Dan’s Daily Links: Byfuglien to be Free Agent, NHL Trade Rumors

The Pittsburgh Penguins have an off day to enjoy the Florida sunshine on Tuesday. We’ll assume Evgeni Malkin packed extra sunscreen. The Winnipeg Jets and “Big Buff” are coming to a resolution on their season-long standoff, and Boston is at the epicenter of a couple of NHL trade rumors.

Our boys at Boston Hockey Now are all over the Bruins chatter. Last night, BHN reported the Bruins and one of their rivals are interested in Columbus Blue Jackets thumper Josh Anderson (Boston Hockey Now)

NBC Sports ponders the Bruins trade rumors from another perspective. Tyler Toffoli is often linked to the Penguins, but Boston is another team watching closely (NBC Sports)

Dustin Byfuglien could be an unrestricted free agent soon. The Winnipeg Jets and Byfuglien are closing in on an agreement (TSN)

Columbus won’t be sellers at the deadline. Nope, those pesky Blue Jackets which have been stripped of stars and supposedly hope, are in a playoff spot. So, CBJ is kicking tires on some attractive gets and creating some NHL trade rumors (The Athletic)

On TSN, Pierre LeBrun tagged Calgary as the best match for Toffoli, and he matched the New York Islanders with J-G Pageau (TSN)

Sportsnet listed Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith as a top target for the Toronto Maple Leafs after Frederick Andersen suffered an upper-body injury on Monday night (Sportsnet)

The Pittsburgh Penguins are winning, but some cracks are showing. Fixable cracks. (PHN+)

And the Penguins third line has been a monster for the team. We chatted with Zach Aston-Reese about the line and their roles. Aston-Reese is always a good chat, but that line has a “chip on their shoulder,” to prove their as good as their opponents (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

There’s some talk in Edmonton that former Detroit GM Ken Holland, now of the Edmonton Oilers, would be willing to flip Jesse Puljujarvi to Detroit as part of a package for Andreas Athanasiou. (Jim Matheson)

Pittsburgh area native Stephen Johns made a triumphant return to the NHL on Monday night. That guy has gone through hell and back. And he scored. (Dallas Morning News)

Otherwise, the NHL rumor mill is full of folks repeating other folks. They are the dudes playing a dude, disguised as another dude (Tropic Thunder reference)