The Pittsburgh Penguins’ offseason swerve to lock down unproven prospect Ville Koivunen for eight years had more fallout on Friday, setting a market that the Vancouver Canucks had to follow. It’s been rumored and suggested, but there’s a report that the Detroit Red Wings asked for one thing they couldn’t get in a Dylan Larkin trade. Elsewhere in the Daily, it sounds like Elliotte Friedman might stay at Sportsnet, but a tech giant is complicating matters, and we unveiled a new Penguins feature: Two truths and a lie.
I caught an interesting movie on HBO Max last night, called Normal. It had Bob Odenkirk as a small-town sheriff in Normal, Minnesota.
It was wild. Kind of a lighter Reservoir Dogs. If that’s not your deal, avoid it, but it also features Henry Winkler as a corrupt mayor, if that helps.
Now let’s see if the weather can hold for a nice weekend, eh?
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: We borrowed a column format from the boys in Detroit. Two truths and a lie. We put the playoffs, potential trades, and pure offensive output on the operating table. Which expectations are true and which one is not? The Penguins’ truths and lie.
Steelers Now: Yep, one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ own was named the most annoying player in the NHL. Guess which Steelers player?
And I’m not good with personal situations. I don’t know what to say, but when Dave Molinari texted me with the bad news Friday morning, he and I stayed true to form and lobbed a couple of dark jokes back and forth. Dave announced that he’s been diagnosed with lung cancer. He posted the full story on his Substack.
I don’t know how this will affect his career as an underwear model, but he means a great deal to the Penguins media community, and he is a wordsmith of the highest order. With the remarkable advances in treatments, I so very much hope to see him at the arena making jokes during introductions for a long time to come.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
TVA Sports: What do the Detroit Red Wings want for Dylan Larkin? The answer might change, but Detroit wants a top-line center. Oh, and Larkin hasn’t added Montreal to his list of acceptable destinations.
NHLtraderumors.me: Stop me if you’ve heard this storyline before. Team building for the future gives an untested prospect an eight-year contract. If it sounds familiar, the market the Penguins set by giving Ville Koivunen $32 million over eight years opened the door for the Vancouver Canucks to do the same to wildly talented defenseman Zeev Buium, but at a much higher AAV.
Buium, 20, has 76 NHL games on his resume, split over two seasons. At some point, it just becomes Monopoly money.
NY Post: Maybe the Penguins have one less rival for a playoff spot. The New York Islanders admitted it. They are entering a transition, says their assistant general manager.
Philly Hockey Now: The Philadelphia Flyers are an interesting story. Will they continue the growth they showed at the end of last year that earned them a playoff berth, or will they regress? Will James has three big questions for the Philly Flyers before camp.
Boston Hockey Now: One of my favorite players of the 2025 NHL Draft, James Hagens, fell out of the top five. The former consensus first overall pick fell to the Boston Bruins at No 6, but he’s going to turn pro with gusto this season. Where does he stand in the Calder Trophy race?
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