Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins acquire forward Philip Tomasino from Nashville, what this means for the roster

Starting point is 00:00:00 The penguins have made a trade. They have acquired a young Ford from the Nashville Predators, and Hunter and I are going to break down that trade and more on this edition of the Locked On Penguins podcast. 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 edition of the Locked On Penguins podcast.

Starting point is 00:00:31 I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me on all social media platforms at Synonym 4Wet. Joined as always from the road, my co-host, the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can give our show's account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. And of course, we appreciate you making us part of your daily routine. And don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts as well as YouTube. If you're following us on YouTube, don't forget to hit that notification button.

Starting point is 00:01:04 So you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Finally, today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. You can start the season big with a big return on Fandul. New customers can place a $5 bet, and you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win that first $5 bet. Visit Fandul.com to get started. Well, Kyle Dubis has awoken from his slumber and has to have. made a trade with the Nashville Predators acquiring 23-year-old forward Philip Tomasino. He was sent to the Penguins for a fourth round pick, excuse me.

Starting point is 00:01:44 That was the pick the Penguins acquired in the Chad Rueedle trade from last season. So this is not a pick that the Penguins had originally. This is a New York Rangers draft pick. And just right off the top, I got to say, I am perfect. okay with this deal. It's another young forward who has some unrealized potential. He struggled to get into the Nashville Predators lineup this year, spending time in the American hockey league. But he has put up some encouraging stats as a young forward. He had his best season, his rookie season in 2021, 22. Also, I would be remiss to not mention that he was a first round pick

Starting point is 00:02:27 in the 2019 draft going 24th overall to the Nashville Predators. But back to his statistics, played 76 games in the 2021-22 season, scored 11 goals, added 21 assists for 32 points. So there is some offensive output for this player. He, like I said, has not been very much in the Predators lineup this year, playing only 11 games with just one assist in those games. but he has had solid numbers overall at the NHL level. 22, 23, 31 games, 5 goals, 13 assists, 18 points.

Starting point is 00:03:05 And then last season, 41 games, 7 goals, 13 assists for 20 points. So while this kid isn't exactly an elite forward, it does feel like there is some potential there for him to be a solid middle six or bottom six contributor for the Penguins. He's on the final year of his entry level deal. he'll be a restricted free agent at the end of this season, making less than a million dollars. So Hunter, I know that you watched some of Tomasino's tape today and yesterday after the trade. Let us know what you saw.

Starting point is 00:03:39 His tape, I think in one word, Pat, it's fun, especially his rookie season tape. That was him at his absolute best. Yeah, he's regressed a little bit these last few years. But I felt like to me his rookie season was just a taste of what he can do at the NHHA. level. I think his release, especially his wrist shot is awesome. His wrist shot, I think, is the best release that he has when you compare it to, you know, one timer, you know, slap a shot, snap shot, all that stuff. I thought, again, his wrist shot by far is my favorite. He also goes to the net, I feel like quite a bit. You know, his first NHL goal was, it's funny, right behind the

Starting point is 00:04:16 net, banks it off Igor Shisdarkin. There's another goal when I was watching his tape where he takes a pass from Dante Fabro, comes in off the rush, cuts to the middle, fires, one heck of a wrist shot past the goaltender. And it was a thing of beauty. A few others, he's right in the, you know, again, kind of the garbage area to clean up all those loose pucks, you know, five to ten feet out. He loves going to net. That was something I also really saw on his tape as well.

Starting point is 00:04:42 If there's one thing that's maybe, I guess, a small concern, I think his skating could be a little bit better, in my opinion. And if my connection is a little bit unstable, again, I am not my home office for this week. I'm at my parents' house for Thanksgiving this week. So again, I apologize, excuse me, on that. But I do think his skating could improve a little bit. But when I look at this trade, I think it's a win for the Penguins.

