Will Trade Market Open Up? Penguins Gut Punch

The Pittsburgh Penguins may have helped to dislodge a clogged NHL trade market when they moved Tristan Jarry to the Edmonton Oilers Friday, followed by the Vancouver Canucks dropping off Quinn Hughes in Minnesota Friday night. NHL executives are hopeful things start moving. The Penguins have a rough weekend. We’re talking waking up without your wallet and watch and a bad tattoo in a strange city, and no memory of how you got there sort of bad, as they again gagged away a large lead in an overtime loss.

Elsewhere in the Daily, Hughes reflected on his trade out of Vancouver and didn’t exactly express remorse. Montreal Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes stole two points from the Edmonton Oilers, and it seems the Philadelphia Flyers kept calling about Hughes but didn’t like the price.

Still. Unbelievable. I’ve never seen anything like what the Penguins are going through. If coach Dan Muse overreacts with changes, I wouldn’t blame him. The locker room is devastated. As Brett Michaels once said, “Give me something to believe in.”

All of you people who are going to the Steelers game tonight, God bless ya. Also, for those of you who park all over the North Side to avoid paying $50 or $75, I’ve got some bad news. The plows still haven’t been over here. No joke. I couldn’t sleep last night, so I took a short walk–shock therapy, I guess–and nothing is plowed or shoveled. Nothing.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: You want the recap? You got the recap. It was a muted, plodding sort of game against the Utah Mammoth, but the Penguins led 3-0 after two periods, and Sergei Murashov looked really good. Then the third period started, and everything, including Murashov, imploded. An absolutely unbelievable game. The Penguins lost.

OK, settle in. I think the Report Card is a must-read. Before you talk, comment, opine, or dish out an extraneous “they should,” we’ll take you inside the locker room and hear from the head coach. It’s not what they said, but how they said it, and what they didn’t say, to which everyone should be paying attention from the Penguins locker room.

I haven’t seen Sidney Crosby at such a loss since early March 2024, when the team needed a few wins to keep Jake Guentzel, and they got mud stomped out West.

Check out Steelers Now for everything you need for tonight (except a weather forecast).

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

Ottawa Sun: Bruce Garrioch has a little something cooking. I can tell. Ottawa is chasing something, and Garrioch spoke with league executives on the current state of the trade market now that moves have begun.

Don’t be surprised if the Senators and Penguins have a little something cooking. I think a couple of the Penguins’ expendable veterans would fit nicely up North.

Sportsnet: It seems another day, another headline in Toronto in which Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube lights into his team. Berube flatly called out the TML after their latest loss.

There’s no talk of parting with Berube, but the seeds are there: A tussle with a star player (dropping William Nylander to the third line). Stern public comments. Losses.

The Athletic ($): Quinn Hughes reflected on his trade out of Vancouver, “It was time.” Yikes. He’s also “extremely open-minded” about staying in Minnesota.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The jilted lovers, the New Jersey Devils also had a bad weekend after losing out on the third Hughes. The NJD submitted a brutal performance in another loss, and coach Sheldon Keefe ripped his Devils team.

Montreal Hockey Now: The buzz around Montreal this morning is about the reawakening of Jakub Dobes, who was spectacular, especially on a 5v3 penalty kill against the Edmonton Oilers. It was a noteworthy Canadiens win.

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