Dec 9, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins goaltender Arturs Silovs (37) makes a save against Anaheim Ducks left wing Chris Kreider (20) during the second period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Connor Hellebuyck is stuck in self-imposed limbo on the NHL trade market because other players can block trades to Winnipeg.
Adam Fantilli is stuck in contract limbo because he’s one of the rising young players who wants Leo Carlsson’s money. And the Pittsburgh Penguins are trying to avoid being stuck in limbo altogether.
Yes, the season is here. Elsewhere in the Daily, Elias Pettersson is drawing praise from teammates for his summer prep and new mindset.
And Chris Kreider told several teams not to claim him on waivers. For those of us lamenting the irritations and extra coinage required to watch sports, I have good news in the form of bad news for a sport.
The F1 switch to Apple TV, which I understand most of you don’t really care about, has produced disastrous results. More stats were released this week, but in their biggest races, viewership was down as much as 68% compared to their previous years on ESPN.
That is massive. It’s good to know there’s a boundary, and even American F1 fans who understand that (we) live in a niche market have drawn a line and won’t pay $13 a month just for the races and to watch the otherwise insipid Morning Show.
Nope, we’ll wait for Ted Lasso to finish up, buy it for a month, then dump it. But F1 — tough luck.
And thanks for showing the other sports that they WILL lose money in the long run if they play the streaming shell game. Now, about WWE with their 30-day streaming delay…
Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Residual questions. Which young player could surprise at camp, why do players sign here despite Kyle Dubas’s reputation for overstuffing his camp rosters, and what are the best and worst-case scenarios for this Penguins season?
Vince Comunale submitted a thoughtful piece. On the 25th anniversary of 9/11, it’s a good time to look at how hockey has healed in times of strife.
Steelers Now: It’s Game 1. Here are the injuries, depth charts, forecast, predictions, and betting lines for the Steelers vs. Falcons.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now Sportsnet: The 32 Thoughts Podcast dropped some big chatter on the big names. Is Connor Hellebuyck stuck in Winnipeg because other goalies are blocking trades to the ‘Peg?
And what are his takeaways from interviews with Quinn Hughes and Zach Werenski? Here’s the podcast.
NHLtraderumors.me: Adam Fantilli skipped the Columbus Blue Jackets team golf outing as he awaits a new contract. Now, Aaron Portzlie reports there has been little to no progress between the team and the player.
The Vegas Golden Knights signed captain Mark Stone to a two-year, $18 million contract. The Athletic ($): Chris Kreider signed a one-year, $2.15 million deal with the Montreal Canadiens.
However, Pierre LeBrun reports that Kreider’s agents told teams not to claim him on waivers. Kreider left about $1.85 million on the table this season.
And buried within another story about the short shelf life remaining of the Sidney Crosby vs. Alex Ovechkin rivalry, Mark Lazerus buried a little nugget about the Seattle Kraken players who were angry about Jason Robertson rejecting a trade to Seattle. I’ve been told there are three Seattles.
There is the city known as Seattle, and there are two little towns just outside of Seattle where the tech folks have moved that are nice. TSN: A new look for Elias Pettersson?
That is the hope for the Vancouver Canucks, who are still all-in on the remaining six years of Pettersson’s contract. At least Brock Boeser sees a difference in Pettersson from this summer.
Philly Hockey Now: OK, you hate ’em, you really hate ’em, but they are also the team that is in closest competition with the Penguins. Here is the projected lineup of the Philadelphia Flyers.