Starting point is 00:05:04 I am always down to take shots on younger players that can confuse this team with more youth, more energy, more tenacity, all that. It's kind of similar to the Cody Glass trade. You know, you got Glass also from Nashville. He won't. He played him a bit this year. And while, you know, he's been fine in some games, it's still. totally good to take a chance on him, just like you're doing here with Tomasino.

Starting point is 00:05:28 You're giving up a fourth round pick in 2027. Chances are, Pat, that peck is not really going to amount to anything in the National Hockey League. And that pick probably also won't be in the NHL if he even makes it until, you know, 2030, 2031, something like that. But even this year with Tomasino only has one point, his underlying numbers are pretty encouraging. In 11 games, he's played almost 110 minutes of 5 on 5 ice time.

Starting point is 00:05:52 he's been on the ice for 53% of the shot attempts, also has a 53% expected goal share, and 53% of the scoring chances. All very encouraging numbers coming over to a penguin's team that, let's face it, they need more depth scoring this year. Heck, they need more scoring in general, my good friend. So I am totally good with this move. I assume he's probably going to start on the third line,

Starting point is 00:06:14 if I had to guess, but I've also seen some takes saying that he could potentially play in the top six. What I say to that, honestly, go for it if you want to try him in the top six. takes. They really have nothing to lose at this point this year. They don't. And they are very much right now in experimental mode where you can pretty much throw whatever you want at the wall and see what sticks. You did say that there has been some discussion that he could fit in on the third line. That might be what we're looking at as the penguins did in a corresponding move and down Sam Poolean back to the American Hockey League.

Starting point is 00:06:48 hurts my heart a little bit because I was really starting to like that OPP line the last few games. But again, where this team is right now, it really doesn't make much of a difference. Yeah, that line was nice, but they weren't really producing. They were just having effective shifts. Eventually, those shifts have to turn into production. You can't just hold the zone for a few minutes and not produce. So at the very least, we can maybe get a look at him on a third line roll. One thing I wanted to build upon that you brought up, and I noticed the same thing watching his tape, is that the skating and the speed do need a lot of work, and this kind of fits into a lot of the players that Kyle, young players, I should say that Kyle Dubus has acquired over

Starting point is 00:07:34 the past few months. And I don't want to say that as a negative so much for Kyle Dubus. Now, it would be nice to get some more sure things, but those are much harder to pry out of other organizations because they are in fact sure things, and the cost is going to be a lot higher, which is one that as we talked about yesterday, the penguins really aren't going to be trying to acquire just because of what their plan is right now

Starting point is 00:08:05 to get draft capital and younger players. But at the same time, he's a 23-year-old forward. He's got a very solid pedigree with what, what he did, excuse me, in juniors and in the American Hockey League. So you figure it 23 years old with the way this game gets developed now, the skating is going to come. It's the same thing with a player like Rutger Magrorty at 20 years old.

Starting point is 00:08:31 You are eventually going to have to make that leap to the NHL. And with that comes learning the speed of the game, working on your ability to skate and your ability to play the game, at the pace that it's played in the NHL. And when he's only 23, he's still very much an unfinished product. Right. He very much is the biggest trick for me with this player. Mike Sullivan just needs to play him. You know, we all want this team to have more youth in the lineup.

Starting point is 00:09:02 You want them to play their kids and all that. It's totally valid. And it's the same thing with this. You need to play this kid to see what you have. You don't want to be scratching in to see what you have and maybe a couple other veterans who I feel like you know what you have at this juncture. I am, you have to play him at least to start on the third line. And if you want to maybe get him top six minutes, I think that could work just because, again,

Starting point is 00:09:24 you really have nothing to lose. But the biggest thing for me is with how this head coach is going right now, you have to play him to see what you have. He at least was doing that with Kodontas before he got hurt. He's been out of bit with Puyarvi this season. Houston and, you know, here and there. I still maybe want to see a little bit more. but you need to do with Tomasino what you were doing with Cody Glass.

