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RICHMOND, Va. -- "Yep, there's this week's strip."
Not thirty seconds had passed since Tristan Jarry's shot found the back of the Lightning net Thursday night that I decided to shift the Cartoon Canon strip I'd been working on to the back burner, in favor of one memorializing the moment I'd just witnessed. A little soon, sure... but goalie goals are just the sort of rare, quirky and entertaining happenstances that I love to focus on in my hockey comics, and considering that had Ken Wregget, Jean-Sebastian Aubin, Tomas Vokoun or some other Penguin of the past had scored an empty-netter, I would surely have centered a strip on it years ago... so why wait?
For prints and books, including my new comic book 1919: An Old-Timey Hockey Tales Story, visit my site and/or the new DK Pittsburgh Sports HQ/shop at 224 Fifth Avenue, Downtown!
More must-reads:
- Blue Jackets sign former first-round pick to professional tryout
- Red Wings set to finally honor franchise legend Sergei Fedorov
- The '2024 NFL rushing TD leaders' quiz
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Jack Roslovic's waiting game may have cost him potential contract offer
Free agent Jack Roslovic’s waiting game may have cost him a potential contract offer from one team. The Canucks have “cooled off on pursuing” the top remaining UFA, writes The Athletic’s Thomas Drance. There were talks between the Canucks and Roslovic’s camp last month, Rick Dhaliwal of CHEK and The Athletic said at the time, leaving them as one of a small list of confirmed suitors. It wasn’t without precedent, either. Vancouver had approached Roslovic last summer as well, before he ended up taking a one-year, $2.8M contract with the Hurricanes. That deal saw him tie his career-high of 22 goals in 81 games while also seeing more time at center than he did in 2023-24, likely sparking some optimism that he could help fill out the Canucks’ underwhelming depth down the middle. Nonetheless, it appears Vancouver’s braintrust has now pivoted to only pursuing long-term solutions to supplement anchor Elias Pettersson and, ideally, injury-prone but high-ceiling Filip Chytil in a top-nine role. “Vancouver is still in the market to land a centre, but the trade market is viewed as a more likely and realistic route of addressing the club’s greatest remaining need,” Drance said. “Vancouver would execute a trade today if the deal returned a credible middle-six centre — even if that centre had more of a defensive bent to their game.” The Canucks still have $3.27M in cap space left to facilitate a deal, per PuckPedia. As for Roslovic, he’s getting into crunch time with only one-year deals and PTOs available for most everyone at this point of the offseason. Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman reported in early August that there were five teams with legitimate interest in him but that he was taking his time to make a decision. Even with that intrigue and proven top-nine capability without much risk of regression — he’s still just 28 — a multiyear pact may simply be out of reach for him at this point. At the beginning of the summer, AFP Analytics projected him to receive a three-year deal worth north of $4M per season. With the way the market has broken, though, he might need to settle for another one-year deal at a comparable value to last year’s $2.8M cap hit.
Steelers undrafted rookie reportedly upset Mike Tomlin before being cut
The Pittsburgh Steelers surprisingly had a few quality undrafted free agents during 2025 training camp and preseason, as many of them have put up an actual fight to make it to the 53-man roster. Unfortunately, there is very little room on the team, so some very tough decisions will have to be made on that front. Guys like Max Hurleman and JJ Galbreath have been stating their case throughout camp and into gameday, giving the coaching staff a good problem. One decision was surprisingly easy, however. During his weekly Q A chat, insider Ray Fittipaldo was asked about undrafted rookie Roc Taylor and why he was let go right after the preseason Week 2 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He spoke about something that happened right before that contest. "[Roc Taylor] actually got in Tomlin's doghouse at the joint practice," Fittipaldo said. "Not sure if that's the sole reason he was cut, but maybe part of it." Fittipaldo would not expand on what happened, but head coach Mike Tomlin saw enough of the rookie before gameday. It looked like Taylor would at least get first dibs on a practice-squad spot if he was released on roster cutdown day, but now, it seems like his chance of developing in Pittsburgh is gone entirely. Now, he is just hoping someone gives him a call for a chance to be on a practice squad elsewhere. It seemed like Taylor's stock was rising after preseason Week 2. Hurleman had a very rough game, and the former Memphis Tigers standout had three receptions for 39 yards against the Bucs. He was the second-leading receiver on the team, only behind Roman Wilson. It looked like he was forcing himself onto a roster spot, but apparently, Tomlin might have just been waiting until after the game to tell him to pack his bags and try again somewhere else. Steelers' recent receiver issues make Taylor cut even more concerning What makes this decision even more rough is the fact that the Steelers have three receivers who are not healthy at all. Calvin Austin III is trying to return after missing multiple weeks of practice with an injury, Ben Skowronek recently developed a toe issue and utility man Jonnu Smith has barely participated in practice since July. Spots were opening up for undrafted rookies to take, but Taylor may have said or done something inexcusable enough to lose that chance. The Steelers entered training camp with questionable wide receiver depth, and now it's only more concerning. Wilson's recent development has been the bright spot of the preseason at that position, as Scotty Miller has been taking over the role of WR3 since the game against Tampa Bay. That's why they brought in another possibly injured veteran, Gabe Davis, for a visit, and now they may be hoping that he does not sign elsewhere. Instead of Taylor taking the opportunity to push for a roster spot, guys like Hurleman and Brandon Johnson will be looking to make the team and stick around as numerous players recover from their injuries. With Davis having another visit on Wednesday and the Steelers playing in the preseason finale on Thursday, he most likely will not be signed until after that game. That means the bubble players can prove to the team that they don't need him. It's not public in regards to what Taylor did to get himself in trouble, but he could have had this prime opportunity to be on an active roster as an undrafted rookie. He could have easily been above Hurleman and Johnson on the depth chart. Instead, he is just hoping he makes any team's practice squad now.
