Inside Scoop: Bjugstad and McCann's whirlwind day

The day began like it usually does for Nick Bjugstad and Jared McCann down in Florida. With the Panthers scheduled to host the Nashville Predators in their first game after the bye week, they went through their normal routine of getting to the rink and going through morning skate. But when they got off the ice, they started hearing some rumblings about a potential trade.

About an hour later, they got the news -
the forwards had been acquired by Pittsburgh in exchange for Derick Brassard, Riley Sheahan and three 2019 draft picks
. That's when the real craziness began.
"I got a call earlier today from Jim (Rutherford) and Mike (Sullivan), and they just said, 'We're going to try to play you tonight,'" Bjugstad said. "It was kind of a whirlwind from there."
Bjugstad said they packed "in about 10 minutes" and headed to the airport, where the Penguins chartered a plane to fly them to Pittsburgh. Despite not having a lot of room, they tried doing some stretches on the plane to stay as loose as possible.
"We did what we could so we could try to be somewhat prepared here," Bjugstad said. "At least we got a pregame skate in, we'll take that. Crazy circumstances here, but we're definitely excited."
They landed on the tarmac at 6:18 p.m., where it took just three minutes for Bjugstad and McCann to get off the plane, meet the team staffers there to greet them and load their luggage and gear into the waiting cars. They were on the road by 6:21 p.m., with a police escort leading them into the city and director of communications Jason Seidling sending text updates about their progress.
"It was a pretty crazy last 12 hours, and we're scooting to make it to this game," Bjugstad said in the car on the way to the arena. "This will be very interesting."
"We were just talking to each other on the plane, saying this is a story we're going to be able to tell people, for sure," McCann added.
During the half-hour drive, the guys discussed what to expect and how excited they were to get started with their new team, with McCann sharing a funny story about meeting Mario Lemieux.
"When we last played Pittsburgh, we were at some steakhouse and we were walking out from a PA meeting or something like that, and one of my teammates goes, 'Mario Lemieux was back there,'" McCann said. "They were kind of chicken to go back there and get a photo, but I didn't really have any problem with it (laughs). We go over there and Dale (Tallon) is sitting with Mario Lemieux and two other gentlemen. We got a photo together. It was pretty cool. He was a guy I obviously grew up idolizing."
As they got closer to downtown, the anticipation really started to kick in - as did a little bit of fatigue.
"My main thing is get a cup of coffee," Bjugstad said. "That's my pregame ritual, is to have a cup of coffee and I haven't had it yet."
"(Might need a) couple Red Bulls," McCann added.
"Maybe it's better off like this," Bjugstad conceded. "We're going to be nervous either way."
They pulled into the loading dock of the arena at 6:51 p.m., where they sprinted to the locker room and walked in at 6:55 p.m. - with puck drop set for 7:07 p.m. They got a short ovation from their new teammates before Penguins head coach Mike Sullivan went into his pregame speech.
While he spoke, Bjugstad and McCann donned their new gear in record time and walked down the runway at 7:05 p.m., right after the anthems had begun - waiting behind Penguins goalie Matt Murray before taking the ice and doing a quick lap before the opening faceoff.
"We threw our gear on and ran out there," Bjugstad said. "I have dreams every once in a while where I'm late to a game and that's kind of what it felt like, throwing on a different jersey. We didn't have much time. We'll always remember that, sitting on the plane wondering if we're going to make it. We can thank our pilots, they got us here in time."
After the game, Bjugstad confirmed that it was actually better for them to just jump right into their Penguins debuts.
"There wasn't much thinking," he said. "Showed up to the rink and just played. We hadn't played in a while, so it was more about getting our feet under us. Just feeling the team out a little bit. This is an easy team to come into."
Bjugstad centered the second line between Bryan Rust and Phil Kessel, collecting an assist, while McCann centered the third line between Tanner Pearson and Patric Hornqvist. Sullivan liked what he saw from both players.
As Sullivan said before the game, Bjugstad is someone who has shown an ability to score in this league and still has more upside, bringing more size to the team at 6-foot-6 and a whole lot of skill. He added that McCann is another young player that can skate, is a good penalty killer and can help them become harder to play against.
"I thought they had strong games tonight under difficult circumstances, coming in on two wheels at the end of warmup," Sullivan said. "I thought they did a terrific job under really tough circumstances. We're really excited about both guys. They're really good guys, I think they're excited to be Pittsburgh Penguins and it just gives us so much versatility with some of the combinations that we may be able to put together when we get a full complement of our players."