Who needs a second story when the first is juicer than a 16 ounce steak? The Florida Panthers pulled off the stunner, or the Ottawa Senators buckled, for the first summer blockbuster trade. The NHL trade rumors never saw this one coming as Ottawa dealt Brady Tkachuk to Florida for a heavy haul of draft picks. But Florida wasn’t done, as they made a nice deal with Seattle, too. It made our Pittsburgh Penguins retrospective not as much fun.

We looked at-or tried to find–the five best Penguins draft picks since their last Stanley Cup. Elsewhere in the Daily … oh who am I kidding? It’s all NHL trade rumor stuff.

I’ll also let you in on some behind-the-scenes stuff at Hockey Now. I have an ever so small window to buy back full control of Hockey Now. It’s complicated, messy, but actually a good deal. I’m racing to speak with potential investors, lawyers, web developers, and seeking overall help today.

If you are one of those types of people, I sure could use some brainpower and muscle. Many of you know my email, but operators are standing by — dan at pghhockeynow dot com. With the NHL Draft and Free agency a week away, it’s a heckuva a time to have my brainpan overloaded, but the good Lord has never been one to make it easy. He and I have an understanding, I’ll sleep after I meet him.

Let’s do that hockey…

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The funny thing is, the original title of the article was Top 10 Penguins Draft Picks Since Their Last Stanley Cup. Whoops. About 10 minutes into the story, I re-adjusted it down to a Top 5 List, with one honorable mention. Wait until you see the absolutely ridiculous stat in the story. Here are the Top 5 Penguins draft picks since 2017.

As an aside, For Father’s Day, I treated myself by not writing a third story and took a break from business for a few hours. Ripping through the hills headed north, I stumbled upon a BBQ & Blues Festival up in Franklin. I don’t know who was playing, but when she started belting out Everybody Needs Somebody (Blues Brothers, Wilson Pickett, Rolling Stones, pick your cover), I grabbed a spot under a tree, ordered the sloppiest pulled pork I could find, some street corn, and had myself a time…

No, they didn’t bother trying to keep the sandwich together. A fork was the great equalizer.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

Florida Hockey Now: Welcome to the Elbo Room. Our George Richards is THE man on the beat in Florida. So, let’s start with the whopper of a trade, the biblical blockbuster, the titan of the trade. Brady Tkacuk to the Florida Panthers.

Yeah, this trade does a few things. For Florida, Lonesome George writes, it forces that Stanley Cup window wide open. Here’s the Panthers trade analysis.

The Athletic ($): Pierre LeBrun took us inside the trade that shocked everyone. No one … NO ONE … reported this could happen.

Florida Hockey Now: Trade No. 2! Yep, before the hullabaloo over the Tkachuk trade monster, Florida packed up Mackie Samoskevich and sent him to the Seattle Kraken. It looked like a darn good Panthers trade.

If Samoskevich is worth a first-rounder and a second next year, that’s not good news for Kyle Dubas’s offseason plans.

A little insider tip: Many reporters rely on their contacts at the Central Registry to get the trades first, but GMs are flushing leaks, clamping down, and not letting any word leak until it’s done or the agent talks. Even agents are being instructed to zip it. It’s the school of Lou Lamoriello.

Sportsnet: From the flip side, what’s next for Ottawa? All eyes are on GM Steve Staios, a lonely fanbase turns its eyes to you.

In my gut, Ottawa has to call the Penguins and make an offer or two with that newfound draft capital. The Penguins have exactly what Ottawa needs: a top-six winger without a no-trade clause.

NHL.com: Seattle kept busy, too. In addition to acquiring Ol’ Mackie, they also dished a six-year contract to Bobby McMann.

TSN: One of the big-name NHL Draft prospects has fallen down the board after spending a year in the NCAA. Gavin McKenna didn’t dominate at Penn State, which has some questioning him, but also Keaton Verhoeff did the same, going to UND. Is it the right path for prospect? Verhoeff doesn’t regret it.

I suppose time will tell, but I’ve got to think as an 18-year-old it’s far more enjoyable and life changing to spend a year as a freshman than another year with a billet family. Oh, the stories from my Freshman year. I almost remember the night I outran a police officer through a cemetery while pulling along a random girl who had the same idea to escape a busted house party. After the pursuing officer gave up, she turned to me and said …. “I have a boyfriend.”

Boston Hockey Now: Oh this is a good one. Jack Studley grades the Boston Bruins front office.

Tags: brady tkachuk matt tkachuk nhl trade Pittsburgh Penguins

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