It is over and over much earlier than in previous years. The NHL season ending on June 14 seems almost a worthwhile price to pay for the tedious, exhausting, and overly compact travel schedule endured by all teams, but especially the Pittsburgh Penguins.
At least we’re not just a few hours before the NHL Draft this season, eh?
Through the foggy haze of my Swiss Cheese memory, burdened by a season’s worth of 6 a.m. flights across the country just hours after leaving an arena, the 2025-26 season is both a blur and a testament to so many good hockey people and principles.
**My head is still spinning from your 180. Last summer, you were all over me for an albeit soft defense of the Penguins largely staying the course for one more year while the prospects matured. You–if you’ll remember–were staunchly in favor of a deep rebuild.
Now, I’m on the rebuild side, and many readers have brusquely skipped past the reasons for such and demanded things stay the same. Evgeni Malkin deserved a new contract. The prospects stink. They made the playoffs. And so on.
Funny how things have changed. I’m willing to bet we’re on the same side next summer, but I won’t tell you which side you’ll be on (because then you’ll do the opposite, right?).
**The Penguins’ playoff run was fun. It was a downright pleasure to cover a room that was largely rejuvenated and happy to be there. I had so many enjoyable conversations, some of which had absolutely nothing to do with hockey.
I had no idea exactly how dour things had gotten last year, but the difference was stark. I just took the misery as another day at the office. Instead of looking at Mike Babcock, teams should look for their Dan Muse. Period.
**Erik Karlsson is a dandy. So, too, is Ryan Shea, though he’s entirely different than Karlsson. Arturs Silovs is a deeper thinker than many realize. He and Sergei Murashov might find themselves playing chess in Market Square over vodka and philosophical discussions.
**Rod Brind’Amour silenced me and a lot of critics quite nicely. Count me among the many “inside the industry” people who didn’t think the Carolina Hurricanes could win a Stanley Cup with him at the helm. The book has been that he deploys a great system, but it’s far too rigorous and he’s unwilling or unable to make adjustments. Players talked about it. Privately, more than one player has said it bluntly. Even those who have stood behind an NHL bench didn’t disagree too much with that assessment, either.
So, there was Brind’Amour, holding the Stanley Cup as living proof that we were all wrong. After eight years, we can all shut up. And I am always down for a good assault on critics, especially when it’s me among the critics.
**Carolina’s Stanley Cup has some Penguins connections. I believe Carolina GM Eric Tulsky was the leader in the clubhouse to be named the Penguins GM, succeeding Ron Hextall, until Kyle Dubas became available. There was certainly enough people singing his praises, and he fit Fenway Sports Group’s love of numbers combined with reality.
**Tulsky’s success as GM is somewhat of a “what could have been” for the Penguins. If Dubas weren’t exceptional over the last 18 months, there would be many people grousing and backseat driving over that decision to go with Dubas.
**I don’t know many of this new crop of podcasters and YouTubers who have skipped writing and just create content (sorry, I can read all about my topic of choice in 15 minutes, consuming numerous articles. I don’t have an hour for a podcast about one topic … but I’m glad you do!!). Actually, I can’t keep up with all of them.
This was my favorite tweet of Sunday night, and it comes from one of those content creators.
Eric Tulsky should become the first GM to win the Conn Smythe
— Mike Bartner (@MikeBartner) June 15, 2026
Tulski has been brilliant. Many GMs would have been absolutely SUNK by the Mikko Rantanen trade. But Tulski turned it into Logan Stankoven and K’Andre Miller, and multiple other assets.
**Look at the teams that really had success this season. It’s a diametric look at coaching in the NHL. The Boston Bruins (Marco Sturm) and Penguins (Dan Muse) made the playoffs with first year head coaches. The Philadelphia Flyers (Rick Tocchet) and Anaheim Ducks (Joel Quenneville) got to the big dance with experienced coaches in their first year with the team. Conversely, other teams that have had success for a decade include teams that have kept the same coach in place. Carolina, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and the Colorado Avalanche.
The quick lesson is that good coaches can stay, even through rough times or moments when the team falls short of expectations.
**The other lesson is that a consistent system allows GMs and scouts to hunt for players with specific skills who fit the system; they can be utilized in a much greater fashion than others realize. Call that the Bill Belichick principle.
**The Golden Knights breaking down after Game 6 was a sight. Even the most ardent veterans wore a hollowed expression, with tears held back by the last ounce of strength they had left.
As much as I love the victory celebrations, every year I find myself glued to the losers. Glory is a spectacle. Pain is far more identifiable.
**A few readers noted the absolute lack of post-whistle scrums and nonsense in the series. I didn’t notice until they pointed it out, but wasn’t that absolutely refreshing? A clean series played at the highest ability of both teams.
We should be so lucky in the years to come.
**The very best road trip of the year was Sweden. It was an experience I’ll always remember, but it was completely worthless from a hockey and NHL standpoint. The hockey was terrible, the ice wasn’t up to standard, and quite frankly, you really didn’t care that much beyond just another couple of regular season games — one that was on in the late morning.
