Dan’s Daily: Penguins Youth; Bruins Goalie Drama; Leafs Trade Need

We’re getting to the nitty gritty of the 2024 NHL offseason, and some teams are under pressure to finish up and put their pencils down before time expires. The Pittsburgh Penguins Q&A had a common theme as president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas puts the final touches on a summer of seed-planting. The Boston Bruins traded part of their goalie tandem, Linus Ullmark, to Ottawa but are getting nervous now that the other half of the equation, Jeremy Swayman, is using the leverage to demand mega money. Nick Robertson is becoming the subject of a lot of NHL trade chatter, but the Toronto Maple Leafs need him, too. To wrap the Daily, the New Jersey Devils have made a few under-the-radar moves, and there are five Philadelphia Flyers on their last chance.

The raucous world of publishing and Sports Now has been rodeo this summer. We’d like to thank the nearly 135,000 unique readers who came to PHN, Steelers Now, and Pittsburgh Baseball Now over the last two days. We’ll surpass 600,000 unique readers this month (and August is annually our worst month). I know others loudly claim to be the most read coverage or the biggest outlet in town. We don’t make a big deal of it because there’s no point in arguing or embarrassing anyone- but yes, we far exceed others’ totals on a regular basis. THANK YOU for coming back every day, participating in the comments section, and generally behaving like sports fans who have a clue on what makes your teams go-round.

Cheers.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The pop-up Q&A. I knew what you wanted to ask (Nick Robertson), so we opened the floor on a spur-of-the-moment decision. The commonality amongst the questions was youth; prospects, Robertson, and what’s next dominated the submissions. So, here is what a Robertson-Penguins trade would look like.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Jared Jones returned to the lineup after a good while on the injured list, but he wasn’t enough to help the fading, sinking, stinking, sad Pittsburgh Pirates.

Steelers Now: One WR trade potential off the board. On Monday, Alan Saunders reported the Steelers were interested in a pair of wideouts, but they lost out Tuesday. Here’s the Steelers’ trade miss.

Miss one WR, but sign a long-time Eagles running back. A little bit of a surprise here–Steelers news.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: The folks up North didn’t make as big of a deal about Robertson’s repeated trade request as we did. Instead, SN looked at the Maple Leafs LW problem. Yes, Robertson could be their solution, but he wants out. Soooo, here’s the other side of that trade talk and potential options.

I held my tongue on Robertson because I believed Toronto would not budge. They need him now and in the future if (when?) Mitch Marner leaves. However, I’m surprised at how forceful Robertson is being. I’ll tell you straight: I’ve seen Robertson when he’s on his game, and he has “it.”

New Jersey Hockey Now: Those pesky Devils had a bad year. There were injuries, leaky goaltending, and a coach who passed his expiration date. All have been fixed. James Nichols laid out the three under-the-radar moves that will even further bolster the New Jersey Devils.

Philly Hockey Now: Jon Bailey (I love this kid). Here’s a unique take on part of the rebuild in Brotherly Love–There are five players on their last chance with the Philadelphia Flyers.

TSN Video: Jeremy Swayman knows he’s the man in Boston. After the Bruins traded Ullmark, it’s Swayman or bust, and the remaining goalie wants a massive payday.

NYI Hockey Now: Russ Macias has eased into his new role with NYI Hockey Now this summer. The former Duquesne grad is going to be a force on the network. As the season draws closer, perhaps no team has treaded water more so than the Islanders. The right PTO or two could really help. Here are the top two targets for the New York Islanders.

NHL.com: The Flyin’ Elvises, Utah chapter! The folks at NHL.com picked up three questions for the Utah Hockey Club.

Also, we’re interviewing for Utah, Vegas, and Seattle writers. If you’re in that neck of the woods, apply to National Hockey Now.