Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Could Claude Giroux be an Evgeni Malkin replacement if things go south?

Episode Date: July 5, 2022

Happy 4th of July! Hunter always has Penguins content for this show and starts it off by touching on the latest update regarding Evgeni Malkin & Kris Letang from Pierre Lebrun. Is there anything new? Why would Ron Hextall only start out with two-year deals for both? Has there been movement, especially on the Malkin ones? Hunter gets into all of that, plus spends the last couple of minutes saying why it may not be a good idea to pay Nazem Kadri if Malkin does decide to walk. After that, Hunter does some NHL Draft Talk and goes into the "Lottery Guys" section that he and Jason have on their board. Which of these players has the best chance of panning out? Which players have more bust potential? Hunter gives his scouting report on them and who some of their NHL player comps are before closing the show with a silly season free-agent target: Claude Giroux. How would it make sense? Can he play Center again? What would the money look like? Would he want to be a Penguin? All that, plus much more on this episode of Locked On Penguins.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hello there, happy 4th of July to all of my American listeners. Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to today's episode. We have some more updates on the game, Malcolm and Crystal saying. I feel like I've been saying this for the last week or so. Now, this comes true to see if Pierre LeBron and his rumblings braw. And we're also going to get into some more drafts of today. My buddy, Jason and I, we have finally finished our big board. Well, he kind of did a lot of the work because he's,

definitely more into the prospects than I am, but I still was able to pitch along whatever help he needed. And we have the big board all ready to go. I'm going to debut the full thing later this week before the first round of the NHL draft. We're going to go over some more players today who definitely could be on the radar for the penguins when they do make their first round pick.

So that's basically, you know, the gist of what today's show is going to be about. So without further ado, let's get right into it. 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 back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

I am your host, Hunter Hodes. You want to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow this show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. Taste episode is brought to you by Bet Online. Bet Online has you covered this season with more props, odds, of minds than ever before. That has been online where the game starts.

So let's get right into it. So Pierre LeBron had his big rumblings blog today. And a little further down, he did get into the, Evgeny Malkin and Chris Lattang contracts. And he said, still from up to my knowledge, there's been no breakthrough on the contract fronts, but although my sense is that there has been some movement from all sides. That is very good news.

You know, it's been reported by multiple, outlets that the penguins and Evgeny Malkin have really not been close on a contract extension. But the fact that LeBron is now saying that there's been movement on both sides when it comes to that one, that's good news. This free agency is now only nine days away. We've all known that, you know, a Latang extension is, I wouldn't say it's imminent, but, you know, there's romance in building that it's going to happen. So I'm not really surprised that, you know, there's movement on those two sides.

But, you know, I'm glad that, you know, it looks like Faggeny Malkin and the penguins are, you know, they're hopefully slowly starting to move towards getting a deal done. he says, I've been told that the Penguins' original position was a two-year extension for each player, and they both balked that. And my thoughts on that, I mean, no wonder they're going to balk at that. And in my opinion, I think that's a low-ball offer. These two players have been in your organization for 16 years. They don't deserve to have two-year offers. And if they were to take them, I kind of feel bad because, you know, I think they deserve a little more flexibility than that. I get where Hextall is coming from in that regard because he doesn't want to commit a lot of term to players 35 in order.

That's the only part I get. But the fact that, you know, that's your first offer being made to franchise legends. I mean, of course they're going to walk like that if that report is true. You know, they're not going to accept two-year terms. Malkin. He wants to go out with Saitla Tang. He wants to play potentially even longer than that. I am not surprised in the slightest that, you know, they decided.

to not take that. He says, he does say, I believe the club has moved on with term to three years for each, but the AAB also matters. And I don't have a good read on where that is in each case. I'm good. You know, we've all known that of Guinea Malkin, the Penguins, they agreed on the term for three years. I think Joey reported that on the athletic. I think Friedman reported that on 32 thoughts. It's just that the money has really not been there for Latang. I'm glad that they're at least going to go three, but I think you're going to have to probably push it to four or five. And remember what Elliott Friedman said on the 32 Thoughts podcast and the blog, you know, over the weekend, you know, he said, I know he talked to an executive and he said the penguins are willing to go

into what they consider very uncomfortable territory to keep Latang. I would have to think that involves a four or five year term. And if they can just come together on the money, the AAV, whether it's, you know, 7.8 to 8 million or a little over 8 million or something like that, you know, they'll have a deal done sooner rather than. and later, he says, Peter O'Berun also says the two players are represented by different agents. So it's not like they're locked up on what they ultimately want. But I'm guessing both would prefer a four-year extension, at least if the AAB is going to be club friendly. He says, I think in the end, Latang does get done.

