Dan’s Daily: Hughes USA Drama; Ducks Trade Chips; Penguins Good News

The drama at the Four Nations Face-Off is reaching a crescendo in advance of Thursday night’s final between the U.S. and Canada. Due to Charlie McAvoy’s hospitalization for an infection, Team USA called Quinn Hughes to Boston, causing massive headlines across the hockey world, some fear in Canada, and some rules-checking, too. Team USA general manager Bill Guerin appeared on Fox News to hype the tournament and was asked if he would welcome President Trump’s attendance, to which he answered in the affirmative, setting off even more headlines. Elsewhere in the Daily, the Pittsburgh Penguins got some good news, Drew O’Connor got paid, and the Anaheim Ducks might change direction with the NHL trade winds.

There’s no question Trump’s rhetoric has played a part in the heat of the Four Nations Face-Off. There was only one appropriate answer Guerin could give, and there were several that would have put Guerin in hot water with varying and large sects of the American public.

I also think the Four Nations roster rules are silly. This is a made-up tournament, and there’s no reason a player who wasn’t healthy at the beginning can’t get healthy and play at the end. It’s an NHL tournament, and any NHL player should be eligible at any time. In other words, if Quinn Hughes is healthy enough, he should be allowed to play Thursday. Roster attrition shouldn’t be a deciding factor.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Updated with confirmation and a few more tidbits. There is some good news for the Penguins as Bryan Rust and Evgeni Malkin were full go at Penguins practice.

The Penguins notebook was deep. It included prospects rising, prospects falling, one logjam that is becoming counterproductive, and another media-created Sidney Crosby trade proposal.

There’s a new podcast on the board. We got into the prospects, who looked good, who didn’t, and the reality of the Sidney Crosby chatter. I think it was a pretty good episode, and I’ve listed the times I discussed each topic so you can jump around. Check out the latest No Pucks Given.

It’s available on the major platforms, so set your pod platform to follow. We don’t do a lot of them, which means you won’t get bombarded with daily downloads that clog your list. Weekly seems right.

NHL Trade Chatter, News, & National Hockey Now

NY Post: Headline–“Guerin would love” Trump to attend the Four Nations Finale. Here’s the full story and quotes.

Sportsnet: Quinn Hughes is en route to Boston for the Four Nations finale. However, he’s not allowed to play unless it is an emergency situation–meaning Team USA would lack six healthy defensemen. The rule tripped up Canada and Thomas Harley, but there seems to be some pressure on the NHL to amend the rule, which they probably won’t. Probably. Here’s a pretty good read on the situation.

Orange County Register: Hey, the California papers rediscovered hockey. Andrew Knoll put the Anaheim Ducks on the lab table to dissect what comes next. I disagree with his assessment that the recent winning streak takes the Ducks off the seller list, but it’s plausible. So what becomes of John Gibson? What’s the price tag on Trevor Zegras? The Ducks trade chatter should make a little noise.

Vegas Hockey Now: Kind of a minor trade, kind of not. The Vegas Golden Knights traded away a former first-round pick for the sack that held the magic beans. What does it mean for the Golden Knights?

NHL.com: Drew O’Connor got a payday, too. He signed a two-year deal in beautiful Vancouver. O’Connor was pretty happy about it, too. The details and O’Connor’s reaction.

New Jersey Hockey Now: Good news. And bad news. It’s a mixed bag on the injury front that is holding back the New Jersey Devils.

Montreal Hockey Now: It’s a tenuous situation in Montreal. A young team with some spunk hanging around in the playoff race, but maybe not ready to truly compete. What happens next? Marc Dumont rolls through the five players who really have something to prove in the next two months for the Montreal Canadiens.

Detroit Hockey Now: Passed over for the Four Nations tournament and getting older, it’s not over yet–Patrick Kane is setting his sights on making the 2026 Team USA Olympics roster.