Dan's Daily: Former Penguin Goes Off; Tocchet Close to Decision
Mikael Granlund waved goodbye to the Winnipeg Jets as they left the ice. The former Pittsburgh Penguins winger completed his first hat trick since 2017 as Dallas beat Winnipeg 3-1. It was Granlund's night. The rumors are swirling that Rick Tocchet is close to accepting one of the open head coaching jobs, and all signs point to Philadelphia. The Colorado Avalanche are due for a shakeup this summer that includes chasing a big-name free agent but also trading away a couple of players. The Calgary Flames could make a splash in the NHL trade waters, and we explored just what a perfect Pittsburgh Penguins offseason would entail.
I don't know about you, but this time of year, I'm forcing myself to watch hockey. The NHL season should be wrapping up about now, not getting to the halfway point of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. I surrender. I can only imagine that the tap dancing and gymnastics to maximize ticket sales and TV ratings during the regular season would be offset by the significant increase in TV ratings if the NHL took center stage in May instead of mid-June.
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I know a lot of people are rewriting history today. I know because I got a few texts. But perhaps it's worth a bit of a notebook to revisit Granlund's time in Pittsburgh.
Also–today is Live Chat day! Note the different start time–We'll go at 12:05. We'll see if a few of our folks who take lunch at noon can join in. Here is the link to our YouTube page. Make sure you like the page so you get notified of these little events and see all of our videos and podcasts.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Oh Sidney Crosby. The French defense was no match as he spun off one defender, breezed by would-be defenders, and froze the goalie. Check out this goal, as Crosby again led Team Canada to victory.
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The next few months are a big deal for the future of the Penguins. Of course, the team will still be here in 10 years if general manager Kyle Dubas has a lousy summer, but it's go time for the rebuild. Here's what a perfect summer for Dubas and the Penguins roster looks like.
Steelers Now: OK, here are the Ireland game details for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
A former NFL QB ripped the black and gold's offense, calling it the most depressing offense in the NFL. That's a pretty good indictment of the Steelers.
Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Gee, get a hit with a runner in scoring position? Nope. The wet noodle offense flopped again, and another good pitching performance was wasted by those terribly constructed Pittsburgh Pirates.
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They do have a GM, right? …Right?!
NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now
Philly Hockey Now: The rumors are swirling, and the cryptic tweets from insiders who tease but do not report are piling up that a decision is being finalized. Rick Tocchet has a few choices on which job he wants, but the rumors are all pointing to the Philadelphia Flyers.
Colorado Hockey Now: Trade a couple of defensemen? Yep. Let a big-name free agent walk? Yuppers. Go after another big-name free agent to fix everything? Double check. It's going to be a rock-em-sock-em offseason for the Colorado Avalanche.
NHL.com: Granlund was the man Tuesday night. The hatty vanquished Winnipeg, giving the Stars a 3-1 series lead. The league website doesn't show it, but Spitting Chiclets tweeted a great video of Granlund waving goodbye as Winnipeg left the ice. Dallas is looking pretty, pretty good.
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Daily Face-Off: The Calgary Flames might go big-game hunting very well. The rebuild talk of a summer ago has been replaced by 'Go for it' sentiments. And sources say Calgary is poised to go big-game hunting.
New Jersey Hockey Now: Send those offer sheets. Let's introduce a little chaos. James Nichols chose violence when describing the potential RFA targets for the New Jersey Devils.
Florida Hockey Now: Winners of two straight, confidence and optimism are growing in the Sunshine State. Coach Paul Maurice says the Florida Panthers have an increasingly healthy Matthew Tkachuk.
TSN: The Vancouver Canucks have had conversations with Quinn Hughes and the two sides have come to an understanding, though we don't really know what that means. However, the team is already down to a few finalists for its head coach.
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And it was an ugly, contentious wrap-up to seven days of cross-examination of E.M. in the sexual assault trial of five 2018 Team Canada members. Cal Foote's female defense attorney made a point to dissect her shoes. The attorney pushed a scenario suggesting E.M. didn't want to leave the room because she didn't go through the act of properly zipping up her high-heeled shoes. I wonder if men and women will see that fact differently, or disregard it entirely. That's the end of seven days of testimony.
This case. I've never seen anything like it.
The post Dan's Daily: Former Penguin Goes Off; Tocchet Close to Decision appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.
