Dan’s Daily: Penguins Sink, FSG Selling Chunk; Rantanen Pushes Back

SAN JOSE, Calif. — It is time to wave the white flag above the Pittsburgh Penguins. We’ll do a belly flop in full coverage from the shark tank, including a sharp elbows column that took me most of the night to write. The Penguins owners are putting part of the franchise up for sale, and we explored the NHL trade market for young players. Elsewhere in the Daily, Mikko Rantanen pushed back hard on reports that he wouldn’t budge on money, the Chicago Blackhawks need to go heavy on the free agent front this summer, and a full update on the Days of Our Lives in Vancouver.

I don’t know where the night got to. I worked through it. It’s 5 a.m. here, and I’m just starting the Daily. Perhaps it was the gallon of coffee I drank to get through that wicked snoozer where a bunch of NHLers looked like tissue-soft pluggers.

The Penguins practice at noon today. Then we go to Salt Lake City. I wish I had more time there. I’d love to explore, but I won’t arrive until 8:30 p.m., and tomorrow is game day, and then I’m gone. It seems like I’ve been on the road for a month.

By the way, why do people think I stay in swanky hotels? Dan goes barebones. Clean. Cheap. In that order, usually. Now, if a Hilton happens to be in the same price range as the Super 8, then I’m on board (Denver and Dallas are like that). But I do like San Jose and my little ’50s neon motel for $80 a night. It’s the third time I’ve stayed here. Hidden gem. It’s a Saturday night, kinda pink.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Do you like the Saw movie franchise? How about Demi Moore’s The Subtance? If so, then Monday’s game was for you. You can relive all of the gory details, like the overturned goal, missed penalty shot, and general disinterest in the Penguins recap.

San Jose Hockey Now: The flip side, Dadio. It’s been a while since Victory visited the San Jose Sharks.

OK, this wasn’t easy to write, and it took a moment to get it just so. It’s over. Done. Fin. 86. It’s over for the Penguins, and it’s time for Kyle Dubas to move aggressively, or this malaise of mediocrity without direction will continue. It’s time for the great Penguins transition to begin.

Do you have a few hundred million burning a hole in your pocket? Would you like to own an NHL team but not have any power? Then the Fenway Sports Group has just the ticket. According to a report by ESPN, FSG is interested in selling a minority share of the Penguins.

Uh, how much can I get for $12?

Now, let’s have some fun. Dubas is shopping for young players and prospects and has not been shy about saying so. We did a deep dive into teams that might want the Penguins’ assets and what was available. I think we did OK in finding young players who could be part of any Penguins trade.

Here’s the Penguins postgame video. People seem to like the Zamboni. I’m also having a good hair day.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Let’s start with a Twitter update of TSN’s Daren Dreger on the Sekeres & Price radio show in Vancouver. There are a lot of updates and some rehash. Here’s the tweet so you can read or listen to it, too.

#Canucks

Recap of Darren Dreger’s interview on Sekeres & Price. https://t.co/gx9n9Hmq2V pic.twitter.com/DfwaqsDigg

— CanucksNewsSummaries (@VCanucksNews) January 27, 2025

104.3 Denver Sports: A couple of different outlets, including an outlet in Rantanen’s home country of Finland, pieced together for a complete story. Rantanen felt blindsided by the trade and, contrary to reports, said he would have taken a steep discount to stay.

The Athletic ($): Our old buddy Mark Lazerus with Scott Powers laid out the next few months of the Chicago Blackhawks rebuild. They think Chicago will go big on the free-agent market. We’re talking Rantanen and Mitch Marner here, if possible. With over $30 million to spend, watch Chicago.

Vegas Hockey Now: The Vegas Golden Knights traded away Logan Thompson at the draft. He was in the concourse signing autographs as Vegas announced the trade to the Washington Capitals. It’s fair to say Thompson has exceeded expectations, and he signed a new six-year contract with Washington. Not bad for the former Golden Knights goalie.

NYI Hockey Now: Trade! It’s not the sexiest or biggest deal we’ve had this week, but the New York Islanders traded for solid help.

That’s all for this morning. I’m going to grab a bit of sleep before checking out, lugging this 40-pound backpack full of dirty clothes to the arena for practice and hoping for a flight to Salt Lake City. We’re four days drama-free!