The Pittsburgh Penguins have a handful of pending unrestricted free agents heading toward the NHL trade deadline. We evaluated their worth to the team and what each might bring on the NHL trade block. Of course, we have the final updates on Sidney Crosby, who tried to play Friday in the Olympic semifinal. And those semis were worlds apart as Canada was gifted a tying goal against Finland, and the US steamrolled Slovakia.

Elsewhere in the Daily, the NHL trade chatter is on two Eastern Conference wild-card teams. The Ottawa Senators are six points back of a playoff spot, which is usually the line of demarcation to surrender, but they are becoming buyers at the trade deadline, hoping to make a push. The Buffalo Sabres have gone from sad sacks to contenders, and The Athletic circled some trade targets.

There is no question in my mind that Finland got screwed on the tying goal and Canada was awarded a power play in the final few minutes?! For Finland, that game will go down like the 1972 Men’s Basketball gold medal game (in which referees gave Russia three attempts to score a winning basket by saying the final play didn’t count and restarting the game three times).

I hate what goalie interference has become. It’s deciding games, and no one has any clue what the rule is.

And the new PHN+ subscriber area has launched. The people who run it want me to spend a lot of time over there, so let me know what you think of it.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Team Canada closed practice Saturday morning. The update Saturday is the same, but still a bit cryptic on Sidney Crosby.

Pending free agents. NHL trade deadline. Value in a trade vs. value in keeping. Using past deadlines and some gut feelings, what are the Penguins’ trade chips worth?

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Could we actually see an MLB lockout to get a salary cap? Here’s what the new MLB union exec has to say, and it is already getting ugly, just as the Pittsburgh Pirates are almost competitive.

The one area of the salary cap and revenue sharing in which athletes get the short end of the stick is appreciation and depreciation. A player’s value depreciates, but the franchises appreciate. MLB must honestly acknowledge that in a decade, a franchise will be worth more, and so players should get a larger share of the pie. But a salary cap is a 100% necessity.

NHL Trade Deadline, News, & National Hockey Now

TSN: I agree with Teemu. The boys at TSN had the Finnish Flash, Teemu Selanne, on the show to talk about the Milan Screwjob. He tempered his comments a little bit, but Finland is not happy about their treatment by Canadian refs in the semi.

Oh by the way, Canada won 3-2 in regulation. And Selanne tweeted this.

Beating greatest hockey country in the world and Canadian referees same night is impossible I guess… absolutely embarrassing penalty 90 seconds to go in Olympic semifinal.. what a joke🤬

— Teemu Selanne (@TeemuSel8nne) February 20, 2026

I’ve also seen new angles of the offside challenge, or more specifically, a better freeze frame than NBC provided. It was offside by less than an inch, but I’m OK with that one because I am also vehemently opposed to super zoom freeze frames. Games can’t be ref’d in slow-mo 1000x zooms. Moving on…

Centre Daily Times: It looks like the kid will be just fine. Gavin McKenna had a night, as he set two school records, including an eight-point night.

Does anybody else have a much more positive view of McKenna over the last month?

Sportsnet: Team USA has been waiting for this moment. Here’s what the boys are saying about facing Team Canada for gold.

The Athletic ($): The Buffalo Sabres. I’m pretty happy for the Buffalo fans–my goodness, they continued their support through a long, dark night, and they’re being rewarded. The Sabres are buyers at the deadline, and Mathew Fairbanks circled a few big-name targets.

Ottawa Sun: Merely a flesh wound. The Ottawa Senators are six points back of a playoff spot, but they are buyers at the deadline. Here we go–what Ottawa is shopping for.

I think it was Chris Johnston who showed that if Ottawa had anything close to an average save percentage this season, they would be in the playoff race, but that’s a lot of ground to make up on Buffalo and Boston.

NHLtraderumors.me: During the break, the Edmonton Oilers hired Paul Coffey as an assistant coach. On his Sportsnet show, Nick Kypreos said coach Khris Knoblauch’s job is in jeopardy.

The way Edmonton plays defense would/should put any coach on the hot seat. Frankly, Leon Draisaitl calling him out before the Olympics should have been the end. Edmonton looks a lot like the 2012 Penguins. Or the 2013 Penguins. So talented, and so reliant on their talent.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Oh by the way, Team USA cruised to a win over Slovakia. Jack Hughes was awesome. Watch his “Patrick Kane” goal and get the scoop on the Devils center’s big day.

Philly Hockey Now: Trying to find the right track for a top prospect. The sagging locker room vibe. And, can the Philadelphia Flyers get back into the playoff hunt?

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