Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - FAN TAKE FRIDAY: Would you take Evgeni Malkin or Alex Ovechkin?

Episode Date: May 23, 2025

Welcome to the first edition of Fan Take Friday where we react to your hot takes! Before Hunter and Patrick get into your takes, we start with the stunning upset of Team Canada at the hands of Denmark... at the World Championships on Thursday. Then, it's time to react to some takes. First, if you could go back in time, knowing what you know how, who would you take: Alex Ovechkin or Evgeni Malkin? They then discuss Geno's favorite goal, some offseason shenanigans, and so much more!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.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 Sydney Crosby and Mark Andre Fleury's final run together did not have a storybook ending. 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 my host.
Starting point is 00:00:32 Patrick Damping and follow him on all social media platform. platforms at Sendinver Wet, and you can follow the show's Twitter at L.O underscore Penguins. 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. And Pat, we felt like Canada was going to get to at least the semifinals of the World Championships, but we saw one of the biggest upsets in this tournament's history on Thursday as Denmark. Yes, people, Denmark upsets Canada at the World Championships. and advances to the semi-finals where Denmark will play Switzerland
Starting point is 00:01:08 and the United States will take on Sweden before the winner of those two games will play in the championship on Sunday. Canada was up 1-0 with less than three minutes to go. Denmark had pulled their goalie and Denmark's goalie was playing outside of his mind. That entire game, Canada was absolutely dominant in the first couple of periods. They break through in the third period. But Denmark ties the game with a little over two minutes to go before winning, it with less than a minute to go, ending Canada's run at the World Championships, ending
Starting point is 00:01:40 Sydney Crosby's potential run and Mark Andre Florey's potential run at a storybook ending, at least for Flurry, where he can potentially ride off into the sunset. Denmark has one NHL player on that team, Nikolai Ehlers. They beat a team with Cindy Crosby, Nathan McKinnon, Macklin Sellebrini, Jordan Binnigton, Mark Andre Fleury, Travis Sandheim, we can keep going down the list of NHLers. players that are on this team. It really is one of the biggest upsets in the tournament's history. And Pat, my friend, you know Sid right now is just seething mad. You know, before I get into the Crosby of it all, I have to send love, hugs, condolences,
Starting point is 00:02:25 whatever you would like to call it, to one of my friends and co-workers, Tori. she flew over to Sweden yesterday on the assumption that eventually she would get to see Canada in the U.S. play either in the semis or in the finals. And now she doesn't get to see it. She went over explicitly to see Crosby and Flurry play together one last time in this upset happens. But let's get to the actual game. I mean, one thing that's really cool about this to me, I feel so bad for Sid, I feel so bad for Flurry. Obviously, Sid still got plenty of hockey in front of them.
Starting point is 00:03:08 This is probably it for Mark Andre Flurry. Definitely probably is, but I digress. The cool thing about this, this was a home game for Denmark. They were in Denmark. That's where this game was being played. So it was a mob scene when they tied it and even more of a mob scene when they took the lead. So that's something you don't often see at the world championships because usually the home team is either playing competition that they know they're going to beat or competition that
Starting point is 00:03:41 they know that's going to probably smack them around a little bit. But they flip the script and you got to give an absolute tip of the cap to their goalie, 39 of 40 saves against a team. I'm not even also going to pretend to pronounce his name. I will. butcher it. It will be terrible. So we're just going to say the goalie, 39 of 40. And that's a heroic effort from them. And I say this a lot. Yeah, this sucks because we want to see the best players play on the biggest stage. But if you want the game to grow, this is going to be a massive moment for Denmark's hockey program because it happened in Denmark. There were going there's there were certainly families there there were certainly young hockey players there
Starting point is 00:04:30 and this will stick with them forever and it's only going to make the game better 100% and it was just so crazy because it felt like if Canada got that game to overtime Canada was probably going to win I would have been kind of surprised if Denmark won that in overtime so the fact that they won it when they did with less than a minute to go thanks to a go ahead goal where you know bidding I feel like he maybe could have had that, but it was still just such a great play by Denmark to get it right to the net mouth. And there's a little bit of a mad scramble.