I still haven’t determined if Dubas was messing with me or one of you truly told him, “I’d like to be Dan Kingerski.” Dubas reported this in Sweden as he rushed past me in the hallway and followed my incredulity with a beaut of a putdown, “I don’t judge.”
OK, fess up, did one of you actually tell him that? I need to know which joke to laugh at.
**I’m happy that after more than 70,000 miles traveled this year, I had very few mishaps. Very unlike last year! There were no mad dashes across the airport, except in Vancouver (again), where the cart refused to give this wheezing asthmatic a ride because she was on break or something.
Canadian air travel is a dystopian mess befitting its own portrayal in an Ayn Rand novel. So, beware if you’re going up north.
Actually, that night, a movie producer and his daughter were struck by me recording the post-game video in the terminal and lingered nearby. With my chest burning, I finished the video (and none of you could tell!), and then answered all of their questions about what I do and the life of a psycho, er, sportswriter. No, they didn’t offer to cast me in anything, unlike the last producer I met on the West Coast who invited me to come by his set the next day … to an, ummm, adult movie.
But no, I didn’t accept that invitation, even when I was offered an on-camera role. That’s a story for another day. Or never.
Travel Log
Travel is a joy. Go. Look for that little restaurant that’s just a little bit hidden, not too crowded, and start with a compliment to the first service person who approaches. Sit at the bar. Talk to people. Or ask for a corner table if there’s no bar and just enjoy the experience.
Even when the food tastes like an odd combination of body odor and Lemon Pledge, you’ve got a story. Chain restaurants are for old people and suckers.
**Calgary remains my favorite city for a steak. The Derrick downtown is fantastic. Alberta beef steaks are better than Wagyu, and you can actually afford a good cut without selling a kidney (about $25 USD), although my colleague and I were the only people in the Derrick on a Monday night. Kind of awkward.
You must make the Calgary-Edmonton trip at least once. You’re never more than one left turn and an hour from the Rockies, and it’s Texas with a Canadian sensibility and a deep civic pride in hockey instead of football. Oh, they so love hockey, and if you go with a good attitude, they don’t care if you’re from a visiting city. In fact, your first beer is probably on them, but they’re also tough, so don’t be a jagoff n’at.
Chicago. Luke’s Italian Beef. Get it with hot peppers. Eat it slowly. Skip the tourist joints because I’ve had them all, and none are close to that little jewel. And definitely skip the Italian sauce cake that city calls pizza. Go to Luke’s, then walk along Wacker Drive, reciting, “They’re not gonna catch us. We’re on a mission from God.”
You can also go to the original Billy Goat. I finally found it late one night, down a flight of steps beneath a main avenue downtown. Cheezborger. Cheezborger. If you’re old enough, stand there and just imagine a plastered John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray, and more before they were famous just having a time in the dinky little dive just like ordinary 25-year-olds who had no idea what the world had waiting for them.
St. Paul. Gambit Brewing. They have a really robust blonde ale. And a sausage sized hot dog is $7. It’s below street level, which only adds to the charm. Also, get the Weck and Wings at the Anchor Bar in Buffalo ($20 for a Beef on Weck and six wings).
St. Paul is finally recovering. This year, I only had to sidestep sidewalk poo in Philly, LA, and Seattle, but I wasn’t so lucky the second time in LA. God bless the hotel maid. She didn’t speak English, but very quickly realized the situation as I carried my shoes into the lobby. She refused my ask for a brush and some cleaner, “You give me.” So, I did. 30 minutes later, they were outside my room, spic-and-span. She got a couple of crisp Andy Jacksons for a tip.
LA. I tell ya. I’m not sure, but I think my shoes voted in the Mayoral election.
Also in LA, I committed my first art heist. It’s the spitting image of an old friend who is an actress (OK, actually I bought it from the front desk clerk/owner for $100, but my friend thinks I stole it for her, so just go with it).
Brockville (45 minutes south of Ottawa’s arena) on the 1000 Islands. Go across the border and take the parkway instead of the highway. Drive along the St. Lawrence river for 30 minutes and enjoy. The 1000 Islands Brewing is sleepy in the winter, but some wonderful beers, decent enough food, and the downtown area is nearly identical to the quaint Watkins Glen and Wellsboro areas. The Super 8 is usually about $60 a night, and there is an authentic English Tea House, too.
Some of my favorite spots closed this year. Zeffirelli’s Italian Restaurant in Vancouver closed, which ruined my night in Vancouver. It was an absolutely perfect hidden gem, but instead I wound up in an overpriced sushi and vegetarian place (seriously, those words taste almost as bad as eating some filet-shaped mushroom cap trying to masquerade as proper food). I had similarly sad closures in D.C., Toronto, and the hotel near Sunrise (the only hotel) is becoming an absolute dump. If you go to Florida for a roadie, stay at the beach and rent a car.
I refuse to believe vegetarians and vegans live longer. I think it just seems longer.
The world is changing rapidly. I suppose AI has made many people even dumber, which only exacerbates the need for it. Give me a cheap plane ticket, a clean hotel, a chef-run restaurant, a hole in the wall bar, and I’ll be just fine in the coming Apocalypse.
Now, bring on the aliens.
Tags: Pittsburgh Penguins
Categorized:Pittsburgh Penguins