Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins face their BIGGEST challenge when they take on the champs!

Episode Date: October 23, 2025

The Penguins will face their first true test of the season when they head to Florida to take on the defending champion Panthers. Patrick and Hunter begin the show by taking a look at the defending cha...mpion Panthers, who the Penguins will take on in Sunrise tonight. They run down the roster, and despite a slower start, the champions are still a very formidable foe. (0:00) Then, they turn their attention back to the Penguins, who they will need to lean on to get another unexpected victory, what the coaching staff will need to be ready for, and who could draw back into the lineup to make a statement? (13:07) Finally, it's time to answer the question on the minds of many Penguins fans: is this team actually good or is this just a mirage? While it's been fun, it very well could be real because a lot of the fundamentals are very good early on. (23:47) Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!RugietReady to level up your confidence ? Head to https://rugiet.comand use promo code LOCKEDONNHL for 15% off your first order.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHLfor $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.MonarchTake control of your finances with Monarch. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at https://monarch.com/lockedonnhl for 50% off your first year.FanDuelDownload the FanDuel app now by visiting FanDuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Transcript
Discussion (0)
Starting point is 00:00:00 The Pittsburgh Penguins will face their biggest test to date tonight when they head to sunrise to take on the back-to-back defending Stanley Cup champion Florida Panthers. We're going to get you ready for that game and more right after this. Your Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your hosts Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms at Synonym 4 Wet, joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes.
Starting point is 00:00:47 You can give our show's Twitter account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. You can also find us on Instagram at Locked on underscore Penguins. And of course, as always, we appreciate you making us part of your daily routine. Don't forget, we're free and available wherever you get your podcast as well as YouTube. And if you follow us on YouTube, make sure you've hit the notification button. That way you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Before we get going, this episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase.
Starting point is 00:01:27 Hunter, there is no two ways about it. The penguins have their biggest test of the season so far, and while it has been good vibes, high vibes, whatever you want to call them, at five and two, the penguins have surprised a lot of people, but I'm going to steal a little bit of your thunder here because I know you that well. You can only play the schedule in front of you, but the penguins have not played many bona fide playoff teams or even a contender yet. And tonight, despite a slow start, despite some big injuries to players like Kachuk, to players like
Starting point is 00:02:06 Barkov, it is still the Florida Panthers. They are still deep. They are still well coached. And they're coming off a highly emotional victory over the Boston Bruins where Brad Marchand made his return. So Hunter, we've had fun. We've enjoyed it. doesn't mean our expectations are changing, but we're going to learn a lot about the Pittsburgh Penguins tonight.
Starting point is 00:02:32 I know it's early in the season. This will only be the eighth game of the year, but it feels like this is a big opportunity for the Penguins to kind of make a statement or send a message saying, hey, we're a lot better than basically anyone thought we were going to be at least to open the year. So this is a huge game. You look at this schedule so far,
Starting point is 00:02:53 and you're right, Pat. You can only play the teams that are in front of you. You look at the teams they've played, not really any bona fide playoff teams outside still of Los Angeles. I know the Kings have had a slow start to the season, but I think in the long run, they're going to be fine and they're going to make the playoffs out of the Pacific before they probably lose again to the Oilers.
Starting point is 00:03:11 But I still have the mess of playoff team. Outside of that, the sharks are not very good. The ducks, I still think, are a year away. You have the Rangers twice, who I think are a middling team, and then the Islanders kind of the same. And then the Canucks, they're four and three, but I still have them on the outside looking in right now for a playoff spot. So you're facing not just a bona fide playoff team. You're facing a bona fide Stanley Cup contender that has won the last two Stanley Cups and is still one of the best teams in the conference.
Starting point is 00:03:42 Yeah, I know they come into this with a four and four record. They won their first three games. They lost their next four. They beat the Bruins in Boston off of a great game that was, by the way. you saw the tribute video to Marshan, he was crying. Bruins fans were giving him a standing ovation for what it felt like in eternity. It was a great game after watching some of the highlights, but this is their biggest test.
Starting point is 00:04:05 We're going up against a team that is great offensively. They know how to shut it down, and they have a world-class goaltender in Sergey Barbravsky, who was also great in that. So the details are especially going to be important for this one. And if Ben Kendall and Harrison Brunich both play, in this game and I think they will, we'll have to see. This will be their biggest NHL tests yet to date as well, Pat.
