Tick tock, Clarice. The Anaheim Ducks are down to the final couple of days before they must make a decision on the Philadelphia Flyers’ offer sheet to emerging star center Leo Carlsson. The economics of it are looking bad for Anaheim. Elsewhere, Ottawa Senators stalwart Daniel Alfredsson did the unthinkable and accepted a coaching promotion with the Sens’ arch-rival. Who will be the next Carlsson? We examined the exploding Penguins trade speculation involving Elias Pettersson, and the Penguins front office was dinged with a loss on Tuesday.

Later this morning, we’re going to do a Penguins Q&A. The cutoff time for questions is going to be 10:00 a.m. You’ll have to reply to this tweet to the questions/comments in the mix, or put them into the comments section below.

Today is PHN Penguins Q&A day. Reply here:

— Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) July 8, 2026

Also, I’ve become aware of some PHN+ subscriber issues–a few readers are unable to manage their accounts. They’re working on it. If you need to manage your account but are unable, come directly to me. I can do things like cancel or change information.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Vukie got a promotion with the Nashville Predators. The Penguins’ director of hockey operations and legal affairs, Vukie Mpofu, left the org Tuesday to become Nashville’s assistant general manager.

And in a surprising turn of events, it was not Penguins fans who chided me or criticized me, but it was Vancouver fans who offered little argument, but instead derided my existence. In our Penguins 3 Thoughts column, this scribe laid it bare regarding the Pettersson-Penguins trade speculation.

The Vancouver fan twist was something. Their attacks on me for the negatives on Pettersson felt like Animal House, “Hey, he can’t do that to our pledges. Only we can do that to our pledges.”

Of course, I also understand that Animal House references sail past Gen Z. Just smile and nod.

WBS Penguins: The Penguins AHL team re-signed a few players and are bringing back Rafael Harvey-Pinard on an AHL deal.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: WOW. WOW. WOW. 10x. Ryan O’Hearn had a night for the ages. In fact, it was a historic night for him and a win for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: What?! Daniel Alfredsson left the Ottawa Senators organization and accepted an associate head coach position with … the Toronto Maple Leafs?!

And, yes, it appears Brian Burke’s long-ago prediction that second contracts would be dead is coming true. In light of the Carlsson and Barrett Hayton signings, there could be more RFA offer sheets coming to these top targets this year and next.

The Athletic ($): I’m not sure who first reported it, but Anaheim’s small market means they operate with about $20 million in capital after salaries, taxes, etc… (Google Gemini says $26 million). However, the monstrous Carlsson offer is going to dig deep into that figure, so will they match?

If they do match, the org will take a financial hit, and they’ll not have enough money to re-sign Cutter Gauthier. If they don’t match, they get four magic beans in compensation.

DFO: Hmm. It has emerged this week that the brothers Tkachuk podcast, especially the episode with Papa Keith, bruised some feelings in the Ottawa dressing room. Players weren’t so happy with Brady Tkachuk, and his departure didn’t upset everyone.

Philly Hockey Now: Things are not entirely simple in Philly, either. Trevor Zegras and Jamie Drysdale filed for arbitration, which could have some effect on what the Philadelphia Flyers do next.

Boston Hockey Now: With all of the chatter surrounding Philly, no one is paying attention to the quiet force in Boston. Center Pavel Zacha is also due for a new extension, and it might cost the Boston Bruins big money.

Colorado Hockey Now: Hmm. This one skipped past the NHL trade rumors, but Aarif Deen has a little something to end today’s Daily on a high note. Did the Colorado Avalanche take a run at Connor Hellebuyck?

Tags: daniel alfredsson leo carlsson nhl trade Pittsburgh Penguins

Categorized:Links NHL Trade Rumors Pittsburgh Penguins