Dan’s Daily: Division Alignment, NHL Trade Talks Warm

The last month of the NHL offseason has seemed more like herding cats than anything else. The NHL season is now all but a certainty and the general managers are revving up their hockey ops departments. NHL trade talks reflect the offseason’s scrambled nature, and we even have a report of Pittsburgh Penguins trade talks.

We’ll start with the Penguins trade scuttle. A team source confirmed to PHN the Penguins did “circle back” on Max Pacioretty (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

It looks like the Penguins are not the only team sniffing around on Pacioretty. The LA Kings and a few other teams have an interest, too. Our boys in Boston have the full scoop (Boston Hockey Now)

Perhaps the Pittsburgh Penguins escaped the Central Division? The original COVID-19 divisional alignment had the Penguins in the Central. Now, it appears, Carolina has been shoved to the Central, and the Penguins will stay with their natural rivals. Maybe (Sportsnet)

The NHL updated its Board of Governors at 4 p.m. on Wednesday. Cautious optimism followed (Ottawa Sun)

However, not everyone is happy about the division realignment. TSN’s Frank Seravalli discussed (YouTube)

Without the Penguins, the Central Division is…weak. Mixing Central teams like St. Louis, Dallas, and Colorado with the western teams? Yikes.

I think we’ll see another round of realignment or two. The lobbying will get more intense.

Is the Colorado Avalanche tough enough? It’s a question we asked of the Penguins, and now Adrian Dater is asking it of Colorado (Colorado Hockey Now)

Why does COVID thrive in hockey? (Washington Post)

It should be no surprise that the coming NHL season could be affected by local rules. The state officials and expanding COVID rules could really affect the New York Islanders (NYI Hockey Now)

So, enjoy the rollercoaster of the next few days. We should have hockey any moment now.