“First Call” opens the week with a different twist on the Malik Willis conversation. A former Steelers defensive lineman will be leaving his current team soon.

Pittsburgh native Vince Trocheck could get traded before Friday’s deadline in the NHL. An ex-Penguin got into a goalie fight.

And the Robert Morris men’s hockey team checked a noteworthy box to wrap up the third regular season of the program’s relaunch.

Millions for Malik

The price tag for free-agent quarterback Malik Willis may not be as steep as originally projected.

Last week, a report came out that Willis could be commanding as much as $30 million per season with a free agent contract this spring.

Now, NFL insider Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com is tamping down that story a bit.

“A team offering him $30-plus million per year doesn’t appear realistic,” Fowler posted over the weekend. “Many front offices believe the more accurate comp is Justin Fields’ deal with the Jets last year (two years, $40 million). Could that jump up due to cap inflation and/or multiple suitors? Sure. A range of $20-25 million annually is certainly a good starting point. But Willis hitting the $30 million threshold as a player with six career starts would surprise some of the teams at the combine.”

Some have linked the Steelers to Willis. But there hasn’t been very much concrete evidence tying the two to each other.

Fowler drew a connection between Willis and the Miami Dolphins. He also seemed to think that Arizona could be in play.

How about Hargrave?

Former Steeler Javon Hargrave may be available on the free-agent market. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Hargrave and his Minnesota Vikings teammate Aaron Jones have been told they will be released if the team can’t trade them.

That’d be over $18 million in cap savings for the franchise.

The Steelers need pieces along the defensive line. It may be interesting to see if they consider bringing him back. Hargrave had 3½ sacks and 52 tackles (18 solo) last year. He also had a fumble recovery and a forced fumble.

Between Pittsburgh and Minnesota, the 33-year-old Hargrave has also played with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. He was last in Pittsburgh back in 2019.

 

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Extra spicy

In Pittsburgh, former Penguins goalie Louis Domingue is known for two things.

• His Cinderella rise to fame during the 2022 postseason.

• His nickname, “Spicy Pork and Broccoli.”

Now he might be known for a goalie fight as well.

Domingue is currently with the Charlotte Checkers of the AHL. His team was trailing 5-1 to the Springfield Thunderbirds late in the third period Saturday night. That’s when he dropped the gloves with opposing goalie Will Cranley.

And it looks like Domingue got the better of the brawl.

Domingue is 3-3-0 with a goals-against average of 3.20 and a save percentage of .831 in seven games with Charlotte this season. He played one game in the NHL for the New York Rangers in each of the last two seasons.

On the move?

Upper St. Clair’s Vince Trocheck could be getting traded.

The New York Rangers center has been the subject of multiple trade rumors. Sidney Crosby is injured. Might the Pens look to acquire the hometown product?

Elliotte Friedman of Sportsnet in Canada said during his “32 Thoughts” podcast that teams in the NHL are expecting the Penguins to be in on any movement that may surround a possible deal for Trocheck.

But that chatter isn’t coming from Pittsburgh.

“I heard some teams said that they suspected Pittsburgh could be around Trocheck. He’s obviously from there. I think he’d be a great roster fit there. I just don’t know that the Penguins, where they are, are going to be making the kind of trade it would take to get him,” Friedman said. “I’ve always kept an eye on Detroit, because they tried so hard to get him when he was a UFA a couple years ago.”

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Trocheck just won a gold medal with Team USA in Italy last month. He also scored a shootout goal to beat the Penguins on Saturday.

Trocheck has 38 points this season. He will make $5.6 million against the salary cap every year between now and 2028-29.

Quick return

Just three years into the program’s reboot, the Robert Morris men’s hockey team is already in the top three of Atlantic Hockey.

The Colonials swept Mercyhurst this weekend by final scores of 5-3 and 4-1. They concluded the regular season with 45 points, third place in the AHA.

That means RMU gets to host sixth-seeded Air Force in the quarterfinals of the AHA playoffs this weekend. The Falcons will be in town for a best-of-three series on Neville Island. The first two games will be played Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m. If a third game is necessary, faceoff will be at 5 p.m. Sunday. The two teams split a pair of games in Colorado Springs back in December.

RMU’s hockey program was shut down for two years after the 2020-21 season. This is the program’s third year back on the ice and its best result since the relaunch. Derek Schooley’s team finished in 10th place last year and 11th in its return season.

The Robert Morris men’s basketball team will also host a home Horizon League postseason game at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the UPMC Events Center against Youngstown State.