He will stay in Pittsburgh. That said, I don't have as good of a read on the Malkin path right now. So he is in line, I think, with what a lot of other people around the team or national per se. Joshua, Elliot, for even a couple others, they think that Latang is going to get done in the next nine days. it's just the big one is what's going to happen with Afghani Malkin. You know, I think I had a couple people talk to me or just ask me in my Twitter mentions a couple of days ago. They're like, you know, if you were to bet, if you were betting in, you know, what are

the odds that Mawken comes back? And, you know, I got to be honest. I don't know if I said it on this show, but I said I think it's below 50% right now. If I were to place a bet on Fandul, bet MGM, you know, Seizers and all that stuff, I do not think he would be coming back. And obviously, you know, the Penguins, they would have to, you know, look for his replacement. It's pretty crazy, you know, when you think, you know, just talking about replacements because, you know, Nick Hipprio spoke today on his podcast with Elliot Friedman and he was talking about Nazim Kodry,

who is outside, I would say, Lvgeny Malkin, he is the top free agent center on the market. not close. He just had a 100-point season. He, you know, he's going to get a lot of money. And Kiprio said the number I hear is that it starts at $8 million. It could go as high as $10 million. The teams I'm hearing out there, two teams that can really go after him are the Seattle Cracken and the Boston Bruins. If you're going to sit here and tell me that you would rather pay Nazim Kodry 8 to $10 million per year over of Gini Malkin when he could come in at maybe 7 to 7.7.5 per year. Would love to know what you're smoking. Here is what Nazim Kodry has done over his last five seasons.

2017-18, he had 56 points per 82 games. Next year, after that, 58 per 82. Next year after that, 58 per 82. After that, 46 per 82. This year, 100. Where is the outlier? Well, yeah, it's this year. The team that is going to sign this player is probably not going to get the level of production

that we saw from him this year during any time. any year of that deal. I could be wrong, but I do not see him hitting 100 points for another team. Whether it's on a middling team, that's a fringe, you know, that could make playoffs next year or a team that's rebuilding but wants to accelerate that process.

I do not think he even hits close to 90 or 100 points again. Could he hit 70 to 80? Absolutely. I think he's a really good player in the NHL. But, you know, you're going to be paying top dollar, I think, for past performance. It's, I just, I'm glad that the,

the penguins will probably steer clear of him if Malkin does not come back. And, yeah, you know, that's not to say that I don't think Codry is a really good player. I think he's awesome. But for that price tag, I would much rather have of getting Malkin for the next three years at $7.7.5 million than pay Codry, you know, seven-year term, eight to $10 million per. You know, that's just, you're going to get in a bidding war at that point, and you're just going to be overpaying a player that, you know, should, he should just not be getting that kind of money on the free agent market.

That's just how I see it too. And then I already touched on the Vincent Trocheck stuff. He's going to probably get six times six or maybe a little bit more. That's crazy. He's offered me to see for someone who's never been a point for a game player in his career, never been a point for game player in the playoffs. I'll say this again. If he was not from Pittsburgh, I really do not think anyone would know who he was.

So had touched a little into that to finish up. this first segment of the episode. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to get into some more draft talk for the Penguins and look at some players who definitely could be there at 21. And, you know, do they make sense for them? But before I get to that, betelmline.net is your number one source for all of your betting needs and sports info. You can find all the latest sports developments, league reviews, and news, including this year's NHL playoffs and Major League Baseball. Banline is your continued source for all your sports which is your information, including live betting, e-sports, and scores.

And Ben-O-Lyman remains the best spot for all of your sports scores, podcasts, and news this season. It's as fast as easiest way to check out on all your favorite sports and events, including M-M-A, boxing, and golf. You can head to the website today or use your phone to remember more about the trends in action. That is Ben Online, where the game starts. All right, I'm back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. You're going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes.

Follow this show's Twitter at L0-O-U-U-Swar. Penguins. So let's get into a little more of, you know, my draft, Jason and I's draft big board here. Again, I credit to him for basically doing almost all this, you know, he does this on his spare time. This is not his full-time gig. I can't thank him enough for really, you know, just getting a lot of this done. And, you know, I was able to put my input a little bit in there as well. So let's get into some of the players who I think could be lottery tickets for the penguins at their pick. And so obviously one of them who I am a lot higher on than Jason is,

Lane Hudson, he is a threat with the puck at all times. A couple of comps compare him to Latang and Adam Fox. He's probably not going to arrive, I would say, for the next few years. But, you know, the biggest thing is he's 5, 8, and 150 pounds. You know, defensemen that size do not make the NHL as often anymore. He's trying to break the mold a little bit there. but he has serious talent. You know, Jason and I, we think he's the smartest player in the draft.

His hockey sense is, you know, through the roof. He has great vision, a great first pass, really good stake handler. You know, he's good in transition. And again, you know, as we say here in our review, you know, nobody his size has usually been an impact defenseman in the NHL. His skating could use a little bit of work, but his edge work is ridiculously good. Offensively has a nice shot.

