Almost ridiculously, the Western Conference has not yet concluded its regular season, while the Eastern Conference has wrapped and the hockey world keeps wondering when in the world the NHL will release the playoff schedule. At PHN, we dug into this year’s Pittsburgh Penguins origin story and the one decision that set everything else in motion. Elsewhere in the Daily, after early indications the East was a polymorphic clog of mediocrity, a few teams rose from the middling slop and teams like the Ottawa Senators are putting top seeds on upset watch. Sportsnet released their final draft rankings, and a former Penguins player’s son is rated in just about the right spot to be drafted by the Penguins.
And the Toronto Maple Leafs president came to the trade deadline meeting with AI trade pitches. Dear Lord.
Run. Save yourselves. I’ll hold them off.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins shed their bloated roster Wednesday, sending five players back to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins .
Now, let’s talk about the genesis of the Penguins’ success. Scoring. Some goaltending at very specific points through the season. Even coaching. It all created the Penguins, but the success flowed from one single strategical decision. It took a bit to write, but we got there in the Penguins analysis .
TSN Video: A couple of top teams dominate the Eastern Conference, but are the Carolina Hurricanes in trouble? Can the tough Ottawa Senators pull off the upset ?
Toronto Sun: Absolutely unbelievable. Toronto Maple Leafs president Scott Pelley is in the middle of a firestorm today because the Sun and others are reporting he brought AI trade pitches to the Leafs’ trade deadline meetings .
Sportsnet: The 2026 NHL Draft Rankings are out and, no, the Penguins won’t be drafting Gavin McKenna, but there is an interesting prospect who’s the son of a Penguins’ two-time Stanley Cup winner sitting in the low 20s. Wyatt Cullen is a first-round talent, which is really cool. But here are the top 32 prospects .
Philly Hockey Now: The Penguins await the Flyers for Game 1, but in the meantime, Will James delivers an interesting look at what went down on Tuesday–Philly won its last game with a mishmash lineup, and James shows exactly why that win bodes well for the Philadelphia Flyers future .
Detroit Hockey Now: The season is over in Motown, but there is one unrestricted free agent with a big name and perhaps a big price tag. What should the Detroit Red Wings do with Patrik Kane ?
Montreal Hockey Now: The head-to-head tale of the tape. It’s going to be a slobberknocker of a series, the Tampa Bay Lightning vs. the Montreal Canadiens .
The Penguins practice this morning, so we should get a good look at who is healthy and who is not. I imagine the practice will have a good bit of snap. See you there.
The post Dan’s Daily: Penguins Origin; Upset Watch; Leafs Prez Used AI Trade Pitches?! appeared first on Pittsburgh Hockey Now .
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