Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Besides Guentzel, who could the Penguins move at the deadline?

Starting point is 00:00:00 Les Habitants are in town tonight for a matchup with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Hunter and I are going to break down that and more on this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Your Locked-on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day. Welcome back, Penguins fans, to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your host, Patrick Damp.

Starting point is 00:00:40 joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Synonym 4Wet. You can follow Hunter at Hunter Hodes, and you can follow the show's account at L.O. underscore Penguins. We thank you for making this your first listen or watch of the day, because we are your team every day, and we are free and available on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts. And as I said in the intro tonight,

Starting point is 00:01:04 Les Habitants are in town to take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena. another favorable night for the Pittsburgh Penguins as the Montreal Canadiens come to town after taking on the Buffalo Sabres last night, a game they dropped three to two to the Sabres. And we are really looking for a bounce back tonight. One of the, I guess you could say, worst teams in the National Hockey League, maybe not worst, but one of the worst teams. And maybe we can say the same for the penguins, given the way the last couple of weeks and months have gone.

Starting point is 00:01:39 But either way, penguins have a golden opportunity in front of them tonight to get back on track with the two big points. And after everything that went on yesterday between Mike Sullivan's bizarre quote about one goal games and Kyle Dubus's media availability, I think we're really going to see a fired up penguins team that's ready to go because after Kyle Dubus's media availability, there was a bit of a breakdown of that from our pal Rob Rossi, who wrote about the media availability. And a lot of the players in the room did tell him they were happy to get basically not quite a vote of confidence from Kyle Dubas, but he didn't go out there and bury the team,

Starting point is 00:02:23 given their position in the standings, the way this season has gone with all the inconsistencies, especially things like the power play and the inability to put wins together consistently. So with that in mind, I do think tonight is a golden bounce back opportunity for our penguins. So Hunter, what are you looking for tonight for the penguins get back into the wind column? It's pretty similar to what I was looking for last week heading into that game against Chicago. I want to see a response. And I want to see some fight from this group.

Starting point is 00:02:55 Kyle Dubis, he said he doesn't really see himself buying at the deadline in a couple of weeks. But he also didn't come out and say, oh, yeah, I'm in full sell mode. me all the calls on the players and you know we'll see what we can do he didn't really say that either he kind of just basically said these next two weeks are going to dictate what i fully do at the deadline so he's kind of basically putting it in their court still by saying if you can go out there and somehow have two pretty solid weeks maybe i won't sell off as many players as i'm thinking about doing right now but if they do go out there these next couple of weeks and they continue to stink up the joint, then I think Kyle Dubus will definitely have his answer, even though I think he

Starting point is 00:03:36 should have his answer already. But he basically put the ball in the player's courts and said, okay, you've got two weeks here to give me a definite answer as to how much I'm going to do at the trade. And how much I'm going to shake up this team. He even admitted to the media that he's tried to make a couple of hockey trades to send a message to the room by saying, yeah, this hasn't been good enough. Obviously, it takes you to Tango. So the other team hasn't been wanting to do some of these deals. But at least he's been out there trying to do that. But again, for this game against the Montreal Canadians,

Starting point is 00:04:10 the Canadians aren't one of the worst teams in the league, but they're also not good. They're only four points back of the Penguins right now, believe it or not. It's just. That is why I put that qualifier in there, because it's not like the Penguins are looking that far down at the Montreal Canadians and the Canadians aren't looking too far up at the penguins. And that's what I was going to say.

Starting point is 00:04:29 This is a mid-team going up against another. mid-team and the standings and kind of like the Kings game in a way as well it's funny i'm comparing this game to a couple of recent games of the Penguins have obviously dropped well not the chicago game but the Kings game they came here on a back-to-back with travel the Canadians it's the same thing they lost at home to the Sabres on wednesday night they're now traveling to pittsburgh with travel they're starting their third string goalie in this game and funny enough he's actually been their best goalie this year even though he's only played in 12 games as a three-s-a-per-sage, it's Caden Primo, but this is still a game that the Penguins should be able to win,

Starting point is 00:05:09 like that Kings game. I know the Penguins lost that game against the Kings, and they didn't play well, but I want them to take that lesson from that game and apply it to this one, because you can't allow a team to walk into your building on the second half of a back-to-back with travel and look like the better team against you who are well-rested. There's just no excuses for that in this game for me. Yeah, there really isn't. I mean, tonight's a game where on paper again, this is a game that they should absolutely win. Now, you did bring up Caden Primo. And yeah, it's funny, he's technically their third string goalie, but all things considered, in his 12 games, he has been basically the Canadian's best goalie. Caden Primo is rocking a he's got five wins on the year and 12 games played, a 307 goals against number. And then a 903.3.3.3.3.5. three save percentage with a shutout.

