The Pittsburgh Penguins announced their latest Hall of Fame class, and it’s a heavyweight group of honorees. Also on PHN, we again shone a light on the Penguins’ offseason moves and the dichotomy of general manager Kyle Dubas’s brilliant work to create a wave of young talent but curious moves to block it at the NHL level. Elsewhere in the Daily, a few new NHL trade rumors are popping up as Montreal is listening on a young defenseman and Calgary is preparing for an exodus.

There’s also an interesting story on Sportsnet regarding the battle between the US and Canada for hockey supremacy, and it sounds like the Canadians are a wee bit worried.

The Daily is a little bit late on Friday for no good reason other than I slept in a bit. I concluded my little two-day trip (you’re welcome. We indeed got more Penguins news and a trade) to Marietta. I was so happy with my trip there last year, but this year, there’s no other word for it: sad. There was no one else in town. The Starbucks counter in the hotel was out of business. When I checked out of the most popular hotel in town, it was eerily empty. The same went for the coffee shop up the street. Only the little bar with $2 beer on the west end had signs of life.

It all felt post-apocalyptic.

I don’t blame the town, but the world. I could veer into a political slap, taking aim at the extremes, but we’re not going there because I think most of us just want to return to a world before political ideology became a substitute for personality and character. The fundamentals of human existence are changing rapidly, and whether it’s AI or doomscrolling, it surely seems that fewer people are living lives in the real world.

But I made a new friend on the way home as I miraculously threaded the needle between the storms and got home dry.

Took a few extra minutes to get home. I dodged the storms, barely, but not everyone got the memo to let me pass. pic.twitter.com/lsY3Xq8uyU

— Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) August 20, 2026

That was a first. On to the hockey….

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Hall of Fame announcement … with a flower. From Marc-Andre Fleury and the rest of the new class, here’s the new Penguins Hall of Fame.

Now, let’s get into it. Dubas has done a great job, if not exceptional, in amassing a couple of waves of young talent. However, he has also made moves to bring in veterans, which take up spots. So, let’s have an honest chat about Dubas and the Penguins’ prospects.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

NHL.com: Traded. signed. The Anaheim Ducks at least got someone’s name on a contract this month when they signed former Penguins prospect Cruz Lucius to his entry-level contract.

Sportsnet: Team USA vs. Canada. It’s a tight battle for hockey supremacy, but the Canadian press is sounding the alarm because Team USA is much younger than the Canadian stars. Are we seeing a change of the guard?

Calgary Sun: Who goes and who stays? The Calgary Flames are in transition and expect the trade rumors to persist all season. Zach Whitecloud seems to be safe for a year, but not everyone else is needed. So, who’s on the block and who is safe, for now?

NHLtraderumors.me: The Canadiens have a pair of defensemen who have drawn trade interest, but it seems the Penguins’ signing Ville Koivunen to an eight-year deal may have complicated Canadiens GM Kent Hughes’s life as he tries to sign Arber Xhekaj, who remains unsigned.

In past years, being a street sweeper and picking up all of these unsigned young players on the trade market would have been much easier.

Detroit Hockey Now: There was another trade for a potential prospect this week as the Detroit Red Wings, sans a GM, traded for a young 6-foot-8 forward. Indeed, here’s the Red Wings trade and analysis.

Philly Hockey Now: The seeds of the Philadelphia Flyers rebuild are taking hold. In the recent release of the top U23 players, quite a few were Flyers players.

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