Dan’s Daily: Marek Out at Sportsnet; Laine Trade Warms; Penguins Rankings

There is a bit of a mystery surrounding popular national Sportsnet host Jeff Marek, who hasn’t worked since Day 1 of the NHL Draft and whom Sportsnet confirmed Thursday is no longer with the network. In the NHL trade talk, Columbus Blue Jackets general manager Don Waddell was quite candid about the probability of the coming Patrik Laine deal. The Philadelphia Flyers dropped a truckload of money on Travis Konecny, and as we began the Pittsburgh Penguins prospect rankings, we realized just how far one of the Penguins’ top prospects has fallen.

We did the final Penguins Live Chat of the season on Thursday. It went pretty well, and the questions were sharp. The chats are a chance to say a few things out loud, and sometimes, my mind keeps going. One of my curses has always been speaking without an editor, so in the free form of the chats, occasionally, I’m hearing my thoughts for the first time, too.

I think I stumbled into a future Penguins debate: what could have been? The 2024 Penguins’ offseason strategy of eschewing bigger free agents vs. the conservative moves and draft pick accumulation strategy. I think the pick accumulation could have been executed independently of free agency. It’s something that’s still ruminating, but I think that’s going to be a hot topic if the Penguins are not better in October. You can view the Penguins Live Chat here.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: It took a minute, but the Penguins finally put pen to paper and signed 2023 first-round pick Brayden Yager to his three-year entry-level contract. I know a few of you have some questions about what that actually means, so here’s everything on Brayden Yager’s contract.

We began the Penguins prospect rankings. In past years, we did Nos. 6-10 and 1-5. This year, we added a third and possibly a fourth installment of the series because the Penguins suddenly have prospects in the system. As we laid out the rankings, it was surprising how far a former top prospect has fallen. Here are the rising and falling players outside the top 10 Penguins prospects.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

TSN: Last week, reports upgraded the Columbus Blue Jackets ask for Patrik Laine. It’s no longer assumed that Columbus will pay a team to make the deal happen. Now, it’s about finding a team willing to give up a draft pick or prospect. GM Don Waddell was on TSN radio, and he updated the trade process.

It’s a shame Waddell was on TSN radio instead of Columbus radio, but I get it. Ohio State football starts in several weeks. Who cares about hockey?

Toronto Sun: Where is Jeff Marek? Sources would only say he’s fine, but he hasn’t done his radio show since June, nor the podcast with Elliotte Friedman. He hasn’t tweeted since June 28. Sportsnet confirmed he’s no longer employed there. There’s a burgeoning Jeff Marek mystery at Sportsnet.

Vancouver Province: Let’s tee up more NHL trade chatter. Now that the Vancouver Canucks signed Daniel Sprong, what does that mean for a couple of young players who were fighting to crack the NHL lineup? It looks like a couple of kids, such as Vasily Podkolzin, will be on the trade block.

Philly Hockey Now: Here’s the deal, plus analysis. The Philadelphia Flyers loaded up $70 million and gave it to Travis Konecny.

Sam Carchidi’s take made Flyers fans uncomfortable—and maybe Penguins fans, too. The one person who championed Konecny and didn’t let him slip away was former Flyers GM Ron Hextall. Yep, here’s why Flyers fans should credit Ron Hextall.

I can feel some of your visceral reactions to that last sentence.

NYI Hockey Now: The New York Islanders signed Oliver Wahlstrom to a one-year deal. The problem is that now the Islanders are over the salary cap. So, it looks like what comes next is an Islanders trade.

Washington Hockey Now: I’ll be blunt. I didn’t think Sonny Milano would stick in Washington. However, as Nathan Moser writes, the former Anaheim Duck is finding a solid home with the Washington Capitals.