Starting point is 00:06:04 So he's the only goalie on the Canadians that's recorded a shutout this year. So I know we all like to joke about no name goalie comes in and stymies the penguins. And while that could be half true, it's not like this is a guy who came up, is playing his first game, has recorded abysmal numbers on the season. He does have some formidable numbers for a guy who's on a team that's not that good. Right. I mean, I think he's doing what he can on a not so good team. I don't think he's going to be dealt at the trade deadline.

Starting point is 00:06:34 I think it's more likely that one of Montembow or Allen is dealt. It is funny how the Canadians are continuing to carry three NHL caliber goalies, and one of them has not been dealt yet. Usually that's pretty uncomfortable for a team to do because you know who at least your starter or your 1A is and you know who your 1B is. But the Canadians are rocking a 1A, 1B, 1C situation here, but I think that comes down to Kent Hughes only wanting to trade one of the other two goalies. unless he gets what he wants back.

Starting point is 00:07:05 And I think he's asking at least a decent asking price for Jake Allen. I mean, in Allen this year, he played really well against the Penguins and that last game. But overall this season, he only has a 894, say it's 3.66 goals against average. He's 5 and 11 and 3 so far this season. He's a decent backup, I would say, on a contender. But, I mean, I don't think you're also going to be getting that much back from him, but still Kent Hughes is going to wait until, the last minute to see if maybe someone can live up to that asking price. But it is interesting seeing

Starting point is 00:07:36 them do the three goalie rotation, even though you don't see a lot of teams do that in the NHL these days. Yeah. And I don't think that Montreal is a place that some of the contending teams are going to go to for goaltending. I do think there's some pieces there that people could get because this is another team that I believe at the deadline is going to be ripe for the picking for a lot of contenders just because they're still in rebuild mode. They've got a lot of younger guys that they're looking towards the future with. And that's guys like Nick Suzuki, who's got 53 points on the year, 20 goals. And then you have Cole Caulfield, who continues to be very good with 19 goals and 45 points.

Starting point is 00:08:19 Slavkovsky, who a lot of people didn't agree with as a high pick. He was a first overall, right? Yes. Yeah, I thought. I couldn't remember if he was first or second. I just remember that people were genuinely stunned by the pick, but he's coming into his own with 12 goals and 30 points, starting to look a lot like he was worth that high pick.

Starting point is 00:08:38 And then you have our old pal, Mike Matheson on the back end. He's doing very well this year with 41 points and 56 games. So there is some firepower on this Canadians team, and we've seen it in the couple of times these teams have met already this year. So while it's not going to be, and no game has been for the past, Penguins this year, a walk in the park. They are going to have to go out and earn this one. Agreed. And especially against the Canadians, this team has been a very tough team for the penguins to beat the season. Both games have gone past regulation. The Penguins won the first one

Starting point is 00:09:12 in that wild shootout. And then before the byweek and the also break, Marcus Pedersen was the one that won the game in overtime to take the season series. They've won both games so far. The season, they'll go for the season to sweep against the Canadians after the Canadians swept the penguins last year. So it's funny how that works. one year later. But for the Penguins to win this game, again, I'm really just looking for a response. I'm looking for them to be fully fired up for this game. I'm looking for the top six to continue to try and carry the load. It would be nice to see some of the depth players maybe boost some of their trade value because it looks like the Penguins, again, are not going to be making the playoffs

Starting point is 00:09:47 this year. Maybe someone like a Lars Eller gets another big goal. Maybe a Riley Smith, who's now been out there in trade rumors the past few days. Maybe he gets on the score sheet again. someone like that to help out Sidney Crosby and his line because as we all know, that's been mainly the penguin's only source of offense forwards-wise for the past, definitely at least the past couple weeks, if not for most of the season, just because of how good Sid is playing. Special teams are also going to be a big factor for the penguins, the Canadians have the NHL's second worst penalty kill.

