Dan’s Daily: Pens Trade Bait; Latest Ekholm, Rakell & Hall Trade Talk

The NHL trade deadline could produce a few bidding wars over well-paid players. That much was evident as a few national writers played matchmaker this weekend. Mattias Ekholm, Taylor Hall, and Rickard Rakell are the names to watch on the NHL trade market, but no, the Pittsburgh Penguins are unlikely to factor in on those big names. PHN laid out the Penguins trade bait, and the New York Islanders are trying to run away with the East Division.

*Pittsburgh Hockey Now: What do the Penguins have to offer on the NHL trade market? Not much, but it should be enough to fill some holes. Here’s PHN’s Penguins trade bait list. 

PHN+: It was a VERY interesting “Off the Record” column on Sunday. There were no bombshells yet, but it laid the groundwork for a few potential bombshells like an Arizona Coyotes sell-off to slash payroll. Also, watch for Bill Guerin at the NHL trade deadline…

*The Athletic: Pierre LeBrun jumpstarted the national outlet’s NHL trade deadline coverage by matching Mattias Ekholm, Rickard Rackell, and Taylor Hall to the teams he believes are the front runners. 

OK, enough trade chatter.

Just remember, there’s a big difference between accredited outlets/reporters and anonymous Twitter accounts who claim to be “insiders” with magical trade ideas that always seem to involve the Penguins and always be exactly what you want to hear…

*NYI Hockey Now: The New York Islanders are trying to run away with the East Division. They won their ninth straight game when they beat New Jersey on Sunday night. It was a wild game. 

Anders Lee was placed on LTIR, and two players, including J-G Pageau, landed in COVID protocol, too.

*TSN: Remember the hockey Twitter handwringing that Calgary Flames would hire an old retread like Darryl Sutter? (Never mind the LA Kings Stanley Cups and organization transforming work). It looks like Sutter has been an immediate boost in Calgary. 

Sometimes coaches keep getting jobs because they’re very good but have a shelf life.

TSN: Former Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Matt Murray suffered an upper-body injury in warmups and was a last-minute scratch. 

Murray’s rookie understudy Joey Daccord then beat the Toronto Maple Leafs for his first NHL win.

National Hockey Now

Colorado: The Avs defense is getting tougher and better in the midst of injuries to their top guys?

Philly: Would you like to see some handiwork of Ron Hextall and Chris Pryor, who are now the Penguins brain trust? The Flyers prospects are coming along in Lehigh Valley. A pair of them, including Wade Allison, scored their first professional goals in their debut on Sunday. 

Boston: There’s panic on the Northeast. The Boston Bruins are crying for a shakeup. 

That’s good news for the Penguins, eh?

San Jose: The San Jose Sharks still need Martin Jones.

Florida: In addition to Patric Hornqvist leading the charge, Radko “the Butcher” Gudas adds some muscle and confidence to the Florida Panthers lineup. 

The new management team in FLA did a very good job this offseason.