The Pittsburgh Penguins set their final roster a couple of days early and got to work with coach Dan Muse. Their final cuts were a little bit controversial, as some young players were headed to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, but a couple of teenagers are sticking around. Elsewhere in the Daily, Tampa Bay and Florida staged one of hockey’s all-time epic brawls that saw more than a dozen players tossed, the Canadiens and Lane Hutson are talking, and the New York Rangers are already talking about being harder to play against.

It was a wild game in Florida. I saw the chaos too late to watch it live.

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But I also used my last Saturday night off for six months to go down a rabbit hole with my favorite YouTube/Facebook account, The Why Files.

If you enjoy conspiracies, the unknown, and the connection of ancient Sumeria to a lot of our origin story, the shows are a fun watch. It’s also a great channel because the host, AJ, doesn’t sell or push theories like the aliens guys on the History Channel, who would explain lost socks with aliens. Sometimes you’ll get through most of the Why Files video, and then they completely debunk the story. That’s refreshing. And the videos are funny–yeah, I like the fish.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The rookies were front and center after their performance Friday night. So, we talked to Harrison Brunicke, Ben Kindel, and Sergei Murashov. You can watch the conversations here–in the Penguins locker room.

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The Penguins didn’t waste time Saturday, setting their 23-man roster. The team assigned Tristan Broz and Owen Pickering to Wilkes-Barre, but Kindel and Brunicke are sticking around. And the Penguins waived Ryan Graves. The final 23-man Penguins’ roster.

So, what to do with Graves? We explored all of the Penguins’ options, from a trade to a buyout, and came to the conclusion that a buyout is the only path forward. We went through the logistics and costs, and it will be surprisingly cheap to buy out Ryan Graves.

Steelers Now: There’s no game today, so it’s a good time to take the stock report of the quarterback class in the 2026 NFL Draft.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

Forever Blueshirts: Our sister site that covers the Rangers will have some fun this season. They’re already hearing the song you know very well–“We need to be tougher to play against,” do the New York Rangers.

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I’m sure most of you wish the Rangers well, eh?

Montreal Hockey Now: There aren’t many NHL trade rumors floating about, but it’s all about contracts now. How are these big money splashes affecting the NHL contract scales? Marc Dumont reports that the Montreal Canadiens are making a big offer to Lane Hutson.

Florida Hockey Now: Just wow, 322 penalty minutes. There were 13 players ejected, and one of the ejected scored a goal AFTER being tossed. It was wild, and George Richards had the brawl between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Florida Panthers.

Quick news: the Minnesota Wild signed former Penguins farmhand goalie Filip Gustavsson to a new five-year deal. Gustavssson has really come into his own in Minnesota after basically washing out in Ottawa. And the Nashville Predators signed Lukje Evangelista to a two-year deal with a $3 million AAV.

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ESPN: Mitch Marner is liking Las Vegas. The lifestyle and the team agree with him.

NHL.com: Penn State phenom Gavin McKenna scored his first goal–Penguins fans will recognize the Sidney Crosby technique–and it was a game-winner.

The post Dan’s Daily: Penguins Cuts & Keeps; Epic Brawl in FLA; McKenna Snipe appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now.

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