Starting point is 00:10:19 And I know that probably doesn't mean much right now because the penguins have the third worst power play and they couldn't even do anything against the league's worst penalty kill. and the Islanders, but hey, maybe at least something could change in this game, even though I probably have a little bit of copium right now. The Canadian's power play is ranked 18th in the league. That's a matchup with the Penguins penalty kill should be able to win. But hey, we'll see at this point. But again, man, that that's really what I'm looking forward to in this game for the Penguins. Absolutely. You brought up the ability tonight for the Penguins to take the season series sweep. in the way this penguin season has gone to this point,

Starting point is 00:10:59 you have to take any kind of win that you can get, any type of positive that you can get. And I think for this team, to say that they swept a season series against a team would be a nice building block for the next couple of weeks. So even though in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't really mean anything in the playoff race, doesn't mean anything towards getting this team back to contender status,

Starting point is 00:11:22 you want to build positives as this season comes to an end. It kind of goes with what a little bit, what Kyle Dubus was saying yesterday to where you don't want this to turn into a complete and total disaster. You want to look at this team and say, okay, we've got a couple of positive things that we can, that we can glean from this season and build on into next year. And I know that's weird to say for a team like the Penguins and where this frame, franchise is, but at the end of the day, you do want something to hang your hat on. And if you can do that, and I don't, I'm with you, I don't think this team makes the postseason this year,

Starting point is 00:12:05 but at the same time, you do want to be able to go into this offseason thinking, okay, we've got a couple of things here. We know our core still got it. Now we have to adapt to that. It is funny. Swooping the season series against the Montreal Canadiens, that could be one of the biggest, I guess, wins of the season for the penguins. I mean, I just, I can't even take that seriously when I even say it out loud just because of the expectations for this team heading into the year. But I guess if you want to call it that, Pat, sure. But I mean, the fact that we're saying that as a win, you can maybe, I don't know, hang a small little banner for it. Who, you know, we're down bad for this season as a whole right now.

Starting point is 00:12:47 It's a down bad season. And you brought up some trade rumors and some names. We're going to talk about a old friend who is just walking right down the hall for tonight's game. And then we will discuss some other trade topics in the third segment today. But we'll do that when we come back. But first, we have to tell you about our sponsor, and that is I-Bata. Grocery bills are so expensive these days, but now they don't have to be. Start getting cash back on your grocery shopping with the free I-Bata app and get cash-back every time you shop. I-bauda is a free app that gives you the most cash-back every time you shop on

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Starting point is 00:13:52 the free I BOTA app to start earning cash back and use code locked on NHL. That's I-B-O-T-A in the Google Play or App Store and use code Locked-on NHL. We're back here on the Thursday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am Patrick Damp, joined as always by the indomitable hunter hodies. And we just talked about it before we went to break. Colin White is now a Montreal Canadian. He was put on waivers yesterday by the penguins. he was claimed by the Montreal Canadians this afternoon,

Starting point is 00:14:26 and the Montreal Canadians made it official right out of the gate minutes after claiming him off of waivers that he will dress tonight, not going to be much of a travel day for him as he's just got to walk across the hall to the Montreal Canadiens dressing room. And I know that that doesn't seem like a whole lot of anything because Colin White's stat lines so far this year, 11 games played, No goals, no assist, no points minus two. And I will say, though, we do have some sports book sponsors here on Locked-on.

Starting point is 00:15:01 And if you're a betting person, I might put a couple bucks down on a call in white goal tonight against the Penguins, wouldn't you, Hunter? More than that, he's going to score a back-breaking goal against it, isn't he? He's totally going to do it to the Penguins. Yeah, I mean, it feels like that's almost inevitable. It's like death tax is the one penguin. Who knows? Death Taxes, former penguins scoring against the penguins.

