Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - BREAKING: The Pittsburgh Penguins hire Dan Muse as head coach!

Episode Date: June 4, 2025

The wait has come to an end - the Penguins have hired Rangers assistant coach Dan Muse as the 23rd head coach in franchise history. Patrick and Hunter begin the show answering the question that many Penguins fans have on their minds today: "Who is Dan Muse?" They talk about his experience, his background, and his track record developing young players, specifically with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program. Then, they dive into what this hire means for the franchise, the rebuild, and the future. Finally, the Stanley Cup Final begins tonight, and they give their preview and picks for the championship series!Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!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.

Hunter, can you smell that? The city of Pittsburgh has a new coach smell. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome to the Wednesday 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 Sinanin for Wet. And as always, today from a windy beach, the one and only Hunter Hodes.

You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can give our show's account a follow at L.O. 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 that we are free and available wherever you get your podcast as well as YouTube. And of course, if you follow us on YouTube, make sure you. 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,

including this one, because the weight has come to an end. The Pittsburgh Penguins announced today around 1230 that they have hired Rangers assistant coach Dan Mews as the 23rd head coach in franchise history. We are going to get into what this hire means for. the penguins, whether we like the higher or we don't like the higher. But before we do any of that, we have to answer the question that so many of you, including the two of us for a little bit, have been asking. And that question is, who?

I'm fairly sure everyone in the fan base, or mostly everyone in the fan base is probably asking that question today, who in the heck is this guy? And where in the heck did he come from during this search? because his name was hardly out there during that search. The three biggest names that kept circling throughout the Penguin's Head Coaching Search was, of course, Mitch Love, who he felt like was the favorite for a while until obviously that didn't happen. DJ Smith, who was also pretty high up the list, and Jay Woodcroft.

Dan Muse, he was named dropped by Elliot Friedman Pat last week on the 32 Thoughts podcast, but I didn't think much of it just because I was so focused on Mitch Love. We were also kind of focused a little bit on DJ Smith just because of the Kyle Dubas connection there during their time with Toronto. But, you know, give News credit. He interviewed, it looks like very well, and he beat out some fairly good coaches to get this job. You know, Woodcroft, again, did a good job at Edmonton.

I think he deserves another shot in the NHL. Mitch Love is probably going to be a head coach at some point in the NHL in the near future. But Dan Mus, Mews, the more I researched him throughout the day to day because I'll be honest as well, people, I didn't know much about him during this process either. And Pat can say the same thing. But the more I researched him throughout the day, the more notes that I gathered for today's show, the more that I came away really impressed with News as a coach.

The biggest thing for me, development, development, development. He has coached some really good young players throughout his square pad. I actually texted you a list of some of the players who went through the U.S. national development system when Dan News was there. Lane Hudson, Logan Cooley, Ryan Leonard, Wilson, Wilson, Smith and the Penguins zone rocker majority and by the way Ryan Leonard and Will Smith they had glowing endorsements for Dan News per Arthur Stable I'll we will link this article to you guys in the description box from the athletic this came out a couple years ago but Ryan Leonard said at the

time damn you show me what real hockey is honestly what it takes to become a professional athlete how to make a living at it he was awesome and I can't say enough good things about him and for Will Smith. This is also really cool. He really helped my all-around game and even off the ice, too. If I ever needed to talk about anything, he was there, he's awesome as a coach and awesome as a person. So it's really cool seeing him get that job with the Rangers. Also about his style, he's hard-nosed with an old-school ethic combined with the new school intelligence and progressive thinking and use of analytics. Sign me up for all of that, man. Really, use of analytics, has that old-school thinking, can combine that with a new school of thinking. I'm really excited for him to be the head coach of this team.

I know some people out there are going to be a little down on the hire just because he's a bit of an unknown, not as much coaching experience in the NHL, but he did just spend the last couple of seasons with Rangers on Peter Lovillette staff. He ran the penalty kill for them, which was ranked 11th in the league this year. So a fringe top 10 unit better than the Penguins this year, though, which was right around 18th. And he also got to work with some of their young players, especially Pat, Gabe Pro, who I do think, is one of the better prospects in the NHL or just coming up in the NHL, excuse me, today. So Rucker McGority, he's played under him. I'm sure he is over the moon for this hire.

