Monday’s “First Call” has a positive spin on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ free-agent class. We say goodbye to Connor Heyward as he leaves the Steelers for an AFC rival. Another ex-Steeler has a new home.

The Penguins are set to face a difficult foe, and the Robert Morris hockey team is at the end of the road for 2026.

Ranking high

The Steelers are getting warm reviews for the free agency haul so far. ESPN.com analytics expert Aaron Schatz put the Steelers on his top-five list of most improved teams based on their new acquisitions.

DVOA (Defense-Adjusted Value Over Average) is a metric that measures a player’s (or team’s) performance relative to league average, adjusted for opponent strength, game situation, and down-and-distance. Based on that number, he puts the Steelers in the same top cut when it comes to roster additions versus subtractions thus far in free agency.

Regarding receiver Michael Pittman Jr., Schatz says, “The Steelers got a strong WR2 here for just a late-round pick swap, giving up a sixth-rounder and getting a seventh-rounder back. Then the Steelers signed Pittman to a three-year, $59 million extension. I’m a fan of the trade but not really the extension. However, in the short term, this is a good player and a strong addition to the Steelers’ wide receiver room.”

Schatz added, “Pittman still had a positive receiving DVOA last season in what otherwise seemed like a down year, as he dropped from 11.7 to 9.8 yards per reception. But he’s just 28 years old, so there’s room for a rebound. He’ll be more of a midrange target, while DK Metcalf stretches the field.”

In terms of cornerback Jamel Dean, Schatz liked that acquisition too.

“Dean led the NFL in my cornerback coverage DVOA metric last season, ahead of superstars such as Derek Stingley Jr. and Quinyon Mitchell,” Schatz said. “Cornerback statistics are notoriously inconsistent from season to season, so you can’t count on Dean to have another outstanding season in 2026. But he was above average in 2024 as well.”

The other four clubs in the top 5 (in no specific order) were Kansas City, New England, San Francisco and Carolina.

Leaving for Las Vegas

Now that Connor Heyward is a Las Vegas Raider, the former Steeler is opening up about how difficult it was to leave Pittsburgh.

And to leave his big brother Cameron Heyward.

“It was so hard. I’m still getting messages just saying, ‘Thank you.’ I’m super grateful for my time in Pittsburgh,” Heyward said via the team’s YouTube channel. “Playing with Cam, you don’t usually get to play with your siblings, let alone at a professional level. So I didn’t take it for granted. I loved going in every day to work with Cam’s locker being right next to mine. That was amazing.”

Also, former Steeler Van Jefferson is now signing with the Washington Commanders. That’s according to The Athletic.

After catching just 24 passes for 27 yards and two touchdowns in 2023, Jefferson went to Tennessee last year. With the Titans, the wide receiver totaled 350 yards and one TD on 29 catches.

 

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Tall task

The Penguins aren’t just playing the best team in hockey Monday night, they are playing one of the best home teams in hockey too.

The Colorado Avalanche are 44-12-9. That’s good for 97 points, three more than Dallas in the Western Conference and seven more than any team in the East (Carolina, 90).

The Avs have 23 home wins. That’s the most in the West and behind only Carolina in the entire league. The Hurricanes have 24 wins on home ice. Dan Muse’s team has to go to Raleigh on Wednesday.

The Avalanche have a plus-84 goal differential, 30 better than anyone else in the league. Dallas is next at plus-54.

Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon leads the league in goals (44), is second in points (109), and is third in assists (65). As a team, the Avs lead the NHL in goals per game at 3.75. Oddly, their power play isn’t good, just 16%. But their 82.7% penalty kill is fifth in the NHL (Pittsburgh is second at 84.2%).

Pittsburgh lost both games to the Avalanche last year by a combined score of 10-3.

The Penguins enter play Monday with 81 points, tied with the New York Islanders for second place, nine points behind Metropolitan Division-leading Carolina. Fourth-place Columbus has 79 points, just two back of the last automatic qualifier slot.

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Colonials come up short

Robert Morris’ hockey season came to an end Sunday. The Colonials lost a decisive Game 3 of their Atlantic Hockey semifinal against Sacred Heart.

After splitting the first two games of that series, SHU shut out RMU 5-0 on Sunday to clinch the series victory. That means the second-seeded Pioneers will face top-seeded Bentley in a one-game playoff to go to the NCAA Tournament.

This will be Sacred Heart’s first championship game appearance since 2010.

As for the third-seeded Colonials, their season ends two wins shy of a berth in the NCAA Tournament. RMU finished in 10th place a year ago.