The NHL players are probably not unhappy with the latest communications from the league, as it appears revenues are so strong that they are all getting to keep more of their paychecks. Commissioner Gary Bettman also said there are no plans to discuss expansion now or in December at the next big league meeting. The NHL rumors indicate that Carter Hart is an obvious signing in Vegas after an Adin Hill injury. And did the massive training camp put the Pittsburgh Penguins behind, or is general manager Kyle Dubas right on target?

I didn’t know the date or never thought about it, but Wednesday was the 25th anniversary of my start in hockey. My God, where does the time go?

I was a music DJ–I fought my way up from the smallest of radio markets, clinging to some leaky life rafts as I kept swimming until I made it to Pittsburgh, market No. 22 at the time. After some persistence, I was hired at 104.7 the Beat, which shared management with and was down the hall from 94.5 3WS, and was one floor above WDVE.

My first day on the job, I shared the elevator with Myron Cope and Scott Paulsen. I didn’t breathe.

3WS was then the Penguins’ flagship station. I was 23 and I used to hang around the station all the time just to be seen by the big bosses and pick up some extra hours. I would linger about the station for an hour or more after shifts or pop in “to check my mailbox” and chat with everyone. The strategy worked…

On Oct. 15, 2001, the Pittsburgh Penguins fired coach Ivan Hlinka just four games into the season. There was a scheduled press conference, and I just so happened to be at the station when the bosses realized there was no one to cover it. So, they knew I was a huge sports fan, and they sent me. I grabbed the mini disc recorder with a big 3WS mic flag (those square-looking things with the logo), the keys to the 3WS Mini Cooper, which I LOVED to drive, and bolted for the Civic Arena, weaving through traffic like a madman in a go-cart.

I ended up asking a question at the presser because…well, because I could.

When I returned to the station with sound, the world had already changed. A month earlier, I had shown my mettle by giving the stations an all-day shift on 9/11, and now I did well at a presser. A week later, I was part of the Penguins radio network as a reporter and producer. I picked up extra hours at Fox Sports 970 as a producer and sports anchor. In fact, I came to be one of Stan Savran’s producers and update anchors while I was there, and sports became my primary focus as 104.7 the Beat soon ceased to be. It was no more.

My hockey career was born.

Someday, I’ll tell you how that job spawned what eventually became National Hockey Now, a few months later. Things began to happen quickly. My new immediate boss liked me, and there were plans for me to become a talk show host in the coming weeks, but he was fired, and the new boss absolutely didn’t like me, personally. And he told me so. Immediately. He fired me with a bit of a smile.

Quite literally, I was saved in the parking lot. When the VP of the cluster heard I was canned, he sent one of my guardian angels to catch me as I slowly walked toward my old green Ford Explorer. He overruled the lower boss and preserved my spot on the Pens’ network as I sat in the lobby of that gold building on top of Greentree Hill, awaiting my fate. It was the longest hour of my young career.

I still haven’t forgiven the lower boss. Like many of the athletes I cover, anger is one of my great motivators.

But my talk show was scrubbed. That was the peace offering from above to the lower boss to keep me … so with that twist, NHN was born, though I didn’t yet know it. That’s a longer story for another day. Happy Anniversary.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: General manager Kyle Dubas overstuffed training camp and then made some questionable decisions with the final roster. Did Dubas set the Penguins back this season, or is his asset management strategy right on target? It’s a heavy question of Penguins analysis.

And my producers turned the Live Chat from Wednesday into the latest No Pucks Given podcast. Or you can watch the video version here.

NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

NHLTraderumors.me: Frank Seravalli is reporting that the signing could happen any minute now. Carter Hart to the Vegas Golden Knights, especially since Adin Hill could be out for a while.

The VGK reacted brusquely a few weeks ago when The Athletic’s Mark Lazerus flew to Vegas to do a story on that possibility. I do believe that Hart deserves to resume his NHL career.

TSN: Getting this part out of the way, Gary Bettman said there is no update on the Penguins sale. More importantly, Bettman said there was no talk of expansion at the Board of Governors’ meeting this week. Nor are there plans to speak of expansion in December.

Something about the Penguins’ sale hasn’t sat right since the beginning. I’ll get into that over the coming couple of days.

Sportsnet: Uh oh. Bettman also admitted the ice rink for the 2026 Winter Olympics is behind schedule and may not be ready for tests in December. In fact, the games might be the first time skaters are on the rink.

For you draftniks, Sam Cosentino has the October edition of the 2026 Draft rankings.

Sports Business Journal: The players should party. For the first time in recent memory, the dreaded escrow account that players pay into as a safeguard against their 50/50 split with owners will be returned to the players. All of it.

Detroit Hockey Now: Is this finally the year? Finally? Off to a hot start, the Detroit Red Wings are finding ways to win.

New Jersey Hockey Now: If it weren’t for bad luck, the New Jersey Devils would have no luck at all. Now, goalie Jacob Markstrom is out for weeks.

Montreal Hockey Now: Let’s talk turkey. It couldn’t happen to a better guy. Mike Matheson is at the table for a nice new contract, and Marc Dumont looks at what it will cost the Montreal Canadiens.

Tags: nhl escrow nhl expansion nhl rumors Pittsburgh Penguins

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