He can really do it all for you. And I do think he will be there for the Penguins when they pick. It's all a matter of are Brian Burke and Ron Hextel willing to take the chance on him, despite him not being, you know, that big. And for someone who, you know, could definitely be, or who could just, I guess, definitely turn into a bit of a bust. He is a left-hand shot, so he's maybe not, you know, a pure Chris, tang replacement down the road.

So, you know, he'll probably be, but if he pans out, he'll be a top pairing defenseman on the left side. But, you know, I think he's still a good enough player where I think he's worth the risk to take care when the penguins make their first round pick. Now, I've discussed Brian Lambert a little bit on this podcast. So he is a center, six feet, 175 pounds, shoots right. Some of his comms, you know, Kisbury Caput on the low end, not Burr. on the high end or potentially even higher.

He is a player, I think that a lot of people, I kind of, this is a weird comparison, but I kind of compare it to, you know, start the Star Wars fandom where, you know, how do you rank the last Jedi, which is the eighth movie and the franchise? You either kind of love it or you hate it. It's split down the middle. I think a lot of draft scouts and pundits here are split down the middle when it comes to Lambert. Jason, he's not as high on Lambert as some other people are.

kind of iffy on him, but, you know, he's a really good skater. I mean, you know, you can't teach that, you know, just put on the highlight tape. He will beat basically anyone in a 1V1 going up the ice, you know, and if he has the puck, good luck getting it off of him because, you know, just with the way he flies into the offensive zone, you know, he's ridiculously explosive. who can just burn defensemen on a nightly basis. And the biggest thing about him being a lottery ticket is that a lot of the other parts of his game,

they've not really developed since he came onto the scene a couple of years ago. He's definitely been banged up. Changing teams has also, I think, been a factor. I think he's also playing on a couple of lines where he's had to do, I think, a lot of the heavy lifting offensively. He hasn't been able to play with, I guess, a lot of high-end talent, which I think has kind of affected his numbers a little bit.

And, you know, obviously his production has definitely been a bit poor in league play. But that said, if he puts all of it together and he works on a couple of things, I think he could potentially be the steel of this draft. But if he doesn't and he is not able to work on some of those things, you know, that's where the bus label, you know, comes in here. And, you know, I'm not saying it's very cap and as a bus for being a first-run pick. I think he's had a, I mean, a fine. NHL career. But, you know, that's the potential ceiling for someone like Lambert.

And I think the penguins, you know, they would need more than that in their future if he were to be the selection, at least in my opinion. A couple other guys. So Jack Hughes, six foot center, 170 pounds, shoots left. And no, it is not the Jack Hughes on the New Jersey Devils. You know, in our opinion, he's probably one of the most skilled and creative players in the draft. He's a great 200-foot player with great vision, high-end puck skills. You can improvise on the fly.

He's already played a year of college hockey. So his potential arrival could be only a couple years down the line and not like, you know, 20, 25, 26. Here's a fun fact. For those that don't know, he is the son of Montreal Canadian general manager, Kent Hughes. So maybe he's drafted it by him at some point, even though Montreal has the top overall pick in the draft, but, you know, obviously he's not going to go there, but, you know, maybe if he somehow makes it out of the first round, you know, maybe he's drafted by his father

at that time. But, you know, I think the biggest knock on him is his skating. You know, he's not, you know, really that quick on the ice. But if he can really improve that and add that to his already really good vision with his playmaking ability, his really strong shot, you know, I think he's probably going to be one of the steals of this draft too. And a couple of coms that we put in here, someone like Nick Suzuki, Vincent Trochek, two pretty good players, I should say, especially someone like Suzuki, I think is going to be a better player than Trochec will be during his career. So the Penguins could look to draft Hughes.

And then the last guy, Noah Warren, a defenseman right-hand shot. A couple of comps, you know, Nikita Zodora, someone who took a little bit of time to come up. and play, you know, at his top level. But then he also could be like someone like Ristelainen, who, you know, he's a physical, nasty defenseman, you know, again, big right-hand shot, decent mobility. But, you know, it's mainly his defensive game. That's better, I think, than his offensive game.

His first pass definitely not there, at least for us. But, you know, this kind of screams like a typical Ron Hextall, Brian Burke pick, someone who, again, who we think is a nasty defenseman, Brian Burke loves his truculence. You know, the Penguins, they don't really have too many of those kind of players on this team. So would not be surprised at all to see him be the pick there. But again, you know, if he pans out, you know, you have a decent defensive defenseman and someone who could also, you know, potentially be good offensively as well, you know, again, if he improves that first pass, gets better in the transition game.

if he also works on his puck skills in the offensive zone, I think he could be a boom guy very quickly. So those are the four guys that we have as true lottery players, and I think all four players will definitely be there for the Penguins. I'm going to have more on our draft board a little later on this week. I might even do something each day leading up to the first round before I have a full preview of who I think the Penguins will take during the first round on Thursday. So that wraps up

this second segment with our lottery guys and who, you know, I don't think they would be bad picks per se for the Penguins, but I think some people need to be careful about, you know, saying, oh, my God, these are going to be such great picks because there's definitely, I think, some bust potential with some of these guys.

