Dan’s Daily: Angry Flames Goalie Trade Rumors; Penguins Change

The NHL trade rumors are starting up again. Calgary Flames goalie Jacob Markstrom was terse following his exit interview and the rumors linking him to New Jersey were re-ignited. Dave Molinari explained how the Pittsburgh Penguins hit a home run with Michael Bunting (see what he did there?), and I delivered a tough comparison between the Penguins’ chief rival who made the playoffs and the home-bound Penguins.

Elsewhere in the Daily, The Stanley Cup Playoffs were a wild bunch on Sunday that had fans at home on the edge of their seat and the home fans on their feet. New Utah Hockey owner Ryan Smith said the team has over 20,000 season ticket applications, and the Winnipeg-Colorado Game 1 was an incredible 7-6 nailbiter.

Hopefully, you caught Final Word at WPXI last night. It was a lot of fun with Paul Zeise and Chris Carter. We argued and yelled, and, at one point, I could see out of the corner of my eye that they were both looking at me like, “Where is Kingerski going with this?!”

See what’s causing @PaulZeise and @CarterCritiques to react to @TheDanKingerski this way.@ShelbyCassesse leads the charge on the Final Word tonight at 11:35 on @WPXI JOIN US!#LetsGoPens #LetsGoBucs #HereWeGo pic.twitter.com/Uca0ebwOhp

— The Final Word (@WPXIFinalWord) April 22, 2024

I’ll post the show later today.

So, my friends are trying to help me unwind from a whirlwind season. They invited me to the Pirates game on Sunday. I won’t be speaking to them again.

(I kid, I kid).

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The change in the Penguins was noticeable, and it changed the team just a bit. Here’s how president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas hit a home run at the NHL trade deadline by Michael Bunting.

So, let’s do this. Let’s compare the teams head-to-head and compare why the Washington Capitals are playing the New York Rangers in Round One despite a minus-37 goal differential and the Penguins are at home. What are the differences, and what did the Capitals do better than the Penguins?

The AHL dished an honor to the Penguins’ top prospect, Joel Blomqvist.

I will be covering the Round One Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins playoff series. Since Dubas said it was Blomqvist’s tryout, I will be there. I also want to get eyes on Tristan Broz. I think my past few scouting trips have been quite beneficial (and on the mark!). Most of the content will be exclusive to our PHN+ subscribers. And you can join the fun here. Use code Dan10 and save yourself $10. It’s on me.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

New Jersey Hockey Now: Dubas said he expected the New Jersey Devils to be strong next year. And it appears they will have the opportunity to get much stronger. Markstrom was terse after his exit interview with Calgary Flames GM Craig Conroy, re-igniting more NHL trade rumors with New Jersey.

New Jersey getting better would not help the Penguins cause.

TSN: It wasn’t that close. The Madison Square Garden crowd was rocking. And the Blueshirts were scoring. Predictably, the New York Rangers beat the Capitals in Game 1.

Utah owner Ryan Smith says the unnamed club has 20,000 season ticket applications.

Nashville Hockey Now: It looked for the red-hot Predators until the Vancouver Canucks turned it up a few notches. A Nashville lead became a Game 1 win for the Canucks. Here’s what went wrong for the Nashville Predators.

Boston Hockey Now: There’s a lot of chatter around the league after Game 1 in Boston. It was a bit of a beatdown by the Bruins, and Toronto is on stand-by to slam that panic button. Mick Colageo writes why and how the Boston Bruins passed Checkpoint 1.

Colorado Hockey Now: The wildest Game 1. It was firewagon hockey with goals and breathless fans. Goaltending? Well, maybe that was not so great Sunday in the Winnipeg Jets 7-6 win. Our sharp Evan Rawal, who played junior hockey and brings quite a bit of insight into the game, broke it down. Rapid Reaction: Why the Colorado Avalanche lost Game 1.