Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins captain Sidney Crosby skates, but doesn't practice

Episode Date: February 6, 2025

The Pittsburgh Penguins got some...sort of good news on Thursday as captain Sidney Crosby skated on his own, but did not practice. Hunter and Patrick discuss what's going on with the captain after he ...was hurt against the Devils. Will he play this weekend? Will he play during the Four Nations Faceoff? After that, they discuss how Ville Koivunen was named the AHL Rookie of the Month and how close he could be to earning the call. They then dive a bit more into WBS since the Baby Pens have a great thing going before finishing the show with some news about Penguins President of Business Operations, Kevin Acklin. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelSuper Bowl 59 is here, And there’s no better way to make every play more exciting than with FanDuel Sportsbook. New customers can bet just FIVE DOLLARS, and if you win, you’ll score TWO HUNDRED BUCKS in Bonus Bets. Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started. Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of Super Bowl Fifty-Nine. 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
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Starting point is 00:00:00 Penguins Captain Cindy Crosby sort of returns to practice on Thursday, and Pat and I are going to dive into that, plus a lot more on today's episode 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 episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am one of your host, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, join by my host, Patrick. Damp, you can follow him on all social media platforms at Sondon and Ru-Wet.
Starting point is 00:00:39 And you can follow the shows, Twitter at L.O. UnderSore 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 finally, today's episode is brought to you by Game Time, down the GameTime app, grant account, and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. So Pat, Cindy Crosby kind of returned to practice on Thursday. He was out there with the team for the first 5-10, minutes was kind of working on some deflections, shooting the puck ever so slightly, but then decided
Starting point is 00:01:10 to go to a different rank, excuse me, at the UPMC's Lemieux Complex and Cranberry. And he's been kind of working on his overall game, you know, doing a lot of skating, doing a lot of passing, doing a little bit of shooting. But I think he's definitely trying to work through this injury that he has, as Mike Sullivan confirmed after we posted our episode on Wednesday that he's dealing with an upper body injury. He did not commit to Sid missing any of these two games this weekend. So I still think right now that's very much up in the air. But I won't be surprised if he does miss both of those games, just because we all know Sid really wants to play at the Four Nations. He wants to represent Team Canada once
Starting point is 00:01:48 again. And yes, again, people, we know this is a giant advertisement for the Olympics, but we also know that Sidney Crosby takes being the captain of Team Canada very seriously. And if he can be out there, rest assured people he is going to be out there so i would not be surprised if he did miss both these games this weekend to try and be a bit healthy for that tournament but still the penguins got a little bit of good news but still not where you fully want it he didn't take a full practice with the penguins on thursday we'll have to see if he takes the morning skate on friday before we see if he's able to play in that game or the game on saturday because the penguins play the rangers and the flyers this weekend and speaking of crosbie also not practicing you
Starting point is 00:02:28 saw some very interesting lines today at practice. Anthony Bavillier with Brian Russ, centered by Ricard Raquel. So I have to think Raquel is kind of a placeholder there because we've never seen Rickel play center on this team. That's for sure. I think they're going to have to call up someone from Wilkesbury to play center if if Crosby can't go this weekend. Then you have Michael Bunting with Cody Glass and Dayton Heinen, Matt Nietto with Kevin
Starting point is 00:02:52 Hayes and Philip Tomasino, Bocauimama with Blake Lazot and Nolichari. defensively, kind of the same pairings, P.O. Joseph, Chris Lettang, Matt Grizzlick, Eric Carlson, Ryan Graves, and Vincent Day or Ney. But yeah, the big one, Ricardo Raquel is the placeholder today because of Genni Malkin while he is skating, he is not ready to come back just yet. Also would not be surprised if he misses the two games this weekend before the break, before being ready to come back after the break. I actually think that's the more likely scenario, if you're asking me just because he hasn't taken a full practice with the team yet. But again, still don't think Raquel is going to be the team's top line center when they play this weekend.
