Dan’s Daily: Friction in Detroit; Coaches Bicker; Begin Penguins’ Hunt

And so begins the great Pittsburgh Penguins coaching search. Pittsburgh Hockey Now used industry contacts, general manager Kyle Dubas’s past, and some personal projections to create our preliminary list of favorites. There’s definitely one name on our list that should be a finalist, if not two. Elsewhere in the Daily, two more teams were eliminated, as the Florida Panthers shockingly sent Tampa Bay home in just five, and the plucky Montreal Canadiens were no match for the Washington Capitals. There’s some friction in Detroit, and which open coaching job is best?

I feel like we have some offseason player analysis to get into. The first week after the season saw some biting criticism of the roster construction and now-former head coach Mike Sullivan. Then, the Sullivan news. Now, I think we can balance our coverage of the coaching search with some real player breakdowns.

I’d like to tell you I had some fun in the sun on Wednesday. Instead, it was racing to finish the first coaching article, a meeting that didn’t go the way I hoped, lunch with business partners to explain said meeting and our challenges, then … golf. Honest to goodness, I have no idea why I bother with that infernal sport. I’m far too competitive to play a sport that I only get to play sparingly, at best. Seriously, how do you people do it?!

Wouldn’t it be faster to pay a stripper to kick you in the crotch?

To make matters worse, the course forced my friend and me into a foursome (I HATE that) with a guy who probably shot under par. He had kind of an awkward swing where he squatted and launched himself into the ball with a punchy wrist flick, but didn’t miss a fairway or green. Understandably, he gave us the Irish goodbye after the 9th hole.

To the ice!

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: After speaking with some industry sources and getting input from Francis Anzalone (on the Live Chat), I came up with the five early favorites for the Penguins coaching search. There are some really good names on the list, and I had to wonder if Dubas will find that he doesn’t need two months to make this happen, unless a couple of the choices go on a playoff run through the end of June. There are two names I really liked–here’s our early, preliminary list of five, including a couple of new names to watch to be the next Penguins coach.

Steelers Now: The full draft capsule–who the Steelers drafted, and how they help. The complete post-draft guide to the 2025 Steelers draft.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Just an awful moment during the Pirates game last night. A fan fell from the right field bleachers. He’s in critical condition as of publishing. Here’s what happened and the earnest reaction after the Pirates game.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the man’s recovery.

NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

Florida Hockey Now: Pow. Bam. Biff! Down go the Tampa Bay Lightning, whose carcass will now be dragged to central Florida and sold as gator bait. The heated series was over in five games, and the interstate rivalry now belongs to the Florida Panthers.

Sportsnet: Ryan Dixon looked at each of the coaching vacancies, seven created by firings and one opened when Rick Tocchet left Vancouver. Which of the jobs is most attractive?

Coaches bickering at each other through the media during a heated playoff series. That’s the good stuff. Winnipeg vs. St. Louis is far more competitive than most thought it would be, and Mark Scheifele was injured during the game. And the crossfire started.

Montreal Hockey Now: It was a sad end to an amazing season by the upstart Habs. They were supposed to be lottery contenders, not playoff contenders. They were supposed to fade, not surge. And yet the bleu blanc et rouge surprised us all and had themselves a little hockey cotillion. They were bounced in five by Washington, but as Marc Dumont writes, there were positives–a LOT of positives–in the Montreal Canadiens’ season.

Also, fair thee well, David Savard, who retired after last night.

TSN: As a player, I’d much rather win the Ted Lindsay award over the Hart Trophy. I’m a little surprised Sidney Crosby isn’t a finalist, but Nate MacKinnon, Cale Makar, and Nikita Kucherov are the deserving finalists.

Detroit Hockey Now: Dylan Larkin said the club was dispirited after GM Steve Yzerman did very little at the NHL trade deadline. Yzerman didn’t really address the criticism, but admitted he and the captain had a meeting. Do you hear trade rumors? I hear trade rumors. Though our Bob Duff says–Relax, there will be no Larkin–Red Wings trade.

Todd McClellan is blaming himself and challenging the players to take responsibility for the latest Detroit Red Wings failure.

Vegas Hockey Now: Killer instinct. Hannah Kirkell writes that the VGK cannot waste the opportunity to close out the tightly contested Round One series against Minnesota. The Vegas Golden Knights need to end it.