Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - FAN TAKE FRIDAY: Could Fleury be the Penguins' future goalie coach?

Episode Date: June 13, 2025

Fan Take Friday is back and that means it is time to react to your hot takes! Hunter and Patrick react to your hot takes and answer your questions, including who will be traded this offseason, where the Penguins will pick in the 2026 NHL Draft, and talk about how a former franchise great could come back as a coach one day. Finally, they end the show with their reactions to what was an instant classic in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!GametimeToday's episode is brought to you by Gametime. Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHLfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms and conditions apply. Monarch MoneyTake control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com for 50% off your first year.Wonderful PistachiosGet snackin' and get crackin' with the snack that packs a protein punch. Visit WonderfulPistachios.com to learn more! FanDuelToday's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now, new FanDuel customers can get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets if your first FIVE DOLLAR bet wins!FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It's Friday, and yins know what that means. It's time for another edition of Fan Take Friday, where Pat and I react to your takes and your questions. It's coming up right after this. Your 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 one of your host, Hunter Hodes.

You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, joined by Patrick Gamb who has shaved his entire beard today, even though the Stanley Cup final is still going on. Shame on you for that. You can follow him on all social media platforms at Sin and Ru-Wat. And you can follow the show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. And we are now on Instagram. You can follow our Instagram account at Locked-on underscore Penguins.

We just made it over the last couple of days. Only two followers right now, but we're just trying to build that up at least a little bit here. Of course, thank you all so much for making this your first lesson slash watch of the day. we are free and available on all platforms. In today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. Right now, new Fandle customers can get $200 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. So Pat, we got some good takes and some good questions for this edition of Fan Take Friday.

Nothing controversial in terms of Penguin questions or anything like that. But there are some fun hot takes in here, some good questions and all that stuff. I guess we'll start with a very funny one kick off this Feel Good Friday edition of Locked on Penguins. This comes from Matt. He says, Hot take, we get scored on by the very first shot of the season. Do we have a goalie for next year? It feels like we have two backups. Well, Penguins do have two goalies right now, and Tristan Jari and Alex Nadelcovic in all seriousness. I would expect at least one of them to be the starter next season.

And then we'll see if YOL Blumquist makes the team. We'll see how Sergei Murasov does in camp and all that stuff that we both think that probably needs at least another year in Wilkes-Rae before potentially making the jump to the NHL. But hey, they very well might get scored on. with the first shot of the season just because of how bad that was this year. And because at least one of the goalies that played this year, if not both, are going to be coming back. So I thought it would be fun to start with that one.

Well, the presenting sponsor of today's episode is Fandul. And maybe for there might be a prop bet to start the season for the penguin's first regular season game, first shot, first goal against. So I'd hammer that one if you're a betting person. And you're right, Hunter,

I am freshly shaven to, because these takes were so damn hot. They melted my entire beard away. But yeah, it is funny, though, to kind of be a little more analytical about it. They do kind of have two backups because Tristan Jari is who he is at this point. I will continue to give him credit for battling at the end of the year. Was he great? No, but it would have been really easy for him to quit, given all the circumstances

surrounding him and the team. so I got to give him do credit for that. Nadelkovich, same deal. He's a 1B ceiling. He's not a true blue starting goalie in the NHL. He's a backup to a split starter. And hey, this is where the penguins are right now. And it stinks, but this is part of the process.

Yeah, I mean, you know, we've talked a lot already about their plans for this all season, what we think they're going to do, how we think the team is going to be next year, even though they haven't made some of the moves yet. but we both think that next summer is probably going to be the big year where they really spend quite a bit of money. Again, I think they're going to mobilize a little bit this off season, but I think the big offseason where they're really going to kick this into high gear is probably going to be 2026 because as of right now, you know, they have over 40 to 50 million in cap space and there's going to be a lot of players to sign. Obviously, it's going to go down a little bit