Starting point is 00:05:03 And then their fans are just going absolutely nuts in the stands. Those are moments that you live for. Again, it's really one of the biggest upsets that we have seen in the World Championships history. And that means, of course, Pat, no double triple gold club for Sid at least this year. I have to see if he goes back next year. But that's the one where I'm at least,
Starting point is 00:05:23 I feel a bit bad. And then part of me also, of course, feels a bit bad for Flory, excuse me, just because this was his last hurrah, and he can't go riding off into the sunset with his best friend. I wanted to see them play at least one more game together, if not two, but at least they had these moments together for the last, you know, week and a half, two weeks of just, you know, playing in a bunch of games, practicing with each other, spending time with one another on the rank,
Starting point is 00:05:52 just having a blast. At least we got to see that one more time. It was truly great. I mean, if you're someone who has TikTok, the Hockey Canada TikTok page has been nothing but Crosby and Flurry content. And it's, I know that we do a lot of level-headed somber analysis on this show, but it was really difficult for me to hold it together watching that because that was just my teenage years, my college years and part of my adulthood all wrapped up in that one moment. So it was really cool to watch.
Starting point is 00:06:30 It was really cool to see. On the other hand, Team USA, they are still alive. They will take on Sweden tomorrow in the semis for a chance to go for gold. Winner of that is probably going to win the tournament. If I had to guess, obviously we just saw one big upset. We would see another one if the winner of Denmark, Switzerland beats the winner of USA Sweden. but I think the winner of USA Sweden probably takes this. That kind of feels like that's the gold medal game at this point,
Starting point is 00:06:56 just because you look at those two teams, just the level of talent disparity is insane. And the one thing I didn't notice until a couple days ago, I don't know if he showed up late and you guys can give me crap for it and saying it was maybe a dereliction of duty on my part, I had no idea. Drew O'Connor was on Team USA and good for him. So exciting to see a former penguin still in the tournament. Yeah, I kind of did a double take when I saw him next to Maddie Baneers on the second line. I was like, oh, Drew O'Connor is getting top six minutes
Starting point is 00:07:34 on this team. And it's good for some of these guys to get this ice time with Team USA just because a lot of these guys, Pat, aren't going to be on Team USA next year at the Olympics. However, Solnite Cage Thompson is 100% going to be there. If he's not, I will be very upset. Yeah, he was left off the Four Nations team for most of it. But he needs to be on that team next year. Zach Brenzky is going to be there. Jeremy Swayman, I think he'll be the third goalie, probably behind Jern Hellebuck. Obviously, Thatcher Demko factors into that equation.
Starting point is 00:08:01 If he's healthy, Clayton Keller will have an opportunity, maybe Logan Coley. But some of these guys, they're getting a taste of some really good international hockey here before the Olympics next year. I will say, you said maybe Logan Coley. I know that the world championships are much different. the Olympics, but 10 points for the Pittsburgh boy, four goals, six assists, 10 points. He, I don't know if he would make it into the every game lineup, but if that's a player that you can put on your roster and have as a reserve player going into the Olympics, that is not a bad option to have waiting for Team USA because I'm hoping now that they are in Utah
Starting point is 00:08:46 and that there's a little bit more, I guess, spotlight because it's not all the distractions of Arizona. Cooley just keeps getting better and better and better. And it's fun to watch because he is a good young player. And for the future of Team USA, it's a name to keep in mind because he came in with some hype, but not a ton. and he has just been crushing it. So that's a name that I think a lot of people ahead of next year at the Olympics, really got to keep an eye on.
Starting point is 00:09:23 Yeah, I think as a reserve, there's definitely a chance. Maybe even for 2030, he's in the lineup full time during those Olympics, but definitely as a reserve for next year, I just think when you look at Team USA right now, Pat, they're just so deep. Like, this is the deepest team of, you know,
Starting point is 00:09:40 my generation so far. So I don't think he's going to crack the top 12. for most of those games. But as reserved, if a player or two gets hurt, he can definitely come in. And I think he would be mostly totally fine in that department. But I think that would do it for this first segment. Coming up in the second segment,
Starting point is 00:09:55 we're going to debut Fan Take Friday, and there are a couple good ones to start off this edition of Fan Take Friday that's coming up right after this. But before we get to Fan Take Friday, we have to tell you about one of our friends, and that is Monarch Money. Ever check your bank account and wonder, where did all my money go between dining out,
Starting point is 00:10:16 online shopping and entertainment, it is easy to lose track. But that's where Monarch money comes in, your personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. Monarch money is not just a budgeting app. It's a complete financial command center. You can track all of your accounts, investments, and spending in one place. So you stop just managing your money and start building wealth. When I started using Monarch, I realized just how much I was spending on food delivery. Now I budget smarter and I save more. And instead of juggling multiple apps, You can use Monarch to check your finances, track your spending, and even plan your long-term goals.
