Dan’s Daily: Virtanen Denies Allegations, Sad List of UFAs

If you think the hockey news is drying up, wait until you check out the top-10 list of available UFAs that teams are picking over. We celebrated Pittsburgh Penguins captain Sidney Crosby’s birthday with our annual Crosby Top 5 moments. On the dark side, Jake Virtanen’s agent released a strong statement denying the sexual allegations and pushing back on the claimant who filed a lawsuit before pursuing criminal charges.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Crosby has had some magical moments. That’s what greatness does. Sidney Crosby Top 5 moments. 

Quick apology–we republished the story this year but didn’t update his birthday! D’oh. Fixed.

NHL News & National Hockey Now

Vancouver Hockey Now: Jake Virtanen is under investigation for sexual assault from an incident four years ago. The court ordered information sealed, but it has leaked to the press. Police have not charged Virtanen with a crime. His agent blasted the process and media leaks, too. 

We’ve seen athletes behave in abhorrent ways, and we’ve seen some be exonerated, too. That is what investigations are for. Earlier this year, I was faced with a choice to print details leaked to us about an alleged assault. We did not because they were not directly from a police report or investigators. Anything else is tainted and taints the public in one way or the other. This is far more serious than simple trade chatter. That’s my stance.

The Score listed the best available free agents at each position without comment. Yikes. 

Detroit: Steve Yzerman is doing a pretty good job and a stealthy job as the Detroit Red Wings GM. Kevin Allen ranked his moves as Wings boss, with a couple of interesting choices. 

NYI: Adam Pelech is pretty happy. He met the media after signing his eight-year deal with a team-friendly AAV. 

The Pittsburgh Penguins rivals are a stout team. They still have not proven they can handle an 82-game grind–in each of the last two seasons, they emptied their tank after about 60 games, but a healthy rest before the playoffs enabled them to show they’re built for the playoffs.

Boston: The Boston Bruins need a center and a good one after David Krejci decided to leave the NHL. Will the Bruins listen to their fans and get Christian Dvorak?

PHN OPEN CALL: The subscriber and fan columns on Colorado Hockey Now were such a success that we’re going to do them in Pittsburgh, too!

I read the comments. Some of you love to opine in long-form–so here’s your chance to be published! Try to keep it under 1000 words, for my benefit. I’ll edit the column, and I reserve the right to be a big meanie and not publish it if it’s hateful or crazy.

SO–email contact@nationalhockeynow.com

Have fun!