Starting point is 00:09:45 Put him in the lineup on night one, the first game you have him, and just kind of feed him to the wolves a little bit, see what he can do in your system. There's no point in scratching him, honestly, at all this season to be in this. This part of the year, or I can't even really say this part of the year because we're really only at the quarter mark of the season. But with where the penguins sit right now, I absolutely agree with you in that this is a sense where,

Starting point is 00:10:09 or a time where you just have. have to give all of these players, whether they're a little bit on the young side or even if they're guys who you're trying to showcase to trade at the deadline, you just have to let them play. And I know that's going to suck. With the exception of Matt Grizzlik, who we have beaten that horse to death, it stinks that some of these players are very much not clearing what is already a low bar. But if your goal is to figure out who you want to hold on to, who you want to move and who you're going to just move on from at the end of the year, you just have to let them play. And whether they figure it out and start producing and that can give you a better return

Starting point is 00:10:51 come the trade deadline, or it just tells you, all right, this experiment did not work. We'll let them go at the end of the season. It's pretty much just what you have to do at this point. But that is going to do it for the first segment. When we return, we're going to talk a little bit more about Tomasino and the rest of this lineup and where he may fit. as well as a couple of rumors that are circulating around the Pittsburgh penguins and maybe some moves that could be coming potentially in the future.

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Starting point is 00:12:51 playing your first $5 lineup. Prize picks run your game. All right, welcome back to the Tuesday edition. It's another road game for the one and only Hunter Hodes as he joins me from his parents' house for Thanksgiving. And we hope you're all having a great Thanksgiving week. we are in the void at the end of time, for those of you who are Marvel fans, where nothing really matters. We're just sitting in the Citadel at the end of time and waiting for the new year to begin.

Starting point is 00:13:21 But let's get back to the hockey talk here, Hunter. And we've kind of talked about Tomasino where he could fit, where this might work out for him now that he is a Pittsburgh penguin. But there's one thing that I want to bring up that has been kind of reported far and wide. It originated with Columbus Blue Jackets beat reporter for the athletic Aaron Portsline. He noted that Kyle Dubus, well, he wasn't in Columbus to scout the blue jackets. He was in Cleveland to scout the Cleveland Monsters, the AHL affiliate of the Blue Jackets. And he is believed to have been there to watch defenseman David Yurecheck, who has been sent down to the HL and by all reports, including from Portsline. They might be looking to deal him.

Starting point is 00:14:09 And I kind of go back and forth on this one because a lot of potential there for David Jurecheck, 20-year-old right-handed defenseman. We know this from being hockey fans and observers. Right-handed defenseman, if you're a little bit, if you're a six-foot something and you have a right-handed shot on defense, GMs will pay out the nose for that. So I go back and forth on this because here's the deal. I think David Yurechek has all the potential. in the world. 20-year-old defenseman, he has had a lot of strong tape, but like other 20-year-old

Starting point is 00:14:44 defensemen, still working on finding consistency. We know that is what happens with young defensemen. It takes them a while to really figure it out and become a consistent NHLer. But then I look at the penguin's current blue line as well as what they have in the pipeline, and I wonder, is there room for him? That's what I'm wondering as well, because, you know, right now, Chris is saying he's not coming out of the lineup. Eric Carlson, unless he gets traded in another deal during the deadline or after the season to Ottawa or something like that, though, again, I think that's a move that happens in the summer, if it even does it all.

Starting point is 00:15:19 He's still on the team right now, also on the right side. And then also on the right side, you're kind of rotating a little bit. Usually when healthy, it's Jackson Ivaney, but he's kind of hit a little bit of a sophomore slump, I think, for the Penguins this year. So right now, there's not too much room. But if you were to, for example, I'm just spitballing out here, you know, get Eurocheck, maybe send St. Ivanie in a hypothetical deal to Columbus. Okay, then there's room right there for your check to play.