But the biggest takeaway I have is development, development, development. And I'm excited to see what McCority can do under him, the Lai Covenant, Harrison Brunich, all the other young players. This very much shows to me that the Penguins are going to do everything in their power to go as as young as they can for next season. So I'm happy with this. I really am. Yeah, we'll dive a little bit more later on in the show as to what this hire means,

some more opinions on it. But let's give a little bit more background as well. You brought up the fact that he was very deeply involved with the USA Hockey National Team Development Program, which if you want to talk about why the United States as a hockey nation is really starting to assert themselves on the international level, whether it's at the world championships, the four nations face off, or the Olympics, you have to credit the national team development program because it is a true top-down development model in USA hockey.

And it touches everything from the Olympic team all the way down to house league development. If you're a member of USA hockey, I have had to do as a coach a ton of trainings with the U.S. program, and I will say it's top notch. And to look at the fact that he has been extremely successful with that group shows us how deep the penguins are looking into development in 2021 and 2022, 23, he led them to gold medals, especially at the U-18s. And in that season in 2023, the U.S. team development program is regular season, which plays a lot of international games as well as games against NCAA teams.

They set a program record of 16 wins under Mewes' head coach. So this is a guy who works really well with young players, gets the most out of them. And as you mentioned, the article from Arthur Staple from a couple years back, he teaches these guys not just how to be good players on the ice, but how to become professionals. And our listeners know that is something that I have been whaling about for the last year

is that part of the process of rebuilding this franchise isn't just going to be good drafting. It's not just going to be good talent acquisition. But it's when you get these young players into the system, and rather than just molding their raw talent, you have to teach them how to become professional hockey players. think Brian Rust and a few others who didn't take the traditional path to becoming big time contributors. They had to scratch and claw and work and develop into professionals. And by the sound of it, that's who Dan Muse is.

So it's another signal that for the next few years, the penguins aren't focused on the here and now. They're focused on the future, getting younger in development. Right. I agree. And again, the biggest thing for me is whether he can help advance some of these young guys, especially Magradorian Coyvenant, and have them potentially be top six players and consistent top six players down the line. We liked what they did at the end of the season.

How can their games continue to grow under Dammeas? I think he is going to give them every opportunity available in each game to really show him what they can do. Again, I'll throw Harrison Brunick in there too, Owen Pickering, all that good stuff. there's been rumors about Vasily Ponamarvan, whether he's going over to the KHL. We'll discuss that probably later on in the week. But that's still the biggest thing that I'm looking for with Mews as the next head coach of this team. And as for the veterans, even though Mews is only a bit older,

I still think he is someone that the veterans can go to considering how long he's been coaching. Remember, this is someone who won the Clark Cup with a Chicago Steel in 2017. He's been with the Predators. He's been with the U.S. Development Program. He's been with the New York Rangers. He's been in coaching a long time. So even though he's only a little bit older than a Sydney Crosby, then a Ganymalkin, Anna Chris LaTang,

he is still someone that I think can obviously very much relate to them and they can go to him whenever they need something. So I think this is also a higher that they're going to really like as well. I'll definitely share a couple more thoughts on the veteran players here in our second segment. But before we close out this first segment, I'm going to read Kyle Dubas's statement from the, the release this afternoon so we can get it in Dubus's own words. And then we'll talk a little bit more in the second segment about our opinions and what

this means moving forward. But first, let's hear Kyle Dubus's words. He said, during this process, we met with many candidates who we felt would have been a fit as the next head coach of the Penguins. But ultimately, Dan Mews stood out as the best choice. What separated Dan was his ability to develop players, win at all levels where he has been a head coach and his consistent success coaching special. teams in the NHL.

From his success developing college and junior players to his impactful work with veteran players during his time in the NHL, Dan has shown a proven ability to connect with players at all stages of their careers and help them reach their potential. Additionally, his leadership of special teams units at the NHL level in both Nashville in New York produced elite results consistently. His overall body of work, attention to detail, and vision for our group showed us that he is the best coach to take our team forward. We are excited to welcome Dan and his family to the city of Pittsburgh.

