Jan 10, 2026; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Penguins center Sidney Crosby (87) and defenseman Kris Letang (58) talk during a break against the Calgary Flames during the third period at PPG Paints Arena. Mandatory Credit: Philip G. Pavely-Imagn Images The hockey world didn’t leave a lot of meat on the bone for us today.
Still, after a lot of searching, we’ve got enough for a real Daily after the Edmonton Oilers went to bat for Mike Babcock, Greg Wyshynski tallied and scored his last season predictions for all 32 teams, there’s a report that the Columbus Blue Jackets and Adam Fantilli are close on a new contract, but Leo Carlsson’s monster deal is being made irrelevant. We did some research and analysis on one Pittsburgh Penguins star player.
Fortunately, I got control of the comments section on Monday. Tech set it up with far too many restrictions, and I saw that dozens and dozens of comments had been held in purgatory. Sorry about that.
But for some odd reason, over the last few days it seems a person or two have been trying to promote another site in the comments–yeah, don’t do that. Hey, like what you like, but promoting work that’s “better” than ours will get a quick hook. That’s one of the few rules on the section–I’m not going to criticize other Penguins coverage, and unless another site veers out of their lane towards mine, live and let live, but we’re not going to serve to send readers elsewhere.
If you think others put more work into analysis, travel, or the current group of Penguins prospects, so be it (you’d be wrong, but I can’t win ’em all). So, let’s do that hockey… Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Hockey Now: Kris Letang will join a small, exclusive group this season by playing into a season in which he’s 39-years-old.
Over the last decade, just a handful of D-men have reached that plateau, but we also did some analysis on the statistical expectations
and they’re all very similar. It was a striking find in the Penguins analysis. Pittsburgh Baseball Now: Tied for a wild card spot?!
Yep, a walk-off winner and the Pittsburgh Pirates are there. Let’s go Bucs. NHL Rumors, News, & NHN TSN: There was a big charity event in Edmonton which attracted the big-name players, so naturally new coach Mike Babcock was the primary focus.
The boys came to the coach’s rescue with praise and optimism. I don’t know how it turns out, but they seem convinced it will. NHLtraderumors.me: Columbus beat reporter extraordinaire Aaron Portzline appeared on Jason Gregor’s Edmonton radio show/podcast.
He believes a Fantilli deal is close, but surprisingly Carlsson’s deal won’t have much of an impact on the value. Also from TSN, an interesting story from inside the Toronto Maple Leafs search committee for a new GM. How they conducted the process and how they came to John Chayka, to the chagrin of some in the Toronto media.
Sportsnet: The boys up north turned a story told by Brian Burke and Kevin Bieksa on a podcast into a three-minute animation. It’s a good story, and I’ve started the video when they start the story of how a bar fight launched Bieksa’s career. NHL.com: Sebastian Aho is getting rock star treatment back home in Finland as he spent the day with the Stanley Cup.
ESPN: Grading previous predictions for all 32 teams and keeping score. It’s proof of how many of us thought last summer, as Wyshinski hedged his bold Penguins prediction. New Jersey Hockey Now: Mining more news and info from GM Sunny Mehta’s podcast appearance with our boys, James Nichols put it all into a one big story–the shift in philosophy could pay big dividends for the New Jersey Devils.