Dan’s Daily: More Teams Hunt for Goalies; Penguins Trade Values

Thus begins another week of the NHL offseason, NHL trade rumors, and questions about the Pittsburgh Penguins’ direction. More teams have joined the hunt for goalies, and the Calgary Flames’ Jacob Markstrom is tied to a pair of new suitors. The NHL brass is indeed watching the possible exploitation of the long-term injured reserve rules and is open to tweaking the rule. Finally, after the Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas said the club is looking to add draft picks and prospects, we did a deep dive into the value of the Penguins veterans on the trade block, including Tristan Jarry.

As I noted in the story Sunday evening, I included Jarry largely to show the real situation and why Jarry isn’t on the trade block, but it didn’t deter some of you. I must give you credit. You’re steadfast in your beliefs and undeterred by any contrary information.

I’d love to show you some pictures of a great bike ride or road trip this weekend. Instead, my big treat was Arby’s Sunday night after filming The Final Word. It’s a busy time for Hockey Now, and I’m incredibly excited about what’s next. Our new business partnership is giving us access to knowledge and technical resources we’ve not had before. And the Washington Capitals just helped us out, but more on that below…

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: If Dubas put Jarry, Marcus Pettersson, Reilly Smith, and other veterans on the NHL trade block, what would they be worth? I’m not sure if you’ll love or hate the answers, but with recent trades as market value, here are the Penguins’ trade values.

NovaCaps: I’ll include this in the Penguins section because it helps National Hockey Now. We’re now “business cousins” with PuckPedia, and that’s helpful because the Washington Capitals just bought CapFriendly and will soon close it to the public.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: The Buccos went for the sweep against the Twins, but the bullpen let them down again. Here’s the full rundown of the Pittsburgh Pirates game.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: The trade rumor roundup. Markstrom is again in the rumors, which probably doesn’t make him very happy. According to the folks up north, the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ottawa Senators have joined the hunt for Markstrom’s services.

TSN: It’s more complicated than your ex-girlfriend texting at 2 a.m. just to say hi, but even though most teams are OK with the current rules and potential loopholes, the NHL is looking at possible tweaks to the LTIR rule.

The problem with changing the rule is that every team wants the opportunity to exploit its benefits, as Tampa Bay and Vegas have done.

Boston Hockey Now: Here is the schedule for the upcoming Four Nations Face-Off in February. It will have two host sites: Montreal and the TD Garden, home of the Boston Bruins.

Montreal Hockey Now: It’s the summer of George! Oh, wait, it’s a summer of great opportunity, rising cap, potential trades, and possibilities for the Montreal Canadiens.

NYI Hockey Now: Long Island. You can see New York City, but it’s a different universe. Lou Lamoriello’s team has a few needs to break free from the mushy middle, and one of them is penalty-killing forwards. Russell Macias takes a swing at a few free-agent targets for the New York Islanders.

Florida Hockey Now: You’d think being in the Stanley Cup Final would be enough to earn respect, or at least for sports directors and graphics people across the country to know who the hell they are. You’d be wrong. Once again a large oops by an ABC station incorrectly promoting the Edmonton Oilers vs. the CAROLINA Panthers. I tell ya, the Florida Panthers get no respect.

Our George Richards, the venerable host of many sports writer beer summits in South Florida, opened the mailbag. From the Cup Final to Zach Hyman, George is a popular guy, and the Panthers fans are coming back. The Q&A from the Stanley Cup Final.

Colorado Hockey Now: I didn’t endear myself to the Denver population Friday when I included Jonathan Drouin as a potential free-agent target for the Penguins. It was all good-natured, but the fans have really adopted Drouin and feel protective of him. Later Friday, Drouin’s agent, Allen Walsh, spoke glowingly of his meeting and the Colorado Avalanche organization.