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Dan’s Daily: Goalie Fight, Perfect Scoreboard, Inside the Penguins Flex
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- Dan’s Daily: Goalie Fight, Perfect Scoreboard, Inside the Penguins Flex
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
It was a night that was nearly perfect for the Pittsburgh Penguins . They won handily, defeating a playoff pursuer, and every other team chasing them for a playoff spot lost in regulation. In the pinch-me scenario, the Penguins' magic number fell to 11. We have full coverage and deep analysis from PPG Paints Arena.
Elsewhere in the Daily, that perfect scoreboard included some big games that broke the Penguins way. The Toronto Maple Leafs management held a press conference to explain firing GM Brad Treliving, but some analysts called it "near disastrous." Two coaches are on especially hot seats. And we're chasing an extraordinary story that could explode in the NHL.
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So, here goes. I couldn't put this in the headline because it has some legal wrangling and some heavy pushback from the league. We're getting different versions of the story from Penguins sources, who are excited, and league sources, who have been dismissive.
Has the NHL opened a can of worms by allowing junior players to go to college for faster entry into the NHL? It seems the Penguins believe they have found an even greater loophole.
Sources have been coy but finally told Pittsburgh Hockey Now Tueday that Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas and the Hoffmann Family of Companies CEO Geoff Hoffmann have been working to exploit a loophole in the new NHL rules for NCAA players that could allow them to bypass the NHL Draft.
And yes, the name you're thinking, the Penguins are also thinking: Gavin McKenna.
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While at the Penguins game just before the Olympic break in early February, Hoffmann and Dubas sat down in the owner's suite for a check-in meeting. The Hoffmann crew is familiar with signing college free agents to the Florida Everblades, and earlier this season, Hoffmann asked Dubas about trying to skip the draft and signing McKenna for next season.
"We thought he was joking," one source told PHN.
But he wasn't. And some further investigation during the downtime began to make it feel like a realistic possibility. It seems that's why Dubas has not sweated a rebuild–the Penguins are working toward signing McKenna, who has taken to Pennsylvania and sources close to him say would love to stay near Penn State and his teammates after this season.
A league source shot down the potential move as heresy; the top prospect skipping past the entry selection could obliterate the NHL Draft, which the league won't stand for. Yet, multiple Penguins sources expressed a growing confidence that there is indeed a loophole.
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It would work like this: if McKenna were to first sign an independent free agent deal with the Everblades, the ECHL team is not subject to the same transfer rules as the AHL and NHL. The ECHL team could then sell the contract to the highest bidder, or in this case, the same owner–the Pittsburgh Penguins.
McKenna's side and the Penguins have spoken about it. And without divulging too much, the source said, "We like our chances."
But. There's always a "but." The NHL is already threatening to further hold up the Penguins' sale if they try the maneuver, which would have far-reaching consequences. It led to a contentious phone call last week during Hoffmann's check-up with the league and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
A long-time friend in the league office told PHN, "(Bettman) won't let it happen. He can't. It doesn't matter if there is a way, the league just won't."
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But McKenna is already eyeing up the move that many Penn State students have made, from State College to Pittsburgh, and some of McKenna's advisors want to go through with the exploitation of the rules, which would both earn McKenna more money and also guarantee he gets to play where he chooses rather than potentially being thrown to the wolves in New York or Toronto.
Thus far, no one will say how close the Penguins are to pulling off the move. Dubas is said to be weary, but Hoffmann might get the final say.
One source shook his head and tried to sum up the NHL's reaction, simply saying, "April Fools!"
NONE of the above is true. Got it? NONE. It's an April Fools' joke. Now, let's do the real hockey. Of course, you can pass it on to a friend and have some fun.
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Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: A 5-1 beatdown of a Detroit Red Wings team that looked lifeless by the time the Penguins were done. Here's the Penguins game recap .
Now then, the perfect out-of-town scoreboard, how the Penguins executed a middle attack, and some pretty big quotes from the locker room. It's a meaty Penguins report card .
Detroit Hockey Now: It's not pretty. Here's the flip-side coverage from our folks at DHN. Things look bleak for the Detroit Red Wings .
NONE of that Hoffman story is true, got it? I know that 99.98% of people know it, but you 0.02% always worry me.
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NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now
TSN: MLSE management held a press conference following their termination of Treliving. Some of the Toronto media are absolutely panning the presser and the mess of the Maple Leafs .
Sportsnet: Sabres beat Islanders . Penguins happy. The Buffalo Sabres jumped to the top of the Atlantic Division with the win .
It was quite the scene in the Penguins locker room after the game. It was…EMPTY. The players got word of the Royal Flush on the scoreboard and ran to the team lounge to watch the end of the Columbus-Carolina game. Even coach Dan Muse was a few minutes later than usual. He, too, was watching.
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The Penguins' lead for second place is three points. It's four points over Columbus for the second wild card. And six points over Detroit and the Ottawa Senators .
NHL.com: The Carolina Hurricanes scored three in the third and sent Columbus reeling. Columbus had rallied to tie the game, but it wasn't enough, and Carolina won .
Florida Hockey Now: Oh yes, Ottawa got thumped early and the Florida Panthers savored their victory. However, there were also more Panthers injuries .
After the down-and-back against Tampa Bay Thursday, the Penguins have a pair of home games against Florida Saturday and Sunday.
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Philly Hockey Now: Is the orange and black hot streak over? The Flyers could have caught Columbus Tuesday, but they, too, were vanquished by a late goal and lost to the Washington Capitals . Oh, so close for the Philadelphia Flyers .
New Jersey Hockey Now: Goalie Fight! Goalie Fight! Let's be honest, no one cares about the Devils-Rangers game, but we do care when the masks come off, the blockers hit the ice, and the puckstoppers throw down with each other. Jacob Markstrom and Igor Shesterkin traded knuckles — Here you go !
The post Dan's Daily: Goalie Fight, Perfect Scoreboard, Inside the Penguins Flex appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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