We are holed up this week in Los Angeles as the Pittsburgh Penguins ' west coast trip is in Anaheim , LA, and eventually San Jose . The Penguins' practice was sans Kris Letang , and we got an update on his status, as well as the Penguins getting a taste of what to expect from coach Dan Muse after losses. And former president of hockey ops Brian Burke opened the vault on potentially trading away Letang and Evgeni Malkin .
Elsewhere in the Daily, the Buffalo Sabres are already at Defcon 3 for a full implosion. Former Penguins goalie Alex Nedeljkovic has gone viral for his whoopsies that cost the San Jose Sharks a game on Saturday, so what comes next? And is Connor McDavid quietly playing assistant GM for the Edmonton Oilers , much like Wayne Gretzky did once upon a time?
I'm staying in downtown LA all week until we head to San Jose. I didn't have such a great experience in Anaheim because the hotel situation there isn't great for the hockey arena. The hotels are clustered around Disneyland (thus expensive), and the motel I chose last year would be cute for Coudersport on a bike trip, but not great for several days, taking $30 Uber rides to the arena and eating at Del Taco and gas stations for three days. So, today begins the great experiment of whether it's easier to take the $8 Amtrak back and forth for three days or if I'm going to be miserable.
I did have an unbelievable dinner at a food hall yesterday afternoon (I ate at 4 p.m. and then passed out from travel exhaustion by 7 p.m.). It was the spiciest Basil Beef I've ever had, and I couldn't get enough. It takes a lot of spice to get me to sweat, but they succeeded.
Downtown LA remains an odd place with a lot of people, a lot of business, but not a lot of life. There are restaurants everywhere, but no one is hanging out; there are no places to watch football. Armed security guards are at every business, including CVS–especially CVS–and I see why people bolt for Texas or Nevada.
But the little restaurants are really good.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Brian Burke told a story of contract negotiations in 2022. If they didn't take a pay cut, the organization was prepared to trade Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. It was quite the Penguins trade talk.
Burke's story was also odd because Malkin was hours away from free agency. Burke called the pair reasonable and insinuated they were easy to deal with, but that surely wasn't my recollection from the time. In fact, I remember Malkin being quite upset, and he was emotional in his season-ending media availability because he felt the Penguins had lowballed him.
Kris Letang played one shift in the third period Saturday. Saturday at practice, coach Dan Muse had an update, as Letang missed practice. Shelly Anderson has all the things from the Penguins' practice .
And, Muse didn't address the team following their 6-1 loss to New York on Saturday. That's not necessarily uncommon, but a departure from the past. It's not the most groundbreaking story you'll ever read, but Shelly's story was full of context and info that fans who want to know more about the Muse and how he operates. The Penguins are learning about Dan Muse .
Steelers Now: Beating the Brownies is always fun. Granted, it's no longer beating Brian Sipe and Ozzie Newsome or Bernie Kosar and Eric Metcalf, but for those of us who remember, it's still good times. Have a good time watching the live SN Steelers postgame .
Is there a Great Lakes curse? Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit . Three passionate sports cities. A lot of losing or championship heartbreak. None has won a Super Bowl.
Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Danny Demilio hits the free agent market. There are corner outfielders who could help the woeful … WOEFUL Pirates' offense. Which free agents can the Pirates target ?
If the Buccos don't drop some coin this winter, I hope MLB and the MLBPA go bananas.
NHLTraderumors.Me: I'm not a big fan of some NHL rumor mavens who put a lot out there and just keep going. One is reporting that Connor McDavid has been approaching players and hockey people for a while, playing assistant GM .
There's a big difference between selling the benefits of Edmonton and trying to arrange trades.
Sportsnet: The Buffalo Sabres are close to being done before they even get started. Rumors of players wanting out, biding their time until free agency, and now, coach Lindy Ruff blasted his team after just their second game .
T-minus 10, 9, 8…
TSN: Two brutal goals. Fluky, bad luck, but bad goals. Alex Nedeljkovic was front and center all weekend after the San Jose Sharks blew a late lead to the Vegas Golden Knights . A former goalie who has been there talks about what comes next for Ned .
Also from TSN, a former Wes Clark draft pick is about to make his splash. Easton Cowan is going to make his NHL debut on the Maple Leafs' top line .
Detroit Hockey Now: Sweden has produced a lot of really good hockey players. The latest is already on his way to being one of the top NHL scorers of Swedish birth, Lucas Raymond .
Philly Hockey Now: The young guns line is coming through, but the vets are not. Will James has praise for the kids and boots for the Philadelphia Flyers vets.
Florida Hockey Now: I almost hear Chandler Bing in George Richards' latest column. Could the Florida Panthers be any better? Nope.
The post Dan's Daily: Sabres Imploding; Ned Goes Viral; Penguins Learn New Lesson appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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