Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Are the Penguins trading for Canadiens LEGEND Carey Price?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Could the Pittsburgh Penguins be in the running to get a legendary goal tender for this upcoming season? There have been some reports that they may be in on it. Hunter and I are going to talk about that and more on this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me on all social media platforms at Synonym for Wet, joined 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. You can also find us on Instagram at Locked on underscore Penguins. And of course, we appreciate you making us part

Starting point is 00:00:59 of your daily routine. Don't forget that 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 the notification button. That way you can be among the first to know when our newest episodes drop. Let's get a little bit of housekeeping out of the way before we get started, Hunter. Us to, I don't know what you want to call us, dummies, idiots, morons, whatever. We forgot that Monday was Labor Day. So when we said on Friday that we'd be back on Monday, that turned out to be a lie.

Starting point is 00:01:31 So we hope you enjoyed your holiday weekend. We are back here on a Tuesday. And this will be our last week of three episodes per week. We go back to Dailies starting next week. If you're listening, spoiler alert, next week we're going to start our summer catch-up series where if you've been not participating in being a sicko like so, many of you in following hockey throughout the summer and you're ready to tap back in because it's September and we've got hockey in just a couple of weeks. We'll get you caught up on everything that you may have missed over the summer that the penguins have done, including the draft,

Starting point is 00:02:12 free agency and everything in between. We'll make sure you're all caught up on that. But we do have news that we have to talk about that came out over the weekend, Hunter, and that is that the penguins could potentially trade for Carey Price's contract, because if you know anything about Carrie Price, his career is pretty much over. He's been on LTIR. He's retired without retiring. And there was a report from, let me make sure I get this name right from RG.org's Marco D'emico, that the penguins are among a couple of teams interested in. trading for that contract. It's 10.5 million for, I believe, two more years, including this one. So realistically, this is nothing more than throwing a lifeline to the Montreal Canadians

Starting point is 00:03:08 who are a little bit over the cap right now. And that's not counting that they haven't put his deal back on LTIR. But they have stated that they need some help down the middle. So freeing up that cap space and being able to make future moves. to take the next step because they are a team on the come up. This is the logical next step for the Canadians. Oh, 100%. And I will say, Pat, Kerry Price's career is not pretty much over.

Starting point is 00:03:36 It is over. He is not playing. Again, he has one year left on that contract, not two. He has one more year left, 10.5 million. He'll be a UFA for 26, 27, but it's okay, people.

Starting point is 00:03:48 He's retired. All the penguins will be doing here if they were to swing this, they get them, put them on LTI. are 10.5 million there and you get some assets for it. Picks, prospects, maybe a roster player, more likely picks though. I think that's the most likely scenario that you'll be getting. Caldubis has been really stashing picks these next two years. So I think that's what you'll be

Starting point is 00:04:11 looking at if you were to deal for Price's contract, though. We do have to add the caveat. It looks like the San Jose sharks right now are the favorite. It's funny, Pat, you look at the three teams who have been really connected to this. The penguins. the Blackhawks and the Sharks. What do all three of those teams have in common heading into this season? They are probably not going to be very good. I think the Penguins will be better than the Blackhawks and the Sharks. I know the Blackhawks and the Sharks want to be better this year than where they were last year,

Starting point is 00:04:42 but they're still not going to be playoff teams. I think there are still going to be two of the worst teams in the league, but I don't think they're going to finish ahead of the Penguins. But all those three teams have in common, again, they're not going to be good, and they have Cap's face. Right. And looking at, because I did, we talked about this yesterday morning, you and I via text. And I was looking through Puckpedia. I was looking through the athletics pipeline ranking. And you look at what Montreal has right now and what they're looking to do. This doesn't really seem like a good fit for the penguins just because Montreal is trying to take another step. they have really started to take more steps in becoming a competitive team again.

Starting point is 00:05:31 You could see it last year that they were a really surprising, talented young team. There's a lot of potential there for them to really make their mark in the Eastern Conference as well as the Atlantic Division. But then you kind of look at the other two teams involved, the Blackhawks and the sharks who are involved in this. and you think, well, the penguins want to get good again in, say, two to three years. The sharks, they're in a similar place, but they've got their franchise cornerstones already drafted, already ready to go.

Starting point is 00:06:08 And they're going to have a little bit of time to take, say, a carry price contract, put it on LTIR, use that cap space. They can part with some draft picks. Maybe they can part with a young process. BC tier level prospect that they're not too hot on. Same goes for the Blackhawks. They've got their franchise player. Hell, they've got their franchise goalie, I would think, with Spencer Knight.

