The hockey news cycle took a hard left Thursday, and the biggest swing might be coming out of Detroit.
Dylan Larkin’s situation with the Red Wings blew up fast. Larkin told the team he had waited long enough for a trade and was done being patient, and Detroit responded by suspending him without pay.
Interim GM Shawn Horcoff stood firm, and the whole thing does not sound close to resolution. Moritz Seider also offered a blunt reaction, while coach Todd McLellan is already moving forward as the team starts to settle into what Max Smith described as a Red Wings identity.
There’s also a growing sense around Detroit that the club has to sell for less than it wanted. As the reporting put it, you do not get full price on a going out of business sale. And Larkin, in that view, is also in the wrong.
The trade chatter around the league is moving with him. The Minnesota Wild are involved on multiple fronts, including Larkin, and Jordan Schmaltz also had New Jersey in the mix, though that part is clearly worth taking with a grain of salt.
Another major league note landed just before publication: an international sports court ruled that the IIHF must readmit Russia immediately. That means Russia will be in the World Junior tournament, and it also makes Russia eligible for next year’s NHL World Cup. The IIHF had used a secondary excuse to suspend Russia without directly naming the war as the reason, and that approach backfired.
Back in Pittsburgh, the Penguins had a night that turned from unlikely to ugly in a hurry. They were about to steal a game they had no business winning, then the finish flipped, and overtime gave fans plenty of chaos before it ended with them slumped back in their seats. Utah and Logan Cooley, as the lede put it, literally skated past the Penguins at PPG.
Cooley was the story. The thought was raised that he should have been the No. 1 overall pick, and the comparison was framed this way: would you rather have Logan Cooley, Shane Wright, or Juraj Slafkovsky? On Thursday, Cooley did things only an elite few can do.
That came against a Penguins defense that did not help itself. There were moments of pressure and good forechecking, but when Pittsburgh was not attacking, the team defense left Artur Silovs exposed.
The Penguins also had plenty of roster movement around the game. Sam Girard played, and there was a lot of shuffling behind the scenes, with activations, demotions, and an updated roster all part of the picture.
The result itself was framed with some positive spin: Pittsburgh got a point in its overtime loss. But the deeper read was less flattering.
The mistakes that had gone away for two games came roaring back, and without Silovs’s brilliance, the night could have turned into an ugly blowout. The report card dug into the problems, and there was a lot of input from inside the room.
Dan Muse also gave a little more than usual in the postgame press conference. He got into the Xs and Os in a way he typically does not, and that set up what was described as potentially spicy material for the Insider column.
Elsewhere in the league, the Florida Panthers remain good, but banged up. Paul Maurice updated the status of Brad Marchand and Sasha Barkov, and the news out of Florida was that both have resumed skating.
In Other News...
Penguins Defensive Meltdowns Wasted Another Crosby-Led Comeback Push
The Penguins got another lift from Sidney Crosby and another reminder that the comeback effort alone is not enough when the defensive structure wobbles. In Montreal, Pittsburgh fell 5-4 to the Canadiens at the Bell Centre, a game that again turned on how quickly the Penguins could recover after giving away momentum and how little margin they had once the Canadiens found their rhythm.
Sergei Murashov was back in net for his first start since Oct. 17, and the night did not deliver the reset the Penguins were hoping for. Dan Muse did win a goaltender interference challenge along the way, but the result still left Pittsburgh searching for answers around its crease and left Murashov still without a victory this season as the losses keep piling up in tight games. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Loss Just Raised Bigger Questions About Where This Team Is Headed
The loss to the Canadiens left the Penguins with more than just another result to digest. It added weight to a stretch that has already been marked by uneven play, a coaching change in Dan Muse, and a roster that still has to answer basic questions about consistency. Even with Tristan Jarry coming off consecutive shutouts, the broader picture around Pittsburgh has not gotten any clearer, especially with trade chatter continuing to swirl around established names and the organization trying to sort out what comes next.
Muse now has a team that needs a reset as much as a response, and the next few days could tell a lot about how he plans to handle it. Lineup changes are on the table after the Montreal game, and the tone around the club has shifted from short-term fixes to something more fundamental about direction. For a Penguins team that has lived through plenty of eras already, the latest setback only sharpened the bigger question hanging over the season. [Read more 🡒]
Penguins Just Created A New Opening For Rutger McGroarty
Rutger McGroarty is back with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for now, and the move gives the Penguins a little more breathing room as they sort through the early part of their roster. Since making his NHL debut in the 2024-25 season, the young forward has already gotten into 34 games with Pittsburgh, scoring four goals and nine points, while also showing in the AHL that he can drive offense and hold his own over longer stretches.
For the Penguins, the assignment is less about closing the book on McGroarty than keeping him in the mix. He has been productive in the minors across two seasons, and his development remains one of the more interesting subplots on the roster. The open spot in Pittsburgh adds another layer to watch as the team continues to manage its forward group and decide when the next opportunity should come. [Read more 🡒]