Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - How did it get to this point with the Penguins & Evgeni Malkin?

Episode Date: July 12, 2022

We never thought this day would come...but it's coming quick. Hunter starts the show off by blasting everyone involved with regard to the Evgeni Malkin negotiations. He goes after the Malkin camp & the Penguins front office since it's insane that it even got to this point. He goes into how each side failed, plus touches on if there's any way this can be mended with only two days to go. After that, he goes into replacement options for Malkin and how it looks pretty bleak, but he does get into some core Claude Giroux and JT Miller discourse. He then goes into the big news with the qualifying offers and why there were no surprises before finishing the episode with some mailbag questions. 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 Monday evening, July 11th. Happy 7-11 day to basically everyone. And what a bad day, I should say, for the city of Pittsburgh, first Heinz Field, the name change. And then obviously the big thing that we're going to talk about on today's show that of Gennie Malkin is going to test free agency, which I would say more than likely that he is probably going to be playing on another team. Next year, I'm going to get all into that in the first. Probably the second segment as well. Can go into what happens if he does lead, you know, who is potentially going to replace him. Is there anyone that can actually replace him? And so much more for this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. It's going to be a whirlwind to say the least, but let's jump right into it. I'm going to give all my thoughts and my analysis on this very upsetting situation. 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 Lockdown on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hoodies. Remember to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hoodies. You can also follow the shows Twitter at L.O.

underscore Penguins. I was about to record the show about 30 minutes ago, then all of a sudden my poor puppy over here who has just been sick like something for the last four days. had an accident in his crate, and that's all I'm going to say about that. I don't know what's going on with him, but I think that just goes to show what he thinks of the Evianne Malkin-Pittswear Penguin stuff, and let's shove right into it. So, you know, this day starts out fine, you know, you get the reports that Frank Sarvali's saying

that they've upped it to four years, Pierre LeBrun saying that they've made progress. You know, I've been saying to myself, okay, you know, maybe a deal could be coming on Tuesday. It's all looking, you know, fine and dandy and all this stuff. But all of a sudden, you know, Darren Dregor just comes out with his big breaking news. And, you know, originally when I first started reading, I'm like, oh, my God, here's the contract agreement. And it's the complete opposite. Gany Malkin is going to test free agency for the first time in his career on Wednesday. And now then you just have, you know, the whole back and forth, obviously, Penguin's Twitter turned into a war zone.

and it's probably going to be a war zone for the rest of this week, to be honest with you all. And, you know, overall, when I sit back, when I really think about this stuff, you know, everyone in these negotiations is just stupid. You know, it should never have come to this point. I am putting the blame on everyone. Ron Hextall, Brian Burke, J.P. Berry, and of Guinea-Malkin. All four of them, it's ridiculous that it's come to this point where one of the four to five greatest players to ever play for this franchise is going to test the market. I don't care what team it is. No player of that magnitude should ever be allowed to test the market.

And, you know, I definitely, I would say I'm more mad at the front office because, you know, you've had two months to do this. Full stop. You extended Jeff Carter during the season, which was pathetic and hilarious at the same time. You decided to extend Brian Rust first, which was even weirder. Then you decided to extend Casey to Smith,

which, you know, okay, whatever. Then you get Chris Lentang, which is fine because, you know, he should be the bigger priority over some over of Guine Malkin, and that's no slight to him. And then obviously, Gino is going to feel like, wow, you know, where am I? And that leads to Rob Rossi writing his piece for the athletic.

You know, he should have been higher up on the priority list. And when you screw around with this kind of player, he's going to get ticked off. And, you know, they're about to pay the price for it when he goes to free agency and when he gets a lot of money. And then from Malkins' perspective, I'm also, I understand why he's doing what he's doing. but I'm also a bit miffed at him because he said during his press comments at the end of the season oh yeah you know money

I'm not I'm a rich guy you know money doesn't mean much for me and all this stuff I want to play for three more years okay so you said three years which would go to the ends of Cindy Crosby's contract they offer you a three year deal for six million per and maybe they can up it if they wish

you decline that reportedly Mike DeFabo is saying that they up the offer to four times six 6.1.6.1 is the same A.A.V. That Crystal Tang does. You decline that. And it's like, okay, what are you really looking for here in this deal? I mean, excuse me, are you looking for something that's over $7 million? Are you looking for $7.5? You know, I know, I know, Rob Rossi is saying the opposite that, you know, they discussed a four-year term, but there was never an offer on the table. So you kind of have a little bit of a source off there. But, you know,