Starting point is 00:03:28 But Pat, your thoughts on this Indy Crosby situation and the lines that we saw today. Let's not read too much into the forward lines at practice today. And you'll have to excuse me, dear listeners, a lot of thunderstorms last night in Pittsburgh. And my new dog has been quite restless today. So I'm a little bit tired. But so I might be a little punchy on this episode. So be prepared. But yeah, I mean, it's good news that even if he wasn't,
Starting point is 00:03:56 taking a full practice today that Sidney Crosby was on the ice because it tells us that the severity of whatever upper body injury he's dealing with isn't catastrophic. He's not so banged up that he's got to get treatment and miss time. I'm with you in the sense that it wouldn't shock me if he misses this weekend's games just to prepare for the Four Nations face off. And I know a lot of people will rule their eyes at that because he is the captain of the penguins, but he is very, very dedicated to international hockey. You can tell over the past few years that it absolutely killed him that the NHL wasn't participating in the Olympics because he is the ultimate competitor and the chance to put the maple leaf on his chest and
Starting point is 00:04:45 where the red and white is something that motivates him deeply. So I think he's aware that this penguin's season is headed nowhere fast and a chance to play some meaningful hockey next week with team Canada is driving him. As for the rest of the team, I mean, I'm very interested to see what happens. Sullivan made some comments yesterday that stood out to me where he basically said with these injuries to guys like Malkin and Crosby, it's going to provide an opportunity for a lot of players. And he said that he's going to try to put together the best lineup that gives them a chance to win, which is something that a coach has to say, but he's right in the sense that this will give a lot of guys an opportunity for whether it's a chance to showcase themselves
Starting point is 00:05:36 to be flipped to a contender before the deadline or at the deadline, or for some of these guys to show that they can be part of the long-term solution in Pittsburgh and they're worth holding on to. So very curious to see what happens with this team over the weekend, because regardless, of where this season is headed. Anytime you play the New York Rangers or the Philadelphia Flyers, it means something in Pittsburgh. 100%. And one of the players that I think you were kind of hinting at that could potentially get more opportunities online for the Penguins
Starting point is 00:06:08 or potentially could get glipped at some point. I still really am curious about Cody Glass. The Penguins are giving him a lot of opportunities. As of late, you saw him get quite a bit of ice time and overtime against the Devils. You saw him get the shootout attempt against the Devils as well, overfilled Thomasino, which I made my thoughts about that pretty clear during the Wednesday episode of the show, it's pretty clear that they want to see more from this kid. I understand he's very young, but I still think they want to see what he can do in more high
Starting point is 00:06:37 leverage situations. And with the Lions today, they have him next to Michael Bunting, who has been one of the Penguins best players this year in Dayton Heinen, who is usually at least a decent debt player. He's not on the top line with Bovill and Ryan Russ and Ricardo Raquel. Again, Raquel is a placeholder. But the fact that they're putting Cody Glass in that spot and not Kevin Hayes, even though I think Hayes has been playing a bit better as of late and had a great goal against the Devils, I think kind of tells me something that either A,
Starting point is 00:07:03 they're trying to see potentially what his value could be at the deadline if they want to flip him, or do they want to see if it's someone that's worth holding on to potentially after this season and the next season or even the season after that. So that's something that really came to my mind when I looked at those lines. I've liked his game a lot over the past couple of weeks. I don't want to get carried away here and say that he's suddenly an impact topped forward on this team. But I really liked his game against New Jersey. He was very noticeable.
Starting point is 00:07:31 He was very involved in the offensive zone. Had a couple of chances, whether they were serious chances or not, we can debate that. But he showed that he is at the very least right now worth getting a longer look in an elevated role to really find out what you have in him. and it fits that exact model of what the penguins are looking for at this juncture. He's a younger player with some upside. He hasn't really reached the potential he was supposed to have with where he was drafted. And now I think between the injuries and just where this team is in the standings, this is the time to see what you have in players like Cody Glass,
Starting point is 00:08:14 in players like Philip Tomasino, and some of the guys who will talk about in the second segment who are still in the AHL, this is an opportunity and it'll definitely be an opportunity after the trade deadline, assuming they make a couple of moves, which we think they will, to find out what you have in some of these guys. Are they worth giving longer looks at the NHL level? Are they going to be long-term NHL contributors who can make a difference on the roster? And to bring it back to the original point,
Starting point is 00:08:45 like I said, really liked Glass's game against the Devils. And I think he's been trending upward for the past couple of weeks. So now you give him that opportunity with maybe both Sid and Gino out of the lineup to really showcase what he can do in a top six role. Same thing with Tomasino. I know right now during the line rushes today, he was on the third line. But if you want to maybe put him up on that second line to replace it and Hinen at times, I'd be all for that.
