Dan’s Daily: TSN Debates Penguins Sell-Off; Jagr Speaks Wisdom

The Pittsburgh Penguins again won a 54-minute game but lost the 60-minute version, the latest in a series of hard-knuckled blows to their playoff hopes as they dropped a 2-1 heartbreaker to the LA Kings on Jaromir Jagr day. For his part, Jagr dropped a little F-bomb on TV, captivated everyone with his speech, and dropped some real pearls of wisdom about life and his future before watching his No. 68 jersey hoisted to the rafters. Elsewhere in the Daily, TSN debated if the Penguins should become sellers. The Philadelphia Flyers are undecided if their biggest trade chip is actually going on the NHL trade block. And the New York Islanders are failing to gain ground, too.

I absolutely loved Jagr’s speech, but I sent his quote from the press conference to a few people who are like me — people for whom their business is their passion and have said that we work too much or too hard. At that moment, I felt like I completely understood Jagr on a different level. If only I were as great, eh?

“Once you’re satisfied with something, you’re done. There always has to be a hunger to be better and better and better. And that’s the drive in life. I always compare me to the Amazon jungle. If you’re satisfied in the jungle, you’re dead. There’s no, ‘I’m sorry, you were good, we let you live.’ No, somebody’s going to eat you,” Jagr said.

And that’s why my alarm goes off at 6 a.m. despite being at the arena until midnight or later. That’s why I buy the wifi on plane rides and try to work with my knees cramped to my chest on an awful Spirit flight. It’s why I read every National Hockey Now site every day and try to explain to writers how to sharpen their product. It’s why I work seven days a week, every week. It’s also why a venture capitalist called me on Sunday afternoon with what he said was very good news … Stay tuned.

This weekend, I grew a profound respect for Jagr, the human. I may need to add a Jagr bobble or something to the background of what’s left of my radio studio.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Retirement, regrets, and pearls of wisdom. The Jaromir Jagr press conference.

It was a sad ending to a happy weekend. The LA Kings scored twice in three minutes late in the third period, and that was enough. Dave Molinari’s Penguins game recap.

The report card. I had a good portion of it written before the final 10 minutes. And then it all changed. The surprising power play became the albatross again. The better defensive efforts became sloppy. The win … became a loss. The analysis, the player grades, and the blunt truth. The toxic power play and inexplicable mistakes are crushing the Penguins.

PHN video: Viewers seemed to like this one. More from PPG Paints Arena – Another sad microcosm of the Penguins’ season. What went wrong, and what needs to happen this week — the PHN Penguins postgame.

Dave Molianri’s morning six-pack. Bryan Rust didn’t mince words. Dave’s take on the latest Penguins letdown.

In case you were wondering, they also changed the Mario Lemieux banner.

The new Mario banner (four star change. MUCH better). And the kid.
Until the last 6 minutes of the game, this was a storybook weekend. pic.twitter.com/8BGVx7zmnp

— Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) February 19, 2024

And the viral moment of the night. Jagr in the TV booth. Jags,  you can’t say that on TV, but it was gold.

Jagr droppin’ the f-bomb 🤣 pic.twitter.com/jAsgZYZMLm

— Benstonium (@Benstonium) February 19, 2024

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

TSN: Frank Corrado had a different take on the Penguins being sellers at the deadline. You can’t acquire Erik Karlsson and then sell?

NYI Hockey Now: How’s this for a headline: Islanders allow greatest weakness to spell disaster on biggest stage. The Islanders got a loser point but lost to the Rangers in overtime. Andrew Fantucchio cracked the struggling New York Islanders.

But wasn’t a new coach supposed to fix everything magically?

Philly Hockey Now: Sean Walker could be the Flyers’ biggest trade chip, but the orange and black are undecided on his future. Should he stay or should he go? The uncertain Flyers trade deadline plan.

Here’s the deal, Philly. The Islanders and Penguins can’t get it together. The Devils don’t have any goaltending. Go for it. Enjoy the ride, make the playoffs, and see what happens. Cinderella seasons don’t happen often. Wear that glass slipper with pride.

New Jersey Hockey Now: The Devils rolled the Flyers in the Stadium Series game. Brendan Smith had a goal and an assist. He wanted for the Gordie Howe hat trick but couldn’t find any takers?! The New Jersey Devils were feeling it.