Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - A Penguins LEGEND is joining the new coaching staff!

Episode Date: June 18, 2025

Newly-hired Penguins' Head Coach Dan Muse has one of his first assistants, and it's the B from the legendary HBK Line! Patrick and Hunter begin the show talking about the return of Penguins legend Nick Bonino, but not as a player. It was confirmed by the man himself that he is hanging up the skates and picking up the clipboard, joining Dan Muse's staff for this upcoming season. They dive into their thoughts about the hire, what he brings to the organization, and if it can work. Then, with the Penguins needing all the help they can get on defense, they weigh the pros and cons of potentially offering a contract to UFA defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov. Finally, the Florida Panthers join the Penguins as a team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in the salary cap era. They give their thoughts on the Stanley Cup Final, why Florida was able to win, and what the Oilers have to do next. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply.Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.Wonderful PistachiosGet snackin' and get crackin' with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more! FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Today on Locked-on Penguins, Bonino, Bonino, Bonino, Nick, Bonino! You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms at Synonym 4Wet. as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes.

You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can give our show's Twitter account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. And you can give us a follow on Instagram at Locked On underscore Penguins. And of course, as always, we appreciate you making this part of your daily routine because we're your team every day. Don't forget, we're free and available wherever you get your podcasts as well as YouTube. Plus, if you follow us on YouTube, make sure you've hit that notification button. That way you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Before we get going, today's episode is brought to you by Fandul.

Right now, new customers can get $200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins on Fandul. Hunter, the coaching search saga got a bit of a twist yesterday and it became sort of official, but mostly official on Wednesday. We now know one of the people who will be on the bench with new penguins head coach Dan Mews. And that is two-time Stanley Cup champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Nick Bonino. There were some reports last night. Well, there was one report.

We might as well give the man credit from Deon Kovachovic, who said he had heard from a source that Nick Benino was going to be joining. Muse's staff. And then today, Benino puts out a video on Facebook via his team in Europe, who he was actually signed with announcing his retirement because an opportunity came to him to return and coach the Pittsburgh Penguins. Immediate reaction for this to me, I think two things. I'll make them real quick. And then I will stop flapping my gums and let Hunter give his take on it. One, this. is somebody who has familiarity with Dan Mews. Benino played under Mews as an assistant coach

when he was with Nashville and with the New York Rangers. So they do have a relationship as player and coach. Plus, this will be a way to in a way reach out to some of the veterans on the roster. Nick Benino, long NHL career, a champion with the Pittsburgh Penguins and well respected in the organization. So we will see how this goes as a hire. But first thoughts on it for me. Solid idea. We'll see how it goes. Yeah,

I was just really caught off guard when I saw that D.K. put that out on Twitter last night. I was just watching Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final. I saw that he put that tweet out. I clicked the link and I was like, huh, Nick Benino's going to coaching? Because the first thought that also came in my head was,

wasn't he still playing? I knew he was playing overseas, but I was like, he hadn't retired yet, right? And sure enough, I did some more research on it, Pat. He had just signed an extension,

do play with that team next season. And he's like, nah, I'm going to retire. I'm going to go back to Pittsburgh and now be an assistant coach. I'm really curious to see how he does here. He's never coached before. So we really don't have any idea of what to expect just because he's never coached. But he knows the big three here in Pittsburgh with Cindy Crosby of getting Malcolm and Crystal Tang. He won the Stanley Cups with them.

So I think they're going to really look up to him as someone who is a leader knows what it takes to win. And then also for the younger players, I think they could also. really served to learn quite a bit from someone like that who's won two Stanley Cups. He's battled throughout his entire career, especially in a third line role for a lot of it. He played top six minutes, obviously, but for a lot of his career, he was playing, you know, in that, you know, middle six, top nine forward type. So I think someone like a Ruckerman or Grosy, I think someone like a Billy Covey. And all the younger players that will have chances to make this team coming out of camp,

