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Dan’s Daily: Kraken Scaring Champs, Young Penguins

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Evan Rodrigues, Colorado Avalanche, Jared McCann, Seattle Kraken, NHL trade rumors and Pittsburgh Penguins

There were only two games Wednesday in the NHL Stanley Cup playoffs. We’re into the thicket now, and no team has been eliminated. The Florida Panthers were dominated, shelled, and somehow victorious over the Boston Bruins to avoid elimination. The Seattle Kraken are putting a heavy scare into the defending Stanley Cup champs and could eliminate them after a Game 5 win. The old Pittsburgh Penguins might be able to get a little younger with existing players in prime roles, but can those players handle them? And the Calgary Flames will be at the center of the NHL trade rumor mill when they hire a new GM because there are a handful of big-name players with one year left on their contracts.

Calgary, Philadelphia, and the Penguins are sans a GM. The Penguins are significantly behind those orgs while figuring out their organization’s structure. Seems like FSG should have known that before sweeping everyone out the door. But I digress.

Chapter One of my offseason is almost complete. We found a gung-ho newspaper writer to take over in one of our cities. The contract is being issued today. We’re still interviewing for Washington. We’re getting resumes from all corners, though it makes me chuckle that we’re getting resumes from Nannys, counter clerks, landscapers, etc. It doesn’t say much for the state of my profession when everyone else is like, “Yeah, I can do that. No problem.”

Saturday, I leave for Las Vegas to prepare for Round Two. I’ll be in the desert for a couple or six weeks, but I will still be covering the Penguins with our staff here, too.

Pittsburgh Penguins / Steelers, Pirates

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins are so old … they were the welcoming committee for the Ark. Their rookie year was in black and white. They’re so old fans took videos of their first Stanley Cup on flip phones (that one is true).

However, can the team get younger with existing players? Drew O’Connor and Ryan Poehling showed promise, but can they make an impact? The old Penguins’ problem.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now:

Drew Maggi. 33 years old. Major League Debut. He expected a regular at-bat, maybe some nerves. And then PNC Park went nuts for the minor league journeyman getting his first cuts. An incredibly special moment.

One night after blowing a five-run lead against the powerhouse Dodgers, the Pirates again claimed a five-run lead. This time, they buried LA. It was a big-time Pittsburgh Pirates win.

Every day — check out the Pirates’ prospect watch.

Stay on top of the Pittsburgh Pirates with Pittsburgh Baseball Now. I don’t think you’ll get better coverage anywhere. And you certainly won’t get more coverage from the ballpark. We’re all over it, and John Perrotto is leading a great team of young and enthusiastic writers. The site’s readership doubled last week. Let’s double it again this week!

Steelers Now: 

NFL Draft Day. That’s all that needs to be said, yeah?

Who will be available when the Steelers draft at No. 17?

Here’s the good news: Picks no. 17 and 32 have produced all-pros in recent years. NFL draft success.

Film Study: How does recent Steelers trade acquisition Allen Robinson fit into the Steelers’ offense?

We’re also soon to launch a cool Steelers coverage initiative, giving more voices a chance to be seen and heard. Stay tuned.

NHL Trade Talk, Playoffs, National Hockey Now:

Detroit Hockey Now: The NHL is returning to Sweden for a few games next season, and they’re taking the Detroit Red Wings.

Colorado Hockey Now: The Seattle Kraken earned a 3-2 series lead with a 3-2 win in Colorado Wednesday. The defending champs are backed against the wall. Go inside the Avalanche locker room — Nathan MacKinnon isn’t very happy.

Evan Rawal ripped the Avalanche in his postgame analysis. Rightfully so. In the biggest game of the year, the Colorado Avalanche were flat.

Florida Hockey Now: An awful turnover by Boston goalie Linus Ullmark and a game-winner by Matthew Tkachuk.

You can tell by the way I use my walk I’m a woman’s man, no time to talk. Boston dominated, but the Florida Panthers stayin’ alive. 4-3 in OT.

Boston Hockey Now: Boston had 21 consecutive shots in the second period. They bombarded Sergei Bobrovsky. And yet they lost. Mistakes were fatal in Game 5 for the Boston Bruins.

NHL trade talk:

Montreal Hockey Now: Here’s a palette cleanser and the precursor to the NHL trade rumors up north. The Montreal Canadiens’ best trade chips heading to the draft.

Sportsnet: The Calgary Flames have a handful of players with one-year left. Big names. So what happens next?