because they do have some moves to make during this off season, but they're still going to have a boatload of cap space next year. So again, we have to preach patience to some fans out there just because I know it's different right now. They're in a retool slash reboat on the fly, but people got to be patient because they're not in wind now road right now. And they're not going to be that aggressive in free agency. There's going to be a lot of trades, but you're not going to see them do a lot of things on July 1 in about two and a half weeks. But keeping it with the goaltending, someone says, Flower will be the next goaltending coach. If he wants to do it,

maybe, but I still think they might go for someone else just because I think Mark Andre Flurry kind of wants to spend time with his friends and family, just had a very long successful career. He's going to make the hockey Hall of Fame, but I think he's going to want to chill out for a little bit. There was another hot take about Flurry on here, which honestly did make me laugh, Pat. I can't lie. This comes from Hayden. He says, Flory decides to continue playing and signs a one-year deal with Pittsburgh. Very wishful thinking there, man. He is, he's retired. He even said it after the World Championship. I'm done.

I'm not coming back. So you can dream on for that one, but he's not coming back. And then the rest of this comment is honestly kind of hilarious and probably not realistic, but I'll still read it anyway for everyone for today. Penguins go on to have a miracle run and win the Stanley Cup. I would be hilarious if they did that.

On top of that, the Rangers decided to use their 2025 first-on pick and give the Penguins an unprotected 2026 first round pick. The Rangers have a bad year. They end up winning the first overall pick in 2026. That pick now goes to Pittsburgh and they select Gavin McKenna first overall after winning the cup and then the Penguins win 12 cups in 10 years and everyone claps. Hey, I appreciate the very, very hot take there. You said slightly.

I think that probably melted the sun. I think it just melted our computers if we're being completely honest. Listen, that is the exact spirit of what we want to do with this segment every week. Obviously, don't go fully unhinged, but definitely have fun with it because this is the part of the off season. where we can have that kind of fun. So I love that so much. And it would be awesome. As for the flurry stuff of it,

you're definitely right that I think at the very least, we might not see him publicly for a year or two because long career took him all over North America, whether it was Pittsburgh, Chicago, Vegas, Minnesota, long career, successful career. he needs time to just hang out, be a dad, be a husband, all that good stuff. The other thing that gives me a little bit of pause, if I'm going to be realistic about it, is Mark Andre Fleury to me is in the pantheon of former players who a lot of what Flurry did as a goalie

was just him being extremely athletic and gifted. And you can't coach that. That's really hard to coach. you think about Wayne Gretzky coaching the coyotes yeah one of the best players to ever grace the sport but so much of it was just he was gifted he just had the gift of being great at hockey and you can't really poke a guy in the back and go hey um just go do that thing would you so maybe flurry has a great mind for it it wouldn't shock me because as a goal you do get to witness a lot of things that players don't, but he strikes me as a guy who is just gifted, and that's really

difficult to translate into being a good coach. I think down the line with how you said, how gifted he is as a goalie, and also with how athletic he was throughout his career, I really do think he has a lot to teach younger net minders, but it's going to be, I think, three to four to maybe five years down the line after he's had some time to settle down, be a bit of a family man, get to do some of the things that he missed. on doing during his playing career. And then I think he may want to get into coaching. But I think for this year, Pat, probably a little bit too soon, at least in my opinion.

One more before we head to break here. This comes from Kate. And this is a really good one, in my opinion. She says, Caldubis inherited a penguin's team stuck between eras. And his biggest challenge is not building a contender. It's managing expectations. I actually really don't mind that take. Obviously, one of his challenges is building a contender.

and he is on his way to hopefully doing that. This is still very early in the stage of a rebuild. But I do think managing expectations is a big part of this, because I do think part of the fan base still thinks that they are trying to win right now with Sidney Crosby, with Afghani, and with Chris LaTang. But that's not reality. Yeah, they're at the end of their careers, but they've made their bed, at least this last year, year and a half.

when they traded Jake Gensel, that should have signaled to everyone in the fan base that they were going in a different direction. They were out of Winnow mode. They're going to get futures. And they're starting this resource slash rebuild on the fly. And I know some of the fan base hasn't realized it yet. But I think this summer, once they see some more of the moves that even on July 1, like I think you're going to see a player or two sign for a year, maybe two years kind of like last year. I think once you see that happen for probably the second year in a row, like you saw it last year on July 1 when they signed Bavillier and Grizzlick, I think those fans are going to be like, okay, I think now we see what the vision is, you know, sign those players potentially flipping them at the deadline. You're making all these draft picks.