Starting point is 00:04:31 You run up against a team that A, pisses you off and B, plays like rats. It's kind of the same thing, but they know how to get under your skin. So how do Kindle and Brunich adjust to that if they both play? That's going to be something that's really interesting. But you know what you're going to get when you play this Panthers team. They do the post-wistle stuff.
Starting point is 00:04:52 They try to get you off your game. and if you do that, if you feed into it, they're just going to take advantage and crush you. Penguins can't afford to do that in this game. Let's begin there. So we're recording this Wednesday evening because we want to make sure that we get this out early so you guys can get ready for Thursday night's game. So excuses for us if we go back and forth between tenses of tonight and tomorrow, we're kind of operating on a different schedule here.
Starting point is 00:05:20 But let's begin with what you just said about the young guys. Let's operate as we're recording this as if they are going to be in the lineup against the Panthers. This is where they're going to get their welcome to the NHL moment. There have been moments here and there with them, whether it's finding out they have a little less time than once thought, or they make a little bit of a play that's a bit behind, or they get caught in a weird area on the ice. This is going to be a true welcome to the NHL game for them.
Starting point is 00:05:52 because of everything you said, but also this is a Florida team, and this has kind of been a hobby horse of mine the last couple years. The Panthers being absolute psychopaths gets all the headlines, because they're known for it. They're known for being physical. They're known for being chippy. They're known for being dirty. They are very much raptors testing the fence for the Jurassic Park reference.
Starting point is 00:06:19 They want to find out how much they can get away with. before they cross a line, and they've learned that. But at the same time, it is still a fast, talented, very good hockey team. They don't do many things poorly, if anything. So for guys like Harrison Brunich, for players like Ben Kindle, you're going to have to learn what the NHL is like tonight, because you're going to take some lumps. You know whether it's Brad Marshon, whether it's Sam Reinhardt,
Starting point is 00:06:52 whether it's Samiskevich, Greer, Eckblad, you name it. They are going to poke and prod at you. If you get a shot on net and Sergei Brovsky stops it, you're going to get a glove in your face. You're going to get your collar pulled. You're probably going to get cross-checked. You have to learn that this is the price you're going to have to pay. We can complain about it all we want.
Starting point is 00:07:15 We can complain that it doesn't get called, but we got to operate in a world that we're in, not the world we want to be in. So for those two, it has to not just be a solid game with the fundamentals, with everything else they do. They have to keep an even keel throughout the game. I agree. And another big key for me is slowing down that top line that Florida has with Verhegey,
Starting point is 00:07:39 Bennett and Reinhardt. Ryan Hart has one of the top releases in the league. When the moments get the biggest, he's usually always there to deliver. He has for the last couple of years with the Panthers. and then Sam Bennett, you know, he just got a boatload of cash. And rightfully so he was absolutely outstanding in the Stanley Cup playoffs. His career has totally taken off ever since joining the Panthers. You especially know what you are going to get when Sam Bennett is on the ice.
Starting point is 00:08:05 And then outside of those guys, you have Martian who has been great this year. Three goals, eight points, eight games, eight points leads all Panther players. And he's been a penguin killer throughout his career. In his last 20 games against the Penguins, he has 11. goals in 19 points. So always got to know where number 63 is. Anton Lundell, I still think is one of the most underrated players in the entire NHL. He's their second line center right now. When that team, by the way, is fully healthy, he is a 3C. He probably could be a second line center on over half of the teams in this league. That is how good Anton Lundel is. They still have
Starting point is 00:08:43 Lusterlin in the top six. And even though he only has one goal, he can still strike it anytime. You go down to the third line. Evan Rodriguez, former penguin. He can also hurt you when needed. He has two goals in four points in eight games. They also have Jesper Brokwkwis on that line. You have A.J. Greer and Yona Gajovic on the fourth line. And Gajovic is also someone that is not afraid to get physical.