Starting point is 00:06:33 And then you look at it from the Penguins perspective. And there really isn't much in Montreal's system right now that I can either see them parting with as being attached to this or something that would really want the the penguins would really want from Montreal in order to take that contract. I don't think Montreal will move any of their top guys to move this, especially their prospects, that would be ridiculous. Again, I think the most likely scenario here is picks just because Caldubus wants to stockpile as many as possible.

Starting point is 00:07:08 And as he said numerous times, he will use them to draft players, or which I think is going to get more likely as we get further into this rebuild, he will trade some for some younger pieces. Also, I think someone like Kirby Doc who makes 3.36 million against the cap this year, he'll be an RFA next year. If Dubis wants to try and maybe swing that just for a change of scenery, I could see it, though the biggest thing with Kirby Doc is though just hasn't panned out the way that a lot of people thought,

Starting point is 00:07:39 and he's also been banged up a lot throughout his career. I think he's kind of, meh, at this point. But I do think it's a player that I could see Dubis, being intrigued about or maybe asking about to be like, hey, we'll take on this contract, but would you consider moving him to us? You can give him a change of scenery here. If he stays healthy, maybe we can give him the next contract, you know, attach another pick to or something like that.

Starting point is 00:08:03 If not Doc, which again, I'm not that high on. I think you're just going to be getting picks. But we'll have to see what happens. I think the sharks right now are the lead favorite. But hey, if that falls through, maybe Kyle Dubas pounces on this. Yeah. And the other thing is I look at Montreal and they don't have an excess of picks like the penguins do. And being that they're a fringe playoff contender, they're going to move if this timeline continues the way it has for Montreal,

Starting point is 00:08:33 they're going to become a solid playoff team. They do have a first round pick over the next three years in all three drafts. They own their own picks in the first round. And considering where they are, I don't see them moving that first round pick unless it's something that can take the place of said first round picks. That's fair. And when you look at the Penguins roster right now, their biggest names, I don't think quite fit Montreal's timeline yet. Like maybe you could talk yourself into Raquel or Rust, but even then, if those guys fall off of a cliff,

Starting point is 00:09:11 because they're in their early 30s over the next two to three years, and you give up. one of those first round picks, it becomes a bit more of a risk rather than, hey, we can take someone mid to late first round. They might not be a star, but by the time they become a NHL contributor, we're going to be a good team and we're going to need those young guys on ELCs, rather than we got to deal with the rest of Ruster Raquel's contract. And aside from that, I don't see them taking on someone like Eric Carlson, because that's just too much. much money and they're trying already to get out of a 10.5 million dollar contract. So to put a button on this segment, it's good that Dubus is doing his due diligence to maybe find a market

Starting point is 00:09:59 inefficiency of a team that's trying to move a dead contract that they can take on. But this really feels like when you talk about the teams that are involved, the penguins are probably third out of three. Second or third, I would say, because again, I think, the sharks right now. They especially have the cap space. I put the penguins right behind them with the Blackhawks. But as I've said multiple times, I'm not surprised that these are the three teams in on Carrey Price.

Starting point is 00:10:26 If you maybe wanted to argue some of the other teams who won't be as good could be on price this year, I can see it. But these three teams, there's really no surprise. But this is something to monitor as we go through the month of September. Who knows if this even happens? Maybe the Canadians wait to do this. during the season. I mean, they may want to do this sooner rather than later because, Pat, you look at their cap situation right now. They are negative as of right now that they're

Starting point is 00:10:53 going to have to do some things before the season. And they'll be fine. Kent Hughes is a good general manager. But I think they're going to want to get this done sooner rather than later. But I still wouldn't be surprised if say they can't that this maybe happens during the season, maybe right before the trade deadline. But this will be something to monitor. For sure. And we'll keep an eye on it. If anything happens with the penguins, we'll obviously jump on here and talk about it and we'll go from there. But that's going to do it for our opening segment. When we come back, outdoor hockey is coming back to Pennsylvania.