I really do feel like are going to be set to learn quite a bit from him. Also for Benino, this is a strong. strict guess on my part, but I'm guessing he's probably going to coach the forwards because he was a word for his entire career. And B, the penalty kill because he played on the PK quite a bit during his career. I think they're going to bring in someone else to coach the defenseman and the power play. Maybe someone with a bit more experience. But, hey, this is his first big coaching gig. I mean, it's only, it's only coaching kick so far since he's played his entire career. And I'm excited to see how it goes. We'll see. But it's cool that he's coming back in that capacity. And also, Pat,

That's two bald guys now on the staff. Let's see if they hire our good pal jesse marshall. He's bald. Maybe they can hire him. My best friend, Jeff, is also bald. They can hire him as well. Let's just make an entire coaching staff out of ball people. But in all seriousness, I'm excited to see how it goes, even though he's never coached before.

Yeah, let's see what stone cold Steve Austin is up to. See if we can get him on the bench and really finish the triumvirin of bald guys on the bench. But to build off what you were saying, that's kind of where my head is. as well. You imagine he'll probably work with the forwards being he was a second or third line center for most of his career, 868 games across 15 seasons, playing in that role as a two-way center, a two-way forward who killed penalties, was always solid depth for whichever team he was playing for. He obviously played a massive role in the 2016 Stanley Cup victory for the Penguins, scoring that iconic goal to beat the Washington Capitals in the second round in 2016.

And he was really a solid two-way contributor and a big part of both of those championships. And the other thing that you said, you beat me to the punch. This is another in a long list of a type of guy, whether it's a coach or a player, that I can see having value for what the penguins want to do right now. It's another developmental hire. That's really the thing I see with it. Right. And then it's also, you hinted at it.

It's something I have been saying strictly about the roster itself. When you have a lot of these prospects who are going to have to earn NHL jobs, they're not superstars who are picked in the top five or even the top 10. These are guys who are going to have to work to get to the NHL and stay at the NHL level. And Benino is one of those players. This isn't a guy who was picked first overall and was blessed with unbelievable talent. It's a guy who had to work. It's a guy who had to earn everything he got as an NHL player to the point where he plays

nearly 900 NHL games over 15 years. So this is a guy who really made his no pun intended bones as that kind of player. So that's a valuable asset to have on the bench. And then obviously we already said it. the connection to the big three. Those guys went to war together, won championships together. So it's a good connective tissue for a first time head coach who's coming into a situation where there are absolute legends still on the roster.

But now you've got someone who can hopefully lend that head coach some credibility. Right. And we can also throw Brian Rust in there too. Brian Russ was on both of those teams. We expect Brian Russ to be on this roster unless they get a package that they can't refuse from another team during the all season, but he's also someone that can really look to Nick Benino on the bench, too. So I would really say those four, they respected him quite a bit as a player. Now, even though he's never been a coach before, I still think they're going to have

quite a bit of respect for him just because they've played with him, they've won with him, they know, he knows what it takes to win. So do they. So there's going to be that mutual respect between those four players and Nick Minno, who obviously played with them. So, Again, I have no idea what to full you expect, but on paper and just talking it out, I like it and I at least see the vision with it. So we just have to see who else gets hired because I think you want to still hire someone with at least a little bit of a assistant coaching experience at the NHL or B, maybe even a head coaching experience that you can add to your staff.

Yeah, definitely. I think that needs to be the next move. And the last thought that I have on Nick Benino is I'm cautiously optimistic about Benino as a coach because the type of player that he was. These are usually the guys who turn into becoming the best kind of coaches. The top tier elite level talent guys, they just have it. They are just blessed with that talent. And it's hard for them to articulate and explain why they were so good because it's just

so inherent. You get players like Nick Benino who they have to be more cerebral. They have to be able to think the game and work the game in really, read the game, unlike some of the top players do. So that can definitely translate into a successful coaching career. Obviously, that's putting the cart so far ahead of the horse because this is his first gig. But I think all the fundamentals in the building blocks are there for him to become a solid coach. So we will see what happens.

Obviously, we'll keep you updated on this because while it's not officially official, it kind of feels like everything is in place for this to happen. And if anything changes, we'll come on here and let you know. But that is going to do it for our opening segment. When we come back, we know that one of the big weaknesses of this Pittsburgh Penguin Squad is defense. And there's one name on the UFA market that maybe they should take a look at, but we'll discuss whether it's worth it or not. And we'll do that when we come back.