So that wraps up this segment. Still have a little more to get to for this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. So look around for that coming up here in this next segment. All right. I'm back here on this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes.

You're going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodeslaw, this shows, Twitter, at L.O. underscore Penguins. So I threw this idea out there today. So Freedman was on the real Kuiper inborn podcast, talking about Claude Drew to the Toronto Maple Leafs. He says, if Drew hits the market, I wouldn't be surprised if Toronto called him and just said, well, what it take?

He's definitely building a home in Ottawa. He's made it very clear at the deadline that he prefers to stay in the Eastern Conference. So before anyone attacks me here, what would you all think in it? If, if Genni Malkin, if he did walk, which again, I don't want that to happen, but say he did walk in Claude Jouz is a free agent, would you be willing to throw money at him to come be the second line center behind Cindy Crosby and for him to officially give the baton back to Sidney Crosby in person?

I understand, you know, people were going to come to me and say, well, Hunter, you know, he hasn't played center in a while. And, you know, that's right. The last few seasons, he has been mainly a winger of the Flyers. You know, he was their top line center for many years. They switched to the wing. And then, you know, he had a couple of great seasons. And I believe his first season as a winger, he hit 100 points and led the flyers to the playoffs.

You know, this is still a very good player. If I'm going to bring up his numbers from this year when he was in Philadelphia, Philadelphia and Florida total 21 goals, 65 points in 75 games. When he went to Florida, he had 23 points in just 18 games. So he's still proven that he can basically play at a point per game level. It's all a matter of, you know, what kind of cap hit is he going to get, you know, is he going to be someone that, you know, gets 8 to 9 million per year? In my opinion, I think you can probably get him below 8.

I don't know if you can get him below 6. I think that's probably a little too wishful thinking. It's probably going to be between six and eight, I should say. And I think the other big question is, you know, would Jeru be, would he want to be a Pittsburgh penguin after being a Philadelphia flyer for over a decade? I mean, again, you know, Mark Andre Fleury, he didn't want to go to the Washington Capitals after being a Pittsburgh penguin himself for well over a decade. You know, do players still respect that rivalry?

where, you know, would he, you know, care that much to not go to Pittsburgh? But I will say this, you know, I would much rather go after someone like Drew and potentially move him to center and sign him to maybe like a five times six, six times six deal than I would going after Vincent Trocheck. You know, Drew is a much better player than Trocheque, especially in the offensive zone. Defensively, maybe it's not as good, but, you know, he can still hold his own in the defensive zone. And, you know, I also think, you know, Drew can do great work for your powerplay, you know, I know, Malkin is, he's so good on the powerplay.

You know, no matter what, if he does walk, the power play is going to dip a little bit, at least a little bit next year. But, you know, it all depends on who they bring in to replace him, you know, can that player, you know, take his powerplay minutes and play well in them. And I think Drew can do enough in those minutes, won't fully replace Malker on the power play. but with his vision and with his shot, I really do think he would be, you know, an asset on that advantage. You can put him in Gino's spot either on, you know, the point, or you can put him, I'm at the left wing circle. And, you know, he can basically do his thing there.

So let me know what you all think about that. Would you be down to have Claude Drew B.A. Pittsburgh penguin? Let me know in the YouTube comments. Let me know, you can shoot me a DM on Twitter. and all that jazz or just, you know, leave a comment anywhere for this episode. I think it will be a lot of fun. Chaos especially, it would piss a lot of the Philadelphia Flyers fans off. I'm always here for something like that.

It's silly season for a reason. Trade agency is nine days away. You know, I'm here for at least the next few weeks because, you know, it's going to be really crazy until the show goes down to three shows a week. So that'll do it, though, for this episode of the Lockman Penguins podcast. I know that segment was a little bit shorter, but wanted to get that idea in there and, you know, give my thoughts on it and then, you know, ask you all what you guys would think about that. But I hope you all have a splendid Fourth of July holiday. Eat some ribs for me, some mac and cheese, whatever you all do, drink some beers if you're over 21.

And, you know, I'll be back here with another episode on Tuesday. We're getting closer to the draft for agencies next week. I will have all the latest Penguins news for you all right here. on the Locked on Penguins podcast. So I appreciate all of you listening, and I'll talk with you all on Tuesday.