Maybe you're even trading for someone else and getting another draft pick or two down the line like they did with Kevin Hayes. Could they sign an RFA after trading for one? Yes. And I do think there's a world where you can do that. and trade some of your vets during one off season still not be very good this year. But I do think what she said about managing expectations is very true because I do think there are some fans that still need to realize

that this team is not a contender anymore. And more than likely, they're probably not going to make the playoffs next year unless something truly wild happens, honestly. That's spot on from Kate. The thing is about Kyle Dubus is, I know a lot of people will lament his first off season as the general manager and president. We did as well.

But I've often come back to this point. When he took over, the Penguins missed the playoffs by a single point. It wasn't like they were in the basement. They were right there. And they missed out on some goal scoring. They had not as bad as it ended up being, but not a great power play. So it was smart. if not at least if not realistic to think, all right, they missed the playoffs by a point.

We can get them back there with a couple more goals and a little bit of help. He saw pretty early that wasn't the case. So he pulled the shoot, which is smart. And you're right. Over the next few months, next year, I think a lot of people are going to understand that this is a transitional period and get out of that win now mentality that a lot of fans and media have. So Kate's absolutely right.

This is managing expectations. And getting back to the contender status that he wants to get the Penguins too is not going to be an overnight process. It's going to take a few years. And it's going to take, sorry to say, a little bit of luck. And if that luck doesn't go their way, it could be a little bit longer of a road. I don't think it's going to be seven plus years. I think that type of rebuild is you're fully tearing it down to the studs and you're digging yourself a hold. that's pretty hard to get out of.

I think it's probably going to be somewhere in the range of three to four, maybe five years. It's not going to be a year or two, in my opinion, in terms of getting back to a contender, could they make the playoffs as soon as next season? Maybe if all these moves go right over the next year, year and a half. But in terms of being a contender,

it's probably still three to four to potentially even five years away, just because they still haven't even drafted like the next big prospect that should be in the system. I think one of the biggest things they are missing right now, Pat. Their prospect pool has been a lot better over the last year, but they're still missing that game-breaking prospect that they really still need in their system. And we're going to discuss a little bit more about that coming up in the second

segment when it comes to Gavin McKenna. So stay tuned for that. The NBA playoffs are in full swing and every night delivers highly worthy performances, major momentum shifts, and can't miss moments. Whether it's a game-winning shot or a breakout player, there has never been a better time to get in on the, action than right now. Fandle makes it easy to stay in the game before tip off and live with player props, performance trends, and same game parlays. Fans have more ways than ever to play smart

and win big. New to Fandle, it's the perfect time to sign up. Head to Fandle.com and place your first $5 bet today. And if it wins, you will get $200 in bonus bets. Make every moment more to Fandle, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. All right, we're back here on this episode of the locked on penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-host, Patrick David Pat. Speaking of Gavin McKenna, and we think there's definitely a chance that the Penguins will be in on trying to get him via the draft lottery next year, especially if they are not very good this upcoming season. Justin comments, all the hype over McKenna, but in my opinion, penguins are en route to another 8 to 12 finish next year and a low shot at first overall.

Honestly, I don't think that's that hot of a take. Yes, the Penguins are probably one of the only pure sellers right now when you look at the overall market of teams because I think a lot of teams are trying to get better. Heck, even Buffalo wants to be better. I don't trust them, but they want to be better because their young core is sick and tired of losing. The Flyers, they were horrible this year, but I think they want to get better and try to kickstart this thing into high gear with Rick Tocket. The Bruins, they're probably going to be down there with the penguins. I don't think they're going to be very good next year. But even teams like the Blackhawks and the Sharks Pat, they were in the basement this year. But I think

want to start being a little bit more aggressive this off season and trying to start to turn the page a little bit. Again, I don't think they're going to be playoff teams next year, but I still think they want to start adding more players to the team. They're not really going to be, in my opinion, selling off a lot of their players this off season like they have in these last few years because they want to start at least trying to win with some of their young players, obviously Celebrini and then Connor Bedard. You know, I can keep going down the list if you want. Heck, even the Ducks, they really want to make the playoffs this upcoming season. They just traded for Chris Kreider.

