The NHL Draft begins tonight in Nashville and Penguins president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas will make his first selection as the leader of the team’s front office…that is, unless he trades the pick.
A trade is possible, but Dubas says if that happens, it will most likely be to move up or down in the draft, not a deal to bring in a veteran player from another team. The Penguins have the 14th overall selection. Dubas says picking that low in the order means the Penguins will be looking at the future rather than their immediate needs.
Dubas says his main concern is not whether the draft picks will fit into the current Penguins, but instead he will focus on getting the best hockey players.
Round one is tonight and rounds two through seven are tomorrow. The Penguins will have picks in the third, fifth, and sixth rounds, plus two in the seventh. After picking 14th, their next pick will be the 90th overall selection.
The Chicago Blackhawks have the top overall pick and will take center Connor Bedard, a 17-year-old who is the most hyped prospect since Connor McDavid entered the league in 2015. Anaheim, Columbus, San Jose, and Montreal round out the top five.
The NHL released its full schedule yesterday and the Penguins will open the season against the Blackhawks (and possibly Connor Bedard) on Tuesday, October 10th. They’ll follow that up with games on October 13th at Washington, at home against Calgary the next night, and then two road games, in Detroit and St. Louis. Stanley Cup champion Las Vegas comes to Pittsburgh on November 19th, and the schedule also includes the traditional Thanksgiving Eve home game, against the Rangers. There’s a New Year’s Eve home game with the Islanders, and Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visit Pittsburgh on March 10th.
The schedule includes twelve sets of back-to-back games. The regular season for the Pens ends on April 17th on the road against the Islanders.
NHL
The LA Kings swung a blockbuster trade last night, getting Winnipeg star forward Pierre-Luc Dubois in exchange for forwards Alex Iafallo, Rasmus Kupari, and Gabriel Vilardi, plus a 2024 second-round draft pick. Dubois then agreed to an eight-year, $68 million dollar contract with the Kings.
The Dallas Stars have agreed to a two-year $4.5 million extension with forward Evgenii Dadonov, who they got from Montreal in a trade deadline deal last season.
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