Starting point is 00:09:13 Get to see more out of Tomasino because I, also really liked his game for a lot of this season since he was acquired from Nashville, had that really nice goal against the Predators last weekend. I want to see more out of him too and see could he be an answer, Pat, both for the short term and potentially the long term for the penguins. But that would do it for this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, some pretty awesome news regarding Billy Coivinen that came out this week. We're going to touch on that in the second segment. But before we get to that, we got to tell you all about our first sponsor, and that is game time.
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Starting point is 00:11:06 Scrant Penguins being named the AHL Rookie of the Month for January. Nine goals, 14 points, two hat tricks for Coyvin in this past month, very much getting close to a potential call-up towards the end of the season here. Heck, I think he's probably done enough to deserve a call-up, but with where the team is right now, they just want him to get more meaningful games in as Wilkesbury tries to clinch their spot in the playoffs. And Wilkesbury is going to get in the HL playoffs here, but they're just trying to manage this properly because as Caldibas kind of alluded to last week when he got a question about it from the media after making the Marcus Pedersen deal.
Starting point is 00:11:43 He likes the chemistry that a lot of these players have in Wilkesbury, and he doesn't want to break that up. So I definitely get it to that degree. But I am hopeful that at least for a few games down the stretch here of the season, we do get to see Co-evenant at the NHL level, because he has played awesome in his first full season, North America. 15 goals, 36 points, and 39 games. Again, I continue to be really fascinated about this player,
Starting point is 00:12:08 because if he can make an impact at the NHL level, that's going to make the Jake Gensel trade look even better for the Penguins. Again, congratulations to Billy Covenant, well-deserved honor after how hot he was in January. Absolutely. And when I say what I'm about to say, I don't want it to sound like I'm poo-pooing him being named rookie of the month. You said the stats right there.
Starting point is 00:12:33 It's absolutely deserved. That's an incredible performance. But I think one of the things, that is keeping Coyvenin in the HL right now is he is an absolute boom or bust player in the HL right now. When he's on, he's absolutely on. But in this month, he basically,
Starting point is 00:12:52 he played 12 games this month of January, this past month of January. Six of those games, he was held without a point. And then in the other six, he comes out and does exactly what he got named rookie of the month for with the nine goals and 14 points and two hat tricks. So I look at it two different ways when it comes to his potential call up to the NHL.
Starting point is 00:13:17 There's the aspect of they want him very, and I'm not comparing the two players, very similarly to Rutger McRourty, they want him to play meaningful minutes with the baby penguins. They want him in the top six. They want him on the top power play. They want him getting the lion's share of the minutes. is one of the big forwards on the baby penguins.
Starting point is 00:13:39 And even with where the NHL penguins are right now, he still won't get those kind of minutes in Pittsburgh. There's just too much of a logjam and too many legitimate stars in front of him at the NHL level that he'd be playing in a third line, maybe even fourth line role. And if you want him to continue to develop as they want him to, you need him to play more significant minutes and more significant in time to work on his game.
Starting point is 00:14:08 The other way I look at this is they want, and I have been saying this since the summer, they want the games in Wilkes Bear to matter. They want this team to be competitive. They want to build an organization where when you're in the American Hockey League or even the ECHL, you're not playing just to get to that next level. You're not focusing on, you're obviously focusing on the individual game because the goal is to get to the big club. But when you're there, you're playing for a team that has an expectation of winning.
Starting point is 00:14:42 And if they suddenly, right now, I think after the trade deadline, we will see call-ups. We will see some of these guys get their shot. But for the most part, when you play for these teams right now, you're not there just to work on your individual game. You're there with an expectation to win. That way, you set up a culture and an organization of when you're here, you're dedicated to winning. It's not just getting to the NHL level.
Starting point is 00:15:07 So I think with him, a call-up is probably inevitable come post-trade deadline, depending upon who they move. But for now, I want to make sure people understand players like him not getting a call-up isn't stubbornness. It isn't that they're undeserving of it. It's that they want these guys to continue to build towards being impact players in high-leverage situations, and they can really only do that right now at the American Hockey League level. Right.