Starting point is 00:09:03 So you have those four lines. You have Forsling, who I think is the best defensive defenseman in the league. It's very hard to get chances when he is on the ice. Eckblot is still doing his thing. Seth Jones has had a nice little renaissance on the second pair. with the Panthers. And then again, man, you got Sergei Babrovsky as a starting netminder who is, I think, one of the five best netminders in the league still right now. So when you combine all of that, plus their special teams usually, even though they don't have Kachuk and Barkov, this is still
Starting point is 00:09:33 going to be a really tough matchup with how much the Panthers can throw at you. It really is. And you have to be aware of where everybody is on the ice in this game, because you ran that down. They're missing two of the fans. their biggest pieces, but they're still incredibly deep. They are still incredibly talented. So you really have to respect all four lines, all three pairs. And I'll reiterate it again, you have to play with a ton of discipline tonight. You cannot get sucked in to all of the extracurriculars that they want to do because not only are they going to make you pay for that. They are going to make you pay for it on the scoreboard as well.
Starting point is 00:10:16 So you have to be willing to laugh, skate away, and just turn the other cheek. As much as we want to see this team fight back, we want to see them fight back between the whistles. We want to see them be able to handle that. And I think with the way this team has been disciplined this year, they have a pretty good shot of at the very least hanging with them. And we will talk more about that when we get back in our second segment. And we will do that right after this. So stick with us on the Locked-on Penguins podcast.
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Starting point is 00:13:28 One thing they have to continue into tonight, I hinted at it at the end of the first segment, is discipline. If you watch a lot of the Penguins wins this year, they are playing a very structured, very disciplined game. They're making sure they're in the right place defensively, They are doing the right things on the forecheck, and it's leading to chances. Against a very fast, very talented Florida Panthers team, you cannot improvise. You cannot take things into your own hands and try to do too much.
Starting point is 00:14:00 You do that. The puck's going to end up in the back of your net. You try to stray away from it in the offensive zone. You're either going to get plastered by one of their defensemen because they do love to hit. Or surprise, here's Sergey Bobrovsky, who is, like you said, one of the five best goalies in the league. So you've got to stick to what you've been doing into what has been bringing you success so far. Yeah, and especially around the net front where the penguins are doing a really good job clearing that area
Starting point is 00:14:26 so that Archer Shilots or Tristan Jari can see a lot of these golden A chances that they do give up sometimes. I do think the penguins are doing a little bit of a better job this year compared to last year in terms of, you know, clearing out that space, letting the goalies see these chances. And you're going to have to do it in this one against the pan. there's especially when Sam Bennett's out there. He's a top net front presence. He is not afraid to get greasy around that area. He's been doing it ever since he went to Florida.
Starting point is 00:14:55 You know, Marshaun is kind of the same way. Even though he's a bit smaller, he's not afraid to get his nose dirty around the net front too. Verhege, Reinhardt, you know, you can keep going down the list, even though Kachuk and Barkov are not out there. So that's another big key for me. Another one, the way they keep playing off the rush and in transition with the way they're defending those chances,
Starting point is 00:15:14 got to keep doing that as well. I've noticed the first seven games are not giving up as many odd man rushes or a lot of these chances off the rush with poor turnovers at the blue line. You got to keep this one up against the Panthers because they will really make you pay with those type of chances.
Starting point is 00:15:30 If you give them them, excuse me, especially when it comes to Marshand, because especially against the Penguins, man, I feel like I've seen him score so many goals off the rush going back to his days in Boston. So they got to keep taking care of the puck around those areas, around their blue line, in the neutral zone, et cetera, et cetera.
Starting point is 00:15:52 I think Tristan Jari is going to get the start in this one. I know we're recording this the day before, but I think they're going to continue this rotation. Though if he does go to She-Lawbs, damn used it is, I wouldn't be surprised. But, you know, the Penguins play the Panthers really tough in all three games last year. They won the game at home, really fun one to watch. They lost the next two, but those two games, man, were still a ton of fun.
Starting point is 00:16:20 And they were also really close. Even though there's a brand new staff in place, I expect nothing different in this one. I think this is going to be a really close game considering what we saw from these two teams last year. I'm right there with you on that one. They have always, especially as the Florida Panthers have begun their ascent to the top of the league, they have been able to hang right with them. Here's one thing I would like to see Dan Mews change. And obviously by the time you're listening to this, you'll probably know.