Interesting hire. I am a big fan. We're going to talk more about it when we come back right after this. But first we got to tell you about today's first sponsor, and that is Wonderful Pistachios. If you're looking for a snack that is both delicious and nutritious, crack into a good source of protein with wonderful pistachios. Wonderful pistachios, it's one of those.

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protein boost that I need now that I'm trying to get my short little butt back into shape. But if you're looking for that satisfying crunch, the classic in shell option is always there and always available to you. So get snacking and get cracking with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit wonderful pistachios.com to learn more. Welcome back into the Wednesday edition of Locked on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp running right alongside Hunter Hodes. And of course, we're talking about the news of the day. The fact that the penguins have hired Dan muse as the 23rd head coach in franchise history. And I let's start right where we ended there, Hunter, talking about the veterans.

You brought up the fact that, yeah, he is a younger guy. He is all of 42 years old. And he is now the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And other franchises in cities can go ahead and laugh at me saying this. He's now the head coach of one of the more prestigious franchises in the national hockey. league. You can go ahead and laugh at that, but I'll just point up at the rafters at PPP-G Paints Arena and tell you it's a pretty prestigious franchise at this point. But he has had a lot of experience. I read Dubus's quote, you laid out the numbers,

you laid out where he's been. This is not a hot shot collegiate coach or a hot shot junior coach who it was the flavor of the week. The flavor of the week was Mitch Love. That's who we were rooting for. That's who we wanted. Penguins went the other direction, but you look at the success he's had, I do think to build off what you were saying, Hunter, that there will be a level of respect and relatability to muse because, again, it's not just a guy who spent five, six years coaching in the NCAA or in the CHL. He's been all around. He's been doing quite well internationally. We talked about the U.S. development program and how success. he's been there. He was good in American junior hockey in the U.S.HL. And now he's got a good few years of

experience as an assistant coach with two teams who in the past 10 years haven't been slouches. It's been the Rangers and the Predators who have been consistently some of the better teams in the NHL. So if there's some worry for people that this might be a guy who can't really break through to the veterans, I got to push back on that one. I don't really think there's that big of a worry with that. I think the veterans are going to respect him as soon as he comes into the room. I don't think this is going to be a Mike Johnson situation, Pat, where I think he lost the room, obviously, fairly quickly,

to his tenure just because he didn't last very long. But I just don't see that being the case here with Dan News. Obviously, I've been wrong before. I'll be wrong again, but I still don't see it right here with that. I think just reading a bit more up on him a little bit, even watching a little bit of his film, not a lot, but a little bit before we start recording. Puck support and puck pressure seem to be big elements of his system when you go and watch some of the teams that he's coached. And that's something that the Penguins really need heading into this upcoming season.

I also notice that his teams are fairly decent in their own zone as well. Obviously, that's going to be a big need for the Penguins this off season as well, just because we've talked about it about 10,000 times for how they really need to change up the blue line, especially on the left side. But those are the few things systems-wise. Now I'm going to be really watching for this upcoming season and during his tenure. No puck support and puck pressure.

Really excited to see what he does with those areas. And if he can change the way the penguins play in their own zone. But again, another thought that really kind of came in my mind when this hire was announced was, is this maybe Kyle Dubus's version of Spencer Carberry, someone who has really worked his way up ever since getting into coaching. And even though he doesn't have any NHL head coaching experience, he's been on NHL teams as an assistant,

there were still some prospect people out there who felt like he was ready for this opportunity. So could this be Kyle Dubos saying like, hey, Washington, I saw what you did with Spencer Cargrey. I've seen the success that you have had. Now, this is maybe going to be my version of it. And who knows, people? We don't know how long he's going to be here. The average shelf life for an initial head coach has dropped to two and a half seasons now.