Shaquille O'Neal makes peace with longtime enemy — mostly
Shaquille O'Neal and Dwight Howard patched things up Sunday after years of feuding. But even while describing their rapprochement, O'Neal couldn't keep from teasing his longtime nemesis. The "Big Aristotle" was at the BIG3 playoffs Sunday to watch Howard's L.A. Riot play the Chicago Triplets. In the middle of describing to Rachel Nichols how he and Howard had made peace, O'Neal broke off his explanation to make fun of Howard for missing a dunk. The two Hall of Fame centers had sparred for years, despite their common ground as former members of the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers. Some of the tension seemed to be due to Howard adopting O'Neal's "Superman" nickname, though O'Neal claimed to Nichols that he was simply being tough on Howard to motivate him. That explanation doesn't account for the time O'Neal mocked Howard for playing basketball in the Taiwanese league or the decade-plus he's spent roasting Howard on his podcast, in public appearances and on "Inside the NBA." Still, it appears that the two have made peace. Despite O'Neal being left off the original list of presenters, he insisted that he'll be among a group of Hall of Famers inducting Howard Sept. 6, including Dominique Wilkins, Robert Parish, Dennis Rodman and Patrick Ewing. It means that two of the most dominant big men of their eras have finally buried the hatchet. It's added a new level of interest to the Hall of Fame ceremonies, and it should be a sweet moment between O'Neal and Howard. As long as Howard doesn't mention Superman.
Cardinals Writer Makes Controversial JJ Wetherholt Assessment
The St. Louis Cardinals have seemingly waved the white flag on the season and the fan base is already preparing to riot for the call up and big league debut of top prospect JJ Wetherholt. Wetherholt is slashing .310/.403/.670 with nine home runs, a triple, and seven doubles in less than 30 games at the Triple-A level. Thomas Gauvain of Redbird Rants recently suggested that Wetherholt wasn't in the big leagues because he is blocked from receiving consistent playing time. Why hasn't JJ Wetherholt been called up yet? "Even with third baseman Nolan Arenado and second baseman Brendan Donovan on the IL, St. Louis Cardinals manager Oli Marmol is trying to squeeze in playing time for Masyn Winn, Nolan Gorman, and Thomas Saggese," Gauvain wrote. "Alec Burleson and Ivan Herrera are rotating between corner outfield duties and designated hitter appearances. There's not much time or space for Wetherholt on the major-league roster as things currently stand. "You don't promote a prospect of Wetherholt's caliber unless you intend on playing him every day. There's an argument that you make the roster work around JJ Wetherholt rather than the other way around, but the focus throughout the 2025 season in the majors has been to give young players full runway to prove their value or lack thereof. Bumping down Thomas Saggese, who is still only 23 and is 11 for his last 41, and Nolan Gorman, who has a .936 OPS over his last 11 games, for Wetherholt is a difficult argument to make." Every player listed who is supposedly blocking Wetherholt from receiving consistent playing time is under contract for next season, too. Would that mean the Cardinals would leave their top prospect in Triple-A next year? This doesn't make too much sense, as Wetherholt is the level of prospect that a team builds around. If he was the team's fifth or sixth ranked prospect, this argument would make sense. But he's the fifth or sixth ranked prospect in all of baseball. The star infielder has proved he can dominate at Triple-A. It's time for the Cardinals to bring him up to the big leagues to see what he can do. The rest of the roster can form around him.
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