Starting point is 00:10:51 Managing money with your partner is smoother than ever. You can track shared and personal accounts, set goals, and stay on the same page without the stress. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code locked on NHL at MonarchMoney.com for 50% off your first year. That's monarchmoney.com code Lockdown NHL for half off your first year. All right. We're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-os, Pat Tramp, and Pat, we have an absolute
Starting point is 00:11:24 banger of one to start out for Fan Take Friday. And this comes courtesy of someone from YouTube. He asks, if you could go back in time and have all the knowledge that we do now of each player, who would you choose between Alex Ovechkin and of Gennie Malkin? And it's like, you really got to do this to us, huh? and some people may not like my answer. I am going to go with Alex Ovechkin with how great he is obviously scoring,
Starting point is 00:11:56 how he's been throughout his career. Listen, people, I love Evgeny Malkin. He is one of my all-time favorite players. He is one of the four best players to ever put on the Penguins uniform. You can't tell the story of this dynasty that we've seen here. Without him, he's going to be in the rafters, One day his jersey number, he is going to be a first ballot Hall of Famer. He is the second best Russian player to ever play in the NHL.
Starting point is 00:12:21 And we're going to get to another Afghani Malkin question coming up here. But knowing what we know now, Pat, I think you probably agree. I would go with the grade eight Alex Hovetkin. Some people aren't going to like it. I get it. You can throw eggs at me if you want. Throw eggs at my house and all that. But I got to go with Ovi, man.
Starting point is 00:12:43 I think we both do. and I'm going to put this two different ways. The first one, it's going to be the dessert. It's going to be the candy you have after you finish your meal, because it's the fun part. Just imagine, for the last 20 years, Sidney Crosby beating the puck to Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin might have broken the record 10 years ago,
Starting point is 00:13:11 if that was the case. But let's dive into it because that's the second part. The thing that I think a lot of people are probably yelling about right now is if you get Ovechkin, you probably don't get Crosby. I disagree because here's the thing. What happened after the Capitals drafted Alex Ovechkin and then the Penguins drafted of Gennie Malkin right after him? Lockout.
Starting point is 00:13:39 They didn't play a season. So chances are the Penguins still. would have been in good position to get the first overall pick and take Sidney Crosby that year. So there's no like, oh, if they would have taken him, they wouldn't have been able to be in position to take Crosby. They would have been in the same exact, well, not same exact, but they would have still had very similar odds to get him. So in that case, you would have had Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin on the same team. and OV would be getting fed one-timers from Sidney Crosby. OV would be scoring 60 goals like clockwork.
Starting point is 00:14:20 Crosby would be putting up 120-point seasons just because he would have at least 60 assists easy and then his own plays where he would score. So, I mean, like you said, in no world is this a disrespect to of Gennie Malkin. I have a collection of Malkin jerseys behind me in my closet. So one of my all-time favorite penguins, I was on the front lines of the Geno Wars in the early 2010s when everybody was saying, oh, you got to get rid of them. You got to trade them. You got to move them out.
Starting point is 00:14:53 But I mean, in this fantasy world, when he was a free agent last time before he signed that contract pass, so many people were like, oh, let him go, let him go, just signed Vince Trochek. No, I was on social media arguing with people saying you have to keep this guy because he just had another very good. season i've been a gino defender my entire life yeah i i have been one as well and by that point you just need to keep them but i mean at the end of the day in this fantasy world that we're living in for fan take friday who i would absolutely have taken alex ovechkin given the chance i might like clip some of this and like send it to some of my caps friends and be like hey imagine if you would have seen that throughout your entire life and i think they would probably we just throw up upon hearing that.
Starting point is 00:15:41 But it would have been something, truly, like seeing, again, in this fantasy land, Ovech getting Crosby teaming up for quite a long time, would have been something. And that also leads us to our next, well, question slash statement regarding of Gennie Malkin. This also comes from YouTube. This person asks, what's your one single favorite of Gennie Malkin goal of all time? So this one is kind of the same for me. It's always a slap shot goal against the flyers. in 2008.
