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Dan’s Daily: Heavyweight Fight; Penguins Challenge; D-Men Pulled Off Market

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Some heavyweights threw hands Wednesday night. NHL refereeing has been under fire since the NHL made Connor McDavid sit in the corner for three games and think about his cross-check. The NHL trade rumors, with the exception of J.T. Miller, include a lot of lesser-name players, but we’ll get to those. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Rickard Rakell hopefully got some good news, and coach Mike Sullivan bluntly delivered an assessment of what the team needs from a couple of his third-liners.
I suppose I should ask for all of your thoughts and prayers. It was only 75 degrees in Anaheim on Wednesday, and with the breeze, I needed to wear a sweater. The constant sunshine only exacerbated the oppressive problem.
I’m not sure what I’ll be writing about later today. There seems to be a stasis with the Penguins, and I think we all know the Penguins’ trade rumors. A reader requested that I look for the young players the Penguins could acquire, but I must confess, that seems to be a daunting task. To that point, I feel like I should have seen Philip Tomasino coming but instead wrote about Nashville’s right-handed defenseman, Alexandre Carrier, whom Nashville later traded to Montreal for another righty, Justin Barron, whom I also wrote about as a Penguins option.
Obviously, things worked out with P.O. Joseph’s acclimation to the right side, but that seems more like good luck than shrewd planning. I’m still surprised Dubas didn’t snap up either one. But we’ll give it a go soon.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: There’s some good conversation about the Penguins goalies, Tristan Jarry’s situation, and prospects, but the biggest takeaway Wednesday night was when Dubas used his radio show to stomp the recent fire-sale Penguins trade rumors.
OK, I was in a good mood Wednesday. In the process of joking with a fellow reporter, I got the bright idea to ask Frank Vatrano one simple question, “Why do you ALWAYS score on the Penguins?” Vatrano seemed to get a kick out of the question–you can see the video. Also at Penguins practice, Rickard Rakell returned from his brief absence and coach Mike Sullivan tinkered with the Penguins lines.
PHN+: We spoke with Philip Tomasino and Kevin Hayes. The Penguins’ third line has been better over the last few weeks, but its inhabitants are fighting for NHL roster spots. The interesting thing in this piece was Sullivan’s breakdown of Tomasino. It’s not the sexiest story I’ve written this season, but if you want the truth on a couple of guys–we take you inside the Penguins locker room.
You don’t have to use the code, but if you’d like to save 10 bucks when you join PHN+ for an ad-free experience and exclusive insider content, use coupon code Dan10. I know January is always a rough month because everyone is paying off the holidays, but I promise to work my butt off for you every day. Join here.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
HockeyFights.com: An old-school heavyweight scrap with some hard right hands. Toronto’s Ryan Reaves vs. Columbus’s Mathieu Olivier. Ring the bell, and here we go. If you’re so inclined, you can watch it at HockeyFights.com.
TSN: Columbus’s Adam Fantili had his first career hat trick (and did so in front of a lot of friends and family) as Columbus beat Toronto, but Auston Matthews kicked the Toronto crowd–he wanted more energy after Reaves’s fight.
For the “Rebuild Now!” crowd, it’s time to start paying attention to the prospect rankings. The No. 1 spot is no longer James Hagens, but Erie Otters defenseman Matthew Schaefer is now the consensus top pick. Bob MacKenzie has a lot more on Schaefer, but the middle of the first round, too.
If the Penguins want a center, they’ll need a top-10 pick. Five of the top nine players are pivots, but there aren’t many first-round grades for centers after that.
Sportsnet: With a little bit of curiosity and a bit of incredulity, I’m watching the fallout over the McDavid three-game suspension. He cross-checked someone in the face after feeling he was being interfered with. But the defense from a lot of media is what is interesting. The NHL refereeing is under fire for not protecting McDavid.
No offense, national colleagues, but when Sidney Crosby was getting pummeled with cross-checks from Brandon Dubinsky or chicken-winged by Jacob Trouba, where was the outrage over officiating?
Spectors’s Hockey: Lyle rolled out the biggest rumors, but they’re not all the big names. Ryan Donato in Chicago. Jesper Kotkaniemi and Jack Roslovic could be J.T. Miller trade bait. But the other noteworthy development is Philadelphia pulling Rasmus Ristolainen off the market and Columbus trying to re-sign Ivan Provorov instead of trading him.
New Jersey Hockey Now: Uh-oh, bad news in Newark. The struggling New Jersey Devils beat the mightily struggling Boston Bruins, but the win was costly. Goalie Jacob Markstrom suffered a “scary injury,” and he will be out for a while. Here is the updated Devils news.
Philly Hockey Now: Flyers fans seem to be getting a bit impatient and want to go–now. William James writes that it’s not time to hit the panic button yet. It’s an interesting Philadelphia Flyers opinion.
Montreal Hockey Now: Full circle. After Montreal acquired Carrier, their star rookie defenseman Lane Hutson had a big uptick. I really like Hutson, and Marc Dumont has the numbers of the perfect pairing for the Montreal Canadiens.