Dan’s Daily: Trade Targets; Hunting for Centers; Penguins Coach Analysis

The hockey world gets a breather before the big rematch begins on Wednesday. It is the calm before the June storm that will be rapid-fire news announcements, coaching hires, big games, heavy NHL trade chatter, the Stanley Cup, the NHL Draft, and finally culminating in free agency on July 1. We updated the Pittsburgh Penguins coaching search with finalists and pulled one name from the conversation. We also analyzed what general manager Kyle Dubas’s choice says about the immediate direction of the team. Elsewhere in the Daily, Sportsnet examined the market for centers, Buffalo and Montreal trade talk, and Connor McDavid’s date with destiny.

Thank you, everyone.

The media landscape in Pittsburgh and, for that matter, the world is undergoing swift and sometimes difficult changes. For May, the Now Sports group with PHN, Steelers Now, and Pittsburgh Baseball Now registered over 464,000 unique readers. May is generally one of our worst months of the year because the Penguins have been quiet (three years running), OTAs are boring, and the Pirates are usually falling out of contention by now, but that’s a healthy number! This year, those numbers are only a part of our readership because they don’t count the tens of thousands of readers on large national sites like Yahoo.

To register such a solid number is a testament to how hard our staff, including Alan Saunders and Danny Demilio, are working to keep coverage flowing.

To that end, we’re doing our last mega-blowout subscription sale. Get an ad-free experience and exclusive content. For new signups or lost readers returning, it’s only $12 for the year. That’s a buck a month, eh? The sale is going for only 48 more hours, so get it now. Join this sports party here.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: OK, here are the coaching finalists as reported by Elliotte Friedman. And PHN pulled one popular name out of contention. The latest on the Penguins’ coaching search.

I think this one is something to stew on. There are several candidates for the job, but beyond what each brings, what will Dubas’s decision say about the immediate future and expectations of the team, especially if the team hires Mitch Love or D.J. Smith?

Some news yesterday had some of the folks who closely follow the prospects salivating. The big news was that Dubas signed Russian prospect Mikhail Ilyin. Our new associate, Matt Meagher, also did a highlight video for the Penguins prospect.

There’s plenty of good info in the story and video, but good gosh, temper your expectations. Every time the Penguins sign a prospect, people go loopy and think that prospect is going to score 25 goals and lift the team (then get mad at me for delivering a bitter dose of reality). Chill. Ilyin is a long-term project, albeit a very intriguing one.

Steelers Now: The first week of football in shorts (or football in coats) wrapped up. There are some winners and losers in the first week of Steelers OTAs.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Local boy made good. A prospect from North Allegheny has made it to the majors.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

Montreal Hockey Now: The Habs are on the prowl. With the 16th and 17th overall picks in this year’s NHL Draft, and with a prospect defenseman that is a high first-round pedigree (Logan Mailloux), the hunted has become the hunter. There was even a big trade that fell through last summer. Marc Dumont has the full story and Montreal Canadiens trade chatter.

Sportsnet: Ever dance with the Devil in the pale moonlight? The 2024 Stanley Cup Final appeared to be mortally wounding to McDavid’s chances of winning a Stanley Cup in Edmonton, but here he is, back again for another shot. And this time, Edmonton seems to have destiny on its side, or at least an entire country hopes so.

Florida Hockey Now: Coach Paul Maurice was asked what makes the Florida Panthers so special, and he gave a long answer–most of which George Richards didn’t need. Instead, George used a prime example as the team set up a way to participate in the first annual Johnny and Matthew Gaudreau 5k walk, virtually. Matthew Tkachuk and the Panthers paused their Cup preparations to join in.

The Athletic ($): The big trade board from the New York Times’ de facto sports department. Chris Johnston has the big board of NHL trade bait, and he, too, included a name that you and I have discussed, J.J. Peterka. Here’s the Athletic’s full list.

Philly Hockey Now (+): This trade target makes perfect sense. Thatcher Demko has been banged up in Vancouver, but the Philadelphia Flyers badly need some goaltending help. Will James dissects the Flyers’ trade possibility.

Sportsnet: The search for centers. Ryan Dixon specifically looked at centers for the Canadian teams, but the info holds for every other team that needs help on the pivot, too. From Nazem Kadri to Matt Duchene, free agents and trades, but not Sidney Crosby, it’s the hunt for centers.