Pittsburgh Penguins Training Camp
The start of the 2025-26 NHL season was a laborious grind for writers and media around the league, as most of us were at the rinks by 8 a.m. and didn’t get to leave until well after 5 p.m., with plenty more work to do. The Pittsburgh Penguins news was unloaded on us with rapid fire, from Penguins injury news, to trade strategy, to general manager Kyle Dubas’s blunt declaration that young players will be given priority.
The NHL news didn’t stop there. Alex Ovechkin suffered an injury on Day 1, Anze Kopitar announced he will retire, we’ve reached Defcon 1 in Edmonton, and fans are in panic mode over Connor McDavid’s contract situation. There are several RFA holdouts, and some bubbling trade rumors over Quinn Hughes.
The Daily won’t be comprehensive today. Otherwise, it would be 4000 words and take an hour to read.
If you’re going to Penguins training camp, I strongly suggest arriving in the morning. Every year, the big USHL Showcase at the UPMC Lemieux Complex coincides with the start of camp, so parking and traffic are a nightmare unless you get there first.
As always, thanks to everyone for the hellos and waves. It’s quite weird that anyone knows who I am, but I’ll take it as a compliment to the work we do here, not my movie star good looks and irascible charm.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Things were most certainly different. The energy and competition were extraordinary. The new coach smell and the Day 1 impressions of new coach Dan Muse.
You might say, it’s about time, or duh, but it was a big proclamation from Penguins GM Kyle Dubas, who bluntly stated that young players will make the team if they show they’re ready and he will “deal with the rippling effects” of moving out veterans. That, and we touched on all of the news items contained therein. The Dubas press conference was full of Penguins news.
Analysis: After you read what he said, we get into what Kyle Dubas meant.
From Rutger McGroarty out indefinitely, to Bill Zonnon and more–the Penguins Injury updates.
Also, Ryan Graves rattled Kevin Hayes in the third practice session and left the ice with an upper-body injury. PHN observed Hayes walking slowly toward the Penguins’ locker room and seemed to need a bit of help, too.
NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now
TSN: It will be 20 and done for Anze Kopitar. No event will dissuade him, and he’s moving back to Slovenia. It’s been a heck of a ride, and this will be Kopitar’s final season.
As disrespected as Evgeni Malkin is, Kopitar might be the most unheralded, least talked-about star player in my lifetime.
Sportsnet: EVERYBODY PANIC! Mark Spector writes that Oilers fans have hit the panic button and are in full meltdown mode over Connor McDavid’s lack of a new contract.
I get it. It’s a raised eyebrow from me, too.
The Province: As camp begins, the NHL trade rumors are intensifying. Vancouver is an odd market because it is large, the base is so passionate, but the outside noise gets more intense than even Toronto (also, it’s the most beautiful stop in the NHL). However, several teams are keeping an eye on Quinn Hughes.
Washington Hockey Now: It became a nervous situation as Alex Ovechkin was injured on Day 1. He later spoke with the media and was non-committal about his future. The Washington Capitals’ Day 1.
New Jersey Hockey Now: One of several RFA holdouts on Thursday is Luke Hughes. The RFA and GM Tom Fitzgerald are “grinding away” at a contract, but now things are serious, and the New Jersey Devils aren’t happy that he’s not in camp.
Anaheim Ducks’ center Mason McTavish is the other big holdout, but that seemed a foregone conclusion. Too good to trade, too young to pay, not good enough to cave?
Montreal Hockey Now: Am I the only one who finds the Montreal story fascinating? Montreal is one of the first teams I read about every day. Marc Dumont writes–Patrik Laine, Montreal Canadiens, and the Tie That Binds. Here’s the Canadiens news.
Forever Blueshirts: You may enjoy this, or you may cringe. The three things they learned about Mike Sullivan as the New York Rangers camp begins.
Three? Boys, call me. I’ll give you 10 more.
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