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Dan’s Daily: Habs & Utah on Trade Market; Penguins’ Jarry Saga
EDMONTON, Alberta — We thought we might get a reprieve from the Pittsburgh Penguins’ Tristan Jarry saga for a few days. However, the Penguins broke that expectation when they abruptly sent Jarry home to Pittsburgh to work privately with one of the goalie coaches. The Penguins practice at Rogers Place was otherwise uneventful, though Connor McDavid heaped some praise on Sidney Crosby, who had a chuckle about the Team Canada captaincy.
Elsewhere in the Daily, the Utah Somethings and Montreal Canadiens are chumming the waters on the NHL trade market. Toronto Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube is already smacking patties and calling out his team. Boston Bruins captain Brad Marchand answered to the dustup he and coach Jim Montgomery had on the bench, and Vegas heaped seven more years on Shea Theodore.
Yes, the Jarry story keeps getting weirder. I have a definite feeling coach Mike Sullivan would like it to go away, but you can’t abruptly send a player home, and there will not be questions, raised eyebrows, and chatter.
By the way, Jarry played his junior hockey with the Edmonton Oil Kings and is from the Vancouver area, where we’ll head tomorrow.
I really like Edmonton, and here’s why. Last night, I rolled into Bistro Praha (if you’re here for the game, definitely check it out on 101st St) for Beef goulash and bread dumplings. With a beer, dinner was about $20 USD. Instead of dessert, I stopped for a quick slice on my walk home and found a slice of donair pizza. Oh, heck yes! (A donair is like a gyro but with a special sweet sauce. It’s the official dish of Halifax).
Edmonton is a little rough. There are no posh sections, and she’s cold. It gets dark early, but the people are great, and it’s very much like Pittsburgh was 20 years ago but a bit more walkable.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: OK, we’ve entered weird territory, and it’s not something I’ve seen or covered before. Sullivan said they preplanned it but didn’t elaborate. Here’s the story on Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry.
PHN Video: Let’s discuss, shall we? I used a snazzy Rogers Place background instead of the hotel windows. Here’s the full story, more context, what I think happens next, and on what timeline for the Penguins goalie situation.
OK, let’s get back to the rest of the team.
The Concern-O-Meter is spinning. The Penguins are 3-4-1, and depending on your view, they’re winless in three, or they broke their losing streak with a point in Calgary. It’s up to you, but larger issues are hanging above the Penguins, from Sidney Crosby’s turnovers to Erik Karlsson’s increased though unsuccessful defensive improv and Sullivan himself. What’s a concern to worry about, and which issues will self-correct? There Penguins’ analysis.
And Crosby chuckled and smiled when he was told that Connor McDavid said it was a “no-brainer” that Crosby should be the captain of Team Canada in the coming Four Nations Face-Off. Here’s the story and the video from the Penguins locker room with Sidney Crosby.
NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now
TSN: The Insiders have some scoops on who is starting to make the calls and look around on the NHL trade block. Montreal and Utah are the teams most interested in seeing what’s out there. Nothing is imminent, but knowing how Montreal GM Kent Hughes has operated, as soon as he finds a target, it will move quickly.
Montreal Hockey Now: The Canadiens have been selling hope. As a young team, they’ve been singing the Little Orphan Annie tune, “Tomorrow!” However, it’s getting a little old up north, and expectations are growing around the Montreal Canadiens.
Vegas Hockey Now: Seven years for Shea Theodore. I do believe this deal will bite the Golden Knights in time, but right now, it’s what the Vegas Golden Knights needed.
New Jersey Hockey Now: I don’t mind if a coach expresses frustration with officiating, provided it’s not an excuse. Coach Sheldon Keefe has had a few beefs with officials already this season with the New Jersey Devils.
A little props for our New Jersey writer, James Nichols. He came to Hockey Now as a part-time writer but has turned New Jersey Hockey Now into the most respected and read Devils coverage in the market. He very much took the PHN playbook and ran with it. James is building a great market niche for himself.
Philly Hockey Now: Only five Flyers have done it. I won’t tell you what Matvei Michkov did —you’ll have to read—but he already etched his name beside Eric Lindros in Philadelphia Flyers history.
Florida Hockey Now: Sticking with the historical context of players who are becoming legends, George Richards writes about Sergei Bobrovsky. It wasn’t always a smooth ride, but the goalie’s place in Florida Panthers’ lore is secure.
I think Utah is unofficially settled on the Yeti, but would be funny to see the nickname as The Americans. Marquee Matchup: The Utah Americans versus the Montreal Canadiens.
This makes all the “noise” not worth listening to. Dubas noted, “the issue lies largely with Pittsburgh’s defense, not precisely the goalies in the Penguins rotation.”
Someone important is watching the games. I don’t blame the fans so much. You would assume that most people don’t understand the games or do not even watch them.
If you understand the game and are watching objectively, you can’t miss what Dubas sees.
We have a top 4 problem!!!!! Starting with Karlsson.
It’s still relatively early in the season, but goaltending is part of the defense. It’s easy to always point the finger at the goalie b/c they’re the last line of defense to allow or disallow a point; as quickly as the game moves, extremely easy to forget about the d-man who missed his assignment or the forward who turned the puck over. PIT has traditionally relied heavily on their goalies, in favor of quick, relentless offense. However it seems the process is changing, or at least an attempt to change the way the Pens play. I know Jarry’s value is… Read more »
Resers at Bistro Praha tomorrow. Thanks for the tip.
Also will get my first Donair. Got to meet the guys on the line to the bus in EDM. Nice town.
Let’s Go Pens!
Glad you’re enjoying, Pete!