And down the stretch we come. The peak offseason dreariness offset only by the nice weather is coming to an end, and last-second speculation of the NHL trade block and free agency is going in some new directions. There’s even some intelligent speculation regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goaltending spots. In the Daily, Simon Nemec has a bit of a grudge against the New Jersey Devils; Sportsnet put together an under-25 Team Canada; the Florida Panthers are getting some very good news; and PHN shined a spotlight on a player no one is talking about among five Penguins surprises.

I need your help–I’m taking one more short trip this summer, either in the middle of this week or next. The northern leg is taken care of. But I’ve decided to ride from the northern rim down to Huntingdon and the Raystown area.

Are there any cool places to hang out and eat? I’ve only ever been to Huntingdon twice. A story I didn’t expect to share: In the late 1990s, I actually worked at a dreadful little radio station down there for a mere two days before I got fired. Canned. Bounced. The person running it had never worked in radio before, but really embraced her power despite her stunning lack of industry knowledge. Among the absurdities, I had to work a split shift, from 6-11 a.m. and then 3 to 7 p.m. She installed a weird Caesar Romero Joker laugh track over these horrible canned jokes for me to read (which I immediately shelved), and she banned national news from the news updates, which I had to read every 30 minutes. Instead, I was reading regional school lunch menus on the air for five minutes every hour. …”And at (insert next school), today they are serving tacos, and the alternative lunch is Salisbury Steak.”

Seriously, it was the very worst radio station I’ve ever heard. It still offends my professional sensibilities. Within two days of being hired, I broke the rules, and between shifts, I got a brusque voicemail telling me not to come back. Apparently, I was among many to go through that experience. It was just one of those places where a boss created a staff of broken loyalists, and it is fortunately long gone now.

Anyhoo… Are there cool places down that way, or would I be disappointed?

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Who says August is for being lazy? From our research lists to the top prospects, I hope you’re enjoying our dig through the Penguins organization and analysis. For all of it, there is one player we haven’t touched on at all. Not even a little bit, and no one has, but with a little film study, he made our list of five potential surprises in the Penguins’ training camp.

Steelers Now: Good news and bad news. Six players returned from injury, but two more are out. Alan Saunders updated the Steelers injury board.

And if you’d like updates on the sinking ship, the Pittsburgh Pirates won a late one last night. Danny Demilio also has the Pirates prospects update.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

NHLtraderumors.me: Simon Nemec wasn’t angry about being traded, but it seems he was upset because he felt New Jersey gave up on him. He’s got a bit of a chip on his shoulder, or a grudge this season.

DFO: Former NHL goalie Carter Hutton was talking about where goalie Connor Ingram will land. He made a good case for the Penguins to sign Ingram, despite the presence of Sergei Murashov and Joel Blomqvist. I’ve started the video at the beginning of the conversation (16:15):

Sportsnet: If there were another World Cup with a U25 Canadian team, who would make it for Team Canada?

New Jersey Hockey Now: Is Marty Brodeur’s all-time wins record in jeopardy of falling? The king of the 18 save victory is well out in front, BUT some of the contemporaries are catching up quickly, like Andrei Vasilevskiy and Connor Hellebuyck. Will they catch Martin Brodeur?

Boston Hockey Now: I remain surprised that the bettors are giving NO love to the Boston Bruins. They’re picked to finish near the bottom of the East despite their playoff push last season. Jack Studley has five predictions for the coming Bruins training camp.

Montreal Hockey Now: Marc Dumont takes a big swing here. On the cusp of greatness, Ivan Demidov.

Florida Hockey Now: Good news, very, very good news for the Florida Panthers. Sasha Barkov is back.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Detroit Red Wings’ search for a new GM does seem to be stuck in second gear. However, Bob Duff compared it to some other recent searches and processes, and Detroit is slow, but not the slowest. Here’s an almost comical or almost sad look at the Red Wings’ search.

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