Starting point is 00:15:38 And you look at the standings right now for Wilkesbury. They're 24 and 11 and 4 this year, fourth in their division behind Charlotte, just behind them, by the way, Providence and the right behind Hershey. I mean, Hershey is one of the best teams in the league once again. But you also look, they have a lot of games in hand on these teams. You have three games in hand on Charlotte, four on Providence and six on Hershey. If they're able to win some of those games in hand, they can potentially, you know, challenge for first. that division like Wilkesbury during it this year to try and win the Calder Cup like that's what
Starting point is 00:16:07 Kyle Dubus and Jason's pets have wanted to build down there that's one of the reasons I think why they're wanting to really restock this pool is to have as you said have these players playing competitive games have them potentially play for a championship down there and then you know once they get that experience with playing in some of those high leverage high competitive games they can bring that experience up to the NHL level because their development will be have been better off for it as to just been on a bad team. That's just not very good. So I do think that is part of it. And, you know, the same thing for Ponamara. You know, he's playing also really well down in Wilkesbury this year.
Starting point is 00:16:42 I can see him getting a call up after the deadline, of course. And then Rucker McGority, again, I know people are going to look at the box scores and just the total points and be like, oh, he's not playing that well. Trust me, people. He is. He has been very good these last several weeks to the point where I do think he could get a call up towards the end of the season. And if he doesn't, I don't think that's a bad thing either. It's, again, going to take some time to find out how much they have in this player. But at the very least, he will be challenging for a roster spot once again next season. And I think right now that's more important.
Starting point is 00:17:16 Well, here's another thing to keep in mind about a lot of these players. You run down some of Wokes Bears roster right now. You have obviously the two of the guys we've talked about, Billy Coivinin, Vasily Ponomerov, add in Avery Hayes, add in Rucker McGrory, add in Tristan Brose, add in Valerie Pustin to an extent, add in a handful of others. These are guys that they want to eventually become full-time NHL contributors for the Pittsburgh Penguins. And part of doing that is developing chemistry with one another. Because if you remember, if we go all the way back, because guess what, ladies and gentlemen,
Starting point is 00:17:53 we're almost 10 years away from the 2016 Stanley Cup. But if you remember when some of those younger guys came up, your Connor Sherrys, Brian Russ, Tom Coon Huckle, Scott Wilson, guys like that when they came up, they spent a lot of time together in Wilkes-Barre Scranton. They weren't just guys who they plucked off the street. They played for a cup of coffee in the HL together and then all of a sudden we're in the NHL.
Starting point is 00:18:20 These guys knew one another. They went through it together to state it as both a cliche and the literal obvious thing that you do in the American Hockey League, they rode the bus together. So you don't want to disrupt the chemistry these guys are building because Wilkes-Bair has been playing really good hockey over the past couple of months. And these guys are the main contributors of it. So you keep them together at the American Hockey League level.
Starting point is 00:18:48 They play well together. They win together. They experience being professional hockey players together. when they come up to the NHL, they're going to lean on that experience and lean on each other and it's going to help them become better pros. So again, I know we as a penguin's specific podcast and as Penguins fans, we want our treats and we want them now, but they're going to taste so much sweeter if these guys develop correctly, come up together and then become difference makers rather than
Starting point is 00:19:23 you look at everything that Coyvenin is done in the past month and go, well, this is it. He's got to come up to the NHL. Got to have a little bit of patience for where we're headed with this team. It's not going to happen overnight. It might not even happen into next year. It might be two, three years away. But these guys are on a good developmental track right now on both the individual level and the collective. So they keep going down this road together.
Starting point is 00:19:50 they will become, at the very least, serviceable NHL contributors, mix that with a bunch more draft picks coming along the way, a bunch of cap space coming along the way. Suddenly, you've got some building blocks in place to get this team right back to where they want to be. Same thing with Owen Pickering. I mean, you saw he was relying on his experience playing in some high-leverage game this year for Wilkesbury
Starting point is 00:20:14 when he came up to the Penguins, and he was totally fine. Like, honestly, he was good for the Penguins. He looked NHL ready. I understand that some were disappointed that he got sent down, but I do think it's going to be better off for him going forward because he'll be able to fine-tune a little bit parts of his game that maybe he wanted to work on.