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Fox Sports
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Doué double leads PSG thrashing of Inter Milan for first Champions League trophy
Associated Press MUNICH (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League winner. At long last the club that was transformed by Qatari billions and bought and sold a succession of the world's greatest players in an extravagant bid to get to the top has its hands on the big one. European club soccer's grandest prize has a new home after PSG thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in Saturday's final in Munich. 'It's in the bag, it's coming home with us to Paris tomorrow,' coach Luis Enrique said. 'My first day at the PSG campus I said the ultimate goal was to fill the trophy cabinet. The only trophy missing was the Champions League. Here we have ticked that box.' It was the trophy that not even Lionel Messi, Neymar or Kylian Mbappe could deliver to the French club. Luis Enrique has achieved it after overseeing PSG's shift from the era of galactico signings to one of genuine team-building. Fitting then that Desire Doue, the 19-year-old French forward, emblematic of the club's new generation, was the chief inspiration and player of the match as PSG recorded the biggest win in a final in the competition's 70-year history. In a scintillating performance, Doué and substitute Senny Mayulu became the third and fourth teenagers to score in a Champions League final following Patrick Kluivert in 1995 and Carlos Alberto in 2004. 'It is wonderful, it is magical, we are rewriting the history of this club and French football,' Doué said after scoring twice and set up another goal in little over an hour on the field before being substituted. Achraf Hakimi and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia added to Doue's double. 'It's exceptional,' striker Ousmane Dembele said. 'It's especially good since we did it in style. We went to Liverpool, to Aston Villa, and played great games. We deserve it and so do the fans.' PSG joins European royalty Now PSG can truly sit alongside the royalty of European soccer. Not by virtue of turnover or merchandizing but on the merits of its achievements on the field. The Champions League is the ultimate barometer of the continent's elite clubs and up until now PSG has been a flashy contender that always came up short. That all changed at Allianz Arena, the home of Bayern Munich, one of the titans of Europe, and a fitting stage for PSG's crowning moment. Not least because it was against Bayern that it lost its only other Champions League final in 2020, leaving Neymar in tears in an empty stadium in Lisbon where fans were locked out because of the pandemic. On this occasion, thousands of PSG supporters were there to revel in the moment, waving flags, lighting flares and drowning out their rivals from Inter, many of whose supporters left the stadium long before the final whistle. They'd been partying in the streets of Munich throughout the day, but that was nothing compared to the scenes of joy when captain Marquinhos held the trophy aloft with fireworks and golden confetti exploding behind him. 'I have nothing left, I have given everything,' Marquinhos told broadcaster Canal Plus. 'The fans are proud of us. Make the most of it guys, I love you.' PSG truly delivered when it mattered after so many setbacks in this competition. If there were any nerves from Luis Enrique's players it did not show as they dominated Inter. It took just 12 minutes for the French champion to go ahead with a move of speed and precision when Vitinha's threaded pass into the box found the feet of Doué. The forward could have shot, but instead slid in Hakimi to tap into an open net. Former Inter player Hakimi muted his celebrations. Eight minutes later and the lead was doubled — more on luck than precision as Doué's shot from the right of the box deflected off Federico Dimarco and past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer. He got his second in the 63rd, sliding the ball into the bottom corner when through on goal. Kvaratskhelia added the fourth 10 minutes later and Mayulu found the back of the net in the 86th, just two minutes after coming on. Luis Enrique doubles and trebles Luis Enrique, who won the 2015 Champions League with Barcelona, became the seventh coach to win the trophy with two different teams, in the footsteps of greats Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho. He also led PSG to a first treble of trophies — the Champions League added to Ligue 1 and the French Cup — matching his achievement with Barcelona 10 years ago. 'We are ambitious, we are going to continue to conquer the football world,' he said. Inter was on track for a treble just over a month ago but has finished the season without a trophy. Mercy was spared in the final when fulltime was blown after 90 minutes without added time. 'We are extremely disappointed,' coach Simone Inzaghi said. 'Defeats can make you stronger. This defeat hurts a lot just like Istanbul (in the 2023 final).' For PSG, this moment has been 14 years in the making since it was bought by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011 and, awash with newfound riches, targeted marquee signings to speed up its route to the top. In came superstars Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham and Edinson Cavani. The ante was further upped with the arrivals of Neymar for a world record $262 million, Mbappe and finally Messi, allowing PSG to field possibly the richest array of forwards ever assembled, but still no Champions League trophy to show for it. The departure of that last stellar trio over the past two years has been the turning point, with a greater focus on the team rather than a collection of stars. Not that PSG's transformation hasn't come at a cost. It may make for a nice narrative that PSG has eschewed the big spending approach of before to organically assemble a team to beat all-comers from across Europe. The opposite is true. While it is without the marquee players of the past, this is still one of the most expensive squads in world soccer. The win will also raise more questions about nation state involvement in soccer and so-called sportswashing, given Qatar's lavish backing of PSG in enabling it to conquer Europe. It's victory comes just two years after Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City won the trophy, again against Inter. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund owns Newcastle, which will return to the Champions League next season with ambitions of its own. ___ James Robson is at ___ AP soccer:
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Doué double leads PSG thrashing of Inter Milan for first Champions League trophy
