Dan’s Daily: Hockey Begins! Penguins $21 Million? RFA Holdouts

The Pittsburgh Penguins begin training camp, and the first group will be on the ice by the time many of you read this. We’ve crossed the great divide and traversed the chasm between that empty day in April that seems another lifetime ago with the Penguins season ending and today with the 2024-25 Penguins season begins. Below is the full training camp roster and this week’s schedule. With Sidney Crosby’s contract in hand, we’ve turned the page to what comes next, including the team’s cap surplus and what the Penguins owe Crosby for taking another hometown discount. Elsewhere in the Daily, the latest on the last two big-name restricted free agents. The Philadelphia Flyers drama with a Russian prospect came to a head, the Washington Capitals unleashed their alternate jersey (and I hate it), the potential fallout from Ilya Sorokin’s back surgery, and questions for the New Jersey Devils.

Finally, hockey.

I cannot believe how different the world feels today than it did in April. My industry has been through the tumbler. AI is ruining things at a rate none of us could imagine. We’ve seen the end of the Arizona Coyotes, a presidential candidate survive two assassination attempts, a President look so feeble during a debate that his party forced him off the ticket, a star hockey player (and a beaut of a human being) killed by an alleged road-raging drunk driver, and terrorists unwittingly steal and wear exploding pagers.

Oh, and Deadpool and Wolverine.

Yeah, bring on the Penguins season.

As quick follows on X, the Hockey Now Metro Division team is Nate Moser in Washington, Jon Bailey in Philadephia, James Nichols in New Jersey, Russel Macias on Long Island, and our good friend Jim Cerny at Forever Blueshirts.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: And so it begins. Penguins training camp. Group 4 will begin this morning at 7:30 a.m.–these are the invited players. The first main group hits the ice at 9 a.m., and then they scrimmage at 10 a.m. Here’s the roster, the schedule, and what you need to know for the Penguins training camp.

I did not intend this following story to be optimistic, uplifting, or hopeful. However, several readers reached out to say how it changed their perceptions. Crosby signed a discounted contract because he received reassurances the Penguins could turn around quickly. To my knowledge, no one has done the salary cap math before, and there is about $21 million coming their way next summer. Here are insights into president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas’s potential strategy and what the Penguins truly owe Sidney Crosby.

“Hello, Mitch Marner?”

Steelers Now: Coach Mike Tomlin was in vintage form Tuesday. He dodged, ducked, dipped, dive, and dodged questions with analogies and refusals, but he did explain the increasingly problematic right tackle situation on the Steelers offensive line.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Lifeless again. I swear a district attorney could charge the organization with a crime for their assault on baseball. However, hot prospect Nick Yorke made some news. Here’s the loss and the good news for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

NHL Rumors, News, & Hockey Now

TSN: Camp is here, but a couple of important RFAs are unsigned (and that could help the Penguins if they drag into the season). Jeremy Swayman wants to be paid, as does Detroit Red Wings defenseman Moritz Seider. The NHL rumor mill is churning. TSN Insiders have the latest on the young’ins who want better offers.

The NHL is behind the curve on the RFAs. With the rising salary table, the RFA compensation model is horribly flawed. A $6.8 million player is not worth a first, second, and third-round pick (and never was). So, good RFAs are pretty much stuck.

Detroit Hockey Now: How did Steve Yzerman not aggressively address the goaltending position? As camp opens, there is a battle without a clear frontrunner. One of the Penguins’ chief rivals for a playoff spot–how will the Red Wings goalie battle play out?

New Jersey Hockey Now: Last season was a write-off. Nothing went right in Newark. There are extremely high hopes for this season, and James Nichols has a question for each New Jersey Devils defenseman.

NYI Hockey Now: Uh? Coach Patrick Roy let slip that Ilya Sorokin had back surgery. So what happens now with the New York Islanders?

Philly Hockey Now: Time to move. Time to get going. What lies ahead, I have no way of knowing (Tom Petty). Russian goalie prospect Alexei Kolosov won’t budge and remains in Russia. The Flyers won’t loan him to a Russian team. Here’s the reaction from GM Daniel Briere on the Philadelphia Flyers goalie.

Ottawa Hockey Now: Another chief Penguins rival for a wild card this season is the Ottawa Senators.