Starting point is 00:16:10 I don't want to say the cuss word on the show because we are at least PG on this podcast. But to this day, it is still one of the biggest FU goals of all time. He gets checked behind the net by Mike Richards. He's pissed off about it. He gets up kind of skates right back to the line. But he stops there. And Penguins get possession of the puck. He's calling for it.
Starting point is 00:16:34 Is he cherry picking? Oh, 100% he's cherry picking. He gets it, walks right in. uncorks an unbelievable slap shot. And you could just tell he was pissed about that hit behind the net. That's why I called an FU goal. The celebration, I still have a picture of celebrating along the glass on my phone and the igloo. That's still my favorite goal of his of all time.
Starting point is 00:16:56 You can say the Carolina goal, the spinnerama, you can say that crazy goal against Tampa Bay. For example, when he just knives through everyone on the ice there. But for me, it's always that goal in 08 against the flyers. It's never going to be beaten for me. It is. It's extremely hard to pick one because it kind of flies under the radar very much like a lot of Evgeny Malcon's career where he's got an unreal highlight reel of goals. He just, you go through his catalog and there's just so many to pick from. You kind of, I was going to do a top three and you have now said all three of what I was going to pick with the Baran goal against Philly.
Starting point is 00:17:38 I'm convinced that if he would have hit Baran, it would have been like a Mighty Ducks movie. He would have sent Baran through the net and it would have been a goal no matter what. He put so much on that. The Tampa goal in 2012, I just, he was on another level that season. He was unquestionably the best player on the planet. And he really imposed his will on Tampa Bay and that one. We all know the Hurricanes goal. but there is a really underrated one that I want to remember.
Starting point is 00:18:12 And I believe it was before the penguins had fired Mike Johnston. But it was the 15-16 season against Edmonton. He comes down the ice, does a spinnerama at the top of the circle and fires a backhand over the Oilers goalie. It hits the crossbar so direct. that you could hear the echo of the crossbar and then it drops right into the net and it was a beauty,
Starting point is 00:18:46 an absolute beauty. Yeah, that one is also a very underrated one to pick because his celebration was also great. Even the SportsNet broadcasts absolutely loved it as well. There's a call on YouTube for where they're like, holy crap, that was just freaking fantastic. Even, you know, the, it wasn't Sportsnet Pittsburgh Pat. It was at that point, it would have probably.
Starting point is 00:19:09 Was it root sports? Yeah. I want to say it was root sports. I think it was. There's just so, they changed back and forth so many times. But even the call on root sports, if that's what it was, I think it was spectacular as well. Staggy could not believe it. He was just, it was another Malkin goal that you just go, what do we even say?
Starting point is 00:19:34 What do we even say? Yeah, no, 100%. So those two are really good for Evgeny Malkin. Let us know what you guys think about those down in the comments, knowing what you all know now. Would you take Alex Lvechkin over Vgeny Malkin or would you not? And what's also your favorite of Afghani Malkin goal of all time? But that's going to do it for the second segment.
Starting point is 00:19:54 Coming up in the final segment, we're going to continue Fan Take Friday, going around the mill here a little bit. We're going to do some quick hitters with other ones that we saw on YouTube and on social media that we got sent from you guys. the fans that's coming up right after this. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-host, Patrick Dam and Pat.
Starting point is 00:20:22 This one is cool for a quick hitter. Brandon Rickner says, if Carlson is traded this offseason, Harrison Brunick works his way into the top four on the blue line. Hey, that's bold. I appreciate it. Had a great camp in preseason last year. I think we can pump the brakes maybe a little bit right now. Let's just see how he does this year at camp and the preseason.
Starting point is 00:20:40 but hey, I applaud you, Brandon, for being pretty bold about it. Let's see if he can continue to ride that momentum. I know his team wasn't that good this year when he was healthy, though. He was very good in junior, but let's see what he can do. I like the boldness of that statement, though. That's what we're asking from you guys in this segment. It doesn't have to be treated like a mailbag. You don't have to ask questions for us to break down.
Starting point is 00:21:02 If you've got a hot take, send us a hot take. And that is a hot one. But I will say this, definitely pump the brakes on it. But at the same time, if they build out this defense to the point where they want to really start giving the young guys a chance, there's a possibility that he could end up in the top four simply by default and treat it with some patience because there will be struggles. There will be growing pains. But he has shown pretty much at every level that he will grow into that position. And it's just going to take a little bit of time.