Starting point is 00:15:47 You started off with third paring minutes. Boom, that's big. My biggest thing also with this trade is, are you going to have what the Blue Jackets want? And there's going to be a divisional tax. The Blue Jackets see the Penguins as both A, their bigger brother and B, their biggest rival. They're not just going to give him to the penguins for pennies on the dollar. This is one of the top defensive prospects on the market, at least right now. He's only played a little over 50 games.

Starting point is 00:16:16 His underlying numbers are a bit below 50% for, you know, in terms of shot of 10 scoring chances, high danger chances, and all that. But this is still a player that he hasn't even played 60 NHL games. The jury is still very much out on this player. And if you put him in a better environment, that's maybe not Columbus, I think he'll be able to thrive. My biggest thing is, though, A, like you said, is there room for him? Is this also fail a need for the penguins?

Starting point is 00:16:44 And B, I'm just not sure the penguins have what the blue jackets want in terms of, you know, younger pieces. Do you maybe trade one of your goaltending prospects? I don't think the penguins would do that at all, nor should they, in my opinion. But do you trade one of the other prospects? I don't think the penguins are in a position to do that right now either. So I think I see a team maybe like the Flyers. They've been reported as one of the favorites. They have, I think, what Columbus is looking for.

Starting point is 00:17:07 So while it would be fun for the penguins to get Eurocheck, and especially if you can somehow, some way, get them for a seal, that's very unlikely, though. I just don't think it's going to happen because the blue jackets are going to want quite a bit in return that I just don't think the penguins will be able to match some of these other teams. Yeah, I agree with that sentiment, and I especially agree with the divisional tax.

Starting point is 00:17:30 I mean, we saw that, especially during the, the Penguin Stanley Cup run in 2017, they had to fence a trade through the Tampa Bay Lightning from the Flyers in order to, I'm sorry, the name is absolutely escaping me. That was it, March, yeah,

Starting point is 00:17:47 but that was, you know, it was like, okay, we're going to make a trade with the Flyers, but we're going to bring in Tampa Bay just because we don't want to make a trade with a divisional rival, not just the divisional rival,

Starting point is 00:17:59 a bitter rival. Right. But I also think about it this way. that this could be an opening for the penguins to make this deal because Don Waddell, one, brand new to the Columbus Blue Jackets organization. They get him in the off season to take over for their front office. He's a very savvy operator. He doesn't really take the old school into account despite being an old school guy.

Starting point is 00:18:27 He wants to do what's best for his organization, even if it means trading with a divisional rival. And then you also add in the fact that everyone, including us, has said this about the blue jackets. There is a lot in their system. Waddell doesn't have a really daunting task ahead of him. His biggest challenge right now isn't going to be rebuilding the pipeline or starting this from scratch because he goes into a system that has drafted fairly well over the past couple of seasons. and they have a lot of young talent coming on the way. His challenge is making sure that that talent develops.

Starting point is 00:19:09 Because that has been the Blue Jackets Achilles' heel for pretty much all of their existence is they do fairly well in the first two rounds of the draft. They get players who are essentially sure things and they can come up and become NHL players. It's everywhere else that they really struggle to graduate players from juniors in the minor leagues to becoming successful NHL players. So they have a lot of those players right now. And I don't think that they're going to be quite asking for a King's ransom for

Starting point is 00:19:44 Eurocheck because they've already got plenty in their system. And they're not going to want, say, a ready made NHL player because that's really just not where they are right now. They're not looking for guys who can help in the immediate. it, but they're also not going to say, hey, we need your biggest blue chip prospect. We just need whether it be draft capital or guys who might be projects. So I think that could work in the penguins favor, but at the same time, I still come down in the same place you are where the penguins really don't have as much as what the blue jackets

Starting point is 00:20:21 might want. And then you add in it, it's a divisional rival. And it might just be a Kyle Dubis doing his due. diligence and seeing if, hey, maybe I can pry this guy out, but it would behoove me to at least check it out. Yeah, you need to at least check it out, see what the asking price is. I'm kind of like yes and no with your last point. I don't think it's just going to be draft picks to get your check out of Columbus. I think you're going to have to include a decently good prospect in there. If not that, then maybe an NHL player coming back. I agree with you. It won't be a King's Ransom,

Starting point is 00:20:55 but I think the asking price, it's not just going to be dropping. I think it's going to be more than that. I think it's going to be more than the penguins would want to offer, considering where they are as a team right now. Yeah, for sure. One last quick thing I wanted to add on the Tomasino trade. One, I said it in the first segment, only making $825,000 last year of his deal.