It's pretty crazy, man. It continues to drop every single year. But I feel like that's something that it's been in my mind for the last couple of hours, that Kyle Dubison may see DMUs as the next Spencer Carbree with the way that he's developed players over the years, the way that he has been as a coach. So it's something to keep in mind going forward. But again, I get some people are going to have a few reservations about

this. But as I've said, the more that I've read up on him, the more that I've even watched a couple of the games that he's coached throughout his career, the more that I'm liking this higher. I'm very curious to see what he decides to do X's and O's wise at the NHL level because here's the thing that when the honeymoon excitement wears off that we have right now. Because let's be honest, this is something new, it's something fun. We're talking about a blank slate here. It's a brand new coach who we don't know much about, we know as much as we're going to know about them to this point with all the information that's available about him. But we don't know what he's going to be like as an NHL head coach.

But at the end of the day, this is still a roster in an organization that is in flux. They are still rebuilding. They are still in transition. You've still got the big three who have done so much at the NHL level. They are all Shorefire Hall of Famers in the twilights of their careers. And you don't have really a great prospect pool yet. You are on the road to having that because we know how many draft picks they have. We know who they're targeting when they make moves.

And we know what they're trying to do in the trade market. What I'm curious to see is how does he operate with this? Because we know, we kind of admit it. And it might be, it might be a little unfair. It might not be that if they were to hire DJ Smith, that they were probably just throwing this season in the tank, that they were just throwing up the white flag and saying, we want a high pick. We don't care what happens this year.

With a guy like Muse, when you bring up the car bear, the Spencer Carberry, part of it, can this be a guy that is just a breath of fresh air? Maybe he brings a little bit of extra juice. Maybe he finds a way to make these younger players a little bit more effective. Maybe he finds a way because you see how good he did, especially with penalty kill and defensemen in both Nashville and New York. Could this be a shot in the arm for the Penguins' defensive corps, which we know of all the issues the Penguins have had,

over the past couple years, the biggest black mark on their resume is how bad the defense has been. So again, I'm not saying plan a parade. I'm not saying that they're going to suddenly take the same jump the capitals did. But this might be a nice breath of fresh air for the franchise. That and also he's going to bring in fresh new ideas. That's something that this organization has been lacking, I think, for the last few years now. So that's another reason why I'm also really excited about this hire. It's someone that's going to bring in a fresh. new perspective to this organization, some fresh new ideas that can help this team,

not just this year, but especially going forward. I don't think they're going to be one of the three worst teams in the league this year. I also don't think they're going to be a playoff team. I think it's going to be similar to what you saw this past season, if I'm being really honest. But again, I'm cautiously optimistic. Again, the more that I read about him, the more I am really on board with this higher.

This seems like a very Kyle Dubus hire, the more that I think about it. That's a really good way to put it. Two really good ways to put it, I should say. Cautiously optimistic and very much a Kyle Dubus higher. But that'll do it for this middle segment. Our other long wait has come to an end. Tonight, the Stanley Cup final gets going against the Florida Panthers

and the Edmonton Oilers. Hunter and I will quickly talk about that and give our pick when we come back right after this. Back here on the Wednesday edition of Locked on Penguins, I'm Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes, and here we go. We have made it to the end of the 2024-25 season with the Stanley Cup final. It is a rematch for the first time since the Pittsburgh Penguins

and the Detroit Red Wings met in 2008, and then again in 2009, the Florida Panthers and the Edmonton Oilers go head to head once again in a rematch. And I'm not even going to give my pick just yet. I'm going to save that for a little bit later. This is about as best you could ask for from this Stanley Cup playoff because even though both of us kind of disrespected both teams in the lead up to this, throughout now the previous three rounds. Hunter, I think you're going to agree with this, but I'm curious to get your take.

After three rounds, I think we've learned, and I'm not saying this just because they made the final. I'm saying it for their body of work. The two best teams are in the Stanley Cup final. Matthew Chuk also said at the end of last year, Stanley Cup final. He said, let's do this again next year, right? And David even said, hell yeah. And what do you know?

We get our first rematch since 08,09 with Penguins, Red Wings, and I can't wait, man. I think this might be Connor and Leon's time. I will say I predicted this matchup before the season. This was my preseason Stanley Cup final prediction. I even tweeted it on my Twitter. Oilers versus Panthers, I'll say my prediction a little bit, but I kind of hinted about what it's going to be.