So stick with us. We'll be right back. But first, we got to tell you about today's first sponsor in that. is Fandul the NBA playoffs. They're in full swing and every night delivers highlight worthy performances, major momentum shifts, and can't miss moments. Whether it's a game winning shot or a breakout player,

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Head to FanDuel.com and place your first $5 bet. And if it wins, you'll get $200 in bonus bets. Make every moment more with FanDuel official sports betting partner of the NBA. Welcome back into the Wednesday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes. And it is a big topic of discussion going into the off season for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And that is they are going to have to improve at least marginally on defense because the last couple years, the blue line has been a source of weakness for this team.

And while we don't expect the penguins to be very active on the UFA market, Kyle Dubus has pretty much said that they are really going to be more active when it comes to trades than they are unrestricted free agents. But they are going to have to do something about defense because it's pretty weak right now. In one player, I think the penguins could have some interest in. And I'm just going to throw the name out there because he is a U.S. and Hunter, I'll let you go for a run on this one. And that is UFA formerly of the Los Angeles Kings, Vladislav Gavrakov.

He's one of the best defensemen on the market. That doesn't really say much because the UFA market this year for defensemen is really bad, similar to last year. He just finished up a two-year extension with the Los Angeles Kings, set to hit the market. The Kings are trying to keep him. We're still not sure if he's going to stay. there. But prior to becoming a UFA, well, he will be a UFA on July 1.

He had signed a two-year 11.75 million contract with the Kings, two-year to scopes. So that's not too terrible. But the thing with Gavrakov is pat, he's already 29. His underlines are really good. Don't get me wrong. The underlines for him this year, he was well above water and shot times for 60 minutes, goals four per 60 minutes, expected goals, scoring chances, high danger chances, you name it. Everything was at least 54% or higher. Kings were also one of the best defensive teams of league, but he still brought at least some offense when he was on ice.

You look at his numbers this year. Five goals, 30 points in these games, his 30 points, second most points of his career only to the 21, 22 season when he was with the Columbus Blue Jackets. He would definitely be an upgrade for the Penguins. There's no doubt about that. But they're not in a position right now to sign a player for a lot of term and a lot of money, considering where they are with this rebuild on the fly.

it wouldn't make any sense by the time they're ready to really start contending again. He will be on the downward trend for his career. Now granted, if he wanted to take a one-year deal and play out most of the season and then maybe get flipped at the deadline, okay, I can see that. He would provide an upgrade. Two years, we'll see. But again, I don't think they're in the market to do a three to four to five-year term plus for someone like this on the UFA market.

The most I'd go is two years, kind of like the Blake Lazotte situation from last year. But I don't think he's even going to be in the market for that. So it's kind of a wasted time if he was great. I don't think he's really going to be interested in that. I think he's going to be interested in getting a whole bunch of term and a whole bunch of money considering the season that he just had. So again, I like him. But considering where the penguins are, just don't think it's feasible.

That's kind of where I landed on this because his name continues to come up. And there's been chatter that penguins should go after him. And I kind of stand in a similar place as you where I do think if you can get him anywhere between, and I'm going to go one further. I think if you could get him anywhere between one to four years, it actually could fit the timeline a little better just because at the end of the day, you wouldn't be signing him realistically to keep him. you'd be signing him to flip him. And given the trends of his last couple seasons, he has continued to stay pretty consistent. So he's hit that level as a late 20s defenseman

who does really well as a two or three guy on your blue line. And I don't see him having a steep drop off in that one to four year period to where right as you're getting ready to round into that window of play. playoff contention and you need to go get, say, a forward or some sort of other piece to really push you to that next step. Having a player like Gavrakov on your roster only making, or not only making, but only having one or two years remaining on his deal could really interest some teams. It could be a mutually beneficial kind of deal where you're not giving him up

for nothing or you're not giving him up for futures. It's more, hey, this team needs defense, this team needs offense. Let's help one another out and move forward. But all of that said, I come down on the same side as you in. You kind of figure he's going to be looking long term. He's going to be looking five, six, maybe even seven year deal. because here's the thing. He wasn't bad before this season in any stretch of the imagination.

