Dan’s Daily Links: A Strong Buyers Market, St. Louis Ready to Trade

One day after writing the Pittsburgh Penguins haven’t scouted the St. Loius Blues in a while and St. Louis hasn’t scouted the Penguins in a while, guess who was back at PPG Paints Arena Tuesday night? The St. Louis Blues scout who sat in on several consecutive games in December. More big names are being added to the trade watch which brings the price down (supply and demand), and the Philadelphia Flyers locker room sounds like they’re waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The St. Louis Blues season went from promising to wrecked in minutes. Every reporter within reach says GM Doug Armstrong isn’t going to accept it. Pierre Lebrun of The Athletic told TSN 1040 in Vancouver the Blues are listening on a lot of players  And–Perhaps the Blues could be a buyer on Dougie Hamilton?! This is getting nuts. But Elliotte Friedman makes a good case to Fan 590. Both stories: (Nichols on Hockey)

There is a part of me which wants to see Carolina and the Penguins connect on a Dougie Hamilton trade and Penguins fans give him the Phil Kessel treatment. Hamilton may need it of Carolina foolishly deals him months after acquiring him for the very pieces they now need (i.e. scoring forwards).

The Penguins PK unit scored two goals last night. Shelly Anderson must have had a vision. She wrote a great piece on Sidney Crosby and how good the Penguins PK has been with him. The stats are ridiculous (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

You don’t win in the playoffs unless you can hold your own. The Toronto Maple Leafs head coach Mike Babcock is putting his boots to his team to be heavier (Sportsnet)

Does Mitchell Marner yet weigh 170 pounds? Countdown to a flood of Toronto Trade rumors in 3…2….

It is becoming a buyers market. Craig Custance of The Athletic spoke with executives around the league. There is a lot of talent available. Here are 20 and analysis (The Athletic)

The Philadelphia Flyers room hears the noise. They know the score. Jakub Voracek is hearing it all. (The Inquirer)

Sometimes, a GM can’t wait for the perfect deal. When things are circling the drain, a good deal could suffice. It will be interesting to see what Chuck Fletcher does; his record in Minnesota was not great.

Sidney Crosby has 53 points in 40 games. Pretty good, eh? Nikita Kucherove just hit 71 points–the fastest to 70 since Jaromir Jagr in 1999 (The Score)

We will do a live Penguins chat today at 12:30. Note the new time so folks can eat and get back to the office to watch. Join our YouTube page for free–click the subscribe button, then enable notifications so you can join the fun (Pittsburgh Sports Live)