part of this just feels really weird because two sides are saying two completely different things and you know it's it's ridiculous it all comes back to my original point of how awful it is that it even came to this point and you know we can talk about hextall on them low balling and all this other stuff and you know if defaibo is wrong with his report and rossi is right with his three-time then you know that could be a fireball offense for hexolumber because there's no reason to really not go to a fourth year um you know it's it's completely nonsense sensical that you can literally sit there and be like okay i'm going to stand firm to this because i i believe this and you know an extra year is really going to screw us up when we're going to be bad at that point and honestly who

really cares at that point because sit is just going to be 40 years old and he's going to retire you know, in 2025, 2026. You know, it's just like, like, how can the penguin's ownership sit here and accept this? I mean, I read today from Josh Gehling the Athletic. He said, Hextall feels, you know, the pressure to get this done because the ownership wants all three of these players to retire. So the fact that, you know,

Evgeny Malkin is probably not going to retire here now, that's going to leave, I think, a sour taste and everyone's mouth, fans, team executives, players, you know, everyone regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. You know, maybe part of this, you know, I'm probably going for a conspiracy theory here. Maybe part of this is a play by J.P. Barry to be like, hey, you know, now you see what the fans are saying, Ron. Why don't we give this another go? and then maybe they come to a deal. I'm skeptical of that, but, you know, I guess you never know.

But this just reeks of people that, you know, they waited, they all waited too long to really get down to business, especially Ron Hextall and Brian Burke. And now they're especially paying the price because he's going to get quite a few, I think, decent offers on the free agent market. You know, maybe, you know, the same thing happens with Gabriel Landiscag, Ashley where he got he fielded some offers in free agency one of them was the avalanche when he put up a seven times seven to him he filled with some others which i think were around the same length and he went

back to color you know he said he was going to test for agency as fans got nervous and then he ended up going back to them and obviously they won the Stanley Cup this year maybe that happens here again i am a little bit skeptical but you know i just i can't imagine how everyone in the penguins are feeling right now especially someone like sandy crosbie i mean he said so many times it's it's me and gino You know, and he's been reportedly pushing very hard for the Penguins to get this done. Chris Lattang, he's also been pushing to get this done. He said it numerous times at his press conference during the initial draft that, you know, he wants to retire with these other two players.

He knows how much Gino has meant to the franchise. So to only, to only potentially see two of them retire here of the core, it's going to look really, really weird. It's just, you know, this, again, I've probably said this for 500 times already on this episode, but, you know, it just feels like something that could have been very avoidable. And all parties involved, you know, it's just, it's not right to me. You know, I feel sick to my stomach about it as someone who has watched this team for basically 20 years at that point, at this point. you know, it's something that easily should have been resolved either after the season or,

you know, about a month ago or something like that. And the fact that there's an opportunity for him to potentially go to somewhere like Washington or New York and really stick it to the penguins, you know, that makes it even more sick. So, yeah, Ron Hextall, if, you know, this is square, this is on you, Brian Burke, this is on you. Evgeny Malkin, this is also partly on you for, you know, saying that, you know, you're not really that concerned about money.

but yet reportedly, if Mike DeFabu was right, they had a four times $6.1 million offer on the table, which is very fair. And I also get where the penguins, that's the thing. I get where each side is coming from. You know, with the penguins, you know, they, I know they are hesitant with him because of the injuries, his knee, the age, you know, they don't want,

they hope he doesn't turn into just a player who puts up 30 points to 82 games. I get it. but he just he's coming off a point per game year. And then from Malkinside, I understand how he's feeling right now. Maybe he's feeling low ball. He wasn't at the top of the pecking order in terms of getting extended. I totally get that.

And he has every right to go out there and see what he can get on the open market. You know, he's a free agent. You know, I think almost any player, you know, if they want to, you know, they can. You know, and they deserve to potentially see. what they can get, even though it definitely hurts me. Again, I know I just said it shouldn't get to this point, but part of me also feels like, you know, Gino, this is a once in a lifetime opportunity for him.

This is the last time he's going to get paid for his initial career. So, you know, also why wouldn't he want to go to the free agent market? And again, he is going to get a lot of money from someone. Maybe it's four times seven, maybe it's three times seven. 7.5, 3 times 8, but they're going to be teams that are going to be more than happy to outbid the penguins with this. So that wraps up this first segment of today's episode. I'm definitely just feeling gutted about it. I feel sick to my stomach. But, you know, this is the rule we're living in right now. And I think people are just going to have to start accepting that

there's a very high, very good chance that of Guinea-Malkin is not going to be on this team next year. Now, our next partner has a product I use literally every day. I start taking Inflatid greens because, you know, didn't have time to work out in the morning. I wanted some more energy when I get up. You know, I wanted better gut health. So what is this stuff? With one delicious scoop of athletic greens, you're absorbing 75 high-quality vitamins, minerals, whole foods, whole-foods, source, superfoods, and probiotics to help you start your day, right?

