Dan’s Daily: Trade Talk; Canes Crushed; Penguins Candidates

The Carolina Hurricanes have now lost 15 Eastern Conference Final games in a row, dating back to 2009. They were steamrolled in the third period Saturday by the Florida Panthers, who are set to win their third straight Prince of Wales Trophy. Elsewhere in the Daily, the NHL trade chatter is about finding centers via trades or free agency, and we got in-depth with an expert about top candidates for the Pittsburgh Penguins head coaching position.

It is the holy trinity racing weekend. I cannot explain why, but since I was a wee lad, I have had an intense interest in the Indy 500. If I could find a way to make a living covering those 230mph go-karts careening about the Cathedral of Speed, the interest would be competitive to my love of hockey.

Every year, I post the finish to the 1982 Indy on X to kick off my racing day. Since you’re probably unfamiliar with the history, before the American sanctioning bodies artificially slowed cars to force more exciting finishes, racing was a pure endeavor. If you were faster, you pulled away. In 71 years, the closest Indy 500 finish was a few hundred yards, and that happened only once. It all changed in ’82. The best part is the broadcasters, including the venerable Jim McKay, absolutely losing their marbles over the roar of 400,000 people, and then apologizing. Yes, 400,000.

Unfortunately, the other two races, in my humble opinion, have become unwatchable parades devoid of excitement, especially F1’s near single-file jaunt around the antiquated Monaco course, which is literally too narrow to pass. The course is little more than a twisty Billionaires’ playground for an extreme wealth competition. But I digress.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: So, who will take over for Mike Sullivan behind the Penguins bench? This is an in-depth piece that made me rethink my chosen candidate. Francis Anzalone and I had a very good chat this week. Francis is personally familiar with many of the candidates, and we broke down the positives and negatives, as well as the pros and cons, of the top five candidates to be the Penguins coach.

Steelers Now: Good gosh, just do it already. At a public event, the quarterback who has not signed dropped a major hint at where he will sign, maybe. Here’s the big public tease by Aaron Rodgers.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: The Pirates won again. Mitch Keller tossed a gem, and the offense did enough to beat the Brewers. But let’s talk about something more surprising: the Pirates’ former No. 1 overall pick is finally putting it together after a few years of disappointment. Here’s Henry Davis.

NHL Rumors, News, & National Hockey Now

Florida Hockey Now: It was a tight game until the third period, and then … it wasn’t. Florida has the best killer instinct of any team in the last 25 years. If they get one bounce, it is over. They made their own luck Saturday and figuratively ripped the still-beating Carolina Hurricanes’ heart out of their chest and showed it to them with a five-goal third period. It’s now a 3-0 series lead for the devastating Florida Panthers.

Montreal Hockey Now: Now here’s an interesting story, and I know some Penguins fans have pondered the idea. What will it cost to move up in the 2025 NHL Draft?

Vegas Hockey Now: Hannah Kirkell is all over the VGK coverage. As she gets more comfortable in the reporter/analyst role, she’s really expanding coverage out there. So, guess what? Mitch Marner is interested in only two teams, one of which is the Vegas Golden Knights.

Marner is a great fit in Vegas, but GM Kelly McCrimmon would have to do some real salary cap magic. Funny enough, the Penguins could be involved, because I see a real scenario. More on that later.

The Athletic ($): The St. Louis Blues, like a few other teams, need help down the middle. Sam Bennett? John Tavares? Or will GM Doug Armstrong tap the NHL trade market? Shane Pinto and Marco Rossi appear on Jeremy Rutherford’s list.