Starting point is 00:16:49 I did like the way Caleb Jones rebounded from his early part of the game in Vancouver. He went on to play a pretty solid game. And while I don't want them to try to fight fire with fire, because you do that against the Florida Panthers, you're playing directly into their hands. You are playing a game that they are the absolute best at and nobody can match them. but I would like to see Jones swapped out for either Dumba or Clifton for this game. Clifton specifically because while I don't want to subscribe to the old school hockey
Starting point is 00:17:24 mentality of, oh, you need a deterrent. You are going to need more of a physical presence on your blue line. And when you look at the options available right now, I want to see Brunich play in this game. I want to see what he does against the top tier team. Letang is Latang. Carlson is Carlson. Wetherspoon has been a revelation
Starting point is 00:17:44 early on in the season. I enjoy Ryan Shay's game. I think he's earned another look. And that kind of squeezes Jones out. But I would like to see Clifton in the lineup because if for no other reason, you brought it up. The Panthers are very good in front of the net.
Starting point is 00:18:01 They are very good at creating traffic. They're very good at creating havoc in front of the net. I don't know if Caleb Jones is the guy to clear a net front path for either Jari or she love. I would like to see Clifton be able to do that. And this feels like a game that would be a really good one for him to make an early stamp on the season. Honestly, either him or Dumba, but if I had to pick one, I would probably go Clifton as well. When he did play earlier this year, he was pretty physical.
Starting point is 00:18:28 So if you want him for that, I'm totally going to that because he'll be able to match at least some of the Panthers physical. The Penguins as a team, they're not built to fully match the Panthers, pound per pound with how physical Florida is, but you can at least take a little bit of chunk out of them if you put someone like Clifton in there. I'm not sure if Mews is going to do that just because of the way that Jones played after giving up that mini breakaway to Evander Kane. I felt like he really settled in after that. But if he wanted to and he wanted to play Clifton on his offside,
Starting point is 00:19:00 and he's eventually going to have to get some minutes this year just because they're going to try to flip him at the deadline. I do think this will be a good game for him. And honestly, I'd say the same about Dumbah. I don't think he was that good in his first game this year. But I also think if you want to use him for a physical presence, I think that works too. If I had to pick one, though, I would go Clifton. And then let's keep it on that side of the puck for the penguins tonight.
Starting point is 00:19:26 Again, let's continue to operate under the assumption that Dan Mews is going to keep the goaltending rotation going. He's going back and forth until one. of them really picks up the ball and runs with it. This will be a massive test for Tristan Jari. He has been pretty solid to start the year. We talked about it on our Wednesday show. I talked about it saying that I have constantly said penguins goal tenders over the last
Starting point is 00:19:52 decade plus have been at their best when someone's nipping at their heels and you have that competition in net. Tristan Jari can make a huge statement against the Florida Panthers. Even if he doesn't win the game, even if the penguins don't win the game, but he puts in a solid performance, makes some timely saves, keeps them in a position to potentially win, that would do a lot of good for his case to remain the 1A goaltender if he wants to be it. I agree.
Starting point is 00:20:27 And again, until one of these goalies wants to really take the reins, you're going to have to see each of them match each other. You know, Sheelov's had another great performance against Vancouver. Okay, Tristan, can you match that? Can you potentially, you know, have another 920, 930 game? Can you even have another shutout potentially, for example? So I really want to see if each goal can keep matching each other because, you know, going into this game, the Penguins have a combined 920 Sabresenage from Shilov's
Starting point is 00:20:57 and Jari so far this season. That is well above average goaltending in today. is NHL. And that's one of the biggest reasons why they have started out five and two. That keeps up. They're going to keep staying in a lot of these games. So I can't wait for this one, man. I'm really soaked to see how they match up against Florida. This is going to be a really, really fun game. Hopefully, let's not get our expectations too high only to watch the penguins get slapped down by the back-to-back champions. But with the way they have been playing to start the season, I am very, very interested to see how they match up in their first big test of the season.
Starting point is 00:21:35 That's 7 o'clock tonight, Thursday night, in sunrise. You can catch the game on SportsNet, Pittsburgh, and we will obviously be back on Friday to recap this game. But now that you're ready for Penguins Panthers, we got to have the big conversation here on locked on penguins that a lot of us in penguins land are currently having. Is this team for real or is this just a mirage? We'll dive into that question when we come back right after this. Before we do that though, we got to tell you about our final sponsor and that is game time. Hockey season is officially here and nothing beats being in the arena for those opening games,
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Starting point is 00:23:30 locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Again, that's code L-O-C-K-E-D-O-N-HL for $20 off. Swipe, tap, ticket, go, game time. Wrapping up the Thursday edition of Locked-on Penguins, I'm Patrick Damp running alongside my good pal-hunter Hodes and let's you. just get the question out of the way, Hunter. Is this team for real? Or are we just looking at a mirage and a new coach bump? I've got my thoughts. Hunter, take it away. It's too early to tell.