Starting point is 00:20:32 And then once he gets the big call, he's going to be totally fine. Because again, I see a lot of Paul Martin in him, and I think he's going to be a very solid defenseman in the NHL once he's here full-time. Again, people, I think he's fully ready. I don't think he has anything left to learn down there, but I understand why they did what they did,
Starting point is 00:20:49 considering their injury situation and all that. But I expect Pickering to be up fairly soon once again with the Penguins. And then also for next season, Harrison Brunick is coming as well. He was this close to making the team out of camp to potentially getting the nine-game tryout. Would not be surprised that he potentially makes this team next year, especially with how good he was during camp and the preseason this past year. So they definitely have some pretty solid building blocks, not just at Ford, but especially on the back end with Pickering in Harrison Brunick.
Starting point is 00:21:19 But that will do it for the second segment coming up in the second segment. Kevin Eklund resigned from the Pittsburgh Penguins this week. Pat and I are going to dive into what that means going forward for this team 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. Join my co-host, Patrick Dam and Pat. I know you want to tell everyone an update on Sydney Crosby because it looks like Mike
Starting point is 00:21:41 Sullivan just spoke to the media as we're finishing up today's show. Yeah, shout out Mike Sullivan talking as we're recording. so we're not a day behind on information. But however, it's not that big of an update. This is from my old high school newspaper classmate who covers the Pittsburgh Penguins West Crosby. He says Sullivan said Crosby continues to be evaluated, noted that Crosby skated, which he said was pre-planned,
Starting point is 00:22:07 said he'd anticipate having more information regarding Crosby on Friday. So at the very least, again, it gets back into what I said in the first segment. it appears that this injury is not overly serious and he's making his way back. But again, it would not shock me if he sits out this weekend to get ready for the Four Nations face off. But again, him skating today, him doing things like passing and shooting kind of tells me maybe this injury is something he can work through. And if he feels good on Friday and maybe even Saturday he could go.
Starting point is 00:22:43 But at the end of the day, I stick by saying would not shock me if he missed. this weekend's games to get ready for four nations. Yeah, I said that off the top of the show, would not be surprised if he sat both these out, just so he can get fully healthy for next week. But we'll have to see what Mike Sullivan says on Friday when he gives a status update for the game that night and for the game on Saturday as well.
Starting point is 00:23:05 But getting to the news for the final segment, according to Rob Rossi, he confirmed that Penguin's business president, Kevin Acklin, has resigned from his job. Remember, FSG, they're looking for another kind of minority owner, so to speak. They're looking to sell like a minority stake in the team while keeping the controlling interest.
Starting point is 00:23:23 So I think it has potentially something to do with that, Pat. But still, pretty big loss for the Penguins. You know, he was one of the biggest reasons why, in my opinion, the Penguins kind of mended fences with Yarmier-Jager. He was very big into that side with that situation and just did a really solid job in his role as Penguins Business Operations president. So, Pat, your thoughts on this move. Yeah, there's no two ways about this.
Starting point is 00:23:52 This is kind of a big loss for the Penguins business side because Kevin Acklin, native Pittsburgher, I actually found out when I moved to the house I live in now that I live in the same neighborhood as him, which is kind of crazy. I didn't expect him to live within the city limits. That's a little wild to me. But either way, like you said, if nothing else, his legacy is helping mend fences with Yarmir Yager and getting him back into the fold, getting his number retired, having him be more visible to Penguins fans and the Penguins organization. And he had a very, I know that I
Starting point is 00:24:29 know it'll sound canned, but I liked his statement that he put out about losing or not losing resigning from the organization. It kind of tells me that this wasn't, this wasn't a split out of anger. feel like he was upset with the team or was upset with the direction it was going. It kind of feels like he looked at it as I've done what I needed to do here. Now I'm going to go check out other opportunities that I might have. So let me read that to everybody. He says, After seven incredible seasons with the penguins,
Starting point is 00:25:06 I have decided that I will be moving on from my role as president of business operations. I'm grateful to Fenway Sports Group for the opportunity to help lead this. organization to my colleagues for their dedication and to our fans for their unwavering support. It has been an honor to serve the team I grew up cheering for. I will forever be proud to be a penguin and I look forward to my next steps in my career while continuing my service to Pittsburgh. So he's not going anywhere from the city. He's staying here in Pittsburgh. And again, if his only legacy is repairing the relationship between Yarmir Yager and the Pittsburgh Penguins, that is one hell of a legacy to leave because he is without a doubt,
Starting point is 00:25:51 I would say the second best player in Penguins history. I know Sid is making his way up, but at least for right now in this moment when we're recording this, Mary Olamyue, Yarmier Yager, Sidney Crosby. And the fact that there was such a broken relationship with Yarmir Yager in the city that drafted him, turned him into a star, and that Yager admitted he had so much love for and felt scorned, that's a great legacy to leave. So it's a loss for the penguins, but by the sound of it, and obviously we'll follow this story, the more that comes out about it. But right now at this point, it just sounds like a mutual parting of the ways. There's no fraying of relationship.