MUNICH (AP) — Paris Saint-Germain, Champions League winner. At long last the club that was transformed by Qatari billions and bought and sold a succession of the world's greatest players in an extravagant bid to get to the top has its hands on the big one. European club soccer's grandest prize has a new home after PSG thrashed Inter Milan 5-0 in Saturday's final in Munich . 'It's in the bag, it's coming home with us to Paris tomorrow,' coach Luis Enrique said. 'My first day at the PSG campus I said the ultimate goal was to fill the trophy cabinet. The only trophy missing was the Champions League. Here we have ticked that box.' It was the trophy that not even Lionel Messi, Neymar or Kylian Mbappe could deliver to the French club. Luis Enrique has achieved it after overseeing PSG's shift from the era of galactico signings to one of genuine team-building. Fitting then that Désiré Doué, the 19-year-old French forward, emblematic of the club's new generation, was the chief inspiration and player of the match as PSG recorded the biggest win in a final in the competition's 70-year history. In a scintillating performance, Doué and substitute Senny Mayulu became the third and fourth teenagers to score in a Champions League final following Patrick Kluivert in 1995 and Carlos Alberto in 2004. 'It is wonderful, it is magical, we are rewriting the history of this club and French football,' Doué said after scoring twice and set up another goal in little over an hour on the field before being substituted. Achraf Hakimi and Khvicha Kvaratskhelia added to Doue's double. 'It's exceptional,' striker Ousmane Dembele said. 'It's especially good since we did it in style. We went to Liverpool, to Aston Villa, and played great games. We deserve it and so do the fans.' PSG joins European royalty Now PSG can truly sit alongside the royalty of European soccer. Not by virtue of turnover or merchandizing but on the merits of its achievements on the field. The Champions League is the ultimate barometer of the continent's elite clubs and up until now PSG has been a flashy contender that always came up short. That all changed at Allianz Arena, the home of Bayern Munich, one of the titans of Europe, and a fitting stage for PSG's crowning moment. Not least because it was against Bayern that it lost its only other Champions League final in 2020, leaving Neymar in tears in an empty stadium in Lisbon where fans were locked out because of the pandemic. On this occasion, thousands of PSG supporters were there to revel in the moment, waving flags, lighting flares and drowning out their rivals from Inter, many of whose supporters left the stadium long before the final whistle. They'd been partying in the streets of Munich throughout the day, but that was nothing compared to the scenes of joy when captain Marquinhos held the trophy aloft with fireworks and golden confetti exploding behind him. 'I have nothing left, I have given everything,' Marquinhos told broadcaster Canal Plus. 'The fans are proud of us. Make the most of it guys, I love you.' PSG truly delivered when it mattered after so many setbacks in this competition. If there were any nerves from Luis Enrique's players it did not show as they dominated Inter. It took just 12 minutes for the French champion to go ahead with a move of speed and precision when Vitinha's threaded pass into the box found the feet of Doué. The forward could have shot, but instead slid in Hakimi to tap into an open net. Former Inter player Hakimi muted his celebrations. Eight minutes later and the lead was doubled — more on luck than precision as Doué's shot from the right of the box deflected off Federico Dimarco and past Inter goalkeeper Yann Sommer. He got his second in the 63rd, sliding the ball into the bottom corner when through on goal. Kvaratskhelia added the fourth 10 minutes later and Mayulu found the back of the net in the 86th, just two minutes after coming on. Luis Enrique doubles and trebles Luis Enrique, who won the 2015 Champions League with Barcelona, became the seventh coach to win the trophy with two different teams, in the footsteps of greats Carlo Ancelotti, Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho. He also led PSG to a first treble of trophies — the Champions League added to Ligue 1 and the French Cup — matching his achievement with Barcelona 10 years ago. 'We are ambitious, we are going to continue to conquer the football world,' he said. Inter was on track for a treble just over a month ago but has finished the season without a trophy. Mercy was spared in the final when fulltime was blown after 90 minutes without added time. 'We are extremely disappointed,' coach Simone Inzaghi said. 'Defeats can make you stronger. This defeat hurts a lot just like Istanbul (in the 2023 final).' For PSG, this moment has been 14 years in the making since it was bought by Qatar Sports Investments in 2011 and, awash with newfound riches, targeted marquee signings to speed up its route to the top. In came superstars Zlatan Ibrahimovic, David Beckham and Edinson Cavani. The ante was further upped with the arrivals of Neymar for a world record $262 million , Mbappe and finally Messi, allowing PSG to field possibly the richest array of forwards ever assembled, but still no Champions League trophy to show for it. The departure of that last stellar trio over the past two years has been the turning point, with a greater focus on the team rather than a collection of stars. Not that PSG's transformation hasn't come at a cost. It may make for a nice narrative that PSG has eschewed the big spending approach of before to organically assemble a team to beat all-comers from across Europe. The opposite is true. While it is without the marquee players of the past, this is still one of the most expensive squads in world soccer. The win will also raise more questions about nation state involvement in soccer and so-called sportswashing, given Qatar's lavish backing of PSG in enabling it to conquer Europe. It's victory comes just two years after Abu Dhabi-backed Manchester City won the trophy, again against Inter. Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund owns Newcastle , which will return to the Champions League next season with ambitions of its own. ___ James Robson is at ___ AP soccer:
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Seth Jones Finds Himself In Stanley Cup Final Following Trade From Blackhawks
Former Canadiens Player Might Have Played His Last Game With The Hurricanes Since the Carolina Hurricanes signed Montreal Canadiens former player Jesperi Kotkaniemi for a $6.1 million offer sheet in the Summer of 2021, plenty has been written about the centerman, but it has rarely been positive. Earlier in the Eastern Conference final, the soon-to-be 25-year-old was scratched for a couple of games.
