The Pittsburgh Penguins may have set off more than one ripple with the Ville Koivunen deal.
After locking the unproven prospect down for eight years at $32 million, the Penguins created a market that quickly reached Vancouver. That’s the headline coming out of Friday’s NHL chatter, where the Canucks were said to have followed the same basic blueprint with highly touted defenseman Zeev Buium - only at a much higher AAV.
Buium is 20 and already has 76 NHL games across two seasons, and the scale of the contract only adds to the sense that teams are paying for upside before the player has fully settled in. At some point, it just becomes Monopoly money.
There was also movement, or at least more smoke, around Dylan Larkin. A report says the Detroit Red Wings asked for a top-line center in a possible trade, and that’s the kind of ask that tells you how serious - or how difficult - a conversation really is. The same report says Larkin has not added Montreal to his list of acceptable destinations.
Elsewhere around the league, the New York Islanders openly described themselves as a team in transition, according to their assistant general manager. That may not be a surprise, but it does sound like one less club the Penguins have to worry about in the playoff chase.
The Philadelphia Flyers remain one of the more interesting teams to watch heading into camp. The question there is simple enough: was last year’s late-season growth, the kind that helped them get into the playoffs, real progress or just a hot finish? That’s the debate being posed in Philadelphia.
In Boston, one of the 2025 NHL Draft’s biggest names landed a little lower than expected. James Hagens, who had been the consensus No. 1 pick at one point, slipped to the Bruins at No.
- Even so, he’s expected to turn pro this season with plenty of momentum, and his name is already in the mix for the Calder Trophy conversation.
Back in Pittsburgh, there was a different kind of update that hit much harder than any roster note. Dave Molinari announced Friday that he has been diagnosed with lung cancer, and he posted the full story on his Substack.
He’s long been a central voice in the Penguins media circle, and the respect around him runs deep. The hope, plainly, is that with the advances in treatment, he’ll be around the arena cracking jokes during introductions for a long time to come.
There was also a bit of lighter content in the Penguins orbit, with Pittsburgh Hockey Now rolling out a “Two truths and a lie” column built around the playoffs, trade possibilities, and offensive production. And over at Steelers Now, one of the Steelers’ own somehow earned the label of the most annoying player in the NHL.
In Other News...
Sidney Crosby Looms Over Penguins Camp For One Huge Reason
The Penguins prospects are already on the move, with Detroit set to be their base as they get ready for their first game next Saturday and begin the soft launch of the 2026-27 season. Even with the formal training camp start date still to come, informal skates are underway and the calendar is already filling up, with the first preseason game scheduled for Sept. 21 against Buffalo.
All of that naturally keeps Sidney Crosby at the center of everything in Pittsburgh. The bigger question hanging over camp is whether Crosby will extend his contract before the season gets going or enter the year in the final season of his current deal, a possibility that would only add more intrigue to every camp session, every preseason shift and every bit of news coming out of the organization. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Fans Will Have Strong Opinions On This Perfect Player Debate
The idea of building a perfect player out of todays Penguins is the kind of thought experiment that always gets fans talking, because it asks them to separate favorite names from favorite traits. Sidney Crosby is the obvious starting point for hockey IQ, while Erik Karlsson brings the kind of vision that changes how a play develops before it fully exists. Add Bryan Rusts mentality and Evgeni Malkins knack for delivering in big moments, and the result already feels like a snapshot of why Pittsburghs stars have defined so much of the franchises recent identity.
What makes the exercise more fun is how quickly it becomes a debate over which skill matters most, not just which player is best. Kris Letangs athleticism belongs in the mix, Egor Chinakhov supplies shot and finishing ability, and Elmer Soderblom offers the size piece that rounds out the build. Even without a final answer, the argument says plenty about how Penguins fans see the roster now: as a collection of distinct strengths, each one worth borrowing for a different part of the game. [Read more 🡒]