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I am your host, Hunter Hodes. Not to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, follow this show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. So obviously, I know I'm going to get a lot of questions about, you know, what's the Penguins' plans now. And, you know, to be frank with you guys, I don't know. You know, I put a tweet out yet. It would be so Ron Hextal to basically just go out, sign Vinny Trocheck to a six-time-six deal and be like, hey guys, you know, we made an attempt to replace of Ganyi Malk

and all this other nonsense that you would hear when it goes into that deal. And also, I'll just say this, that will be a horrendous deal, just saying. You know, this entire thing is so freaking bizarre to say the least. But, you know, that would not be good. I mean, I think Vinny Trochik is a good player, but, you know, 50 points, 80 games, Is that someone that's worth $6 million per? Probably not. Again, you're not going to get an Asim Padry.

He's going to get a lot of money. Obviously, there's a J.T. Miller stuff out there. And I've heard through the grapevine that he wants to be a Pittsburgh penguin. That's not an opinion. That's something that I have actually heard through the grapevine a little bit. So maybe you can trade for him. But then you have to sign him to an extension. And you have to give up stuff again.

So are you really going to go? with that you got called jeru out there that would be hilarious especially if like malcon went to like washington or new york or carolina and say you know the penguins do sign jeru that's just a total i'm not even called like a galaxy brain thing it's just something that you know out of a different universe to be honest it would make sense because i do think jeru is a very serviceable player and of the free agents out there that the penguins can afford with a 15 million in salary cap space right now. I definitely think they would, they could sign it.

But that's also if Drew was willing to go to Pittsburgh. And obviously the Philadelphia Flyer, Pittsburgh Pins were paying rivalry is very real. So, you know, could it be like something like Mark Andre Fleury? You know, I'm not really sure. But that would be an option. They can maybe explore other trade opportunities. I think someone DM in a day is asking me about like Patrick Kane of Chicago, I don't see that happening.

A, the penguins are not going to be able to take on that cap hit and B, I just, I don't think it's, I just don't think it's feasible, even with their salary, even with $15 million in salary kept space, why are you trading for that kind of player when you also have other needs at 4-2? So that really doesn't make any sense to me. Um, you know, again, I don't know, man, but Gino is your best bet in free agency. It's, it's, I really don't get why the penguins, you know, if the reports from Rob Ross and a couple others true, why they are so insistent on this potential three year term.

I just, you know, what, what is a fourth year, you know, what is it really? going to do. Oh, wow, you sting for that year. Who cares? Seriously, who cares? We all know the team is going to flat out stink at that point. You can probably just LTIR him anyway if he's really banged up at that point. And, you know, again, I understand the concerns with the age and the knees in the knees, excuse me, but I'll say it again. I think he's getting multiple. is better than any realistic option that they are looking at on the open market. And honestly, he's probably going to be cheaper too. You know, I joke about the Vinny Trochec six times six thing.

But in my head, I think he could get more than that. Would it really surprise anyone if he gets $6.5 to $7 million per? It's silly season here he ends. There's a lot of stupid money that's thrown out on Free Agent Frenzy Day, which of course is coming up here in less than 48 hours. So I don't think anyone should be surprised if that is indeed the case. So I will continue to die on that hill that should have been done by now. He's your best bet in terms of all the free agent options.

When you look at centers and wingers who can play center, even when you look at trade options with J.T. Miller, because you maybe only get one year out of him at that point. And then you're like, wow, what if he walks next year? And then you're really screwed because you gave up all those assets to get him, however much Vancouver wants in return. You only get one year out of him. And then he potentially walks.

And yes, I know I just said that I've heard through the grapevine that he wants to be in Pittsburgh. So yeah, an extension could happen. But, you know, with this regime, there is no guarantee. So I'll leave you all with that. And also, you know, do you all have confidence that? that Hextall and Burke are going to be the ones to really do well over this next week? I don't.

