Dan’s Daily: Greatest Comeback; Goalie Hunting; Penguins Insider

The Daily is a wide cross-section of stories from the electricity in Montreal to our Penguins insider. The hockey world lost one of the good ones when former Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ray Shero passed away unexpectedly. The goalie trade talk is already beginning, especially in Columbus, where goaltending was the soft spot on what could have been a great underdog story. There’s an extraordinary comeback story in Colorado that could become official on Friday and the intense Vancouver Canucks offseason chatter is beginning.

We did our best digging to find out why Penguins coach Mike Sullivan had a meeting instead of his postgame media availability Tuesday night. And we found out … nothing. This is most likely just a rare occurrence that has no bearing on anything that will affect you or me, but as a matter of principle, people won’t be talking.

We’re off to New Jersey this morning for some business meetings. We’re really trying to get National Hockey Now’s growth curve back on track. Over the past year, we had to shrink the number of our markets, and I hated that.

But I will be 80 for 80 in covering games this season. Also, here’s a little tidbit about our audience: 692,751 unique readers visited our Steelers, Penguins, and Pirates coverage in March. Thank yoU!

I did a Live Chat yesterday on the YouTube and Facebook pages. I don’t know if it was great or bad because I just let you guys have it from the very beginning, no monologues or scene setting, but I did let a few harsh opinions fly. Go to our YouTube page.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The news was a shocker Wednesday. Dave Molinari was the best one to write the story. Ray Shero passed away at the age of 62. The former Penguins GM left a lasting legacy.

The story became even juicier Wednesday night. The New York Rangers will have to make a nasty decision to give the Penguins their top-13 protected pick or gamble and give the Penguins an unprotected pick in 2026. Also, the Worlds await a few players. It’s good stuff in the Penguins’ notebook.

Each chapter of the Professional Hockey Writers Association nominates one player who most exemplifies perseverance, dedication, and sportsmanship. We nominated Boko Imama.

PHN+: A Penguins insider for you–we sat down with Rutger McGroarty in the Penguins locker room (before he decided to block a shot with his skate). Very quickly, he passed one of the most important tests for a rookie. Here’s more from the Penguins locker room.

I can admit this now: I asked Sidney Crosby who I should vote for and took his advice. I voted for Bryan Rust to win the Masterton nomination and put Boko second. I put Rickard Rakell third on my ballot. Boko is a worthy winner. I think Marc-Andre Fleury or Gabriel Landeskog will win the award.

NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

Colorado Hockey Now: Speaking of one Mr. Landeskog, it’s happening. Three years … THREE YEARS … in the making. The Colorado Avalanche loaned Landeskog to their AHL team for a conditioning stint. The Gabriel Landeskog comeback is on.

Montreal Hockey Now: The storming Les Habitants got really good news this week when the KHL dropped a gfit upon them. The Canadiens signed fifth overall pick Ivan Demidov (I still don’t know why he dropped to fifth). Marc Dumont has the new situation, the cap space, a potential trade, and everything that Demidov changes for the Montreal Canadiens.

Philly Hockey Now: I think Penguins fans may thank Philly. They beat the New York Rangers, who dropped the Rangers to the 10th overall pick. You can revel in the BlueShirts’ misfortune and get the Philadelphia Flyers postgame.

As of today, the Penguins have the 7th overall pick, and if the Rangers are worried about next season, they could also give the Penguins the 2025 pick, which is up to 10th overall after the loss.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Flyers’ win had a ripple effect. Thank you, Flyers. The Rangers’ loss clinched a playoff spot for the New Jersey Devils.

TSN: What happens next with the Vancouver Canucks? They were eliminated Wednesday night. It wasn’t a good season for anyone there, including Elias Pettersson and goalie Thatcher Demko. What are the trade targets for the summer?

The Athletic ($): What went wrong with the Buffalo Sabres? Only one active player in the NHL was a Sabre the last time they made the playoffs (Tyler Myers). Will the coach and GM return, or will the Pegulas clean house? There are a lot of questions in the border town that has been stuck in failure.

Also in the Athletic is the Columbus Blue Jackets’ plight. They badly need a goalie overhaul this summer, but the options are limited. Very limited.