Starting point is 00:26:36 There's no anger. There's no acrimony. It just seems like he feels like he got done what he needed to get done and now he's moving on. Yeah, best wishes to him in his future endeavors, whether it's with another sports team in this town or just something else entirely. But yeah, he did a great job in this role and especially with the Yarmu Yager situation. I think at some point, Yager is going to be working in some capacity for this organization. Just don't know if it'll be as a scout, assistant to the GM, something for coaching. I don't know, but I do think at some point, it's coming pretty soon when he's going to work for this organization. And I will say, I disagree a little bit with your take.
Starting point is 00:27:14 I just have Crosby number two behind Mario. I have Yager right in that three or four spot. You can interchange them however you want. My top two, though, are Mario and Sid. And then if you want to put, you know, Yager head of Gino, Gino ahead of them, whatever. Those are the top four, though. You can interchange them however you want, but my take is Sid is number two. Yeah.
Starting point is 00:27:35 I mean, it's, it's not like I'm, I'm chiseling that list in stone. I think when Sid hangs them up, it will go Mario Sid then Yager. But I think for the time being with where Sidney Crosby is, not where he's going. He's number three, in my opinion, but it's not like he's a distant number three. He is on Yarmier Yager's heels as we speak. And I'll add this. This is the one thing I will say that might be, I don't know if you can call it negative, but with Acklin leaving, now I want to see what this organization does with Yarmir Yager.
Starting point is 00:28:15 Is the relationship still going to be going forward? Are they still going to have a positive relationship? Because it's not even a secret that Acklin played a massive role in getting Yager back into the fold. So I want to see what the organization does with the relationship with Yarmir Yager over the next couple of seasons because you've got his number retired. You have celebrated him the past two years. It clearly shows that this town loves him. He loves this town.
Starting point is 00:28:46 He loves this team. So you have to make sure that that relationship is tended to and cared for because we don't want another incident or we don't want to find out that all of a sudden they're giving 68 the cold shoulder again because that would be disastrous. I don't think that'll happen now that his number is retired now that he's been in Pittsburgh quite a bit these last couple of years. I'd like to think that relationship is definitely going to continue on as it has been these last couple of years. Could be wrong, but I don't think anything disastrous is going to happen with that. One last thing that before we close out today's episode,
Starting point is 00:29:22 congrats to Marcus Pedersen last night. Six years, 5.5 million per year with Vancouver gets a full no move in the first three years of that contract. Really nice payday for him. I'm very happy that he got that contract. contract from Vancouver. Very well deserved. The Penguins, they were in no position to make that deal with where they are right now. But again, man, very happy for Marcus Pedersen. Steve Dangal, I know you don't listen, but I am going to quote you anyway. Jim Rutherford loves his guys. But yes, he does. Well, well deserved extension for Marcus Pedersen.
Starting point is 00:29:56 He deserves that kind of stability. Such a loyal soldier in his time with the Penguins. could have been very easy for him this season to make a scene and complain that he wasn't talking to the penguins or Kyle Dubus about an extension because he clearly did enjoy being a Pittsburgh penguin. So happy for him to find that stability with another organization, especially considering where he is in his career, where the penguins are. Vancouver is going to be hopefully a very good team for the foreseeable future. So hopefully he can be a key contributor to the success of the Vancouver Canucks. 100%. And it's going to be fun to see how Vancouver ends this season because they're in the thick of the wildcard race right now in the Western Conference.
Starting point is 00:30:46 But that will do it for today's episode of the Locktown Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for take the time to listen to slash watch this one. Pat and I will be back with another show for you all on Friday to get you all set for this big weekend back-to-back against the Rangers and the Flyers, and then we'll recap both those games on Monday. And even though we got a two-week break, planning a content to come for this hockey team and everything else in the hockey world starting next week.
Starting point is 00:31:12 So for Patrick Damp, I'm Hunter Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in. We both appreciate it. We'll be back on Friday.

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