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Dan’s Daily: Montreal Chants ‘Fleury!’ in 500th Win, Letang on Sportsnet Trade Board

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nhl trade, pittsburgh penguins, evgeni malkin, marc-andre fleury

Marc-Andre Fleury won his 500th game, achieved his 69th shutout, and did it in his hometown. On Thursday night, Fleury shut out the Montreal Canadiens 2-0, and the Montreal Fans roared for the opposing goalie, chanting “Fleury, Fleury!” Yeah, that was pretty cool. The Vancouver Canucks tapped Jim Rutherford as their President of Hockey Operations and interim GM, which will spawn plenty of NHL trade rumors. And the Pittsburgh Penguins sale is Facebook official.

Let’s begin with Fleury, shall we?

Montreal: Fleury! Fleury! Watch–check out the video as the Montreal crowd provided our second awesome fan moment this week. Montreal fans roared for their native son as Fleury won his 500th NHL game. Video and complete story.

Thanks, hockey gods. I think Fleury needed that as much as we did.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Pittsburgh Penguins sale has been approved by the NHL Board of Governors. It was unanimous. 

Jason Zucker missed practice, again. And again, the Penguins termed it a maintenance day. Shelly Anderson was at the rink. 

NHL Trade, News, & National Hockey Now:

Vancouver: Jim Rutherford is BACK. He’s not just the Vancouver Canucks interim GM, he’s the President of Hockey Operations. The NHL trade rumors could get interesting with Rutherford, one of the great horse traders, is back in the saddle again. 

Sportsnet: A day after TSN put out their top-10 NHL trade bait list, Sportsnet followed suit with 25 names. A few Pittsburgh Penguins made the list. Bryan Rust was firmly on it, Sportsnet hedged on Evgeni Malkin but dangled Kris Letang. 

I just don’t know. If trades were going to happen, wasn’t the time to do it last July before the expansion draft? Or during the summer when free agents were available? Can anyone imagine blowing up a season win in which they could make the playoffs?

Here’s a crazy thought: Could Letang and Fleury be the silver reinforcements for Connor McDavid like Paul Coffey and Tom Barrasso were for Mario Lemieux? Age differences in that analogy notwithstanding.

Vegas: Love for Fleury, hate for Robin Lehner. Fleury is a tough act to follow–just ask Matt Murray. Robin Lehner was pulled from Vegas’s comeback win over Dallas, and the fans cheered head coach Pete DeBoer giving Lehner the hook.

Pittsburgh Penguins Rivals/Wild Card

NYI: Dry your eyes. I know you weep for the New York Islanders, who cannot win a game. Thursday night, they snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by squandering a third period lead and losing with…wait for it…11.5 seconds remaining. 

The Isles are last in the Metro and 12 points behind the Penguins with three games in hand. So–at least six points back.

Washington: Evgeny Kuznetsov left Washington Capitals practice Thursday with a lower-body injury.

Boston:  The Boston Bruins are just one point back of the Penguins but have two games in hand. Goalie Linus Ullmark withstood a 41-shot Edmonton Oilers barrage for a 3-2 win.

Detroit: The Red Wings could have leapfrogged the Penguins into the first wild card. However, the Red Wings can’t win on the road. They were hammered by the St. Louis Blues 6-2. 

Lastly…

Original PHN subscriber Melissa Hart announced her intentions to run for PA Governor. I generally don’t tell you about politics (China and vaccines excluded), but I will firmly endorse her as the adult in the room and vouch for her character. Her compassion is matched by her common sense. A politician who works in the private sector. The former U.S. congresswoman would make a fantastic governor. And she knows her hockey, too.