Dan’s Daily: Penguins Smarts, Trading Starts, Rangers for Kane?

A few days after Jason Zucker said the Pittsburgh Penguins needed to be more driven, Sidney Crosby said his team has to work harder. The NHL trade gridlock loosened a little more Wednesday, and the Ottawa Senators set the market for shedding deadweight salary. The Arizona Coyotes are back to their old tricks of taking on LTIR salary. The New York Rangers are looking into how to acquire Patrick Kane, and Brock Boeser’s agent is working to find a trade out of Vancouver.

The Blackhawks got a second and fourth to take on $4.5 million. I suppose we know GMs have softened on the first-round pick ask.

It’s also Fish Fry season! Does anyone else get excited about giant filets of unspecified fish in church basements?

Pittsburgh Penguins / Steelers, Pirates

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: updated–Jeff Petry was absent from practice, and Marcus Pettersson missed practice as his wife prepares to give birth. The lines and special teams from the Penguins practice.

Sidney Crosby acknowledged their struggles. The Pittsburgh Penguins must work harder and smarter.

Thursday should be a fun game. Crosby v. McDavid. As Dave Molinari writes, there’s no one quite like Connor McDavid.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: PNC is getting a new scoreboard. A spiffy 4K board for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

NHL Trade Deadline, News & National Hockey Now:

Washington Hockey Now: Listen to offers on UFAs? The trade talks out of Washington point to a team recognizing this might be a lost season. Washington Capitals trade chatter.

TSN: Trade! The Ottawa Senators dumped Nikita Zaitsev on Chicago and sent a pair of picks, too.

Vegas Hockey Now: Trade No. 2! The Golden Knights punted Shea Weber’s LTIR to Arizona and sent along a mid-rounder. Golden Knights trade details.

Gee, Arizona letting an insurance company pay millions, so they don’t have to worry about the cap floor when it goes up over the next few years.

Montreal Hockey Now: The NHL trade rumors have linked Pierre-Luc Dubois to Montreal for a year. Here’s the latest with the Montreal Canadiens.

Boston Hockey Now: The Gavrikov saga continues. A trade is or was imminent, but Bruins GM Don Sweeney has been a man of mystery. Bruins trade talk.

Detroit Hockey Now: Look out, wild-card race. Here come the Detroit Red Wings.

Forever Blueshirts: The synopsis of both sides of the story. The New York Rangers may not be done adding big names. Emily Kaplan stirred the NHL trade rumors when she said the Rangers are trying to acquire Patrick Kane.

Sportsnet: Brock Boeser is headed out of Vancouver, probably. His agent is working the phones to line up a trade. The Minnesota Wild are trying, among others.