Starting point is 00:21:37 But I like that take. I like it a lot. Now this one might be even a bit more bold for us. And this also comes from YouTube. And Michael says, do you think Graves can become a top pair defenseman again under a new coaching strategy? No, don't think that's going to happen. Sure. Could he maybe be a little bit better if he stays on the team going into next season?
Starting point is 00:21:59 Sure. But again, the bar is so low that I just want him to be a competent third-bearing defenseman at this rate. But no, I don't think that's going to happen. He does have the rest of his statement. Or of the importance this off season, if you were GM and what do you think Dubis will prioritize? Or of the importance, it's still just getting younger. Like that's the biggest thing.
Starting point is 00:22:19 Getting more young talent in here, whether it's the draft, trades and all that. I still don't think they're going to be that active during free agency. You're going to see a lot of bad moves on July 1. Cap is going up. The UFA class, still not that good. Yeah, Mitch Marner's out there. Sam Bennett's out there. Someone's going to give Sam Bennett way too much money.
Starting point is 00:22:37 It won't be the Penguins. I'll tell you that. It's not going to be him, but someone's going to give him. If he gets to open market, I could see him getting $10 million, by the way, which crazy. But outside of those two, the market's really not that good. So again, that's what I would prioritize this off season. And that's why I also think Dubis is going to prioritize as well.
Starting point is 00:22:56 Let's crawl before we walk and walk before we run. Ryan Graves, like you said, needs to just become a competent NHL defenseman. I'm pretty sure the train left the station about two years ago for him being a top pair defenseman. Stranger things have happened, but there is not a lot of evidence for him improving his game to the point to be on a top pair. But who knows, again, stranger things have happened. And for the penguins this year, stay as far away from the top end of the UFA market as you can. find your diamonds in the rough guys who can fill out your roster, maybe be a little bit younger,
Starting point is 00:23:39 maybe need a second chance. But the Mitch Marner's Sam Bennett's of the world, let other teams back up the Brinks truck for them. It's not time yet. Continue with the process. Continue with what you're doing. And maybe next year when this team has some more young talent that's a year into the rebuild,
Starting point is 00:23:59 you're going to have more cap space and hopefully more young prospect. to build around, then you can maybe go make a splash. But this summer, stick with the process. I agree. And moving right along, Golf Legend 69, Sergey Mirosha plays in the NHL for the majority of next season. That is a stretch.
Starting point is 00:24:16 I will say that. I appreciate you being bold. Don't think we're there yet with him. We ought to see him play, I think, close to a full season in the HL first. Now, if he blows everywhere in the way in camp and preseason, it's a little bit of a different discussion. At least maybe he could start the season with the big club. If you make a move or two surrounding some of the other goals,
Starting point is 00:24:33 in the system, but it's probably going to be him getting the lion's share of the starts in Wilkesbury and deservedly so. Sample-Syce there still isn't quite that big. I don't think he's going to be in the league for at least the NHL, excuse me, for the majority of next season. I think that's a little bit much. And then another one here, this comes from Drake Barrett Dubus will hire David Quinn because I think he wants to take next season.
Starting point is 00:24:58 I don't think he wants to fully intentionally tank, but if you do hire David Quinn, That is literally a two-year move where I think you are committed to not being very good these next two years, not even, I think, in 2026 either. We talked about this after we finished recording with Kelsey yesterday. You can't hire a guy like David Quinn. And unless everybody else gets hired and he's only one of your last options, you also can't hire DJ Smith. Because it pretty much signals to the group that you are not committed at all to winning next year. And no, they're not committed to winning next year.
Starting point is 00:25:36 And by winning, I mean chasing a championship. Right. And as much as Crosby, Malkin, and Latang understand what is going on, they are still very much competitors. And they are obviously somewhat on board with what the organization is trying to do. You make one of those two moves. You're probably going to alienate. them because you make one of those two hires, you're fully committing to just bottoming out.
Starting point is 00:26:09 And I think these guys can deal with, hey, we got to get these young guys developed. We got to bring them up in a culture that at the very least is committed to getting better and committed to growing and hiring one of those two. Kind of throws that all out the window. Right. I agree. Did you have any thoughts for the first one that I mentioned? I think it's a year or two away. He's got to play a little more.