I don't at all. Sure. They've gotten good value on Brian Rust. Got a good value on Chris and Tang. Casey DeSmith's contract is whatever. Made some decent free agent signings last year. But, you know, Jeff Carter contract, the Jared McCann situation,

all this other stuff adds up. And it's just like, you know, what you have is, maybe an average to a below average general manager who is going to make a lot of people mad in less than 48 hours. You know, when he is announced at games at PBJ Payne's Arena, you are probably going to hear a deafening amount of booze. They are going to be ridiculously loud because he's going to be known for his tenure with the Penguins

as the one who let Hvgeny Malkin slip through his fingertips. That's what he's going to be known by. You know, will he be known by first sounding Chris saying? Sure. No, that's, you know, will he be known for probably having Cindy Krazi, retire penguin? Sure. But the main thing he'll be known for, I don't know if they'll ever win is Stanley Cup. So maybe he'll be known for that. But right now, I think those odds go way down if Malkins are on this team next year.

He will be known for the GM that sent Evgeny Malkin to another team. And I'll leave you all with that. As we get in here into our last segment of the day, I'm going to get to the qualifying not for situations and why I think the Penguins mainly got those right with that. But before I get to that, Betonline is your number one source for all 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. Benadlein is your continuous source for all your sports information, including live betting,

e-sports and scores, and Benadeline.com.combe, dot net, remains the best spot for all their sports scores, podcasts, and news this season. You can handle the website today or use your phone to know more about the transit action that has been online where the game starts. I'm back here on this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. We're going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the shows Twitter at LO underscore Penguins.

So Penguins, they decided to not qualify a lot of players earlier today. I will load up that tweet right here for you all. So we'll start with the ones that they did not qualify. So Jordy, Belarvieve, Danton Hinen, Nicholas Almari, Camley, Will Riley, Alex Diario, Justin Almeida, and Jean-Droz, I think is how you pronounce that last name. Honestly, I'm not really surprised by any of these. And most of these players are basically Asia players

who are going to go on and get two-way contracts with other teams. I know people were upset that Dayton Hinen was not. tender to qualifying offer. And I was at first, and so a couple of people, John Tarbet and Jason, a penguin's ritter, told me that he had RRBrites. And I will admit,

I totally forgot that he did. I did not think that he had any RRB rights at this age in his career. That is my fault. I'll take the L on that. So then when I thought about it, I'm like, okay, he's coming off almost a 20-goal season.

He's going to win that arbitration case by a landslide. You know, Josh Joey of the athletic reporter that I think he was looking at maybe $3 million on a one or two-year deal or however long they were going to try to get him at arbitration. And it's like, yeah, the penguins, they're not going to pay that. You know, Hinen, for as good as he was last year, does anyone really think he's going to score close to 20 again next year? I would say probably not. I would probably only try to pay him

2 to 2.2 million per 3, I think is a bit mushroom. So that said, I know he's going to be a UFA once for agency opens, but I do think there is a chance that the penguins do circle back and they try to resign him because, you know, the two sides, they really weren't close before the qualifying offer deadline was in place. You know, maybe they'll be a lot closer now that he's a UFA and the penguins can kind of, you know, do this on their terms

instead of high-end terms. And then as for Capitan, I know people are very mad about that, but at the end of the day, it's 800K, and they can also use him as trade bait. Who knows if the penguins are even going to sign him to a new deal?

They can easily just dump him off, you know, for either salary or just another deal to get him a fresh start. You know, maybe it's for Yes, Epo Yardie, who I've talked about a lot on this podcast, that, you know, that's a total Ken Holland kind of, move, but, you know, I'm just, I'm not really going to make a big deal at it. It was no brain for the Penguins to do it. I still at this point, I don't think he's going to be on the team next year.

Maybe he will be. I'm, I guess I'm a little concerned at the Penguins front office and the coaching staff feels higher about him than I do. But, you know, right now it's 800K. It was a no brainer, you know, get over it, I think, at this point. As for, again, these other players, you know, Cam Lee, Nicholas Salmari, Jory Baylor, Vee, you know, are all just AHL players. They were not going to crack a spot in the Penguins lineup this year. So maybe they'll bring some of the back on two-way deals. Now some others will probably just walk to other teams.

As for the players, other than captain who they extended a qualifying offer to, Casper Borkwis, who's going overseas, so that doesn't really matter. And then defenseman P.O. Joseph. So he's going to need a new contract. That's going to come in. Pretty cheap, I think. I'm in my opinion. Now, I did want to get to a few mailback questions.

that some of you all did ask me a few days ago if I can find this here on the tweets for the show. So that's going to be the end of the show today. Josh Bank goes in the East. Do you see any of the non-playoff team is rising up to capture a playoff spot in which 22 playout team is in danger of falling out? Great question, Josh. I would say the Islanders have probably the best chance of making the playoffs next year, but also I feel like they have to actually go out and get a score or two. I know they're being linked to J-T Miller.

