Dan’s Daily Links: Friedman on Kessel; Murray Pushes Canada to Final

CNN has Donald Trump. Fox News has CNN. Taylor Swift has ex-boyfriends…sometimes. Pittsburgh Penguins fans and sportswriters have Phil Kessel, for now. In the doldrums of the offseason news cycle, the Kessel situation has been a slow-building fire as expectations and decisions trickle from behind closed doors on 5th Ave. Also in the links, Boston Bruins President Cam Neely offered some interesting words about why his team made it to the Stanley Cup Final and those words may stand in contrast to the Penguins most recent attempt. And birthday boy Matt Murray carried Canada into the World Championship gold medal game.

First, Murray. Now at the ripe of old age of 25, he has a chance to add a World Championship gold medal to his trophy case. It’s not the hockey anyone wants to be playing in May, but Sunday Team Canada will face Finland which has little NHL talent on the roster. (NBC Sports)

Boston Bruins President Cam Neely explained why he thinks the Bruins are playing for the Stanley Cup. Fans who dismiss locker room tensions or lack of buy-in should take note (Boston Hockey Now)

By the way–big stick tap to our boys in Boston for some outstanding coverage. They’ll be launching a lot more analysis and news in the next couple of days as the Stanley Cup Final begins.

We’re also set to launch a third franchise with an A+ beat writer, pending the local NHL team’s willingness to work with us as the Bruins and Penguins have. Shhh. It’s a secret.

Elliotte Friedman’s 31 Thoughts had a few items regarding Phil Kessel (Sportsnet)

TSN analyst Craig Button had high praise for Kessel’s trade value yesterday (Pittsburgh Hockey Now)

Did Erik Karlsson say goodbye to San Jose (Blades of Teal)

Karlsson’s groin injury didn’t help matters in San Jose. I can’t help but hear Sam Malone every time someone has a g-g-g-groin injury.

Today is one of my two sports holy days. The day NHL commissioner awards the Stanley Cup and the Indy 500. Lord Stanley tooled around the Brickyard at 200mph yesterday. Jealous. (NHL.com)

Enjoy your weekend!