Starting point is 00:24:10 I've loved the start so far. This is the most fun I've had watching them since the 21, 22 season. But we got to see how they stack up against some of these bona fide playoff team slash cup contending teams to see, okay, either A, this could be something or B, be maybe they've just been beating up on some middling to bad teams so far. The thing is, the process is very much there. You look at the underlying numbers, expected goals are strong, hiding your chances when you look at other teams around the league, very strong. Scoring chances, shot attempts, all fairly solid so far.
Starting point is 00:24:49 Can it keep up for a lot more games? That's going to be the question. And another question, Pat, is the goaltending going to, keep this up. We've talked about it a lot. Again, these two goalies combined have a 920% percentage. It's only been seven games. If that does continue for a large stretch of this season, if, and that is a big if, they will be able to stay in this race, as long as they keep defending the way they have been defending in front of the net, and they keep getting contributions from all four lines. But again, there's just still a lot of ifs. The vibes are awesome right now. This is the best vibes I think this team has had.
Starting point is 00:25:27 a little bit, but I got to see it against some top teams. And it starts really tonight against the Panthers. The Penguins have an opportunity to send a message to the NHL saying, hey, we're better than basically everyone predicted us to be so far, including us knuckleheads on this show. So let's see if they can go out there and do it. They will play a bunch of other top contenders a bit later on this season.
Starting point is 00:25:53 But that's kind of where I am. What? And I don't, I don't want to have. edge, right? Like, I also don't want to go full first take and have a 10-toes-in hot take that I don't fully believe in just for the sake of the content. But you hit on something that has stood out to me. The process and the fundamentals are there. They're playing a sound game. And you and I said it in the opening segment. The NHL schedule is not a restaurant. You can't
Starting point is 00:26:24 look at the league and go, sorry, this early schedule is undercooked. I'm sending this steak back to the kitchen. You can only play the games that are on your schedule. And they have done well in those games. And yes, tonight will be their first true test of the season because they're going to play a legitimately great team. But their goaltending has been better than expected. It really seems like the big guys on this team, Crosby, Mawls. Littang, Carlson, Raquel, Rust. They are bought into Dan Mewes' system in what Dan Mews is bringing to the organization. I didn't have any expectations for Dan Mews.
Starting point is 00:27:08 He was a largely unknown. We knew he was good at development because of his work with the National Development Program. He came highly recommended by a bunch of other organizations for his work he did on special teams as an assistant coach. But we have seen dozens of. of Wonderkin assistant coaches that have this unbelievable, untapped potential, and then they take the big chair and it doesn't work. Now, again, seven games, their eighth is tonight.
Starting point is 00:27:39 The vibes are high early. We have seen plenty of teams in recent memory. Rocket out of the shoot. And you think, oh, my God, where did this team come from? And then by December, January, we're lamenting their fall. But I also look at this, along with the buy-in, along with the structure that they're playing, they're getting contributions up and down the lineup. They're getting some good depth scoring.
Starting point is 00:28:07 They've got a lot of energy from the young guys, whether it's Kindle or Brunich. They've also got a bunch of young guys in Wokes Bear who are knocking at the door. And you can tell with the way some of these older players are performing, they know that Kyle Dubus and Dan Mews aren't just blowing smoke. They're not saying, oh, we're going to give the young guys a path. They're totally coming. These older guys know you slip up, you underperform. You're going to be on the bus and Wilkes-Bair, and these young guys are coming up.
