After sitting idle for weeks with the July 1 guillotine looming, the 2024 NHL Draft, held on Saturday in Las Vegas, was a crowded field. The Pittsburgh Penguins made their first trade since March, with the Tampa Bay Lightning trading Mikhail Serganchyev to clear cap space and rumors of Jake Guenzel moving to Tampa Bay. The Washington Capitals were busy with a trade, the New York Rangers may be saying goodbye to Jacob Trouba and Penguins fans were groaning in frustration over the weekend's moves, leaving the metro with a lot of repercussions.
I have no idea how the NHL can stop these in-person drafts from next season. It was two days of desperate holding out, chaos and fun. The Sphere wasn't equipped to accommodate 200 media people hogging the Wi-Fi, but it was funny watching the National Hockey Now crew have dinner at the Casino Cafe next to Maclyn Celebrini. It was a pleasure to show the NHN rookies around the city. Andrew Fantucchio (Boston) and John Bailey (Philadelphia) are our juniors but had never been to the city before. It was also funny watching a couple of the rookies realize how honorable their jobs are by sitting at the urinal next to the general manager.
No, I won't tell you the rest of the story or who got wet. Even Coach Mike Sullivan was joking and the GMs were in the room negotiating. There was a lot of NHL trade rumors we heard. UFA rumors as well.
Tune in to Detroit on Monday and you might have a moment where you think, “Wow!”
The NHL can and should rethink the in-person draft. There were over 14,000 people at the Sphere, but very few Golden Knights fans. The photo below is not a physical sign. We were in a digital fishbowl. It's a 360-degree digital LED screen.
Pittsburgh Penguins
Let's start with Kevin Hayes, who was traded to the St. Louis Blues after his salary became too high for the Philadelphia Flyers, and who the Blues gave a second-round pick to help make the controversial Penguins trade happen, only to end up with the Penguins a year later.
PO Joseph seems like a sure thing to become a free agent, and the Penguins and Dubas may change course, but surprisingly, Dubas has taken his eye off the young Penguins defenseman.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Well, we have a lot to cover, including draft scouting reports and team news. Dubas showed his cards and an NHL GM was in my video Q&A. That's Vegas for you. Let's start with the 44th pick. The Penguins didn't take any offensive talent in the first round, but they did select a big-bodied defenseman. We have the scoop on Harrison Bruenike.
I think many of you will like the Penguins' second pick of the second round. He's an agitator reminiscent of Brad Marchand. Are you okay with your player licking the opposition? Here's the scouting report on Tanner Howe.
The Penguins had the right to select four more players between the fourth and seventh rounds of the draft, and there could be diamonds in the rough among the Penguins' new prospects, including one dynamic undersized player.
Your questions were answered, an NHL GM tried to barge into our video, probably without us realizing, but I was staking out the back hallway at Encore first, and we covered everything from Kyle Dubas' comments to the draft to Penguins trades in our latest Penguins Q&A.
Penguins fans were crazy about Mountain Dew, and reactions to the Hayes trade were very mixed.
The trade: Kevin Hayes and a 2025 second-round pick to the Penguins for future considerations.
Hayes' salary cap will be $3,571 over the next two years.
Hmm, I guess we'll talk about that.
—Dan Kingerski (@TheDanKingerski) June 29, 2024
NHL Trade Talk, News, National Hockey Now
TSN: There were some big trades, most of which involved swapping picks, but Tampa Bay made space for Jake Guenzel, Dallas traded Chris Tanev to Toronto, New Jersey traded John Marino to Utah, Tampa Bay traded Mikhail Sergachev to Utah, the Washington Capitals acquired a starting goaltender, and even I needed a refresher to see all the trades.
This is the Metro aftermath.
Forever Blueshirts (the Rangers site run by former NYI play-by-play commentator and NHL.com senior editor Jim Cerny): Rangers are “shocked and hurt” about to move Trouba. There's turmoil within the New York Rangers.
Washington Post: Logan Thompson requested a trade with the Vegas Golden Knights. He was signing autographs in the arena concourse when the trade was announced. The Capitals got a great goaltender and made more trades in the draft. They're even stronger and better positioned for a rebuilding effort.
I wrote last month that the Capitals' strategy has proven more effective than the Penguins'. When former GMs Jim Rutherford and Ron Hextall traded picks and prospects, the Capitals were much more conservative in that area. This dichotomy should be learned in GM school: Win a Cup, get to the top, then start stockpiling.
Sportsnet: The Carolina Hurricanes will lose big in free agency. Now they've traded the rights to Jake Guenzel to Tampa Bay, one of several free agents the Hurricanes will lose on Monday.
Philly Hockey Now: The Flyers have done pretty well in the 2024 NHL Draft. The Flyers have landed a ton of picks that my colleague John Bailey praised: Flyers Draft Analysis. They are also making a move to acquire Cam Atkinson.
New Jersey Hockey Now: The metro shuffle continued on Saturday with a big trade in Newark. New Jersey released young player Alexander Holtz and goaltender Akira Schmid. Here's the trade between the Golden Knights and New Jersey Devils.
Sportsnet: Not in the Metro Division, but a powerhouse in the Eastern Conference. I think this is the biggest trade of the weekend. The Dallas Stars traded Chris Tanev to the Toronto Maple Leafs. It's a perfect trade for Toronto.