Starting point is 00:21:19 He'll be a restricted free agent at the end of the season. But this kind of builds upon what you and I spoke about yesterday when we had our conversation about the Penguins state of the organization right now. This is, I want to warn our listeners that you're going to see a lot more of this over the next year or so. It's going to be trades for young players like this who, while they're not going to be, we're not going to get a bunch more Rutger-McGrorty style trades where you get a very top prospect who is somebody that everybody wants to make the leap, but you're going to get a lot more Tomasinos, a lot more Cody Glasses, guys who are in their early 20s,

Starting point is 00:22:04 might not have fit in with an organization they were drafted in and or traded to later on. So this trend, should it continue, really tells us where this Penguins team is. They're trying to get younger guys out of teams that are either competitive or contenders, but couldn't crack the lineup, but have a, good enough amount of potential to possibly be part of this organization for the next four to five years. Right. And also at the same time, say Thomasino doesn't work out for this year, Pat, okay, oh, hum,

Starting point is 00:22:37 you move on at the end of the season, even though he's a rejected free agent at the end of the year. No harm, no foul, because again, you only gave up a 2027 fourth round pick. Now, if he does pan out, boom, you have a future piece for the next, hopefully several seasons that you can put in your bottom six, excuse me, maybe put in your top. six at times, but I'm really excited for this move. I am as well. I think it's very savvy. It's a good chance to, it's a good chance to take for Kyle Dubus because, again,

Starting point is 00:23:07 if it works out, you've got a solid young player on your hands. One thing I didn't add about him real quick is that he is a true utility forward. He can play center and both wings. So you really have, you have a guy who if he works out, you don't have to pigeonhole him. him into one position. He doesn't have to exclusively play center, doesn't exclusively have to play left or right wing. So that could be good for his value moving forward. But that is going to do it for the second segment. When we return, Joshua, he had a solid little sit down with Penguins defenseman Chris LaTang. And he opened up a little bit about this season so far in the struggles that

Starting point is 00:23:48 the penguins have had. We're going to talk about that and give our thoughts when we come back. But before we do that we got to tell you about our last sponsor and that is Fandul. Get ready to tackle the NFL action with Fandle, America's number one sportsbook, because right now new customers can bet $5 and get 150 in bonus bets if you win. The Fandul Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL all in one place. So when you get a hunch in the middle of the game, you can check out the latest stats, view live play by play, and so much more on the same page where you place your bets. Just visit Fandul.com. to join today, you'll get started with $150 in bonus bets if you win your first $5 bet.

Starting point is 00:24:30 That's fandul.com. Never waste a hunch and make every moment more with Fandle, an official sportsbook partner of the NFL. Welcome back to the Tuesday edition of Locked on Penguins. We are going to close out this show. I'm Patrick Damp. That's Hunter Hodes. And our good pal Josh Yohe, he spoke with Chris LaTang after press. practice yesterday. And while it wasn't quite groundbreaking, Chris LaTang didn't sit there and dump

Starting point is 00:25:02 on his teammates or management or anything, he did talk about how this really is uncharted territory for the big three, because they have not really ever been part of a bad team. You can maybe count Sidney Crosby's rookie year with the Penguins, but we kind of all expected that given where the was in that moment. They were coming out of a rebuild off of a lockout, and they just were not a good organization quite yet. But this is new territory for the big three. They have not been on a team that has missed the playoffs in consecutive years.

