Dan’s Daily: All Eyes on Penguins/Dubas, Shocking Florida Roll

The hockey world is watching the Pittsburgh Penguins and Kyle Dubas, waiting to see if the jilted GM will get paid the exorbitant sum he requested from the Toronto Maple Leafs and if he wants the job. The Penguins received permission to speak with Dubas Monday. Elsewhere, the Florida Panthers are about to shock the world as they took a commanding 3-0 series lead over the Carolina Hurricanes, and Norway achieved its biggest win ever by dumping Team Canada at the Worlds.

Check this scenario — it seems the Penguins will offer Dubas a job. All signs point that way. He’s available partly because the Florida Panthers beat the Maple Leafs in Round Two. The Panthers aren’t in Round Two if the Penguins beat the Chicago Blackhawks. Instead, the Boston Bruins would have likely made it to the second round, and Toronto wouldn’t have had a meltdown if Boston had won that series.

It seems possible, if not likely, that without the Toronto meltdown vs. Florida, ownership and Dubas feel much differently after the second-round loss, or they’re in the ECF.

In effect, the Penguins’ failure set in motion a chain of events that made Dubas available and possibly landed them one of the best GMs in the league and one tailor-made for the new ownership.

The butterfly effect.

Pittsburgh Penguins / Steelers, Pirates

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: The Penguins were well down the path of selecting a GM and front office structure until Toronto changed the calculus. Monday, the Penguins received permission to speak with Kyle Dubas.

PHN+: Some teams played hardball with the Penguins and denied permission to speak with candidates. Dave Molinari answers why orgs shielded their people from FSG and the Penguins.

Steelers Now:

Full details — Good on Art Rooney II. Rooney objected as the NFL approved the Thursday Night Football Schedule Flex.

Remember the hand size issue? Kenny Pickett says it took him off some draft boards.

I maintain the Steelers’ weak link is still inside linebacker, though addition by subtraction without Devin Bush. Guru Nick Farabaugh has a fix and circles a remaining Steelers free-agent target.

Antonio Brown will resume his playing career Sunday?!

Pittsburgh Baseball Now:

Grand Slam! Tucupita Marcano’s grand slam lifted the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-4 win over Texas.

PBN+: Remember — subscribe to one, and get us all! Luis Ortiz earned his first career win. He needed to make adjustments, and here’s what the Pirates pitcher did.

Andrew McCutchen checked off another milestone.

NHL Trade Talk, Stanley Cup Playoffs, & National Hockey Now:

Playoffs:

Vegas Hockey Now: Laurent Brossoit was getting leaky. Soft goals piled up until he was injured in Game 3 of Round Two, which opened the door for Adin Hill. He’s now the Vegas Golden Knights’ secret weapon.

Florida Hockey Now: Unbelievable. I thought Carolina had this series in the bag, but the Florida Panthers won Game 3, 1-0.

The tense win gave the Panthers a 3-0 series lead. Sergei Bobrovsky has FLA on the cusp.

Potentially some bad news in Game 3, Sasha Barkov was injured in the first period.

NHL Trade & the Other Good Stuff

Washington Hockey Now: Oh boy. Evgeny Kuznetsov is on the NHL trade block, but Jared Serra connects the dots — Mark Scheifele could solve the Washington Capitals’ problem.

Colorado Hockey Now: Remember Evan Rodrigues? He’s due another contract. Evan Rawal checks the numbers and his season. He’s what Evan thinks he’s worth. Colorado Avalanche UFAs.

Philly Hockey Now: They need stars and defense. Chuck Bausman has The State of the Philadelphia Flyers.

Montreal Hockey Now: The Canadiens picked up some of Nick Bonino’s contract for the Penguins, but Montreal kept one more salary retention slot open. Marco D’Amico reports that opens the possibility for another Montreal Canadiens trade.

Boston Hockey Now: The Edmonton Oilers need defense. The Boston Bruins need a center. Hmmm, writes Jimmy Murphy. Bruins trade chatter.

32 Thoughts podcast: Will Dubas run the Penguins next season?

Norway?! Norway beat Team Canada at the World Championships.