FHN TODAY: NHL Trade Deadline Runs Out of Steam

SUNRISE — For those of you who had to work and missed the NHL Trade Deadline specials either from ESPN or Canada on Friday, well, you did not miss much.

As we all sort of expected, there was not much for the NHL Insiders to talk about on Friday.

After all, the big deals were all done prior to Friday’s 3 p.m. closing time.

Sure, there were trades made on Friday. Regardless of how things go leading into the Trade Deadline, there are always last-minute deals being made.

But when one of the biggest moves is one that was not not completed — the Philadelphia Flyers deal with Detroit to move James van Riemsdyk fell through — you get the picture to how Friday went for those who look at the Trade Deadline as some sort of Hockey Holiday.

For the complete rundown of all the trades, visit Detroit Hockey Now for their Trade Tracker.

FLORIDA HOCKEY NOW

Florida Panthers general manager Bill Zito spoke about why he decided to keep his team together despite it being four points out of the playoffs with 19 games remaining.

Zito also spoke on a variety of subjects from past trades, the team’s future, whether he thinks they can make the playoffs — and his thoughts on the job Paul Maurice has done in his first season behind the Florida bench.

Spoiler alert: He is a fan.

The Panthers’ Twitterverse is going to love hearing that.

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So, if you have yet to subscribe to the only daily source of Florida Panthers coverage, today is a great day to join the team!

• The Panthers went into Deadline Day with another frustrating loss, this one to the rebuilding Predators on Thursday night.
• That loss was their second to Nashville in two weeks and put them in NHL purgatory heading into the deadline.
• Florida was once again without Sasha Barkov and Sam Bennett on Thursday night.
• Barkov is telling teammates and coaches he will play Saturday; Bennett remains questionable although it appears he returns after missing six games as well.
• New video from Zito, Maurice and Matthew Tkachuk from Friday is up on the FHN YouTube Channel. You can click the embedded videos below or click RIGHT HERE to see everything all in one place.
• If you hit subscribe (it’s free), you will know when new content comes up.

NATIONAL HOCKEY NOW

The Pittsburgh Penguins hold a five-point lead on the Panthers in the playoff race and are in town for a big game tonight.

The Penguins have won their past four games after beating the Lightning on Thursday and added a number of players at the deadline including former Florida defenseman Dmitry Kulikov.

General manager Ron Hextall thinks this Penguins squad can contend for the Cup. OK.

• Philadelphia Flyers GM Chuck Fletcher knows his team’s fans are disappointed with how things have gone the past couple of seasons — and what happened at the deadline.
• Detroit Red Wings GM Steve Yzerman says he was not going to be a buyer “under any circumstances.” We kind of saw that for ourselves.
• The Boston Bruins apparently took Friday off. Slackers.
• The Calgary Flames added some depth at the deadline and traded one Ritchie brother for another.
• Cale Makar has been cleared to return to the Calgary Flames.
• The Washington Capitals being a seller at the deadline was painful from necessary.

PANTHERS ON DECK

FLORIDA PANTHERS AT PITTSBURGH PENGUINS 

• When: Saturday, 6 p.m.
• Where: FLA Live Arena, Sunrise
• TV/Streaming: Bally Sports Florida; ESPN+
• Radio: WPOW 96.5-FM 2; WBZT 1230-AM (Palm Beach); WCTH 100.3-FM (Florida Keys); SiriusXM
• Panthers Radio Streaming: SiriusXM 932
• Season Series (Penguins lead 2-0): Pittsburgh 4, Panthers 2 (Dec. 15); Penguins 7, Panthers 6 OT (Jan. 24)
• Last season: Florida won 2-1
• All-time regular season series: Penguins lead 56-35-7, 4 ties
• Up Next for the Panthers: Tuesday vs. Vegas Golden Knights, 7 p.m.