Starting point is 00:25:40 They have not been on a team that has slid this much in one season. And there is one kind of quote that it's so cliched, but it kind of speaks to the leadership. I think you get out of these three as well as the culture that they have built with the Pittsburgh Penguins and it's this. And it's a very simple quote. It's one sentence, but I appreciate it from Chris LaTang. We have to go back to work. The last thing we can do is feel sorry for ourselves. Now, that made me laugh just because one, this is the culture these guys have built that there is no sitting around feeling sorry for yourself in moments like this. You've got to put your your shoulder to the wheel and push. But there's a lot of players on this

Starting point is 00:26:32 team hunter who might not have heard that message. I agree. And I know I said this during our show on Monday that it just feels like to me that some players are maybe just here to kind of collect a paycheck and that's really it. That has never been the case with 71, 87, 58. And It never will be. They are the foundation of this Penguins era. They care more than anyone on this team. I would throw Brian Rust in there as well, especially through this last almost decade at this point. I would throw 17 right up there as well. I know all four of them care so much and they play their asses off every single night.

Starting point is 00:27:13 And, you know, he even also said, you know, we're trying to support each other. It's tough because game in and game out. It's been the same thing, the same mistakes. and then it's the third period and you're down 5-1, that will be tough for anyone to deal with. And while I appreciate Latang for that quote, again, it's on everyone to fix these same mistakes. If you're making the same mistakes,

Starting point is 00:27:31 do something to fix it. I understand that this season is not going how any of them envisioned. I won't even think most people in the fan base envisioned it getting this bad. But again, it's on the players and it's on the coaches to fix these quote-unquote same mistakes and start playing at least better. or hockey. As I also said on Monday, there are other bad teams in this league that play with assemblance of structure. The Penguins have rarely done that this season. I can maybe recall

Starting point is 00:27:59 two to three, maybe four games where they've done that. Obviously, one of them is the Washington game where they played their finest third period of the season. The game they won against the Red Wings, I felt like, was also up there as well. And I would throw, I think, the Ducks game in there at home too. So definitely at least three that they played with assemblance of structure. But all these other games they really have it and you know to end that story there and this was a great story from josh letang even said just one sentence pat one we have to find a way chris if you're able to somehow find a way with this team to get them back into this mix i mean that would be something it's extremely and i mean extremely unlikely with the way they're playing

Starting point is 00:28:39 right now and with the way i think a lot of this team has maybe tuned out the coaching staff but hey i at least appreciate the quote and i thought this was a very very good story I just also hope that Latang plays a bit better. I'm never going to be one of those people that says, ah, they should have moved on for him a couple of years ago and all that stuff. But I mean, just right now, he's been playing poorly this year, and I want to see it turn around because he's been one of my favorite players of this era.

Starting point is 00:29:05 He's been so important to this era of Penguins hockey. He's been one of the best defense in the league for most of those years. I just want to see his play turnaround. But again, really appreciated this story from Josh. Oh, it was great from Josh. gosh, he knocked this one out of the park like he always does. And you beat me to a point I was going to make. And we won't really know until we get a full season under our belt here, a full 82.

Starting point is 00:29:30 But, you know, I appreciate Chris LaTang saying we got to find a way and we got to be the guys who write the ship. But some of this does fall on Chris LaTang because this has been a very poor start to the season for him. and we're going to find out here in the next couple of weeks if it's just an aberration and he has a slow start and he figures it out. Or if this isn't the Chris La Tang that we have come to know and love anymore, we're going to find out if the skills are now diminished and he's not the player he once was or if it's just a slow start. So we will see on that. But that is going to do it for this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Hunter and I will be back tomorrow to get you set. for the Thanksgiving Eve game at PPG Paints Arena when the Penguins take on the Vancouver Canucks.

Starting point is 00:30:23 But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I'm Patrick Dam. Thank you, as always, for tuning in. And we will be back in your podcast feeds on Wednesday.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins acquire forward Philip Tomasino from Nashville, what this means for the roster

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