But he wasn't this good this past year. He had a big contract year bump. He was also very good during one of the seasons in Columbus. I still think the 21, 22 season is his best season. This year is right after that. Hey, perfect timing. You're going into your UFA year. A lot of teams are going to notice that.

and they're going to be making, I think, quite a few offers. I disagree on the three to four years. I would not offer him that, especially with where the penguins are. And by that point, you know, he's around 32, 33. I think the best hockey for him at that point will be well behind him. So I think one to two years, if that, for Gaborkov, take it or leave it. He's not going to take it. So probably a waste of time even thinking about it.

But, hey, he's the best, to me, I think he's the best defenseman on the market going into free agency this year. But there's going to be too many teams that are way more looking to add for right now than the Penguins. I don't think the Penguins want to do that in the UFA market. They've said that. It's a good conversation to have. And if you want to take a discount on a one-year deal, maybe even too, sure, but I just

don't think that's realistic. I got three to four years. I'm not really interested with where they are. But still, like the player, just timeline doesn't fit. I also look at it this way. If it does come to pass, that they move Eric Carlson, which we think they're likely to do this summer, you're really going to need to find something because even though this team is not aiming

to win in the next year or two, you also don't want to make this team much worse. And I know Carlson is a lightning rod for a lot of people in this fan base. But if you move him away and you don't have a realistic replacement in house, which they don't, you're in big trouble because this is not a team that is going to be able to handle the loss of Eric Carlson right away. While that answer probably isn't Gavrikov, if he's still available or there's somebody else available, you're going to have to make that move because as much as I think there's a good return out there for Eric Carlson, especially assuming there will retain some salary, or even if you don't retain salary, you move him after July 1 when he gets his bonus and you're not having to pay him a ton of money,

you still have to have a backup plan ready because this defense was already not good to start with. And if you go into next year without that, that could really derail some plans. Yeah, they might have to add three defensemen to the roster this summer, some way, shape, or form, especially. We already know the problems on the left side. you move Carlson there's another spot you have to add right there i like connor timmins he's not taking those minutes we love crystal tang he's not taking those minutes at this stage in his career right now so they will have to add someone else on

the right side as much as i like harrison boonek i think putting those expectations on him as a rookie if he makes a team people got pump the brakes a little bit on that like him quite a bit but some people in the fan base and this is for every initial fan base they overwrite their own prospects. So people got to pump the brakes a little bit there. And yeah, that's really all I have to say on that. So it's going to get good here in the next couple weeks, people. We saw a few moves already today. We actually saw our first trade, Eric Hala going to Nashville. He saw Ryan Donato re-upping in Chicago. You saw that crazy Trent Frederick extension that is set to be announced with Edmonton. And speaking of that, that's coming up here in the final segment, isn't it?

It sure is. So we'll cut it there and we will talk about the Florida Panthers going back to back in winning the Stanley Cup last night, bringing the official end to the 24-25 season. We'll talk about that, give our quick thoughts on the Stanley Cup final. So stick around. We're going to do that right after this. Welcome back into the Wednesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

I'm Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes. And we have another addition to the salary cap era teams who have, gone back to back. The first team to do it, of course, was our Pittsburgh Penguins in 2016 and 2017. A few years later, the Tampa Bay Lightning do that in 20 and 21. And now the Florida Panthers join them winning the 2025 Stanley Cup again over the Edmonton Oilers. And Hunter, before I get into the Florida Panthers winning the Stanley Cup. There is something I need to address. The Connor McDavid narratives got to stop.

Okay. I get it. He didn't dominate the series. That's totally understandable. There is totally a case to be made that he needed to be better in the Stanley Cup final. But that takes a lot of shine off of the Florida Panthers. who game planned, defended, and played him better than anybody has ever done.

This wasn't a case of Connor McDavid being injured or not playing well. McDavid was getting his chances. McDavid was moving this series like he always does, but the Florida Panthers played a great defensive game against him, against Dry Cytle, and the rest. and that is why the Florida Panthers, for many reasons, are back-to-back champions. They made Leon look like a completely non-factor in these last two games. Same with McDavid.

