First Call: Steelers, Giants face O-line questions; Matt Murray and NHL goalie pool; Pitt star shines in NBA playoffs

Wednesday’s “First Call” looks at a shared concern for both the Steelers and the New York Giants in advance of Monday Night Football. A former Pitt basketball player is emerging in the NBA playoffs. And the NHL goalie rumor mill may have one less name in the hopper.

So what does that mean for the Penguins’ Matt Murray?

Sounds familiar

The Steelers won’t be the only team with offensive line questions Monday night.

The New York Giants are figuring some things out as well. As of Tuesday, the club had yet to name a starting center. It’s expected to be either Spencer Pulley or Nick Gates.

“There’s been a push back either way,” said head coach Joe Judge on Monday morning via Giants Wire. “Both guys competed hard, made some gains throughout training camp. We’re going to go through another day or so. I’m going to talk to the players before we go ahead and decide anything internally.”

The team released an “unofficial” depth chart Monday afternoon. Gates was listed as the first-team center followed by Pulley and rookie Shane Lemieux.

So sadly, Pittsburgh won’t be playing against Lemieux. He does wear No. 66, by the way.

As for the Steelers, they’ll be starting a new right tackle — reportedly Zach Banner. David DeCastro might not be able to play due to injury at right guard. So Stefen Wisniewski may have to slide into that role. And Matt Feiler will move inside from right tackle to left guard.

Goalie carousel

If goaltender Matt Murray is going to be moved by the Penguins — or leave as a restricted free agent — he needs a place to go.

And the goalie market is supposed to be flooded with netminders looking for work this offseason.

One such player was supposed to be Jacob Markstrom. It was believed that Vancouver might let him walk as an unrestricted free agent, especially given how Thatcher Demko stood out late in the playoffs before their Western Conference semifinal defeat to the Vegas Golden Knights.

But Canucks general manager Jim Benning is insisting that Markstrom is part of their future plans. According to TSN.ca, “Benning told reporters Tuesday that he spoke with the Swedish netminder’s agent on Monday and will work this week to get a deal done that makes both the Canucks and Markstrom happy.”

If Markstrom stays in Vancouver, that’s one less spot for Murray to land. But it’s also one less goaltender in the mix for one of the teams allegedly interested in a new player between the pipes. Those clubs are believed to include Colorado, Toronto, Edmonton and Calgary.

Backhanded slap

In an attempt to praise his new quarterback, running back Leonard Fournette sure did bury his previous signal callers.

Recently signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Fournette had this to say about playing with Tom Brady.

“For the first time in my life, I really have a quarterback,” Leonard Fournette said of joining Tom Brady.

— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) September 8, 2020

Yikes! I’m sure Gardner Minshew and Blake Bortles really enjoyed reading that. They were Fournette’s QBs in Jacksonville.

To a degree, Fournette has a point, even if he was indelicate about making it.

He totaled 2,631 yards rushing over three seasons with the Jags. But a lot of that came against loaded boxes that didn’t have respect for those passers. So it was heavy lifting for Fournette.

That said, he did catch 76 balls last year, mostly from Minshew. With all of Tampa’s weapons this year, he likely won’t get as many passes from Brady in 2020.

Wanamaker wants a ring

Former Pitt basketball player Brad Wanamaker left Oakland back in 2011.

But — after a long, winding path — he’s suddenly carving out a nice spot for himself in the NBA with the Boston Celtics. In fact, the former Panther just posted 15 points against Toronto in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Wanamaker has played all over the place. Italy, the NBA D-League, France, Germany and Turkey before eventually coming back to the United States when he joined the Celtics in 2018.

At 31, he played 71 games this year for the Celtics, averaging 6.9 points over 19 minutes per game.

Game 6 is Wednesday. If the Celtics win, they move on to the Eastern Conference finals.

Hey, hey J.A.

On the topic of long-forgotten Pittsburghers, J.A. Happ is still chugging along with the New York Yankees.

On Tuesdat, the 37-year-old started against one of his former employers, the Toronto Blue Jays.

Happ went 6 1/3 innings and only allowed two earned runs. He had 10 strikeouts against just two walks. But he suffered the loss in a 2-1 Yankees defeat.

He’s now 1-2 with a 4.31 ERA. The Yankees are in third place, 6.5 games back of AL East-leading Tampa Bay and three games back of the second place Jays. They’ve lost five games in a row and seven-of-eight.