Starting point is 00:11:24 Could it involve the Penguins and Flyers? We'll talk about it when we get back right after this. Before we do that, though, we've got to tell you about today's first sponsor. And that is Fandul. The NFL season is almost here. We're just a couple days away. And Fandul is making sure you're ready for kickoff with a can't miss. offer. Right now new customers can bet just $5. And if your bet wins, you'll get $300 in bonus

Starting point is 00:11:53 bets to use across the app. Fandul, it makes games even more exciting, whether you're watching your favorite team or just keeping an eye on your fantasy lineup. It's quick, easy, and the best way to add a little bit more energy to those football Sundays. So if you're ready to play, download the Fandul app now by visiting Fandul.com to get started. That's Fandul.com to play your first $5 bet. We're back here on the Tuesday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes. And as I said, outdoor hockey is coming back to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Starting point is 00:12:36 On January 31, 2026, Penn State hockey will play a double header at Beaver Stadium. The men's team will take on Michigan State. while the women's team will take on RMU in a double header at Beaver Stadium. And I am genuinely so excited for this one because obviously Gavin McKenna is playing at Penn State and he's going to get to play an outdoor game at Beaver Stadium. I'm also excited for this as a local hockey nerd. It shows how much growth the sport has had across Pennsylvania over the past 20 years. the fact that Penn State now not only has good Division I hockey, they're going to get put

Starting point is 00:13:25 on a grand stage at Beaver Stadium. If you've ever been there for a Penn State football game, it is one of the best in most unique atmospheres in college football. I have no doubt Penn State fans and students are going to do the same for hockey, which will be a really cool scene. but this begs the question, are we finally going to get that fabled penguins flyers outdoor game at Beaver Stadium? Basically, the NHL was asked about this. They said they would love to talk to Penn State at some point. This is a quote from Steve Mayer, president of NHL content and events. He said, make us aware of your timeline.

Starting point is 00:14:11 By no means have we committed to them, though we always think it's attractive. kind of sounds like a non-answer, but Hunter, I want to ask you this question. Has the bus already left the station for having Penns Flyers at Beaver Stadium and do we still want it? I hope not. I know we've had the stadium series games, you know, one in Philly, one in Pittsburgh, but I still feel like it would be so cool to get this before a state retires where both teams come to Penn. Penn State 50-50, Penguins fans and Flyers fans at Beaver Stadium, excuse me, one of the best college football stadiums in the country.

Starting point is 00:14:55 I say that as a Virginia Tech fan, we have the Enter Samman entrance. It's amazing. Beaver Stadium, though, it's one of the few stadiums out there that can get louder than Lane Stadium at Virginia Tech. I put Beaver Stadium up there with the best of the best, you know, Death Valley, LSU. I'd say the same thing about Clemson, Alabama, can get rid of. really loud. Penn State, obviously, the horseshoe for Ohio State. And getting to see both those teams play there would be epic. It's something that I think both fan bases have wanted for quite

Starting point is 00:15:26 some time. Maybe you could do it as a winter classic in early January. I know the college football playoff has expanded to 12 games, but, you know, I think both sides can make it work where you have a winter classic in early January and both fan bases can meet there 50-50 split, why not? It would be fantastic. However, if you can't do that, you know what other matchup I'd look at, Pat?

Starting point is 00:15:55 How about Penguins' caps there, Hershey? I think a lot of Capitals fans would come up for it, considering D.C. is really not that far from Penn State. And especially there's a lot of Caps fans in the Hershey area because of the Hershey Bears, they would drive up to state college for it. I think that would also make some sense too. That's very much a backup plan.

Starting point is 00:16:15 But I would still love if we got Penguins Flyers one time at Beaver Stadium before Sid retires. I'm half with you. I like the idea of getting Sid against the Flyers at Beaver Stadium before he retires. But to me, it kind of feels like we missed the opportunity. because the late 2000s to the mid-2010s, for now, obviously, we'll see how both franchises come out of their respective rebuilds and where things go. But that really felt like the apex of the Penguins Flyers rivalry, where even though we kind of overstate how much hockey began to focus on speed

Starting point is 00:17:09 and skill and kind of the physicality and violent aspect of it was kind of left in the past post 2004 lockout. Penguins Flyers was an exception. Those games were brutal. They were blood feuds. Those teams did not like one another. There was so much animosity. You obviously had the 2012 series that was a three ring circus. And it kind of feels like that isn't the case. anymore. The rivalry still exists. You can tell that Sid still has a lot of disdain for the Philadelphia Flyers and he wants to stick it to them until he's done playing. But the rivalry as a whole has just not been the same. If I really have to put a moment on it, it was the moment Claude Jou was traded. Once Claude Jouroo was gone from the Flyers, you kind of took out one of the more