So the Penguins, they have a pretty unique opportunity to really sell off some of the vets this offseason be one of those big sellers where they can get good value back. But with Cindy Crosby still in the fold and yes, I know he's going to be 38 years old. We don't know if he's going to keep producing 90-point seasons forever. I still don't think this team is going to be the worst team in the league. I don't think they're going to be good either. but people also have to remember this when it comes to the lottery. With where it is right now, you have a better chance of getting the third overall pick

than you do the first overall pick, even if you are the worst team in the league. Like, yes, you'll have the best odds to get the first overall pick if you're the worst team, but the lottery is in place to prevent you from automatically getting the first pick. This isn't the NFL here. Again, you have a better shot of getting the third pick than you do the first.

Heck, we saw this year, the islanders, they literally jumped all the way up and they weren't even tanking to start this season. So as cool as it would be to get Gavin McKenna and I do think the penguins are going to be in those sweepstakes. I do think this comment here from Justin has some merit and that they could be en route to an finish between 8th and 12 overall. Well, wouldn't it be cool if the rumors about McKenna going to the NCAA are true and we get to watch him here in Pennsylvania at Penn State. I will go drive the two to three hours to stay college to go watch him 100%.

That would be pretty friggin awesome. I think this is pretty much correct. You actually touched on something that I was going to bring up for this take. And that's the fact that the penguins are kind of lucky in the sense that when you look at the landscape of the league right now, there's not a lot of teams, if any, right now that are intentionally tanking. And neither are the penguins. Let's be clear about that.

But a lot of the teams in and around them right now are trying to take that next step. There's not going to be a ton of sellers. So the market could be really good for Kyle Dubas over the next year to really extract some value out of things that you might not think have that great of a value. And that could really kickstart what he's trying to do, whether it's getting. younger prospects, whether it's getting young roster players who are ready for the NHL. This is a really hilariously good position for the penguins to be in because they don't have to tear it all down. They don't have to immediately strip this thing down to the studs because really it's them in maybe one or two other teams that are going to be pure sellers.

so they have a ton of things that could be valuable for teams that want to take another step. And if you're Kyle Dubus, keep that phone on and don't be afraid to make some calls. It's them, the Bruins, and I'm honestly trying to think of another team just because I feel like almost everyone is going to be trying to buy players, even a team like the Red Wings. I mean, they're 100% going to be buyers, even though they keep missing the playoffs, despite trying to add more players every single year. So it's really only those main two teams. Again, I don't think the Metro is going to be that good this year,

but I think a lot of these other teams in the Metro are going to be buyers this off season. Same for the Atlantic. A lot of the teams in the Central, a lot of the teams in the Pacific. You have a team like Utah that really wants to make a splash. They have a very aggressive owner, an owner who has a lot of money, and he wants to win. So I could see Utah being in a lot of things. So it's really only, again, those two teams, maybe another team if you want to put them in there that could be pure sellers.

So Kyle Dubis, he really has an opportunity this offseason pack to get potentially some decent value from some of his players. And that gets into some of the other comments here from some of our listeners. One says, Dubus is not going to make any day one signing since he's going to be trading Rust and Raquel since Bennett has priced himself out of Pittsburgh. My friend, I think Sam Bennett's gone back to Florida. I don't think he's going to get to market. If he does, he has 100% price himself out of Pittsburgh. And also, I don't think he was ever going to go to the Penguins anyway. Did not make a lot of sense.

