Muse Showing Support for Military, Veterans

Before arriving in Pittsburgh, Dan Muse was known for spending long hours at the rink preparing his teams for success, even staying overnight on occasion, and that has continued with the Penguins.

But he understands that being an NHL head coach is about more than just what happens on the ice. There’s a whole community off the ice that Muse has been getting increasingly involved with, carving out the time from his loaded schedule.

“Our community is amazing. It’s been a year now that I've been able to be a part of it and see it firsthand, and it's a special community,” Muse said. “And so, I think it’s really easy to not just be a part of it, but to be excited about. I think we've seen that over the course of the year with different events.”

Like assistant coach Nick Bonino, Muse cares deeply about the military and veterans, with both men having family members who served in World War II. It’s something they discussed when Bonino played for him in Nashville, with Muse serving as an assistant coach under Peter Laviolette. There, Bonino had an initiative called Bones’ Barracks.

“I know he has a lot of love in his heart for them,” Bonino said.

So, it was no surprise to Bonino that Muse flew into Pittsburgh last week specifically to attend the Malone Family Foundation’s 2026 Hero & Celebrity Hockey Game, serving as one of the coaches. It was part of the fourth annual Black & Gold Breaking the Mold event, in support of the healing power of hockey and its positive impact on the mental health of veterans, active-duty military and first responders.

“Anybody that’s served this country, there's nothing that I could think of that's more admirable than that,” Muse said. “You include that with our firefighters and our police and first responders, being able to see all these different groups in the community, all heroes, it’s been really fun.”

After arriving at the RMU Island SportsCenter, Muse spent some time with former Penguins forward Ryan Malone, whose father Greg also played for the organization and won two Stanley Cups as Pittsburgh’s head scout in 1991 and 1992.

Dan and Ryan chatted and autographed pucks upstairs in the Blue Line Club while a Hero Tournament was played on the ice below. It featured seven local programs: the Johnstown Generals Veteran hockey team, Pittsburgh Icemen, PA State Police, Pittsburgh Fire Hockey Club, It’s About the Warrior Foundation, Pittsburgh Blueliners and the Pittsburgh Warriors.

With a few minutes left on the clock, Muse headed downstairs to present the event’s first-ever Hero Tournament Cup Championship Trophy to the Pittsburgh Warthogs, who are under the umbrella of It’s About the Warrior Foundation, a local organization dedicated to making sure veterans never feel alone.

From there, Muse went into the hallway by the locker rooms, hanging out and chatting with everyone who had come together in support of the Malone Family Foundation and its mission. Those conversations resumed after game ended, with Muse staying well after the final buzzer sounded.

“Just talking with Ryan and hearing from the Malone Family Foundation about coming out for today, it's a huge honor just to be asked,” Muse said. “You look at this event, it’s just an incredible event. Within all of these groups, everybody's just so passionate about the game of hockey.”

He reconnected with members of the Pittsburgh Warriors Hockey Club, including their president, Dave Jackel. The United States Navy veteran sought Muse out to thank him for the support he’s provided to their program, which helps service-disabled veterans reconnect through hockey, leadership and year-round community events.

At the beginning of the season, Jackel got a call from Yvonne Maher, Executive Director of the Pittsburgh Penguins Foundation. She said the Penguins wanted to give the Warriors an hour of ice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex because Muse wanted to come out, meet them, and see what the program was all about.

“Him wanting to come out as a brand-new coach and see us, that meant something to us,” Jackel said. “So, as soon as I put it out to the team, you can imagine RSVPs were blowing up.”

The session took place on an off day for the Penguins, with Muse putting on his skates and staying on the ice the entire time.

“He didn't just come out to stick his head in like I thought he was gonna do: say hi, say good job, and then walk away. He was there interacting with the guys, playing around, talking smack,” Jackel said with a laugh. “He was out there being a part of the group. It really showed us who he is without knowing who he is.”

Muse then partnered with the Penguins Foundation to surprise the Warriors with an equipment donation in the Penguins locker room. He exchanged numbers with Jackel, and said they would connect at some point.

And sure enough, a couple of months later, Jackel was in a work meeting in Memphis when his phone rang. Muse’s name was on the screen. He stood up to take the call, and “my boss was like, 'What are you doing? I said, 'the Penguins coach is calling me, I'm going outside.’ [Laughs]. It was quite a long time that we talked. I really got to understand him as a person. He just pledged again to us that him and (his wife) Maureen both really just want to support us and just want to be involved with us.”

Having someone of Muse’s stature willing to help makes a world of difference for groups like the Warriors.

“He's a very high-level voice in this town. If he's saying good things about us, if he's saying that we're doing well, that we're supporting veterans, we're saving lives, we're doing our thing, that helps us out,” Jackel said. “It's going to get stronger and stronger and stronger, but it won't happen if we don't have people like Dan supporting us, and he's just been an amazing ally so far.

“So, when I got to meet him face to face, I just wanted to kind of thank him again. And he's like, well, we're not done. So, that was awesome.”

For more information on how to support the Pittsburgh Warriors, click here.

For more information on how to support the Malone Family Foundation, click here.