Starting point is 00:15:25 I will say, though, this kind of is a little bit indicative of how the season is gone to this point. Not so much his being claimed by Montreal and being put on waivers and all that. But it's a guy that we kind of talked about in the preseason and the lead up to the season, that, hey, maybe this is a good depth option, a guy that you know, you're not going to rely on them to be a every night performer. You're not going to have him in the lineup for 82 games, but in a pinch with injuries or anything else that pops up, he could be a guy that you could go to.

Starting point is 00:16:02 And like I said, 11 games, no goals, no points, just did not work out at all. And that's kind of been the story of the 2023, 2024 Pittsburgh Penguins. It's been the story for a lot of players on this team this year, right? That just haven't worked out. and I've kind of just been passengers on that team. I know I've used that word a lot on recent shows for this podcast,

Starting point is 00:16:25 but that's been the reality of the situation for the Penguins this year. Too many players that have not been able to fit in and haven't been able to contribute not even on a nightly basis, but on a weekly basis for this team. You forget Colin White last year. He had eight goals and 15 points for the Florida Panthers in a bottom six role. I mean, I would take that right now for some of the players in the bottom six considering how, I guess, inept they've been offensively the season.

Starting point is 00:16:50 I would take eight goals from Colin White if he was able to play up to that level, but he wasn't able to no points in 11 games. And let's not forget, Pat, why he was waived yesterday. Nootari has been activated off of Injured Reserve. He is going to make his return in this game against the Canadians. Mike Sullivan labeled him as a game-time decision, you know, and I know that 90, 95% of the time, that means a player is going to play. He's off IR, so he's going to be back in the life.

Starting point is 00:17:15 That's why he was waived. and then Trishon Jari is in net. But yeah, I mean, he wasn't doing anything on a fourth-line role with Jeff Carter and Jansen Harkins. I think most people were pretty happy that he was put on waivers just because you can put another player in his spot. And, you know, maybe Achari is able to give the Penguins something more for these last 30-plus games. I mean, I think he'll be better than Colin White, obviously, but, you know, how much better we'll have to see. But that's the main reason why White is no longer here. Yeah, I would agree with, with,

Starting point is 00:17:46 all of that. I also had to laugh yesterday aside from Mike Sullivan's crazy quote about one goal games. He did call Noolichari the ultimate warrior. And for all of you 90s wrestling fan, 80s and 90s wrestling fans, you know exactly where my mind went to that crazy guy with the face paint running the ropes. But I do think that should he stay healthy, I think Nolichari could give this team a little bit of a boost. He was obviously very, very, good defensively and very good on the PK in his time. Yeah, we're going to need some more production. But again, it goes back to what I was saying at the start of the segment. It's kind of just been the entire story of this season that you brought in guys who, well, they were no sure thing.

Starting point is 00:18:36 There was a gamble there that, you know, you've got to hope that everything continues as it has. but a lot of the guys they brought in for depth options had a track record of performing and for one reason or another, it just didn't happen this year. So you have to hope that Nolachari comes back, provides a little bit of a spark, plays a bit of a physical game. And if he can pop in a few points or a few goals here and there, that would be very welcomed. Right. I think with the signings over the offseason outside of the Carlson trade,

Starting point is 00:19:07 a lot of these signings, I feel like didn't carry a lot of risk, but there's just been no reward for any of these signings. That's what it's come down to, Pat. You signed players to not that bad of cap hits. I mean, Achari got, I feel like too much term in my opinion, but his cap hit is not bad. The end of his cap hit is not really that bad. It's just unfortunate that he's just been hurt for basically all season.

Starting point is 00:19:29 Achari, again, cap it's not bad. He just hasn't really been producing after getting maybe a little too much term. And then Eller, he's been, I think, the best of the bunch, and he could get traded, which we'll get to in the final segment. but still, I just think the reward hasn't been what I think Kyle Dubus in the front office thought it would be. And that's again, another reason why this team is where it is in the standings right now and why, as we talk about on the Wednesday episode,

Starting point is 00:19:56 why Dubus is going to have to maybe learn from his mistakes during the summer if he wants to get this team back into a playoff spot for the 2024-2020-5 season. Agreed. And I think the biggest thing there is that the only risk was that they all turn out to be disasters. And unfortunately, we got the worst case scenario. But we're going to cut this segment a tad short because in our final segment, we are going to talk about some trade ideas, some trade rumors, however you want to categorize it. And I think Hunter and I have a lot to talk about on that one. So we don't want to go too, too long with this episode, but we do want to

Starting point is 00:20:33 dive into that pretty deep. So before we do that, we have to tell you about our next sponsor. And that is Indeed. We're driven by the search for better, but when it comes to hiring, the best way to search for a candidate isn't to search at all. Don't search, match with Indeed. If you need to hire, you need Indeed. Indeed is your matching and hiring platform with over 350 million global monthly visitors, according to Indeed data in a matching engine that helps you find quality candidates fast.

