Dan’s Daily: Oilers Fallout; Cup Damaged; Penguins Unique Trade Position

The talk had begun before the Edmonton Oilers had time to toss their sweaters into the laundry cart for the final time. The talk became chatter shortly after their sullen faces appeared before TV cameras, sharing their broken hearts with the rest of the hockey world. Make no mistake, the fallout from a pair of Stanley Cup Final losses could be huge. At home, the Pittsburgh Penguins find themselves in a unique spot on the NHL trade market. In fact, they find themselves as the only team in their spot, which should be good news for general manager Kyle Dubas. We went rapid fire with several Penguins takes, too. Lastly, the first name that Dan Muse added to his coaching staff is quite familiar to Penguins fans.

Elsewhere, the Florida Panthers have already done some good damage to the Stanley Cup, and reports from New York indicate the Rangers will take their sweet time deciding if they’ll give the Penguins the 2025 or 2026 pick.

We had a bustling Live Chat on Wednesday. I may have set a new record with an average watch time near 27 minutes. That’s an astounding number for sports talk, and I take it to mean that I did well with delivery and direction, and pace. But the info we put out was also pretty good. If you haven’t watched it yet, I didn’t shy away from the Evgeni Malkin story, even pulling back the curtain on getting the story and the perceived conflicts with previous reports.

I’ll link to the chat below. I haven’t uploaded the last few to podcast form. I really need to find a co-host and do a real podcast, but the only platform to pay was YouTube, so…I’ve stuck with the Live Chats and you as co-hosts until I find the co-host that I want.

And, do I see, a dry weekend coming?! As a lovely reader pointed out, I need to schedule a day off so the Penguins can break big news. Dear Penguins PR and Mr. Dubas, I’d like to take Friday off. *Ahem.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: From the Draft to rebuilding the fanbase to trades, we lined up and knocked ’em down. I thought short opinions would be easier to write, but apparently I had a lot of them. Rapid-fire Penguins takes.

Bonino, Bonino, Nick Booooonnniiinnnoooooo!!! The former center of the HBK line made a social media video announcing that he’s becoming an assistant coach for the Penguins.

Interesting move. I addressed the possibility and the potential problems in the Penguins’ slap shots.

From Malkin to coaches and even castrating bulls, if there’s nothing on TV or you can open a new window and get some work done while I talk–Here’s the Penguins Live Chat on YouTube.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

TSN: In their NHL Draft notebook, TSN cited a subscription article by Vince Mercogliano in the USA Today newspapers detailing the Rangers’ process. They don’t know, and they’re taking their good old time deciding whether or not to give the Penguins their 2025 first-round pick.

If you’re curious if the Penguins would trade up in the draft IF they get the Rangers’ pick, here’s the story we did on that matter and the true costs and valuations that general managers will be looking at–a must for armchair Penguins GMs.

Florida Hockey Now: A busted Stanley Cup. It is a rite of passage and a mark of a very good time. From being forgotten on a frozen lake a century ago to being dropped to the bottom of Mario Lemieux’s pool, to some other shenanigans that I’m sure you can imagine, the Stanley Cup is a durable, but very dentable object when 25 drunk men get their hands on it. George Richards has the awesome story–the Florida Panthers have already dinged, dented, and damaged the Stanley Cup.

Curiosity–what would you do with your day with the Cup? And would you be the one to drop it?

Sportsnet: Emily Sadler had one omission in her piece: Kyle Dubas. She rolled through the biggest movers and shakers who will define the 2025 offseason. From the possible trades to Mitch Marner, here are the people to watch.

TSN: “I believe he’s staying.” There is real fallout in Edmonton after losing the Cup Final again. There are questions and a lot of wondering if Connor McDavid will re-sign with the Edmonton Oilers. ESPN’s Steve Levy said a trade was possible. Everyone is quietly speculating about McDavid’s future.

If you’re interested, PK Subban says McDavid needs to consider all options, including leaving.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Trade! The first one since the Cup was awarded saw Eric Haula shipped to Nashville. It is the New Jersey Devils clearing cap space.

NYI Hockey Now: A tough get. James Hagens probably won’t go No. 1 overall, but he and the New York Islanders want him in blue and orange. So, how does it happen? Russel Macias writes, it’s a unique opportunity for the Islanders.

And a story I teased but didn’t link to yesterday (my bad). Tage Thompson was on the Cam and Strick podcast and kind of let his team have it for not having his back when he was knocked out from a blindside hit.

Great conversation with Tage Thompson up on all platforms! Talks about getting knocked out and watching his teammates do nothing. 😬 ⁦@CamandStrick⁩ #Sabres pic.twitter.com/B30TubKybW

— Andy Strickland (@andystrickland) June 17, 2025