While this writer was admiring himself on television, the Edmonton Oilers were hard at work late Sunday night. After days of scouring the NHL transfer market to retain former first-round picks Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg, the Edmonton Oilers pulled off the big trade they needed, sending Cody Ceci to the San Jose Sharks. The salary drop will put an end to the offer sheet drama. The Pittsburgh Penguins had an opportunity to match the Sharks, but San Jose easily undercut market value. Edmonton made another trade early Sunday night, grabbing a former first-round pick who needed a change of scenery for a fourth-round pick.
Also, Brett Hull and Teemu Selanne just released a movie?!
Sunday night TV with WPXI’s Final Word was entertaining. After a few years, I’m grateful they still have me, even if it means missing out on Sunday Fundays. When I’m around Chris Carter and Paul Zeise, the energy they bring is infectious, and when it comes to the Steelers, I don’t have to say much – Chris usually takes care of everything before Shelby or Jenna get to me.
That’s fine with me. We also talked a little about penguins. I’ll post the show later this morning.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: OK, it happened. This was an opportunity for the Penguins to end a situation they helped create. The RFA drama started when the Penguins made a trade with the St. Louis Blues, and it could have ended with another trade by the Penguins.
So if you read the story above, you’ll see that I had the process and price pretty much nailed. Hey, that’s the second time in 10 days that my amateur GMing was a day or so ahead of what actually happened. Maybe I should… nah, never mind.
Pittsburgh Baseball Now: In June, Ben Heller made his debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates. In two games in June, Heller was a real Santa, including a seven-run loss in the 10th inning. Ouch. Now Heller is back. Danny Demilio stopped by to chat with the pitcher, who is still trying to make the major leagues. Heller didn’t sugarcoat his feelings in this Pirates feature.
Steelers now: More bad news for the offensive line, which looked like a failure on Saturday. An injury for Nate Herbig could mean the end of the season.
Alan Saunders has a slightly different view than me. He writes that the sky isn’t falling, but the foundation definitely needs to be improved. Here’s his Steelers analysis.
I’ve watched enough football in my life to know that this wasn’t just a preseason slip-up. This was a red flag.
NHL transfer talks, news and National Hockey Now
San Jose Hockey Now: The Trade! Edmonton did it and sent Cody Ceci and a third-round pick to the San Jose Sharks, who are currently rebuilding and have plenty of salary cap space.
Sportsnet: Oilers writer Mark Spector laid it all out – the drama, the trade, the utility and the other trade too. Spector praised the creativity of the new Oilers management, Jeff Jackson and Stan Bowman. It was a good night for the Oilers.
Washington Hockey Now: Choose your preferred time period – a walk year or a money year. With Brian MacClellan making many big moves this summer, one is being overlooked, but probably shouldn’t be – it’s a big year for former 30-goal scorer Andrew Mangiapane.
Florida Hockey Now: If you like Cup celebrations, then you should know that the Florida Panthers still carry the Cup around with them. Here’s Aaron Ekblad’s day when the Panthers defenseman took home the Cup.
Nashville Hockey Now: After years of lacking top-tier forward talent, the Nashville Predators have now acquired a few players that fit that mold. Check out this potential Nashville Predators All-Star line.
Detroit Hockey Now: A movie, and a B-movie at that. Yes, here is the truth and the devastating (and we mean devastating) Review of the new film on Amazon starring Teemu Selanne and former Detroit Red Wing Brett Hull.