I think if he does get to market, even though it's a bit unlikely right now, I think a team like the Maple Leafs make a lot of sense. There's a couple reports out today saying that Mitch Marner is officially not going back there. So if that is true and he signs somewhere out west or maybe the hurricanes, I can see the Maple Leafs throwing a lot of money to San Francisco. Bennett. But when it comes to Rust and Raquel and also our listener, Drake says this hot take, Raquel, Rust, and Carlson are all traded. I think there's a better chance that Raquel is traded than Rust. I think for Rust, they're going to really look for a King's Ransom with that one.

And again, there's going to be a lot of teams calling on Russ. I'm sure a lot of teams are calling on him right now. But I personally think the Penguins are only going to trade him if they get an offer. They can't refuse. His no move clause expires on. July 1. He won't have any freedom to block a trade to any team. But the only way I see him dealt is if they get an offer where we're like, okay, we have no choice but to take this. There's a couple intangibles I'm going to discuss here a little bit, you know, his success with young players, you know, helping mentoring those guys, his leadership skills. Yeah, I get it. They're intangibles, but they do matter. And he has said publicly that he wants to stay here

through the rebuild and help the penguins become good again. I believe him when he says that. But I still don't think he gets dealt this off season, even though we have a couple of our listeners saying he will. If he does, hey, shout out to you. I'll take the L on that one. I think there's a better chance that Raquel gets dealt. Carlson, he's probably the best chance to get dealt of the three.

I'd go Carlson, Raquel, and then I'd go Rust at the bottom. Right there with you. I've talked about the intangible value. of having a guy like rust around for some of the prospects that they're going to bring up over the next couple of seasons. Sam Bennett, the problem is away from the obvious of how much he's going to command this offseason. He doesn't fit the penguin's window. He'll be 29 at the start of next season. Right. And given his regular season stats and given his age, this is not a guy that you need right now. It would be cool to have them. It'd be a fun narrative.

But you pay them for the playoffs. And I don't see the penguins making the playoffs, at least for another season. So you would pay a bunch of money for a guy who's on the wrong side of the aging curve, doesn't really produce all that much in the regular season. So it just doesn't really fit with what the penguins are trying to do. As for the trades. And same for Mitch Marger, by the way. I know we keep getting a lot of those comments and we see a lot of them on social media and stuff.

But he does not fit the window at all. He's going to get max term on this next contract. And it's probably going to be upwards of 13 to 14 million the year. I'm sure some people probably just pause the show and they're like, what in the heck? Trust me, there are going to be teams offering him that much money. Penguins, they're not going to be one of them. And there's a lot of places he can go right now where he's not going to have that weighty

expectation that he does in Toronto, where he can just go and be a guy who puts up 80 to 90 points and he's not the center of attention. and then when the playoffs come around, he's still not the center of attention, doesn't get that kind of pressure that he gets in Toronto, it can just go about being Mitch Marner, which very similar to Sam Bennett, does not fit the Penguins timeline.

I set it on a show when I did one solo. If this was a year from now, in one of those, if not both of those guys were UFAs, and the Penguins were where they need to be and hope to be after next season, worth a call. But right now, they just don't fit the timeline. And you burn up cap space. You burn up a year of them.

And it just doesn't fit. So I like the idea, but this takes absolutely right. It's more about those three names potentially getting traded than going out and getting a big time UFO on July 1. Yeah. They're not going to be at that market. Kyle Dubis has said repeatedly through various members of the Penguins media that they are not going to be aggressive. if they're not going to be looking for any players 30 plus years old. And yeah, I know Marner's a little bit younger than 30,

but when you're signing him to Max term, you're signing him well into his 30s. And the Penguins are not going to be in that mark. There's just a couple more here before we get to our final break and discuss that crazy game for the Stanley Cup final on Thursday. This comes from Penn 68. He says, the Penguins will win the 2026 draft lottery

and will not have the worst record in hockey when doing so. If they do win the lottery, I will agree with you. I do not think they will have the worst record in the league. I will stand by that next season. I don't think they're going to be good, as I said, 500 times today. But I don't think they will be the worst team in the league, especially with Sid still humming at as of right now. I know Malgan's going to be another year older.