Starting point is 00:28:40 100%. I mean, you saw Ryan Graves didn't even make the team out of training camp. They put him on waivers, and now he's down in Wilkes-ray. They'll have to figure out that situation at some point. But right now, that is the solution they have. Dan Hinen, Pat, he came in as a veteran. He was trying to make the team. A few other younger players beat him out,
Starting point is 00:28:57 including Philip Hollander and Ben Kendall, and they sent him down to Wilkesbury. He's doing well, and they'll also have to figure out a long-term solution at some point, but they have a solution, at least for now, and that's him in Wilkesbury. So if you see other veteran players potentially slack off at some point, you know, Avery Hayes will come up,
Starting point is 00:29:15 and he's had a great start to the season. Tristan Rose is eventually going to come up. I know Ville Coyven is going to be coming up at some point because he's been lighting up Wilkesbury since being reassigned there. I actually would like to see him with Ben Kindle on the third line at some point. Hell, I'd actually like to see when Rucker McGority comes back if they want to keep Kindle up past the nine games. How will we get the full kids line and have Kindle with Magrorty and Coyvenin on the same line? Wouldn't that be a lot of fun? You'd have to figure out some other things in the lineup, but I would have a lot of fun watching that line.
Starting point is 00:29:46 If you still want to have Novak there as one of the wingers, you can interchange him as well, maybe even move Novak up to the second line. For example, with Mantha or Brzo, stop producing. And with Justin Brzo, I'm not sure that's going to stop because he's lighting the league on fire. But they'll still have plenty of options. So this is still going to be a work in progress throughout the year. But, you know, as for them being for real, let's talk around Thanksgiving. You know, usually that's a pretty good benchmark, Pat, for,
Starting point is 00:30:16 if your team is in a playoff spot, history says at that point, you're probably going to make it. Same with Christmas, but Thanksgiving is like the first big benchmark where, okay, if you're in a playoff spot, you have a good chance of getting in. So I think this next monthish
Starting point is 00:30:35 is going to be really big in that department. So for me, it's still a wait and see. I'm still more skeptical, but prove me wrong. Like they proved us wrong so far. are winning five of their first seven games. Keep it up, honestly. Right.
Starting point is 00:30:51 And the last thing I want to talk about, and we'll keep it brief, because it's so big picture that we don't know what's going to happen. We may be two smart boys, but we don't have crystal balls. We can't see into the future, and we don't know what's going to happen. I know that there is a small level of panic,
Starting point is 00:31:10 but worry among some fans that, oh, they're going to suddenly, be good and go on a run and it's going to screw up the future plans. Guys, they still have a ton of draft capital. They still have a lot of prospects who are playing in junior or playing in college. And I'm not telling you that they're franchise players because they are not. They are at best solid NHL contributors who can maybe be in a second pair role on defense or a top six contributor
Starting point is 00:31:45 it forward. But you still have the big guys around. And it is the drum I will continue to beat forever and ever. We have seen now across not just the NHL, but across a lot of sports in North America, the old idea of a traditional rebuild of just scrapping everything and starting from scratch, it's way harder to do.
Starting point is 00:32:12 And if you still got the, these elite NHL talents who are going to end up in the Hall of Fame on your roster and you've got promising young players, having that good culture in place where there are expectations to do your best, to be winners, to achieve more, that is going to help those players grow. And eventually, whether it's draft, free agency or trade, you can go out and get someone who can push you to that next level. Right. I 100% agree with you.
Starting point is 00:32:41 And they're still going to have a boatload of cap space this next off season. Right now it's still around 50 million. It'll be a little bit less once they get there. But right now it's quite a bit. So, hey, I'm just enjoying the ride, man. That's what I'm here for. I think that's what everyone that listens to our show slash watches our show is here for. And keep proving us wrong at the end of the day.
Starting point is 00:33:06 Like, I didn't see this start coming. So let's see what happens, man. It's been a ton of fun. It's been better than expected. And you said it best. Let's just enjoy the ride. Let's have fun with it. And we don't got to live and die with every single game.
Starting point is 00:33:23 Don't get too high and don't get too low. They came into this season with, let's say it, low expectations. They're surprising so far. It's been fun. But even with that, still, don't get too high and don't get too low. Like, that's what I'll say about this. Couldn't have said it better myself. And that is going to do it.
Starting point is 00:33:41 for the Thursday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Hunter and I will be back on Friday to recap this one, as well as bring back one of our favorite segments. Fan Take Friday. Hear from you. Take your questions, react to your hot takes, and everything else. So thanks as always for tuning in for Hunter Hodes. I am Patrick Damp.
Starting point is 00:34:02 We will be back on Friday.

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