Starting point is 00:18:07 explosive elements of that rivalry. And when you had Crosby at his most Crosby in the early to mid-2010s in Juru, who we always post the baton tweet as an LOL because it was ridiculous. But we do often forget for a two to three year period, Claude Jureu was probably a top 10 player in the NHL, if not sniffing around the top 10. And when you had this rivalry going, on, if you could have put them under the lights at Beaver Stadium in January, it would have been box office, can't miss. And to me, that's just kind of gone now. I still think you can do it, though. People still, some people, I think, don't realize. I think most, every Penguins fan realizes this. But Sid is still very much a massive draw. I mean, we saw that this year, Pat. I wrote a feature

Starting point is 00:19:03 about this on the hockey news when you see the penguins have 16 national television games this year goes to show how the national broadcasts go show how they think about Sid. As long as he is still playing, especially at a high level, he is going to be a draw for that type of game. You look at how he has owned the Flyers throughout his career. His 134 points against the Flyers second most against any team throughout his career. only the New York Islanders 137. He has the most points against any team of the Islanders 137, Flyers are at 134.

Starting point is 00:19:40 That is always going to be a draw. Penguins Flyers, even though the rivalry is not the same anymore, there are still going to be fans coming in buses from both the west side of the state and the east side of the state to come to state college and watch hopefully a pretty fun game.

Starting point is 00:19:56 I know that stadium is so big. I'm not really sure there's going to be really that bad of a seat in the house, as long as they do the rank right. And again, I don't know how high up it is on the NHL's priority list, but I do think in terms of, you know, a new outdoor eye game idea. You know, we've seen the Winter Classic a lot. It's cool. But I think in part, it's lost a little bit of it's lesser just because you kind of have

Starting point is 00:20:23 the same teams. You've seen some of the same venues, like some of the same stuff over the years. recently they have started to experiment with this, which I actually really do like. This one would also be right up there. You're experimenting at Beaver Stadium. It's one of the best stadiums in college football. I think it's a slam dunk idea.

Starting point is 00:20:45 So I know you might be a little bit more down on it than me. I would still love to see it. Right. I want to make it clear. I'm not saying it wouldn't be a draw. I'm not saying it wouldn't be awesome. I just think when you had the best opportunity, when you could have stricken when the iron was the hottest was probably about 10 years ago, 10, 12 years ago.

Starting point is 00:21:06 I still would, I wouldn't be upset if they did it. I would watch it. I'd try to go. But I think the moment overall to make it its best has passed, but I would still be very happy if they did it. Before we go to break, we have to do one quick housekeeping note here. We do have an important request locked on once to hear from you. We've put together a survey to learn more about our listeners and make your favorite podcasts even better. This is your chance to tell us what you like, what you don't like, and answer questions about our advertising. Go to Lockedonpodcast.com slash survey to get started. Everyone who completes a survey will be entered for a chance to win one of $10, $100 Amazon gift cards.

Starting point is 00:21:50 Again, that's locked on podcast.com slash survey. You can also find the link in our show notes. Get in on that. Let us know what you're thinking and get yourself one of those gift cards. Thank you for helping us out. And that's going to do it for our middle segment when we come back. One of the best anniversaries in the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins happened in 1999. Hunter and I are going to quickly talk about that when we come back right after this.

Starting point is 00:22:23 We're back here on the Tuesday edition of Locked on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter. Hodes, 26 years ago, Hunter, September 1st, 1999. We obviously missed the true anniversary because we took yesterday off for Labor Day, but we couldn't let the moment pass without talking about it. Mario Lemieux buys the Pittsburgh Penguins. And we did our top 25 of the 2000s. We finished that up last week.

Starting point is 00:22:57 And Lemieux was obviously on our top. of the of the 2000s. He was in our five best. And we didn't mention that he bought the team. We talked just about everything that he did on the ice because it does fly under the radar a little bit that he played pretty well for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the early 2000s. He continued to be Mario Lemieux.

Starting point is 00:23:20 But his biggest contribution was purchasing the team as they were facing bankruptcy and relocation from Howard Baldwin in the former. ownership group. Hunter, I know you've got a lot of thoughts on this. So take it away. Well, first off, I'll see Howard Baldwin in hell. Screw that guy, man. I'm sorry. I had to start out with that. Screw that guy. But, you know, when the penguins needed a hero once again, Mary Lou Amu was right there. And for quite a long time, man, he was great in that role. got three more Stanley Cups as an owner, 2009, 2016, 2017. Under his ownership with Ron Burkle, Penguins always spent to the salary cap.

Starting point is 00:24:06 I know towards the end, Pat, it got a little bit dicey with, you know, hiring of Ron Hexel and Ryan Burke. And, you know, it's a little bit scary just because of how that ended. But you look at his overall tenure. Anyone who doesn't say it was a resounding success is out of their freaking minds. you look at the historical complex of this. He was the first NHL player to own the team that he played for when he bought the team in 1999. That is pretty crazy to think about, man.