I know Latang is going to be another year older. They have some other moves to make. But I still don't think they're going to be the worst team in the league once that season ends. So I will agree with him on that. If they do win the lottery, they will not have the worst record in the league. doing it. And then one more here. He says, pure hot take. Penguins will make a push for Jason Robertson be a trade. The stars have little leverage because they have cap issues and the penguins will get Marco Rossi. If they do get both those players, they're back in the playoffs. Hey, I appreciate the

optimism there. I'm going to push back a little bit just because as of right now and what I listened to Elliott Freeman on 32 thoughts this morning, I don't know if Jason Robertson is getting moved. I think the stars are starting to calm down a little bit and realize that they were probably going to act a bit too rash if they traded him. That guy is a bona fide star. He's a 109 point player. He's had 80 points these last couple of seasons, but that type of player does not grow on trees. You do not need to Galaxy brain this and trade him for a return that is not going to be of equal value. So I don't think the Robertson trade is going to happen at all, but from a Penguins perspective, they just don't have assets that a lot of these other teams do. Like, let's be real here.

Don't get me wrong. I would love Jason Robertson. I think he is a great freaking player. but the penguins do not have close to the assets that a lot of these other teams do. So I'm going to nip that in the butt a little bit. And as for Marco Rossi, obviously, I'd love to get him, sign him to a decent deal. I think the Penguins, they more so have the package for someone like Rossi than they do Robertson. And we've discussed Rossi quite a bit on the show already. But Pat, your thoughts on those two takes from our two of our listeners. Very similar to what we said about Brian Rust for the stars.

to move Jason Robertson, they are going to have to get an insane haul. That's the only way I see them moving him. And for the penguins, here's the thing. I do think they could realistically put a package together to get Robertson, but the problem is it would kind of stop what they're trying to do in its tracks because you would have to move one of, one or more of the first round picks you have over the next couple of years, maybe another pick in a later round, and you'd probably have to get rid of one of Rust or Raquel. And you're not at a point where getting a 26-year-old superstar forward is going to be all you need to do to clear your hands and say rebuild, retool done. You would need more. And getting rid of those assets would really hamper your

ability to do that. So again, It's another example of a young player that would sound good in theory, or like the UFAs, I should say, that would sound good in theory, but it doesn't fit the timeline. Rossi, on the other hand, I think that there's a chance they could do it because he seems to have fallen out of favor with Minnesota. And while they're going to ask for a lot,

they're clearly trying to move him. Robertson, on the other hand, all the stars would have to align, no pun intended. and I just don't see it for the penguins. I hear you on the Roberts and stuff. Again, I just don't think they have the package that other teams could put forth. And what I'm saying is other teams have better prospects

than the penguins do, and they are more than willing to put those players on the line. They have the picks. They have some better players to offer than the penguins. And I think that's where the line is drawn, at least for me. And I also agree with you. It may not line up to where the penguins are right now. But with Rossi, you trade for him.

You can sign him to even a short-term contract back, for example. Two to three years, maybe even four. You keep him around while the team continues to build back up. You're trading off some vets, bringing in some new pieces. I think there's a world where you can do both this off season. So we'll just have to see on that. But Pat and I always appreciate all of your takes, all of your questions for Fan Take Friday. We're going to do this again for next.

Friday's episode, but that'll do it for this second segment. Coming up to end the show, game four of the Stanley Cup final on Thursday night was a banger, and Pat and I are going to discuss it. That's coming up right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our final sponsor, and that is Indeed. You just realize your business model needed to hire someone yesterday. How can you find amazing candidates fast? Easy.

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They make sure your post is seen by the right candidates right now. Now you can speed up your hiring process with a 75 sponsored job credit. Just go to Indy.com slash locked on right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. terms and conditions apply hiring indeed is all you need. All right, we're back here in this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-coast, Patrick Camp and Pat. What an absolute amazing game in the Stanley Cup final on Thursday night.

And I will freely admit it here on this show. I thought the Oilers were cooked after the first period. I thought this series was about to be over by the way the Panthers absolutely dominated them in the first period. I thought, oh, here we go. Another hashtag, Hodey's jinks after I picked them to win game for and send this back to Alberta Tide.

