Dan’s Daily: Panthers Win East; NHL Trade Board; Penguins News & Prospects

The Pittsburgh Penguins let two prospects walk Saturday by not signing them to contracts, but we had some fun with top forward Brayden Yager’s teammates by asking about Yager as a teammate. Later this morning, we’ll return to Penguins analysis and offseason possibilities. The Florida Panthers sent the New York Rangers packing in six games and advanced to the Stanley Cup Final for the second year in a row. Frank Seravalli and Daily Faceoff put out the latest NHL Trade Bait list, and the Vancouver Canucks are wrestling with the difficult decision to re-sign defenseman Nikita Zadorov.

Good on Florida. They deserve a Cup. Perhaps the fans will stick around this time.

We finally had a gorgeous Saturday. So, I took a bike ride up north Friday evening and Saturday. I planned to see the stars in Potter County Friday night, but it was 45 degrees! So, I hunkered down at the Laurelwood Motel and Steakhouse.

Saturday, I stopped in a little town that’s near to my heart: Emporium. It’s the town where my grandfather had a hunting camp and where he met my grandmother (she was technically a step-grandmother, but I never considered her less than a grandmother). The beautiful little town is in trouble. The “nice” restaurant and sports bar have closed since last summer. Even the Moose Lodge is for sale. The houses are big and beautiful, and the tree-lined streets bely another struggling small northern town.

So, the final tally on the 24-hour trip was two bottles of moonshine at the Blackbird Distillery in Brookville. Steak and chocolate cake at Laurelwood Motel and Steakhouse in Coudersport. Breakfast in Emporium. The “Eddy” hot dog at Daddy’s in Clarion. And home. But no star gazing.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Goodbye to a pair of prospects whom the Penguins needed to re-sign by 5 p.m. or lose their rights. The Wheeling crowd might be upset, but here’s the last story about a pair of now-former Penguins prospects.

Our final story from Saginaw. More on Brayden Yager’s game, and we had some fun — what do his teammates think of him? The guys went along with the tongue-in-cheek way I asked the question but then gave some real details about what the Penguins could expect.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Daily Faceoff: From Mitch Marner to Reilly Smith, DFO’s offseason NHL trade bait list.

Florida Hockey Now: The reaction in the locker room and the celebration. The Florida Panthers are headed to the Stanley Cup Final.

Coly Guy takes dead aim at the media attention and fawning praise for the vanquished New York Rangers, “Shove it, 1994. The Panthers are the team of destiny.” It’s a fun read for Penguins fans who just don’t like the Rangers and are coming to like the Florida Panthers.

Philly Hockey Now: The orange and black are building toward the future. The defense pairing of Nick Seeler and Jamie Drysdale could be something really special for a long time for the Philadelphia Flyers.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Like the Penguins, a big-bodied prospect needed to be signed by 5 p.m. yesterday, but the New Jersey Devils declined.

TSN: Here we go. Could we get an Edmonton-Florida final? Or can Dallas force a Game 7 by winning in Edmonton? It’s high drama. Can the Edmonton Oilers handle the pressure and close it out up north?

Either way, it’s going to be a Stanley Cup Final of terribly small hockey markets, even though Dallas and Florida are giant media markets. But the hockey has been fantastic.

Sportsnet: I know a lot of you are watching this player closely. The Vancouver Canucks are facing a difficult decision to sign or let Nikita Zadorov bolt via free agency. The decision is not as cut and dried as you may think.

So, National Hockey Now underwent some real personnel changes Friday. Here’s the “recap”: Andrew Fantuchhio is headed to Boston to cover the Bruins. Russell Macias, formerly of Duquesne University, is headed to Long Island to cover the Islanders. We have a team of writers taking over in Nashville. And we’ve said goodbye to valued colleagues Jimmy Murphy in Boston and Michael Gallagher in Nashville.

You’ll notice we don’t hire people not in the city, and we don’t play around with people who have never worked in the business before. It was a lot of change in a short time, but we’re on solid ground.