Dan’s Daily: Offer Sheet Potentials; Sour Grapes; Penguins Swipe Draft Expert

The Pittsburgh Penguins will finish their development camp today with a scrimmage at noon. After four days of skills and skating work, peppered with a few battle drills, we’re finally going to see some hockey. It would be impossible to really say if a player has stood out because there’s not been enough hockey, but the biggest shocker is how much Lucas and Ryan St. Louis look like their father, Martin. I mean, it’s a bit jarring. In bigger Penguins news, the team hired draft guru Wes Clark away from the Toronto Maple Leafs, and trust me, it’s a pretty big deal.

Elsewhere in the Daily, Jonathan Huberdeau ate a few sour grapes and admitted it was pretty tough to stomach the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup. How do our Flyers colleagues see the Metro Division, including the Penguins? There are some RFAs in real danger of getting an offer sheet, which is always fun, and the Edmonton Oilers must decide who goes on the NHL trade block so they can get cap-compliant.

Our Penguins Live Chat will be delayed today due to the scrimmage. We’ll have to punt it until noon on Thursday. I’ll probably do a video from Cranberry, too. Thank you for making those videos surprisingly popular. Seriously, you’re watching me? Then again, it seems every other video on YouTube is two dudes in backward baseball hats sitting in their bedroom, so I guess I get it.

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: We used our week of prospects coverage and laid out the NHL lineup to build toward a conclusion. With only a few external options left, we gave the offseason and Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas a letter grade.

I don’t think enough fans grasped the significance of the new hire and what he brings to the table. The Penguins swiped Wes Clark away from the Toronto Maple Leafs, naming him vice president of player personnel. Here’s why it matters for Dubas and the Penguins front office.

Home run hire. Really. Some people just understand how to find talent. Check the article for the examples.

Pittsburgh Baseball Now: John Perrotto brought the big bat Tuesday. No one is more engrained in Pittsburgh baseball coverage than our big guy, and sources finally opened up. Some in the Pirates front office are furious with owner Bob Nutting. They feel he tossed them under the bus and lied to you. Check out the report that rocked the Pittsburgh Pirates.

That story had a few layers to it beyond anger at Nutting. I suspect there will be some fallout, too.

NHL Trade Talk, News & National Hockey Now

Philly Hockey Now: Is the offseason activity essentially over? So, how do the revamped Metro Division teams, including the Penguins and Capitals, shape up with the Philadelphia Flyers?

The Athletic ($): Cody Ceci? Evander Kane? The Edmonton Oilers will be over the salary cap when they pony up for their RFAs, including Philip Bromberg. So, who will be traded away?

I feel like the Penguins could be players in the Edmonton game. More to come.

TSN: Jonathan Huberdeau admitted he was happy for his former teammates, but it was pretty tough to watch his former organization–one for which he was essentially the face for years–win the Stanley Cup without him.

Sportsnet: It’s offer sheet speculation season! Every year, we do this dance. If GMs were truly trying to improve their team, they would deliver offer sheets to RFAs of cash-strapped teams–but it rarely happens. Not since Carolina and Montreal had their little peeing contest over Sebastian Aho, which resulted in Carolina way overpaying Jesperi Kotkaniemi in 2021, have we seen an offer sheet. There are nine names to watch. Is this the year we get another?

Chicago Hockey Now: The trade market, free agency, and some internal options. It’s a bit of luck and shrewd player acquisition as GM Kyle Davidson is quickly rebuilding the Chicago Blackhawks blue line.