Dan’s Daily: Penguins Trade Value; Sabres Deal Peterka; 84-game Schedule?!

The Daily for Thursday is going to be rapid fire as we have more stories today than the previous three days combined. We assessed the Pittsburgh Penguins X-factor, Erik Karlsson’s actual trade value, and previewed an exciting player new mock drafts show could fall to the Penguins at No. 11 or 12, Victor Eklund. The Buffalo Sabres pulled off a late night trade, sending JJ Peterka to Utah, while the Edmonton Oilers shipped Evander Kane at full boat to the Vancouver Canucks. The NHL CBA negotiations could lead to a longer regular season (whoopie!), as soon as 2026-27, but at least we’d be guaranteed two trips to Madison Square Garden. And, Reilly Smith took a cheap-o deal to stay in Vegas.

I posted a thing on X last evening. It took a bit longer than anticipated, and there were more late plot twists than Departed. I’m taking a huge personal risk to push our company to the next level, and with any luck, into big-time territory. There are so many avenues that we’re going to expand into that I can’t list them all, but I can say that newspapers and a TV channel are on the table. No, I’m not getting rich from this deal, and in fact, I eschewed the cash value of National Hockey Now a couple of months ago to enter into greater discussions for this merger.

The last seven years have taken an enormous toll on me. Friends have drifted away while I plunked away on the keyboard or was glued to my phone, while others talked at the top of my head or stared at my vacant face while my mind worked through content or business issues. The stress has often taken away the parts of me that I liked and sometimes made it too easy for me to snap at others. I’ve had far too many 100-hour work weeks, and more than a few that I calculated at over 120, but if we are ever able to make NHN a long-lasting company and put our flag in the mainstream of the industry, I had to do it just to get here. This moment is our chance. No, I’ll not take days off–that’s just weird to me–but now I’ll have help on the business side that is much smarter than I. We’ll announce all of the details soon.

And thus it has been agreed.
Just wait until you see what we’ve got coming next. pic.twitter.com/UI8LG1AZnX

— Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) June 25, 2025

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: A name that has been out of reach for the Penguins for most of Draft season is suddenly in play. Could it be? A zippy, aggressive right winger with a good shot and scrappy forecheck falls to the Penguins? We preview with scouting video and analysis, Victor Eklund.

So, we’ve all talked about the possibility. I’ve asked the player about the possibility. However, no one seems to have a good handle on the specifics of that possibility. The Penguins’ wild card, X-factor, and unknown. I dug in and came up with a pretty good answer. What is Erik Karlsson’s trade value?

And we had a good time on the Live Chat. We just kept going. I wish I had a counter so I could direct you to the different topics. However, the first 20 minutes were draft, then the Karlsson trade talk took over, and then it was a free-for-all. Hope you enjoy the latest Penguins Live Chat.

I’d love to know the person who goes back and gives a thumbs-down to all of our videos. I think they’re a late-night creature, but at this point, it’s pretty funny. Every single one that has my face on it will have a 100% rating, then…boom, one thumbs down by morning. Do we think he was a big “FIRE MIKE SULLIVAN” person, or a “PLAY THE YOUNG GUYS!” zealot who can’t let go?

The funniest thing is, some of the people who are the hardest on me in the public square are also subscribers. That part always humbles me. Like, what?!

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: It’s about one month until the MLB trade deadline. Here are the latest Pirates trade rumors.

NHL Trade Chatter, News, & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: JJ Peterka will NOT be a New York Ranger. The restricted free agent is headed to Utah. In fact, as part of the Buffalo Sabres trade to Utah, Peterka got a mammoth contract (you see what I did there?). Buffalo got a nice return and some snarl for their lineup.

ESPN: No, why are we making the boring part of the NHL season longer?! As part of the CBA negotiations, which are close to completion, the NHL and NHLPA are discussing an 84-game schedule, but will shorten the preseason.

Edmonton Journal: A good deal for Edmonton but a big gamble for Vancouver. The first big trade Wednesday was the Vancouver Canucks spending only a fourth round pick to acquire the occasionally embattled but always productive Evander Kane.

Forever Blueshirts: The stamp of Mike Sullivan. Chris Drury is trying to fix up the left side of the New York Rangers’ blue line, and the tag line is consistency of volatility. Vintage Sullivan, eh? Jim Cerny has the targets and the attempts for the Rangers’ defense.

NYI Hockey Now: The Islanders have a big few days, too. They have the No. 1 pick thanks to a long-shot lottery win, but are also trying to cleanse the mistakes of Lou Lamoriello, which locked them into the mushy, mushy middle. Russ Macias has four Islanders trade targets.

Boston Hockey Now: Is that seventh overall pick available? Is it not? GM Don Sweeney is playing coy, and it seems he is hinting that the Boston Bruins are open for business.

Vegas Hockey Now: There are two stories from Hannah Kirkell, the second because I laughed out loud at the headline. It seems both sides have learned from their mistakes, and the Vegas Golden Knights delivered a team-friendly deal when they re-signed Reilly Smith.

And Pittsburgh-native Brandon Saad is sticking around in Vegas, too. Check out Hannah’s headline: The Saadfather, Part II.

That’s just great headline writing there. Stay cool, peeps.