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Starting point is 00:21:54 Just go to Indeed.com slash locked on right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Indeed.com slash locked on, terms of conditions apply. Need to hire, you need, indeed. All right, we're back here to wrap up the Thursday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp alongside Hunter Hodes. And it's that time of year, Hunter, where we're all refresh in Twitter seemingly every 30 seconds. We've got notifications on for all the insiders and all the teams we're tracking because we're into trade season, baby.

Starting point is 00:22:29 One of the best times of the year, even if your team isn't performing all that well because who doesn't love a little bit of trade drama? I know I do. And obviously yesterday, it kind of felt like Kyle Dubus was letting us know that Jake Gensel's time as a Pittsburgh penguin is likely coming to an end. Even despite the injury, it does kind of feel like it's inevitable that he will get moved. So what exactly would you like to see should Jake Gensel get moved? I mean, in that type of trade, I don't want just a bunch of features. coming back.

Starting point is 00:23:07 Again, I've made that point pretty clear on this podcast. I don't want just a bunch of magic beans that aren't going to be on the team for the next several seasons because the season I care most about is next year at this point because I think that's going to be their last main shot in this era to make the playoffs and potentially go on another run. What I'm looking forward to, or what I'm looking for, excuse me, in a Gensel trade if one gets made

Starting point is 00:23:32 and it's looking more likely at this point, is a deal that can help the penguins right now. Something like an Owen Tippett return that the flyers got, if you can get something like that, I would be more down than I am right now to swing a trade. It's mainly a piece that can help the penguins, I guess for the rest of the season, if you want to call it that, even though they're probably not going to get the playoffs, but especially for next season as they try and make one more true run. I guess what I'm trying to say is more of a hockey trade compared to just a bunch of futures coming back. That's what I would be looking forward to if Gensel is moved in the next couple of

Starting point is 00:24:11 weeks. That's how I see it. I would agree with that. The caveat that I would add is if you are going to make a quote unquote futures trade with Jake Gensel, I would want that to be in service of a larger move this off season. Because that's kind of what I've been hinting towards that I think Kyle Dubus is going to do this off season. is I think a lot of pieces are going to get moved over the next couple of months. And we're going to see returns and scratch our heads at it. But I think it's going to be because he's going to want to stockpile some prospects that you know aren't going to be in the penguin system for long,

Starting point is 00:24:55 draft picks that you know they're not going to hold on to, all to get to other teams so you can make other moves in the off season. But on the whole, I agree. with you for Jake Gensel. If you're going to make this move, you have to get at least one player that can plug and play right into your roster. Now, that doesn't mean they have to become a cornerstone and be part of the team next year. Heck, it could even be somebody that comes to the Penguins for the final 25-ish games

Starting point is 00:25:26 and plays well, and then you can shop that person right again going into the offseason for a better return. So that's kind of what I would want to see. For me, I also look at this roster and I think, I think Riley Smith is going to be moved as well. He just hasn't fit here. I think there's probably going to be a reunion with him in Vegas, especially right now, the fact that Jack Eagel and Mark Stone are both on IR

Starting point is 00:25:56 and the Vegas Golden Knights are going to do their cap circumvention dance, which I will add this caveat, because I know this, angers a lot of people when they when this happens you can get as mad as you want at it but if your general manager isn't doing that when you're a contending team you should not be mad at the n hl salary cap you should be mad at your general manager because you got to use every tool in the toolbox in a cap league this has been going on for years man so if you're still mad at it you know get mad at the league not the teams that are taking advantage of it because this has been going on well before they guess has been doing you know tampa bay was doing it heck