But I continue to be so impressed by what the Oilers have done during these playoffs. Connor and Leon looked like men on a mission. Right now, Evan Bouchard is playing fantastic. Stuart Skinner when he's on. He's playing like Dominic Hashek in the playoffs when he's off. He's looking like Tristan Jari. You really don't know what version you're going to get. And it makes for just, again, there's another great element about this series.

Edmonton's depth guys are also really stepping up. You have Connor Brown out here playing well, even though he's been a bit banged up. Matias Yanmark is playing great. They just got Ekholm back. Corey Perry is still doing Corey Perry things, even though he's still a dinosaur in terms of age at this rate. you have the defending champions who, even though they play a lot of hockey these last three years, hasn't phased them at all.

This is the best team in the Eastern Conference. They've been fantastic all year. Sergei Babrovsky, he's been fantastic once again in these playoffs. Sasha Barkov is playing great. Matthew Pachuk, Carter Verhege. We can keep going down the list. This is going to be, I think, a Stanley Cup final for the ages. We got a really good one last year.

And I think the sequel is going to be just as good, if not better. It's always fun pat. You get like a really good first movie like Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers is an amazing sequel. We got Star Wars and New Hope, the Empire Strikes Back is an even better sequel. I want to know if we can get an even better sequel. The first Top Gun movie. Top Gun Maverick is a better sequel than I think the first top gun movie. I really want to see an even better sequel here in the San Lica Final. And my pick, I think it's Connor's time. I think the Oilers take this in seven. I was going to go with Back to the Future and then Back to the Future too as my sequel in original movie because two of my favorite movies of all time.

But before I get into my pick, you brought up something for me that is the biggest X factor in this series. And yes, I know. Super hot take alert, hit the alarm. But it's going to come down to Skinner versus Bobrowski because you hit the nail on the head. When Skinner is on, he is looking like an unbeatable force in net. When he's off, he is unusable. Brovowski has just hummed right along again and shown why he is a Hall of Fame goaltender with the resume to match. And the other thing I'm keeping an eye on in this series is Edmonton's defense has started to get a little bit healthier and they've started to look pretty solid.

can they handle what is an absolutely relentless never ending coming at you in waves Florida Panthers forecheck because it gets memed a lot but the footage from last playoff of Paul Maurice on the bench against Boston when he is screaming at his team you're up two goals and now you suddenly want to make plays put the puck in deep and hit their defenseman. That is what Florida does to you. They make you pay a price for 60 minutes every game. And if you go deep into a series with them, by game six and seven, you are exhausted. The Carolina Hurricanes are like the junior version of what the Florida Panthers do. I don't even tweeted that during the Eastern Conference final. Everything the hurricanes do, the Panthers do 10 times better. You think the Hurricanes wear down teams during a series like the Capitals?

Oh, the Panthers will do it. They'll just do it 10 times better than the hurricanes do. The Oilers are going to pay quite a price in this series if they want to win the Stanley Cup. The Panthers forecheck, it's so aggressive. The way they defend you in their own zone, they suffocate you to no end. They give you nothing once they take the lead. Oilers want to win this series. I know it sounds so cliche, people, but you've got to get the lead.

If you try coming from behind against the Panthers, it's curtains. That's how it is against this Panthers scene. Again, I cannot wait for this Stanley Cup final. Give me the Oilers. I think it's Connor and Leon's time. But all that said, Hunter, we are taking the same team. I think Florida is better overall. I think there may be the best team in hockey.

There's a top tier. It's the Florida Panthers. There's a mini tier below them. And it's the Edmonton Oilers. But man, Connor and Leon, just have that look. They have that attitude of a to duo of players who are saying,

it is our time. We have arrived. Give us the Stanley Cup. I'm taking the Oilers in seven games. And it kicks off tonight at 8 o'clock. But that is going to do it for the Wednesday edition of Locked-on Penguins. Hunter and I will keep our eyes on whatever other developments there are with the Dan Mews head coaching higher.

and anything else that happens between now and then. But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I'm Patrick Damp. Thank you, as always, for tuning in. We'll be back with a fresh new episode on Thursday.