NHL Insider Drops Outlandish Take on David Pastrnak’s Bruins Future

David Pastrnak had one of the crowning moments of his Boston Bruins career on Tuesday night. He scored his 400th career goal with all his teammates showing their appreciation, then added his 401st to help lead the Bruins to a second consecutive win over their rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs. With everything trending right with the Bruins and Pastrnak specifically, apparently, now is a great time to start talking about the Bruins potentially trading him away?

NHL Insider and long-time Bruins reporter Jimmy Murphy delivered this take on his Bruins Vibes podcast. He thinks that the disrespect of Pastrnak not earning the captaincy could mean that the Bruins are going to trade him away. My question would be: do we really think Pastrnak cares if the letter on his jersey is a C or an A, and does that really have some subliminal messaging about Pastrnak's future?

In my opinion, the Bruins are an Original Six franchise that values the list of players who have worn the letter. Boston made the correct choice to make Patrice Bergeron the heir apparent once Zdeno Chara left the team, but they admittedly jumped the gun a bit on giving Brad Marchand the letter. It's not that Marchand didn't deserve the letter, but they could've let the decision breathe a bit and figure out precisely what the future looked like.

The organization has plenty of time to give Pastrnak the letter. Why not appease the other candidates in the locker room a bit by putting them on equal ground with Pastrnak, and let the superstar separate himself in the conversation? He has been carrying the team on his back ever since Marchand left, and his leadership skills have been developing in tandem, according to all accounts from clips released by the team.

NHL Insider delivers an incredibly outlandish take on David Pastrnak's Bruins future

It's fine to throw out a hot take now and then, but this seems like a bizarre one from Murphy. Pastrnak is leading this team from a projected last-place finish in the Atlantic Division to tying the first-place Montreal Canadiens in points over a month into the season. While the Bruins likely finish somewhere in the middle of those two outcomes, the team has proven that this isn't going to be a full-blown teardown.

The front office now has to be wondering if they even want to be sellers this season. It'd send the wrong message to the locker room and the fans if a team that is looking competitive against some of the Eastern Conference's contenders were to sell at the trade deadline. If it'd send the wrong message to trade a player like Pavel Zacha, then trading Pastrnak would be a slap in the face to everyone.

Lions’ Dan Campbell takes firm stance on NFL’s most debated play

The Detroit Lions shook off last week’s stumble against the Minnesota Vikings with a commanding road victory over the Washington Commanders on Sunday. Head coach Dan Campbell seized control of offensive play-calling duties himself, and the gamble paid off in a big way.

Now comes the hard part. The Lions travel to Philadelphia this weekend, where they’ll face an Eagles team that has weaponized one of football’s most debated plays.

The “Tush Push” remains a source of endless frustration for opposing NFL fans and coaches alike. Many insist the Eagles regularly get away with early jumps that should draw flags, and some believe they’ve caught favorable breaks on fumble calls too.

Campbell, though, isn’t buying into the complaints. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, he made it clear he views the controversy through a different lens entirely.

“I’m a purist,” Campbell said. “You take something else out of the game, then we’re taking the next thing out of the game, then we take another thing out of the game, and pretty soon we don’t have pads anymore…. It’s something a team’s got a niche, they’ve found something, they’re good at it, and it’s for everybody else to stop.”

It’s a refreshing take in a league where coaches rarely pass up chances to complain about officiating gray areas. Philadelphia probably appreciates the endorsement, even if Campbell’s peers don’t share his perspective.

Most around the NFL expect the Tush Push to land back on the offseason agenda, mainly because officials keep struggling to call it correctly.

Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts (1) lines up for the tush push play on the goal line against the Kansas City Chiefs during Super Bowl LIX at Ceasars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The play nearly got axed before this season after NFL owners debated player-safety concerns but ultimately let it stand.

For now, the rulebook says it’s fair game. That means Detroit’s defense better figure out how to stop it Sunday.