staal is on the NHL trade block, and the Pittsburgh Penguins Evgeni Malkin was dealing in the postgame chat.
We’ll start with Malkin.
*Pittsburgh Hockey Now: First, he made fun of Kasperi Kapanen, then poked at the media, all with a mischievous grin after he scored again on Thursday. Malkin is finding his humor and his game.Â
Get the “Full Story” from the Penguins 5-2 win in Buffalo.Â
And, here is the famous, or infamous, PHN+ Penguins Report Card with tactical breakdowns. Which Penguins got the C, and who got the A’s?
*Vegas Hockey Now: Hopefully, Marc-Andre Fleury is not in the protocol for long. The goalie has been spectacular, and I think everyone wants to give him the Vezina for this season and lifetime achievement. BUT, he’s been placed in the NHL COVID protocol.Â
NHL Trade Chatter, and News
I don’t get it. There’s a growing sentiment in Penguins’ land about Eric Staal. First, no. Staal is not a third-line center who does the dirty work. (See also Brassard, Derick). And Staal will not come cheaply, neither Cap space nor trade cost.
*TSN: However, Carolina and Canadian teams are poking around Staal on the NHL trade block.Â
But my rumor mill boys, Tom and Rick, who keep me apprised of the silly season (and my least favorite websites), are 100% on board for the Penguins’ hopes.
*Philly Hockey Now: Defensemen top the NHL trade board, and that suits Philadelphia’s trade needs.Â
*The Athletic: Get this–The Anaheim Ducks called the Penguins about Kasperi Kapanen, as GM Bob Murray tries to dig himself out of a deep hole. There are lots of names the Ducks tried to drag into the NHL trade waters.Â
*Sportsnet: Here’s Brian Burke talking about the Wayne Gretzky trade on Aug. 9, 1988. Burke was the director of hockey ops in Vancouver, who was tasked with crunching the numbers because they could get Wayne Gretzky. Burke told his GMÂ they couldn’t do it. And got FRIED in the papers.
It’s a pretty cool story, “Burke Says No to Gretzky.”
National Hockey Now:
Boston: Jake DeBrusk, who has also been in the NHL rumor mill, finally got going Thursday in Boston’s win over the Rangers.Â
NYI: New York beat New Jersey, blah blah blah. BUT–The Islanders had fans in the stands for the first time, and New York’s frontline workers got to be the first fans.Â
Florida: CBJ coach John Tortorella benched Patrik Laine, again, as the Panthers rallied from three down to beat Columbus.Â
San Jose: Factoring their deployment, how well are the San Jose Sharks forwards producing?Â
Colorado: Bo Byram was back on the practice ice with Colorado, but Cale Makar remains a mystery.Â
Vegas: The Nevada vaccine rollout is going much better than Pennsylvania’s (so are most places). T-Mobile Arena is upping the limit of fans.Â