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Need a one-stop shop to catch up on the top sports stories big and small? Time Out For Sports airs Mondays on WFAE's "All Things Considered" and has what you need to know about everything from Charlotte-area high school football highlights to the latest updates on the Carolina Panthers.

The Canes make big moves and Progressive passes on continuing Mayfield commercials

Brent Burns/Twitter
Brent Burns had the third-highest average NHL skating time last season, clocking in at 26:09 and had 54 points in 82 games last season for the Sharks.

The Carolina Hurricanes barely had time to process the loss of free-agent forward Vincent Trocheck to the Metropolitan Division rival New York Rangers on a seven-year deal worth $39.4 million after the team pulled off a deal with the salary cap stretched Vegas Golden Knights to acquire forward Max Pacioretty and defenseman Dylan Coghlan and picked up defenseman Brent Burns and a minor-leaguer from the San Jose Sharks for two players and a draft pick.

The 33-year-old Pacioretty finished the previous season with 37 points (19 goals, 18 assists) in 39 games despite losing a lot of time due to lower-body injuries and wrist surgery. He signed a four-year, $28 million contract with Vegas on September 10, 2018 (average yearly value: $7 million). It has one season left.

Burns brings a lot of veteran presence to the locker room. He is renowned as one of the NHL's greatest shot-producing players. In the 2016–17 season, when he earned the Norris Trophy as the league's best defenseman, he led all players with 320 shots. The upcoming season will be his 18th in the league. Burns had the third-highest average NHL skating time last season, clocking in at 26:09 and had 54 points in 82 games last season for the Sharks. He fills the hole left when the Canes traded right-sided, puck-moving defenseman Tony DeAngelo to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Hurricanes play-by-play announcer Mike Maniscalco called the moves a good fit for the team both on and off the ice.

"The Hurricanes addressed two of the biggest needs to the roster with the addition of defenseman Brent Burns and left wing Max Pacioretty," Maniscalco told WFAE. "Bringing in two veterans that will have big roles on and off the ice for the Hurricanes. Burns is still one of the elite offensive defensemen in the game and should be an excellent fit to quarterback the Canes' power play. Pacioretty is a scoring winger that plugs in immediately to the Canes' top 6 and a respected leader off the ice. While the focus will be on Burns and Pacioretty, the additions of defenseman Dylan Coghlan and forward Ondrej Kase will provide more NHL depth to an already strong roster. Coghlan at 24 years old is ready to take on a bigger role in the league and Kase can provide the depth scoring the Canes can use. These moves all fit for a team that feels their window to win a championship is open."

Progressive passes on Mayfield

The Panthers landed Baker Mayfield in a trade with the Cleveland Browns last week and while the former No. 1 overall pick and Heisman Trophy winner might not have the moxie of a Cam Newton, he certainly isn’t the second coming of a Chris Weinke. But Mayfield may have already made his first off-field mistake in Charlotte.

He recently lamented that he wanted to do more “At Home with Baker Mayfield” commercials with Progressive Insurance, including one where he would be moving out of his digs at Cleveland’s FirstEnergy Stadium. He called it a “missed opportunity.”

I had a boss in the restaurant biz who used to say, “head down and hands busy.” I think that might be the best advice for Mayfield these days. Forget about commercials. Win the starting job, win over the locker room and win over the fan base. Statements like this are a bad look.

The Knights honor McMillon

Billy McMillon will be formally admitted into the Charlotte Baseball Round Table of Honor by the Charlotte Knights on Thursday, July 14. McMillon, a star for the Knights from 1996 to 1997, will be honored prior to the game against the Lehigh Valley IronPigs at 7:04 p.m. (Triple-A affiliate of the Philadelphia Phillies). McMillon, who was inducted into the International League Hall of Fame in 2019, works as a coach for the Rochester Red Wings at the moment (Triple-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals).

In other Knights news, Friday night's game is Mental Health Awareness Night at the Truist Field. In this video, infielder Jake Burger opens up about his own struggles with mental health.

Commander Dan takes to the high seas

Nationally, in the midst of its inquiry into how the NFL team handled alleged workplace violations, the House Committee on Oversight and Reform has been attempting to depose Washington Commanders owner Dan Snyder for weeks. After being asked and refusing to appear before the committee with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell, a subpoena for his testimony has been in the hands of U.S. Marshalls. The only problem is that Snyder has taken to the high seas, where U.S. Marshalls are unable to serve him. So, while he sits on the only yacht with an IMAX theater in the world on it, he has informed the committee that he will be out of the country until late August. At some point, Snyder will have to appear before Congress if he intends to return to watch his team compete in the NFL season in September.

However, Snyder finally consented Wednesday to participate virtually in the committee hearing on July 28. He would not be forced to answer questions while under oath because he would be there willingly and not as a result of the subpoena, according to committee chair Carolyn Maloney.

Maloney stated in a letter that it would be highly unethical for Snyder to use the same strategy to hide material from the Committee because of his worrisome history of utilizing NDAs to conceal workplace wrongdoing, behavior that is at the center of our investigation.

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Robb Crocker is a digital editor with WFAE. Originally from New Jersey, Robb grew up in the Washington, D.C. area. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University, where majored in print and broadcast journalism and also studied English and creative writing. He earned a Master's degree in Communication from Rutgers University and is currently a Ph.D. candidate at VCU's Media, Art & Text program. He is a veteran news/sports reporter and digital editor with stints at the Washington Post, Hanley Wood magazines, Richmond.com, WTVR CBS 6 and WRIC ABC 8. He has also produced the Writing Our Way Out podcast.