Dan’s Daily: Coaches Fired; Tocchet Brutal Honesty; The Penguins Future

The Pittsburgh Penguins locker room is clean. The players grabbed their stuff, got their exit physicals, and bolted Friday, but the reverberations of their final public conversations will carry for the next couple of months. While some players are fighting to stay, Erik Karlsson was frustrated and non-committal. Elsewhere, it was a bad day for coaches as the Anaheim Ducks surprisingly and New York Rangers expectedly sent bench bosses packing. And I’m not sure how to describe what Vancouver Canucks coach Rick Tocchet said about Elias Pettersson, but it wasn’t good.

A little news item if you’re interested, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins first-round series will be against the Lehigh Valley Phantoms (Flyers affiliate). The teams pretty much hate each other. The best-of-three series begins Wednesday in Wilkes-Barre, then Friday in Allentown, and if necessary, Sunday in Wilkes-Barre. Allentown is quite a nice arena for AHL standards, so I’d encourage Penguins fans to make a trip to WBS or LV, but if you go to Allentown, eat at a chain restaurant.

Having killed a full day in Allentown last year, I tried several places and … yeah, definitely eat at a chain restaurant.

Also, shame on TNT. The fan atmosphere and sounds are great things about a game in Winnipeg. But TNT did the Game 1 broadcast remotely. Look, I understand cost control and cost/benefit more than most, but Winnipeg and the NHL deserve better. The broadcast had a terrible feel to it, TERRIBLE, as they didn’t get the crowd noise mixed in well, and the venerable broadcasters clearly weren’t feeling the energy. There are ways to avoid that lazy bit of broadcasting, and I hope Gary Bettman or someone at the NHL expressed their extreme displeasure. Fans rightfully did.

Pittsburgh Penguins

A busy day in the mill…

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: This story took quite a while to research and write, though it’s not exactly about hockey. I covered all 82 games this season. PHN had two people at the home games, but I did all 41 on the road. I waffled a few times and thought about waving the white flag, but we got there. Not without some harrowing moments, and not without some real sacrifice (like sleep). I totaled up all of the miles on the road, in the air, and on the tracks and told a few tales from the road in the PHN Penguins travel blog.

Thank you all so very much for the incredibly kind words and compliments. On YouTube, X, and here, I’ve been shocked at how many of you followed along and genuinely appreciate how we cover the team (we do have the biggest audience of all Penguins coverage). But I also got my reality check when I sat beside a season-ticket holder at my neighborhood bar last night, and he had no idea who I was. Message received, Universe. Message received.

Dave Molinari took a firm stance on what Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas should do with Bryan Rust. Dave made one point that I don’t think anyone else has made, but I won’t spoil the ending or the path to get there. Read up on Rust and his Penguins future.

I took the Erik Karlsson story. I’ll confess to going bonkers in the overcrowded media scrum, shaking my head, and getting frustrated. Respect to all, but the couple of us who understood what was actually happening couldn’t get our question out as people asked about offseason travel plans and the power play (Cmon people, think!) And THEN credit to Wes Crosby of NHL.com for beating me to it and asking the big one. An obviously frustrated Karlsson was personally complimentary of the Penguins, but left the door wide open to his future. Here’s the full story and raw video on the future of Erik Karlsson.

The video of Karlsson talking about his future is exclusive to PHN. I was the only one still filming, and damnit, I was going to get that question answered if I had to chase him into the parking lot.

NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

Forever Blueshirts: GM Chris Drury had to fire another coach. He sacked Peter Laviolette Saturday, and he took full responsibility for the NYR’s failure this season. It’s going to be an interesting summer for the New York Rangers.

I still have no idea which way the Rangers will go on that first-round pick they owe the Penguins. It is 11th overall, so they can keep it. If they do keep the 2025, Dubas CANNOT trade the ’26 pick because it might be his Willy Wonka golden ticket for Gavin McKenna (the 2026 phenom).

NHL.com: Greg Cronin got the boot in Anaheim despite a 23-point improvement. GM Pat Verbeek was mum on the reasons, which only made the firing look worse for the coach.

Sportsnet: Despite the low-energy broadcast of a high-energy event, the Winnipeg Jets got what they needed. A big third-period comeback, a raucous crowd, and a Game 1 win.

Colorado Hockey Now: Oh, it was a game, but it was obviously Colorado’s game against Dallas. They are so much faster than Dallas that this series (as I predicted) could be short. The heroes and villains, the studs and duds, the breakdown of the Colorado Avalanche Game 1 win.

Daily Hive: Rick Tocchet wasn’t very complimentary of Elias Pettersson, criticizing his preparation this season. Tocchet also lamented the rift between Pettersson and J.T. Miller. It was an mentally exhausting ride that ruined the Canucks season and Tocchet was honest about it.