They took them both away, and they smothered and suffocated the Oilers in both of those last two games. The first four games of this series were incredible hockey, great theater. But once the Panthers blew that lead in game four to make it a best of three, something, some like alarm bell went off inside them. And once that happened, they reverted right back to the Panthers that we saw earlier these playoffs, earlier last year when they just shut everything down and they went to work. Their stars went off.

Their depth badly outshined Edmonton's depth. And Sergei Vibrovsky played two outstanding games once again. He's now a back-to-back Stanley Cup champion. And in case there was any doubt about this, there should not be now. Sergei Bobrovsky is a first ballot Hall of Famer, 100%. There was a tweet from Scott Weir last night asking if he's even a hockey Hall of of Famer. Huh?

Bob has two Stanley Cups, multiple Veznas. He's been tremendous throughout his entire career. That is a first foul at Hall of Famer right there. So, yeah, I wanted to say that. For Edmondson, their depth really did a great job in the first three rounds. It completely went away. in the final. Frederick was nowhere to be found,

even though he set to get an eight-year extension from Stan Bowman, which is just absolutely ridiculous. Evander Kane was terrible. Then he took that pathetic penalty, to end game six, just Bush League stuff there from Evander Kane. I've never been able to stand him. I think he's an absolute clown.

But he was terrible. Connor Brown wasn't good in the final. Kaspari Kappen was in and out of the lineup, Jeff Skinner. And a lot of the players in their depth, a lot of these guys are UFAs. and I will say it's also funny that Corey Perry has now lost five in the last six-down-le-up finals. Very good from the memes.

He's also a UFA. I think if Edmonton wants to get back here either next year or going forward, they need to really fix some of the forward depth. I thought it was better this year. The first three rounds, their depth was playing really well. But when it mattered most in the final, Florida's depth guys really outshined Edmontons, and they were able to really shut them down, especially in games five and six. So I still think the Oilers need to be a little bit better with.

their depth decisions. And of course, they still need a goalie. I'm not pinning all of this on Stuart Skinner or Cal Pickard. I thought they gave them adequate goaltending at times in the playoffs. But I still think they need an upgrade in net over at least one of those guys. I think you need to get rid of one of Skinner or Pickard and go out there, probably via trade, and get a goalie. If Stan Bowen wants to call on Tristan Jari, be my guest. We'll send him out there to Edmonton.

But, like, they still need a goy. Some of the McDavid narratives are a bit much. I'll say that. I think there are some people in the Penguins fan base that are definitely threatened by him, but I will also say this, Pat. I know a lot of people compare him to, you know, Wayne, Mario, or Hal even said.

He needs to win a title first before we put him in that conversation. I'm not trying to come off as a Carner McDavid hater. I love watching him play. I think he's the best player in the world. but to me, you still got to win a title first. Again, I don't want to come off as a hitter and I hope I'm not,

but you still got to win a title. Well, the thing I'll say to that, what I was pushing back on mainly was this idea that, you know, oh, 66 and 99 and those guys didn't shy away from the moment. McDavid didn't either. He just got played really well. And then when you look at a lot of Lemieux, Gretzky, even Crosby to an extent,

you look at a lot of the rosters they won with. they had two things that Connor McDavid was kind of missing the last two years. Goaltending in depth. Yes. And if you put it on all of McDavid's shoulders and dry sided shoulders, like they kind of had to out of both necessity and injury this final, he's probably not going to do it because Florida is such a good team that they just went, all right, we'll let McDavid and dry sidel get their cookies. They're not going to go off, but they're going to get their points. They're going to get a couple goals. They're going to get a few assists.

We'll let everybody else try to beat us because we know they can. Well, we don't have two OT winners in this series before kind of being a no show in Game 5 and game six. But that's just because Florida up their game. Like that was a big alarm bell that went off after they blew a three-go lead. And they completely shut them down. Like, that's what the Panthers do. This is a juggernaut for a reason. McDavid and Leon were great all playoffs long.

