And away we go. The Montreal Canadiens smoked the too well rested Carolina Hurricanes in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Final, but that’s not why you’re here. In the Daily, there was a problematic report regarding defenseman Simon Nemec and his requesting a trade. Our James Nichols spent the day tracking down sources and the full story, but it’s drama and looks like there will be a bit more intrigue this summer. And we dug into more Pittsburgh Penguins trade targets, but this time, the potential young reclamation projects.

Elsewhere, the Toronto Maple Leafs are kicking tires on the NHL trade block for mobile defensemen, while Jeff Marek curiously tied the Edmonton Oilers to one of the big names on the market.

At least we got an entertaining first period in Game 1, eh? It was not such an entertaining game in Springfield, where the Thunderbirds beat the WBS Penguins 2-0 to force a deciding Game 5 on Saturday.

Guess I’m heading east, though I haven’t made the final decision as of publishing.

Also, I want to address something that I didn’t even know was a controversy involving me (then again, anything on Reddit looks like a controversy). A couple of weeks ago, our AHL contributor Sam Wismer submitted a story on Sergei Murashov. She really wanted to do a good job on her first story, so she used some AI editing, and kept a couple of paragraphs that were more AI than her work. The hazards of 2026. I didn’t know and didn’t want to be rude by rewriting her work. It happened. Several of you called it out, Sam and I talked about it, and her recent work here was well received.

So, we move on. As long as I’m still here, we’ll never have AI writing. More importantly, Sam is good people who works her butt off running back and forth between Wilkes-Barre and Wheeling to cover the minor league teams for smaller outlets, and I hope that her publishing here exposes a few more fans to her efforts.

However, one hilarious rebuttal on Reddit said, no, it might not have been AI because “if you watch him on YouTube, this is how he talks.”

Do I really talk like AI?! Or does AI talk like me? This job, I tell ya…

Pittsburgh Penguins

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: In addition to the impact players on the trade market, and the unhappy RFAs, now it’s time to dig into the other potential trade gets–the young reclamation projects, including a couple of names that have long appeared on our lists, but two new names that seemed to resonate. Here’s the third in our series of Penguins trade talk.

Steelers Now: Alan Saunders is there every day–more news and takeaways from Steelers OTAs.

NHL Trade Talk, News, & National Hockey Now

New Jersey Hockey Now: The latest on Simon Nemec from inside sources. James Nichols did a great job Thursday flushing out the story after a foreign report that Nemec requested a trade started going viral. Nemec is becoming an embattled prospect, and his future could be in New Jersey, or it could be elsewhere. Here’s the latest James is hearing about the Nemec trade rumors.

Montreal Hockey Now: Olé Olé Olé. The Carolina Hurricanes scored in the first minute of Game 1, and it looked bad for the Montreal Canadiens, but they immediately returned fire and boat raced Carolina in the first period before the game settled into a defensive stalemate. Here’s everything–the highlights and how the Canadiens won Game 1 convincingly.

DFO: There are a few trade discussions happening out west, including the rat’s nest that is the Edmonton Oilers’ offseason. Jeff Marek tied Edmonton to Jordan Kyrou and to some goaltending help:

Jeff Marek talks about some options for the Edmonton Oilers, including UPL, Kesselring and Jordan Kyrou

Daily Faceoff Live⬇️ https://t.co/ozxzThPhAB@tyleryaremchuk | @CarterHutton4 | @JeffMarek@OilersNation pic.twitter.com/Of2TkS814D

— Daily Faceoff (@DailyFaceoff) May 19, 2026

NHLtraderumors.me: Toronto is also in a sticky situation. Losing with an established star core isn’t a good look. Multiple reports combine to tell a story that Toronto is going after defensemen, and in exit interviews, Auston Matthews and William Nylander told the org that’s exactly what the team needs. So, the trade rumors are beginning in Toronto.

TSN: I didn’t put this in yesterday because I couldn’t believe the conversation actually happened. Darren Dreger rang Mike Babcock to ask him if he were a candidate to the Oilers coaching position … Babcock quickly shot it down.

After players exposed Babcock’s conduct in Columbus, even if he wanted a job, it would not happen. Or at least it shouldn’t. The older, gruff coaches who play psychological games are done. Coaching is different, and in a rare case, I think hockey coaching is better today than it was. Coaches realize they have to work with the players, not rule them.

Philly Hockey Now: The orange and black had found money with Dan Vladar. The goalie rose to the challenge in the second half of the season, but there’s still a hole on the depth chart. Will James examined the case. Should the Philadelphia Flyers pursue faded Buffalo Sabres prospect goalie Devon Levi?

Sportsnet Video: And finally, I thought you might like to see this. Colby Armstrong sat down with Brett Kulak after his Game 5 OT winner. Kulak’s four-year-old daughter was the real star. She keyed his big game.

Tags: new jersey devils nhl trade Pittsburgh Penguins

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