I was going to look really foolish just because the Panthers came out, punched them in the mouth in that first period. Matthew Kuchuk, welcome to the Stanley Cup final. After three kind of meh games from him, he played fantastic last night, get the late goal to make it three nothing. But then the Oilers,

they punched the Panthers right back in the second. Shout out to Darnel Nurse. of all people having the period of his life. Ryan Nugent Hopkins, I think that's one of the best games I've ever seen him play. And then they tie it later in that period. They got the depth scoring that they really needed in that period. Because, you know, McDavid, he was doing McDavid things.

He knifed through three guys for a sequence. That was an insane say by the Brovsky. But again, one of the biggest differences from last year to this year with the Oilers is that they actually have the depth scoring now. It's been probably their biggest. you outside of some goaltending stuff with Stuart Skinner throughout the McDavid era, but they are getting the depth scoring and more. And the way they were able to still hold on to everything after Reinhardt tied it,

late in the third, after Sam Bennett gets a glorious chance in overtime. What a save by picker before it goes off the crossbar. The way that Leon Drysidal was able to win that game was awesome. It's a two-two-stories now. Going back to Alberta, best of three. I think this is the best Stanley Cup final we have gotten since Bruins Blackhawks or Penguins Red Wings rematch in 2009. This has been an absolute banger of a series. And Pat, I did want to ask you this.

Did that Leon Drysoddle Goal remind you of a goal from the past for the Penguins? I just, but I can't even say if it reminded me of a penguin's goal just because dear God, like if along with being one of the best players in the world, just the absolute most clutch player we've seen in a long time. When the game's on the line, Leon Dry Seidel might be the guy I want with the puck on his stick more than just about anybody at this point. And you're right. What did I say on the show yesterday? For Edmonton to get back into this, the depth had to show up.

And it took them about 23, 24 minutes, but they showed up in last night's game. And this is a much, I think I said it yesterday too. much different Edmonton team way more mature, way more poised. You, I don't think last year they were undisciplined or immature or anything, but just having been there and having experienced it, you can see that you watch the way they played in the final two periods and overtime. There was no panic in their game. They didn't suddenly become in a bad way, more desperate.

it. They obviously played with more desperation and played a lot harder, but it wasn't a panicked game. They weren't taking unnecessary risks. They weren't doing anything out of the ordinary. They just went up a level and punched back. And the best thing about this Stanley Cup final is that it is taking the best aspects of the best eras of hockey in molding them all together. Neither team is sacrificing offense for defense. They're not sacrificing defense to play offense. They're not sacrificing physicality for skill. They're not sacrificing skill for physicality. It is two of the best teams we have seen in years just trading haymakers all night long. And we as hockey fans will be completely robbed if this doesn't go seven games. It better go seven men. I mean,

I picked the Oilers in seven. I will be really mad if this series ends in six games in Sunrise, because it really is the best when the two best teams in the league. And I mean the two best teams are going blow for blow with each other, trading haymakers, pudging each other in the mouth, shift by shift, period by period. That is what we have gotten in this final so far. And I can't wait for Saturday night in Alberta for game five.

I think it's going to be great. And by the way, Pat, you did not answer my question. That goal that should have reminded you of, Fgeny Malkin, Game 5, 2009 against Washington, the overtime goal where he's coming down, a little bit of a greasy goal, good bounce for the penguins. It's exactly what it was for Leon Drysidal. That's the goal that it reminded me of.

Now that you say it, I definitely see it. It's just a really fun one to end on. just again what a tremendous game and i can't wait for more of this stanlinga final if you are not watching it please turn on the tv on saturday night game five it's going to be war between these two teams and i can't wait for it my friends but i think that will do it for today's episode of the locked on penguins podcast thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch this one, Pat and I will be back with another show of you all on Monday. We'll be having episodes Monday through Friday of next week. And then the week after, it's an actual draft time.

And yes, I'm going to be debuting my penguin-specific big board very, and I mean very soon, it has been finished. And I can't wait to talk about it on the pod for you guys. So for Patrick Damp, I'm Hunts or Hodes. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. We will talk with you all on Monday.