Dan’s Daily: Trade Market BOOM, Penguins Deal Coming?

In the blink of an eye, the floodgates opened, the moves began, chaos ensued, and NHL trade rumors became a reality or forever doomed to the discard pile. The Pittsburgh Penguins have cleared as much as $5.6 million (equivalent) by waiving third-line players and are set up for the big one. Patrick Kane is finally a Ranger, the Toronto Maple Leafs went grocery shopping while they were hungry, the Oilers got Mattias Ekholm, and fans were treated to 10 trades with a side of heavy rumors.

There was a late-night trade involving the end of Jonathan Quick’s career in LA. And the Penguins got some standings help, too.

I’ll be on a plane to Tampa by the time you read this. Thanks for the recommendations yesterday. On Tuesday, I cleaned out the PHN downtown studio and office. I realized I haven’t done a Live Chat in a few months and haven’t been at the office since November. It was time to let it go–It served its purpose. We had a couple of interns two years ago. One bailed before starting, and the other was Owen Krepps. Owen would side-saddle my desk twice a week, and I’d dispense less than priceless knowledge and challenge him to write stories.

Now he’s our Vegas beat writer.

And a big thank you. Several National Hockey Now sites were up by huge percentages in February. Colorado was up 46%. NYI was up 300% and had its best month ever. Washington is way up. And Pittsburgh Hockey Now had more than one million readers.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now:

A bit of a surprise. The Penguins put Brock McGinn and Mark Friedman on waivers. Penguins news.

Here’s the fallout and the scenarios with McGinn on waivers — the Penguins’ salary cap ramifications.

On the ice, winner winner Nashville hot chicken dinner. McGinn snapped his two-month scoreless streak in perhaps his final game as a Penguin. Sidney Crosby and Jason Zucker scored late third period goals for the comeback win over Nashville. Here’s Dave Molinari’s Penguins recap.

Sidney Crosby and Mike Sullivan heaped praise on Brock McGinn.

The Penguins are in a playoff spot. They lead Buffalo by three points, and Buffalo has only one game in hand. The Penguins trail the Islanders by one point for the top wild card but have four games in hand.

NHL Trade Craziness, News & National Hockey Now:

LA Hockey Now: Great trade for the Kings with Columbus, but a sad end to Quick in LA. Here are the full LA Kings trade details.

Detroit Hockey Now: Patrick Kane is a Ranger. Gustav Nyquist to the Wild. Ekholm to Edmonton. Luke Schenn to Toronto. Here’s the trade tracker and analysis from the hockey veterans. NHL trade tracker.

The Penguins got some help in the standings, kind of. The Ottawa Senators thumped the Red Wings 6-1.

NHL.com: The Penguins got the most help from Columbus, who beat the Buffalo Sabres, 5-3.

Washington Hockey Now: WILD DAY in Washington. First–they traded MoJo to the Minnesota Wild. It was just the first Capitals trade.

Second, the big one. The Capitals acquired Rasmus Sandin for a first-rounder and Erik Gustafsson. The second Capitals trade. Third, the Capitals pulled Nick Jensen off the NHL trade block and re-signed him. And if you’re curious, here’s how the Washington room is handling the craziness. Capitals locker room.

TSN: The NHL trade rumors are picking up on Blues’ d-man Colton Parayko.

NYI Hockey Now: The Islanders continued adding. They acquired Pierre Engvall from Toronto. Full Islanders trade analysis.

And there’s this:

Sounds like the Canucks and Penguins talks are heating up. Hearing key piece from Vancouver is a forward with term. Wouldn't be shocked to see one or both of Pettersson/Joseph going back

— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) February 28, 2023

What I know so far today (all could change):

*Bjugstad not considered an option.
*The Canucks players are not in the loop regarding trades (doesn't sound like we're to that advanced stage).
*Field is narrowing. Pens may have to wait until 2:01pm to "play their cards" (McGinn)

— Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) March 1, 2023