Dan’s Daily: Latest Trade Chatter; Crosby Insight, Mike Sullivan Ranking

From the Pittsburgh Penguins and insights on the lack of a contract for Sidney Crosby to coach Mike Sullivan’s power ranking, the Daily has some debate-worthy Penguins content. If you spent Saturday night pushing an elephant up the stairs or tossing out punchlines that were never there, we’ve also got the latest NHL trade chatter on the Vancouver Canucks, Calgary Flames, and Anaheim Ducks. Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin is nursing a mystery injury, and you can make a direct comparison between the Penguins and the newly constructed Washington Capitals.

We’re going to upgrade WPXI’s Final Word tonight. With the Steelers game and Sunday Night Football, we’ll be on a little later than usual—after the news and Black and Gold Zone—but we’re going a full 30 minutes, and the show is going free-form. They want me to argue and stir things up, so, yeah, I’ll be able to do that.

They’re also letting fans suggest a secret topic so we “react.” That’s bad news because it usually takes Dan a moment to filter the first reaction and another moment to edit. God help me if they ask about the Pirates or the Steelers lose because of QB play.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: On Friday afternoon, Elliotte Friedman stopped a little short of reporting on the Sidney Crosby contract situation. However, he did offer an educated guess as to why there’s been no new contract. It dovetailed with our reporting and opining this summer, and we put it all in simple, albeit emotional terms. Here’s the news and the one thing to know about Crosby’s contract.

NHL.com: Where does Mike Sullivan rank among the NHL coaches? I’m laughing already as I know exactly how many of you are going to react, but you can read it here. Ranking the coaches in the NHL.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: It’s like a Babe Ruth homerun, a Mario Lemieux goal, or a Jack Lambert hit. When John Perotto takes aim at the Pirates, the crack of the bat echoes through the park. The boys at PNC Park, and especially the management, brought this on themselves with the embarrassment the team has become. Check out this takedown–The Pirates Disrespecting Game of Baseball.

Wow.

Steelers Now: It’s Week 1 of the NFL season. Here’s the million-dollar question that no one seems to be asking: What constitutes a successful Steelers season?

FanDuel is giving new players a big-time deal for Week 1. Bet $5, and they give you $200 in bonus bets. Our betting expert (Penn Trafford’s own), Rich Gegick, has some strong opinions on Week 1. He wrote take the Steelers and the points. Read his analysis here. Get the FanDuel promo here.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: Cam Fowler is on the trade market. Some Calgary Flames veterans aren’t entirely buying in for a rebuild and want some improvements or want out. Vancouver will be shopping, and more NHL trade chatter from Friedman.

NYI Hockey Now: Uh oh. The New York Islanders didn’t exactly get a lot better this summer. Instead, they signed Anthony Duclair and largely stood pat. However, the bad news is leaking–sometime between locker clean-out day and this weekend, it seems Ilya Sorokin is injured.

Washington Hockey Now: So, how do the Penguins and the Capitals stack up this season? It’s not quite the same rivalry as the faces are changing, but it’s still–Pens vs. Caps. The Capitals have made a significant overhaul this summer with some talented players and the questionable Pierre-Luc Dubois. Our buddy Nathan Moser rolled out the new Capitals lines.

Sportsnet Edmonton: It’s been a mentally bruising summer for Connor McDavid. Winning three straight Stanley Cup Final games but losing Game 7 still doesn’t feel good, but part of McDavid’s summer has been trying to cope with the Final loss.

TSN: Kevin Shattenkirk remains unsigned but is shopping his services for a 15th NHL season. A few teams are nibbling and willing to offer a PTO.

Florida Hockey Now: It’s cheap heat, but it’s funny nonetheless, and it had to twist the knife a little deeper for Oilers fans. WWE Smackdown was in Edmonton Friday and nearly brought the roof down at Rogers Place when Auston Theory and Grayson Waller wore Matthew Tkachuk jerseys.

Ottawa Hockey Now: Whatever happened to…? Nikolay Kulemin will get a shot in NHL training camp, which drew a little chuckle from the afternoon show at TSN. Former Penguins second-round pick Calen Addison, who has recently bounced from Minnesota to San Jose and was job hunting, also signed a PTO with the Ottawa Senators.