The Pittsburgh Penguins begin their waiting game Monday with on and off ice practice at the UPMC Lemieux Complex. The wait is the hardest part. The Penguins won the division on Saturday night but are still unsure whether their opponent will be the Boston Bruins or the New York Islanders. NHL trade rumors are picking up again and include more of Jack Eichel than New York Rangers speculation. And Rick Tocchet and the Arizona Coyotes are done with each other.

There isn’t much news from the Penguins until later today when we see who skates and learn more injury progress for Mike Matheson and Evan Rodrigues. PHN will have full coverage.

Pittsburgh Hockey Now: This is the 2020-2021 PHN Reader Survey and Pittsburgh Penguins Awards. Vote for the best performance, the biggest success and the best goal of the season. We had some issues with the polls yesterday, so be sure to vote!

PHN +: The weekly Off the Record was full of emotion. We had to edit several quotes to avoid going out of sources whose anger over the New York Rangers layoffs was strong and clear. You will understand the basics and why.

NYI Hockey Now: The Penguins’ most likely playoff opponent – the New York Islanders – has FINALLY secured the life of Kyle Palmieri, and they are trying to stoke this fire.

The Islanders don’t stand a chance with the score they got, but they’ll be very tough if they find some cohesion with Palmieri.

NHL News and National Hockey Now

Sportsnet: Rick Tocchet lasted four years behind the Arizona Coyotes bench. Sunday, they mutually agreed to separate.

From this point of view, Tocchet did a lot with a little. Arizona was in the playoff race despite a lack of top talent and a lack of A players in any position. Former teammate Ron Francis is hiring, don’t you know?

Also join Jimmy Murphy of the Hockey Now Network. His reporting on several situations in the weekly “Off the Record” column, including teetering Tocchet in AZ, was weeks before everyone.

TSN: The Calgary Flames are fans of Connor McDavid. Edmonton must beat Montreal twice and Calgary must win its last four games to make the playoffs.

ESPN +: Greg Wyhsinki is of the opinion: patience is no longer a virtue with the New York Rangers. And “there was never a high cross that James Dolan didn’t want.” Cue it Eichel at the swingers Rangers in the NHL.

The “+” means it’s a paywall story.

San Jose: NHL business speculation revolves around Timo Meier. Sheng Peng warns, it’s now NO time to treat the talented striker.

Boston: More and more, it looks like Jeremy Swayman will be around for a long time. Now he’s taking selfies on ice during warm-ups with fans who to adore Boston.

Florida: You remember Alex Wennberg, his rise and fall in Columbus. He finds a second life in Florida.