Dan’s Daily: Oilers Won’t Include Prospect; Penguins Get Big Surprise

Sometimes, this job is just the best. I have covered Mario Lemieux and Sidney Crosby and seen them make routine that which other humans just cannot do. Saturday was one of those crazy days everyone will remember as 52-year-old Jaromir Jagr suited up for Penguins practice, one day before his iconic No. 68 is retired. It was epic. Elsewhere in the Daily, the NHL trade winds are now howling in Calgary, where the last man out turns off the lights. The Edmonton Oilers want a top-six winger (ahem, Jake Guentzel) but have told teams they will not part with their top prospect. We’ll update the Eastern Conference wild-card race, and the Florida Panthers scored nine unanswered goals against Tampa Bay.

Unfortunately, Jagr was not available to the media after practice, but the room was abuzz. There’s a film crew following the great Jagr and our own Dave Molinari was dragged into the documentary. I’ll let him or the Penguins tell you more when appropriate (I don’t want to talk out of school). It was a wild day all around.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: I had a funny feeling. The Penguins were more than a few minutes late for practice. There had to be something going on, and sure enough, stepping onto the ice in full gear in No. 68 was Jaromir Jagr.

PHN+: Use code Dan10 to subscribe to PHN+ for exclusive content at home and on the road. Go inside the Penguins’ locker room. You can see the raw video and the awe on everyone’s faces in the locker room as they talk about the experience. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang were like little kids. Mike Sullivan gave us a thorough (more than two minutes) answer about his decision and the results of including Jagr in the Penguins’ practice.

Lost in the shuffle was newbie Matthew Phillips. The Penguins claimed the 5-foot-7, 160-pound winger from the Capitals. Phillips is not a big guy, but he’s going to get a big chance. Dave has more on him at 9 a.m.

The Penguins trail the Detroit Red Wings by seven points with three games in hand. They trail the Philadelphia Flyers by 10 points with five games in hand. They’re also five points back of the Devils with three games in hand.

Such an odd schedule. How does a team have five games in hand on their divisional rival? Please go back to more division rivalry games. The TV ratings and the fan engagement are so much higher. The public opinion makers, who dissuaded the NHL because they wanted to see all teams more often, can pound sand.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Hockey Night in Canada: Saturday Headlines with Elliotte Friedman. The Flames are sending everyone to market, olly olly oxen free. And in news that may directly affect the Penguins’ trade activity, the Edmonton Oilers will not part with top prospect Philip Broberg for a rental.

I wrote on Thursday and will repeat. My message to Edmonton would be — No Broberg, no Jake Guentzel. Edmonton should lay out for a top-six winger and a goalie, but not in that order.

New Jersey Hockey Now: There was no winning for the Penguins here. The Stadium Series game pitted the Devils against the Flyers. It was a pretty good game — the New Jersey Devils pulled away.

Philly Hockey Now: The Flyers have some Russian prospects who would surely love to be released from their “obligations” in Mother Russia (or not be sent to a dictator’s war). Russia is banned from IIHF events, but the Flyers’ top prospect wrote a letter asking the IIHF to reconsider the ban.

Detroit Hockey Now: The Flames were no match, as Detroit snapped its losing streak and stayed in a wild-card spot. The Detroit Red Wings are motoring along.

Also from Sportsnet — Another hat trick from Auston Matthews. Dude is racing to 70, and the Maple Leafs boat raced the Anaheim Ducks right out of the building.

Florida Hockey Now: This one is far more surprising. If you’ve got a few beans to bet on the Stanley Cup, bet on Florida. They scored nine unanswered goals against Tampa Bay. As Gary Dell’Abate would say, Noin?! The Florida Panthers crushed Tampa.

Montreal Hockey Now: Montreal took a moral victory as their young players starred. However, the Montreal Canadiens didn’t help the Penguins and took the L against the Washington Capitals.

Boston Hockey Now: Milan Lucic’s domestic violence case was dismissed, but his season is over, per the Boston Bruins.