I think they're being linked in David Perron now. They need more of an offensive punch up front. I know how good defensively they are. I know Barry Trots is gone, but I think Lane Lambert is going to step in and do a good job. Their defense is fine. And Elias Soroken, I think,

is slowly starting to become one of the best goaltenders in hockey. So I would say the outlers for that one and then. In terms of which 22 playoff team is in danger of falling out, I'm not sure if you meant, you know, East, or West, East or West specifically, but I guess we're just going to do the whole thing here. You know,

that's a good question, to be honest with you. Part of me kind of says Dallas, but, you know, Peter DeBoard usually gets good results with his teams at East, at least in your one, so I might leave them in.

Though, if the flames do let Johnny Goodrow walk, I might say the flames, because, you know, you have over 100 points of offense to replace there. Good freaking luck replace there. replacing that. That's all I'm going to say.

I think on that. Brendan asked me, how do you feel about Nealander, Pustin, and Poulin making a regular third-line spot? Honestly, Brendan, I don't see that happening next year. I like Pustin, and I want to see what he has at the initial level, but I don't think he's ready for a third-line role.

Sam Poulan needs to show me a little bit more. In Wilkesbury, in my opinion, Alex Nealander, I think he's mainly an H. I think he's mainly an H-L guy at this point, but, you know, maybe he could show the Penguins something in training camp once that rolls around in September. But I don't think any of them will be pushing for a third-line spot, in my opinion. And Alan Teodor says, which Eastern Conference team will be the most entertaining,

not in this team as fun to watch, but on and off the ice? Oh, that's going to be Philadelphia. A hundred percent, Alan. I mean, John Tortorella, Tony DeAngelo being there. Chuck Fletcher is just, you know, throwing stuff against the wall and hoping it sticks. that is going to be hilarious to watch on and off the ice. And I'm glad you do say the Flyers as well. I 100% agree with you there.

That is going to be probably the funniest soap opera of all time there. Edward Aletius, could you give a quick explanation how the draft works, how many years the team has to sign the guy, what leagues we draft from, and how the rules differ? Yeah, I don't have all the answers myself, but, you know, there's, you know, plenty of leagues that you can draft players, some, you know, all the Russian leagues, the other European leagues, the USHL, for instance, you know, the Canadian Hockey League, you know, all these other, just basically any professional

hockey league out there that has initial ready players, you know, they basically can draft from, you know, as for how many years a team has to sign a guy. I think it's I think it's at least two if I'm not mistaken and then you obviously have them under your control for however long three year entry level contract

four year entry level but usually I think most of them sign to three year entry level deal entry level deals excuse me and then you said how the rules differ players to go to the NHL yeah honestly Edward

most of the players that are drafted in the NHL draft they do not go to the NHL their first year. They play on their junior teams. They go back to college before they turn pro. So, yeah, some of these players, they can sign, honestly whenever they want, especially if they go back to college and play on their college teams. After that, once they want to turn pro, then there comes your entry-level deal.

But, you know, the only players that really usually make their debut, it's, you know, some of the guys in the top five, the top 10, sometimes there's guys below them that make their debut, but other times, you know, they start in the AHL, they start in their junior teams and all this other stuff. So, you know, unless you're like, again, a top three to top five, maybe top ten pick, chances are you're not going to be starting in the NHL your first year.

It's not like the NFL where you're making, like, every rookie is almost like making, every first round pick is expected to make like a massive impact or, you know, the NBA or something like that. It's kind of like baseball where, you know, a lot of those first round picks, they have to be developed in the minors. um and all that so that will do it for this episode of the locked on penguins podcast i know there's

a lot to get to today um but you know i'm i'm not closed off to malkin leaving yet but it's definitely not looking good right now maybe he has a change of heart he'll go like a full NFL player and be like you know well maybe he decided to go back to pittsburgh after wall but right now it's not looking good and again i'm not confident that ron hextall is going to have a better team going in the next year if any Malkin is not on it. That's why I'm going to leave for that. So again, I appreciate all of you listening to this one. I'll be back on Tuesday, Josh Yowie of the Athletic is going to join the show.

You don't want to miss that. We're going to get until all of the Afghani Malkin and stuff, asking them about maybe J.T. Miller, then St. Trocheck, all their free agency plans and, of course, potential trade options. As, you know, I think they do want to dump some salary before the UFA window opens at noon eastern on Wednesday. So look for that. That's going to be dropping probably around 4 or 5 o'clock at p.m.

Eastern tomorrow. So again, thank you all so much for listening. I hope you all have a wonderful rest of your Monday, and I'll talk to you all on Tuesday.