Dan’s Daily: Guerin Gets Emotional on Penguins; Fitting Karlsson & Letang

In 2015, the Pittsburgh Penguins had a dream team of assistant general managers, including New Jersey Devils GM Tom Fitzgerald, former  Buffalo Sabres GM Jason Botterill, and current Minnesota Wild GM Bill Guerin. Friday, Guerin was a bit emotional talking about his time in Pittsburgh when he appeared on the Boston Hockey Now podcast and it’s worth a listen or view for connected Penguins fans. Also in the Daily, how will Kris Letang change with Erik Karlsson taking the top spot? How should the Lightning address the hole created by Andrei Vasilevskiy’s injury? Connor Bedard really likes hockey, and Ty Smith cleared waivers.

Greetings from Waterloo University. I needed a cheap hotel room near the Kitchener airport before my 7 a.m. flight to Halifax and used Booking.com to snag a room supposedly on the edge of campus. Nope, I got a dorm room right in the middle of campus?!

Don’t get me wrong, when the good Lord opens the books and asks what time of my life I’d like to relive, it will certainly be the few years of my college experience. High School was a soul-sucking scourge from Day 1, but college was instantly glorious and everything I hoped. From being the University’s play-by-play and PA announcer to my river jump as a pledging member of a fraternity, wrecking the curve of graduate courses as an undergrad, and the camaraderie of a crew of fellow insomniacs who humored my lack of slumber by engaging in beer-soaked games of Risk or pseudo-intellectual arguments over Philosophy (just in case you wondered why the ladies ignored my existence). It was the time of my life. And I knew it, too.

However, sleeping on a single bed in my forties isn’t how I pictured my Friday night, but just for fun, I ordered a greasy pizza at midnight…

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Ty Smith cleared waivers and will report to the WBS Penguins.

Is he ahead of schedule? Jake Guentzel skated at practice. Yet another step in his recovery for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Lars Eller. Drew O’Connor. Can the pair erase seasons of failures within the Penguins?

Steelers Now:

OUCH. Kendrick Green said he’s glad he’s not with the Steelers anymore.

The Bears aren’t using him right, either, so says former Steelers WR Chase Claypool.

The SN podcast — Can Kenny Pickett carve the Texans?

Pittsburgh Baseball Now:

Womp womp. The Buccos blew a late lead against the Miami Marlins. Skip the long story and get the important details in the quickie Pirates recap.

It’s been a roller coaster. It’s an up-and-down season that’s ending on a high note for Jack Suwinski.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now:

Boston Hockey Now: Jimmy Murphy does a star studded podcast. Over the last few weeks, he’s had a few GMs on the show, some luminaries and his trusty producer. This week, Bill Guerin got a little emotional about his time with the Penguins.

Sportsnet: My postgame analysis was pretty similar on Thursday night — but take a look at the national perspective, too. How will Kris Letang and Erik Karlsson get on?

TSN Video: How should the Tampa Lightning address the two-month absence of Andrei Vasilevskiy?

Montreal Hockey Now: We’ve added a couple new columnists–well known in the Montreal fanbase. Annik Lemire lays out realistic expectations for the Montreal Canadiens rebuild.

You can temper the expectations all you want, there’s a little part of every Canadiens fan that wants the playoffs.

Carolina Hockey Now: It was a good signing and the Michael Bunting effect is in full effect for the Carolina Hurricanes.

Boston Hockey Now: Double dipping from a good day from Jimmy Murphy. Pierre McGuire dropped a few nuggets, including the three teams that are waiting on Patrick Kane.