First Call: T.J. Watt still beating himself up over pec injury; Craig Patrick endorses Penguins' hire of Kyle Dubas

Monday’s “First Call” features some personal introspection from Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt. Kyle Dubas gets a hearty endorsement from a former Penguins general manager. A precedent is set for NHL buyout candidates.

And an ex-Pirates player makes an interesting decision.

Full ‘Watt’ age in 2023?

Former NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt was on Ben Roethlisberger’s podcast (“Footbahlin with Ben Roethlisberger”) this weekend. Among the topics discussed was Watt’s torn pectoral muscle in the 2022 season opener against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Steelers won the game 23-20 in overtime. But Watt was injured on a play with 16 seconds remaining in regulation and didn’t return until Nov. 13. He was also penalized on the play for illegal hands to the face.

“I had (Bengals quarterback) Joe Burrow locked up. My arm got stuck behind me. That’s how I tore my pec,” Watt told the former Steelers quarterback. “The amount of times I’ve replayed that play in my mind… If I had just kept my hands low, there’s no hands to the face, A. Then, B, if I just stay on my feet and wrap him up and take him down, the game is over — pec is fine. The amount of times I drove myself nuts thinking like that.”

Watt went on to mention that both of his NFL veteran brothers, J.J. and Derek, suffered torn pectoral muscles, and they were bracing him for the worst — season-ending injured reserve.

That didn’t happen. But T.J. Watt said, even though he returned for the last nine games of the season, he was never himself.

“As soon as I came back, it never really got to 100%,” Watt said. “It was just every little thing. I had a rib (injury). I had a thumb. Just one of those years for me where I just could never get 100%, fully healthy. It was a little frustrating.”

When Roethlisberger asked if Watt felt good now, the three-time All-Pro answered, “I feel great now. I really do. It’s been a great offseason.”

Watt had 4½ sacks in the nine games he played after coming back from the injury.

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A-plus from Patrick

Former Penguins general manager Craig Patrick is giving a thumbs up to the hire of Kyle Dubas as the franchise’s president of hockey operations.

Speaking with me on 105.9 The X last week about the upcoming 3Ice event in Pittsburgh, Patrick endorsed the decision of the franchise to bring Dubas on board.

“I think it’s a great hire. I don’t know him. I read a lot about him. I’m glad he brought in (assistant general manager) Jason Spezza, too, because they’ve worked together before. I think that’s a great hire for the Penguins,” Patrick said Thursday.

Dubas is renowned for his expertise in the area of hockey analytics, and Patrick says he sees Dubas’ skills in that regard as being a significant asset for the franchise.

“He’s one of the premier guys with analytics from what I understand,” Patrick continued. “The Penguins have a good analytics group. I sit next to the analytics people. So I’ve enjoyed getting to know them and understanding what they’re doing. They’re relied on heavily and Kyle will be upgrading to make the analytics team the best it can be.”

Patrick won two Stanley Cups as the Penguins GM in 1991 and 1992. He is now a pro scout for the club.

Who is next?

Many are wondering when (not if) the Penguins will buy out the contract of Mikael Granlund.

The object of an ill-advised trade executed by former general manager Ron Hextall, Granlund scored just one goal during his 21 games as a Penguin. According to CapFriendly.com, the 31-year-old forward is signed through the 2024-25 season with a cap hit of $5 million.

One prominent player has already been bought out by the Vancouver Canucks. It’s defenseman Oliver Ekman-Larsson. He was scheduled to carry a $7.26 million charge against the Canucks’ salary cap.

Massive buyout for Oliver Ekman-Larsson sprinkled over the next 8 years. The #Canucks are paying him $19.5 million in real cash to go away, per @CapFriendly. pic.twitter.com/zSwNBPHLPh

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) June 16, 2023

The NHL’s buyout window began Friday and will run through June 30.

Via Pittsburgh Hockey Now, a potential Granlund buyout counts $833,333 against the cap for 2023-24, then $1.833 million for three years, a savings of over $3 million in Year 2, but a cost of $1.833 million in Years 3 and 4.

I’ll pass

Before playing for the Pittsburgh Pirates from 2016-18, third baseman David Freese won a World Series ring with the St. Louis Cardinals. He was the 2011 NLCS and 2011 World Series MVP.

For those achievements, Freese received induction to the team’s Hall of Fame museum last week via a fan vote. But he declined the honor, essentially suggesting he wasn’t comfortable accepting it.

David Freese, a hometown kid who grew up looking up at #Cardinals greats before he became a Cardinal, explains his decision to decline induction into the #Stlcards Hall of Fame.

His quote: pic.twitter.com/8WNYRRZjGd

— Derrick Goold (@dgoold) June 17, 2023

Cardinals president Bill DeWitt III replied via a statement, saying, “Although we are disappointed that David has declined to be inducted into our Hall of Fame, we respect his decision and look forward to celebrating his great Cardinals career in other ways going forward. He is always welcome at Busch Stadium.”

Freese hit .286 (.783 OPS) in St. Louis, with 44 home runs over that period, making an All-Star appearance in 2012.