Starting point is 00:26:34 Chicago did it quite a few years ago as well. This is what happens now. So if you're not taking advantage of it, maybe you should get a general manager in there that knows what they're doing when it comes to this rule. I think, again, with the Gensel trade, if you can get a prime asset back, and I mean a player that can really help you for next season,

Starting point is 00:26:52 again, I would be more inclined to do it with also the caveat of moving other players for futures, and then you can dangle those futures and prospects to maybe go big game hunting over the summer, whether that's a big trade, a big free agent signing to come and help fill the role that Gensel has had for the past several seasons. And that's if they do get back that big piece in the Gensel trade

Starting point is 00:27:17 and then they want to get back futures for other players. I would be more comfortable with that strategy compared to just getting pure futures back for Gensel that aren't going to be on the Penguins until after 87, 7, 75, and 65 are off this team. that I think is something that I would again, I would prefer to keep Jake-Insel, but if they do go down that route that I just talked about,

Starting point is 00:27:39 it's something that I could definitely warm up to over the summer as this scene tries to take one last swing in the Crosby era. Agreed. And I will say this to, I think that the penguins are in a good position having a guy like Kyle Dubus at the helm. Because while I don't think he's the best at signing,

Starting point is 00:28:01 I think he loses a lot more than he wins when he signs deals. On the other end, though, he wins when he makes trades. He is one of the best deal makers, I think, in the league as when it comes to general managers. So I do think the position this franchise is currently in and where they want to go in the Crosby era at the end of it. This is a good guy to have at the helm because he's not so much. a river riverboat gambler type in jim rutherford where he's hacking and whacking at every pitch and mad scientist trades all the time he's very calculated with trades he makes and he often gets more value for things that you don't expect to get value out of as we saw this summer with the

Starting point is 00:28:52 eric carlson trade where they pretty much gave up nothing of consequence to get as i've said before the best player who was available this offseason. Right. I think outside of the Sandine trade in Toronto, I feel like he badly lost that trade to Washington, by the way. I would say outside of that one, he's done fairly well in trades. I trust him a lot more to make trades than I do signing players, as was evidenced over this past summer. And, you know, combining that with the trade deadline here, you have players, we've already talked about Riley Smith, could be on the move, and I think he should be on the move. We've already talked about Jake Gensol, Lars Eller. I mean, if you can get a I don't know, second or third round pick.

Starting point is 00:29:34 It'd probably be a third this year if I had to guess. If you can get something like that for Eller, I would do that. You can stockpile that pick there, maybe move it this summer for more help. Maybe someone like Alex Deltkovich, Magnus Helberg right now, is still with the team. He has not been reassigned to Wilkesbury.

Starting point is 00:29:49 So maybe they're prepping for him to potentially be moved over the next couple of weeks. If you can get back a third for him, that also works for the summer as well. this has a very and I mean a very low percent chance of happening but if you can somehow get rid of the Ryan Raves contract that is something as well again I don't think that's going to happen I probably have that possibility at 5 percent but if you somehow could get out of that that is also big heading into the summer maybe some like Ricard or kale as well but I'm not really sure he's movable right now considering how bad he's played and the contract he has you know hextal

Starting point is 00:30:26 really screwed dubus over I think with that contract truck with how he's been playing this season. So they will have players that they can move at the deadline outside of Jake Ansel. The one that, again, I don't want them to move even outside of Jake is Marcus Pedersen. I will die on that hill until the end of time. He has one more year left on his contract. Do not move that player. He should also be a cornerstone for this team for the next several years. I know his value as at a very high right now, but I'm still not moving. him. I just shuddered to think about what this defense looks like without him. Yeah, I agree with the Pedersen part. And I don't think they will. I think they fully acknowledge that he's one of three

Starting point is 00:31:09 useful defensemen they have right now. So you can't even even though you're probably preparing for another missed playoff season. That's just not a guy that you move because also this is with the Eric Carlson to Ottawa nonsense. That's just Elliot Freeman and Jeff Merrick Capnip on 32 thoughts, Jeff Merrick's show. They're not going to trade Eric Carlson. You know, maybe I somehow get old takes exposed, but that's like a 3% chance of happening. Kyle Dubas even consider Carlson, one of the core players during his press conference on Wednesday. I can't see them moving on from him after not even a year with the Penguins. I think that's just baseless speculation by them.