Starting point is 00:26:35 And I also, very similar to Blumquist, you don't want to put them behind a bad team. It's not like it's a young team that's learning and is bad because they're young and learning. This is a team in transition. You want them to play meaningful hockey. And that includes Blumquist and Murshov. So if he's ready and he can make a difference, sure. But we still don't know that. yet 100%. And again, just a few more quick ones here before we wrap up this week.
Starting point is 00:27:06 Again, thank you guys so much for sending in all your hot takes, whether some of them are a bit more bold than we think or some of them that are just some good questions overall. This is a really fun one, Pat. We were talking about this before we start recording. Hypothetical, Mario Lemieux stays healthy. Does he break Wayne Gretzky's records? Me? Unequivocally, yes. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:26 No, it's, we, when we were preparing for today's show, I brought this up. It's an illustration to me of putting these two side by side because we know Lemieux couldn't stay healthy, whether it was back problems. He obviously got diagnosed with cancer in 1993. He has to retire because of a heart issue. And even in between all that, his back continued to fail him. But 1996, 1997 is the season that I was. want to highlight. 96, 97, Gretzky plays all 82 games for the New York Rangers, puts up 25 goals, 72 assists for 97 points.
Starting point is 00:28:12 Meanwhile, Mario Lemieux only plays 76 games. 50 goals, 72 assists, 122 points. Less games, far more points. If Lemieux doesn't have all those problems, or even if you can, take one of them away, whether it's the cancer diagnosis in 92, 93, or if you give him a back that doesn't constantly fail him, which is the one that would make things a lot smoother, you just look at his scoring paces compared to Gretzky's, especially once Lemieux comes into the league, he would have shattered those records. He would have set those records and OV would still be
Starting point is 00:28:53 chasing him. That's what I was going to ask you after, like, would Ovi have the goal record right now? probably not honestly just with how mariel was pacing when he was healthy if he were to keep that up and never had the issues that he had i think he would very much still have that record and this is going to get lost in this because we've already spouted off our hot take about it i've softened up on this in the years it's not saying that gretzky isn't good it's not saying that gretzky's overrated it's saying that the they are both two of the best players to ever play the sport. It's not denigrating Gretzky.
Starting point is 00:29:35 It's not putting Mario in an unfair. It's not unfairly putting Mario over. It's two players who redefined the sport that are just interconnected and they're always going to be compared, but it doesn't take away from the greatness of either of them. As far as I'm concerned, man, they're both on hockey's Mount Rushmore, even though I still think Mario is the greatest player
Starting point is 00:29:57 ever played that's what you're going to get here on the locked on penguins podcast but one more here pat before we wrap up today this comes from g tots on youtube in honor of my first home game best locations to hit pregame with kids see i was gonna maybe suggest super bowl for the food but i also know it's a bar so probably not for kids super bowl yeah i mean if you're going with friends who whether you're college day or older super bowl's a great spot to start because it before penguins games it's just it's all Penns fans. Yeah. It's really fun. If you're willing to walk or if you're willing to call an Uber or take the tea,
Starting point is 00:30:35 go to Market Square before a game. A lot of different restaurants. There's a couple bars. It's a fun little area and it gets you a good look at the city. You have a bunch of different choices. And if you're willing to walk, if you're willing to take an Uber or if you're willing to take the tea, Market Square is always one of my favorite places to check out before a game. Yeah, there's quite a few places there.
Starting point is 00:30:59 Some people may not like this place. Some people do. City Works, I think, is just fine. It's fine for kids as well. Again, if you like to walk, of course, or you want to take the tea or something like that. But decent food, at least I know some people hate it. But for me, I've never really had that bad of a meal there, even though I still don't think it's like, obviously, you know, great fine dining or anything like that.
Starting point is 00:31:18 I just think it's somewhere where you can go pregame with your kids, have a meal, have a beverage yourself or something, and then just walk back to the game. I think that's totally fair. But I think that I'll do it for today's edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch this one and submit your hot takes for fan take Friday. We'll be doing this every Friday moving forward. So thank you guys so much. If we didn't get tears, we apologize, we just had so many submissions that we had over the last 24 to 36 hours.
Starting point is 00:31:48 So for Patrick Damp, I am Hunter Hodes. Thank you guys so much for tuning in. We appreciate it. We'll be back on Monday. Thank you.

There aren't comments yet for this episode. Click on any sentence in the transcript to leave a comment.