My point wasn't about like McDavid's leadership or anything like that. I think some people were very much being weird with some of those takes. My point was just that, you know, I see some takes from some people saying like, oh, he's the greatest I've ever seen in this stuff. And it's like, all I'm saying is just win one title. And then, you know, we can really have this talk because he is going to go down as one of the best. But I still want to see him win a title. And I think he eventually is going to.

Which is fair. And I agree with that. And just to end it on this note. One, congratulations to the Florida Panthers on back to back championships. We know what that's like. it's a lot of fun. You brought up them needing a goalie and you brought up Tristan Jari. I had this idea today and it's going to be very ham-fisted. It's going to be very snap reaction. But again, I don't have a lot of confidence in Stan Bowman. So keep that in mind. But if they needed a goalie and if they were to give the penguins a call, you know what I think would work if you can get the trade of

approval for him. Jari for Victor Arvison. Arvidson's a pending UFA. He makes about a million less than Tristan Jari. Tristan Jari needs a fresh start. Arvison can be a guy you take a chance on. Hopefully he plays well and then you flip him at the deadline to a contender and he can go play for a Stanley Cup. Tristan Jari has history in Edmonton. He played his juniors there. He was successful there. I still think, and I know I'm going to get clowned for this, there is a good goalie in him still. I just think whatever mental block is in front of him has to do with the crest he wears now and he knows it's not going to work here. So you give him a fresh start somewhere else. It's one of your better trade proposals. I'll say that. But who seeing him play behind that defense,

that's entertainment value right there. I'll be watching a lot more oiler games to see how he plays against behind that defense. They're going to extend Bouchard, this offseat. in that's going to be a big one they already have darn no nurse who sign me up for that to see them to see him play excuse me behind that defensive court please well and they're still going to have darnel nurse they've got him locked up for the long term they've got at home for next year they've got jake walman they've got bret kulak they've got troy stature like there there is still a solid defensive core there and i would say not that the bar is high probably give that one the edge over the penguins defense.

And you also have a solid forward core. So I think playing in front of a better or behind a better team with a better defensive core and a fresh start, I don't think Edmonton's going to take the call because of all the history and the baggage. But if there were ever a place, I could see it happening. Extremely low bar when you compare to the penguins. We all know that. It's still the Oilers defensively, they were better. obviously during the playoffs, but a lot of times you get those high scoring games.

I'm not sure how much Dari would help, but hey, I'm all for sending him out there or just to any team in general just because the experiment has not worked for the Penguins. One more thing, though, and this is the very fun talk. Carm McDavid has a year left on his contract. Are we going to get the Canadian hockey media to start up those trade members, Pat? Or is just only a thing for Sid, even though he's won Stanley Cups? Well, I will say this. I could see a world where he leaves and it's not because of him being disgruntled or him not being happy with Edmonton.

They are headed down a direction that is very, and we'll see what happens over the next couple of off seasons with them because they do still have a bit of a parachute with a lot of pending UFAs next summer. But they're heading down a road very similar to the early 2010s penguins where the strategy to be. beat them in the early 2010s was shut down Crosby, shut down Malkin. The rest of the roster is just a bunch of guys who can't beat us. How much money, it's going to be probably upwards of 40 million almost. Bouchard, dry sidle, McDavid, that's going to take up. If I had the guess, Pat, it's probably close to 40 million. So there's a world where it might just be a, I don't see the future here.

I don't see a title coming here. So I'm going to go somewhere else where that could be. We don't know. We'll have to wait and see what other moves teams make. But I do think that it might just be a divorce of necessity because he might not see a path to a championship there. But we all know he's going to extend there in all seriousness. Yes, because talking to players hate having to move. They hate having to move their stuff and they're comfortable where they are.

But whatever we can speculate, that is going to do it for the Wednesday edition of locked on. Penguins. Thank you as always for tuning in. Hunter and I will be back with a brand new episode for you on Thursday with any more news, any more notes, and maybe some wild speculation because we like doing that here. It's always fun. But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I'm Patrick Damp. Thank you once again for listening and we will be back on Thursday.