Starting point is 00:31:48 I agree with that. And before we finish up, you brought up the goalie situation. And I texted this to you. I got to give a shout out to NFL networks, Dave Damashek. He is a great Twitter follow. He's a Pittsburgh native. He does awesome work. He's somebody well worth your time. Also a diehard Penguins guy.

Starting point is 00:32:11 He's always talking about the Penguins despite being NFL network personality. He brought up a good point that it might be a little uncomfortable. We might get a little tinfoil hatty on this. But it's something we've talked about on this show before. One of the low-key best parts of the Penguins organization in the Crosby era has been their ability to draft, develop, and bring goaltenders up through the system. And they're really in that same spot again. And he brought up the idea of maybe trading Tristan Jari. And I know, I know, it's crazy.

Starting point is 00:32:50 But the main thing that people want, contenders want right now, is goaltending because there are a handful of teams in a playoff spot that are a goalie away from being true blue Stanley Cup contenders. And when you've gotten Adelkevich here, who's played very well, Hilberg's still up, maybe you can get a King's ransom for Tristan Jari. Maybe, but I don't see it. I don't see them making that deal after committing all that term and all that money to him over the offseason. And he has had a really good year.

Starting point is 00:33:32 So I think he would be selling from a point where this is probably some of the highest value that he'd be at throughout his career. You don't fully know what he's going to look like throughout the rest of this deal. So I understand it from that regard. But I don't see it happening right now just because, okay, if you do move Jari, right? your star is Ndinovich and then you have Magnus Helberg. But then heading into next season, you are going to need another goalie. And there's really no guarantee that Nadelcovich is going to play at this level again if you do bring him back. And he's also going to be getting quite a big pay raise as well, considering what he has done this season.

Starting point is 00:34:12 So you are going to have to A, get another goalie and B, pay Nadelcovich and hope that he can maintain that level throughout how long that deals whether it's two or three years because he's been pretty inconsistent throughout his career as well. He's had, you know, obviously with Carolina, he was pretty solid. But then after that, he was not that good in his next stop. And now in Pittsburgh, he's having a pretty good year. What version of him are you going to get? So there's definitely quite a bit of risk if you were able to make that move, which is why, again, I just don't see them doing that. Yeah, I also don't think all, like, I want to put this out there too.

Starting point is 00:34:47 I don't think that it's going to happen, specifically because they committed to them. They signed them to that deal in the offseason. They kind of made it apparent that, hey, you're our guy, you're going to be the starter for the foreseeable future and through the end of this era. There's also not a ton of free agent goalie help this summer. But at the same time, I also think of a team, and I know this is a bit of a wild swing. I think of a team like Vegas in their entire existence.

Starting point is 00:35:23 Their entire existence has been if there is something out there that helps us get better and win, we're going to do it. Yeah, maybe we sign you to a long-term deal, but guess what? There's something better out there and our focus is winning. Again, I think it's highly unlikely that they do it. I would put it even less than 5%. but if the next week or two continues to be this disastrous,

Starting point is 00:35:48 I'd take some calls. I mean, I'd take some calls, but how much am I going to listen? That's the question that I would have to determine there. I wouldn't really do it unless I was getting a pretty solid return for. And again, I think he's going to listen on almost anyone on this team outside of the core floor and hopefully Marcus Pedersen. And as he should, I mean, like this team is at a little bit of a crossroads right now, but you know, I think, what you want to do over the summer in terms of bolstering this team and

Starting point is 00:36:15 changing some of the outer parts of the roster to help support the core. But I think if you're not listening, at least listening a little bit on almost every player on this roster outside of the core floor in 28 and maybe to a lesser extent, 35, you're probably not doing your job as a GM. Yeah, absolutely. So Penguins and Habs tonight at PPG Paints Arena, 7 o'clock. we will be back tomorrow to recap that game as well as get you ready for the weekend ahead when the Philadelphia Flyers come to town.

Starting point is 00:36:48 But for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you, as always, for tuning into the Lockdown Penguins podcast. We'll be back at you with a new episode tomorrow, and until then, let's go Penns.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Besides Guentzel, who could the Penguins move at the deadline?

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