Welcome to another edition of Three Majors and a Minor. Today we will be talking about the recent changes with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Sidney Crosby rumors, and the Minnesota Wild halting the Honda West Division. Ready!?! Here we go…
THE PENGUINS ARE UNDER NEW OWNERSHIP
Well, not really but they do have a new General Manager and Director of Hockey Operations. Ron Hextall and Brian Burke joined the Penguins organization earlier in the week after Jim Rutherford decided to step down. Hextall’s last job was with rivals Philadelphia Flyers so that should be interesting while Brian Burke had been working for Sportsnet in Canada.
Burke seems to already have a plan in place to return Pittsburgh to glory telling The Fan Morning Show in Pittsburgh:
I’m sure the Tampa Bay Lightning disagree with his thoughts but having a character like Burke back in the game is never a bad thing.
CROSBY TO COLORADO
Staying with Pittsburgh the rumors started as sound as Burke and Hextall were announced that center Sidney Crosby was going to be traded. It’s highly unlikely with both Burke and Hextall seemingly wanting to win, but if a rebuild becomes the direction before the trade deadline then it’s a lot more possible. Darren Dreger of TSN mentioned on the Overdrive radio show that Colorado “makes a lot of sense to me” as a possible trade destination and the internet went into meltdown.
Sure it makes a lot of sense with Crosby’s good friend Nathan MacKinnon leading the Avalanche, but what both teams would have to give up makes it a little less plausible. The Avalanche are building a dynasty of young stars to compete for the next decade. Blowing that up for a few years of an elite talent in his twilight doesn’t make sense.
WILD WRECK HAVOC
The Minnesota Wild have wreaked havoc in the Honda West Division, but off the ice rather than on it. The Wild had at one point 13 players on the NHL COVID Protocol list and haven’t played since the 2nd of February. It looks like they will resume play this Tuesday (February 16th) against the Los Angeles Kings. The Wild will have to make up games against the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, and Arizona Coyotes before the end of the season.
PANTHERS PURRING
I had a pop at the Florida Panthers during our Power Rankings saying “It’s nice to see one team play in front of a full house though as the Panthers allowing all their fans back in. All five of them.” Well, fans or no fans the Panthers are proving to be a force to be reckoned with early in the season. Holding an 8-1-2 record going into Saturday’s game against the Lightning, the Panthers held the third-best points percentage behind the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs. A 6-1 loss against the reigning Stanley Cup Champions may bring them back down to earth, but they still sit second in the Discover Central Division.