Starting point is 00:24:37 Yeah. And then also, he comes out of retirement pad as we talked about last week. Player owner. Like, come on, man. That is freaking sick. Yeah. And if you don't know the whole story here, if you just know that, hey, in 99, Lemieux bought the team. here's essentially what happened.

Starting point is 00:24:57 One thing that I have tried to confirm, I've only heard it, I've never actually seen it written about. I don't know how true it is. So I got to kind of rake myself over the coals for this because I can't remember where I heard it or who said it. But there were rumors when Howard Baldwin took over the team and they did sign Lemieux to an extension. there was a rumor that there was a clause in his contract that basically said he had to be the highest played player in the NHL by a million dollars. So anytime obvious inflation happens with NHL contracts and just pro sports, anytime an NHL player would sign a new deal if it was richer than Mario Lemieux, clause kicks in, he's getting a million, he's owed a million more

Starting point is 00:25:47 dollars. Again, I've heard that rumor. I've never been able to actually confirm it. But at the end of the day, Lemieux did defer a lot of salary in his playing days in order to keep the team competitive. Ultimately, they owed him $32.5 million in deferred salary. So what does he do? He takes that. He takes 20 million of that deferred salary and uses it as equity and investment to buy the team. He gets his group together. They use all that money.

Starting point is 00:26:20 They purchase the team. And the rest is history. Another thing, Pat, they were in serious debt when he took over the team. It took a few years for them to get out of that. But they were still in serious debt. But, you know, credit to him, credit to Ron Burkle. They were able to get out of it. And, you know, when he bought the team in 99, honestly, man, kind of changed the culture of the penguins.

Starting point is 00:26:47 And, you know, you see that to this day now where, you know, the franchises, in such a good state. Like, yeah, I know, but there's rumors of another potential ownership group coming in. As I hinted out a couple weeks ago, FSG was able to buy Alexander Isak from Newcastle for $130 million during the transfer window. So there's a lot of that money.

Starting point is 00:27:07 They'll be able to recuperate a whole bunch more. They obviously sell the penguins. And I know there's some rumors about that, but you look at where the franchise is now. They're in Pittsburgh. They're going to stay in Pittsburgh for a very long time. And part of that is because of the culture. that Mario created when he bought the team in 99 and then kept it obviously for so many years, Pat.

Starting point is 00:27:28 But I just wanted to say that as well. The best way I can put it to build off what you said is prior to Mario Lemieux in this stretched to a lot of different ownerships, not just Howard Baldwin, but Howard Baldwin was obviously the biggest the biggest culprit of this. The penguins would spend recklessly. They would just spend money. and it would be for players that didn't deserve it or for players that they knew they needed to keep

Starting point is 00:27:58 but they were unable to afford them so they would throw money at them that they didn't have. When Lemieux took over, they spent intelligently. They knew where to invest their money, whether it was hockey operations or otherwise. And when you look at when, to what you said, when he bought the team, a huge chunk of their debt was to Mario,

Starting point is 00:28:19 Lemieux. It wasn't like they owed a bunch of, they owed a lot of staff. They owed a lot of creditors, but one of the biggest drivers of their debt was the Mariel Lemieux deferred money. Right. And they had to find a way to get rid of that in Lemieux parlaying that deferred salary into equity of the team was really the biggest lifeline that they could get. And to his credit, they were able to work their magic and get the team into a new arena because we won't dive into it now because we're running a little long. But the biggest problem the Penguins had prior to Mary Lemieux is that they had some of the worst arena deals, TV deals and everything else that essentially instead of using their their TV contracts or their arena deals to make them

Starting point is 00:29:09 some extra money, they were essentially paying money to play. And it was leading to them hemorrhaging money and they were able to fix that getting into PPG paints arena at the time Consol Energy Center. So they did a very masterful job of turning the franchise around in making it a profitable money making franchise and giving it the longevity it deserved to stay in Pittsburgh for the foreseeable future. But big moment, big time for the penguins, Mary Olamy, a god amongst mere mortals on and off the ice.

Starting point is 00:29:45 We love them, but that is going to do it for the Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Hunter and I will be back with a new episode for you on Wednesday. And don't forget, next week, we go back to Daly's. We'll start our summer catch-up series to make sure you're set for the opening of training camp and the preseason. But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you, as always for tuning in. We'll be back on Wednesday.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Are the Penguins trading for Canadiens LEGEND Carey Price?

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