Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins finish up their road trip with their first trip to Utah

Episode Date: January 29, 2025

The Penguins' longest road trip of the season comes to an end tonight as the franchise makes its first-ever appearance in Utah. Patrick and Hunter get you ready for the team's first game in Salt Lake City where they'll face the Utah Hockey Club for the second time this season. They talk about what the Penguins have to do to get back into the win column as well as go over how with stable ownership and some talented young stars, Utah is a team on the rise. Then, they discuss how the trade deadline and offseason are shaping up to really work out in the Penguins' favor. The Penguins will have plenty of cap space, trade chips, and most importantly, options over the next few months to overhaul their roster. Finally, it's Wednesday and that means it's Warrior Helmet Wednesday so Patrick and Hunter still hand out an MVP of the week despite a disappointing week in Penguins Land. 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.

The penguins wrap up their longest road trip of the season tonight in Utah, and they'll look to at least salvage a couple of points after what has been a complete disaster. Hunter and I are going to get you ready for that game 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. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms at Synonym 4WET.

Joined, as always by my partner in crime, 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. Don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts as well as YouTube. Plus, if you follow us on YouTube, don't forget to hit the notification button. That way, you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. So Hunter, the Penguins seven game road trip across the West Coast comes to an end tonight in Salt Lake City when the Penguins will take on for the first time in their history.

The Utah Hockey Club will see what happens with their naming rights. But right now, they remain the Utah Hockey Club. And for the penguins, we have gone over this ad nauseum so far this week about what a complete disaster this road trip was, despite starting with some pretty good vibes with wins against the Sabres and the Los Angeles Kings, but that all fell apart in California and in Seattle. So this is another opportunity tonight for the penguins to at least get back in the wind column against a younger upstart team in the Utah Hockey Club who, for the most part, is about where you expected a team of this level to be. They're sniffing around, even though they're six points out of the

wild card in the West, but a lot of promising young talent on this team. And finally, out of Arizona, they've got an ownership that is dedicated to making sure this team has the resources to actually become a viable competitive. team. And that's starting to bear fruit ever so slightly with the likes of Clayton Keller, Logan Coley, Dylan Gunther, and they've added a couple other players like Mikhail Sergachev, Barrett Hayton, and they've got a host of other players. And for good measure, it's also basically at this point, Pittsburgh West, with a lot of old friends in Ian Cole, Nick Bugstad, Olimata and a few others.

So a lot of familiar faces to be seen tonight. But let's focus on what we're here to focus on, which is the game itself. The penguins, they're struggling. Utah, they're struggling a little bit as of late, losing six of their last 10, but they have stacked up a couple wins against some good teams like the Winnipeg Jets.

So Hunter, let's keep it simple, sweet, and to the point. What do the penguins have to do tonight to get back? in the win column. Really, man, considering how these last couple of games have gone, I really just want to see some heart, some energy, and just some enthusiasm. Like, the vibes these last couple of games have been so bad. It looks like David, it's just been kind of skating in mud, just out there, hanging out, not really doing much of anything. I want that all to change tonight. And especially because you remember, Pat, when the penguins were really bad at the start of this season, you know, they had that 7-12 and 4 start. Utah came into Pittsburgh and absolutely kicked the penguins' butts

in that game. They blew them out. It wasn't even close right from the drop of the puck. That was one of the penguins' worst efforts of the season. And there's been quite a few really bad efforts from this team this year. But I really want to see the penguins take that loss a bit personally in this game against Utah tonight. You're finishing off this road trip. It's a long seven game trip. You got to finish off on the right. No, you're getting Utah at potentially the right time you mentioned they've lost six of the last 10. They've also lost five of the last eight, including two in a row. They lost to Winnipeg five to two.

And then also lost to Ottawa three to one. And then of course, again tonight, 9.30 p.m. start time on TNT. So this is a TNT broadcast for everyone around the United States. So you have to. Unless you are in Pittsburgh here in Pittsburgh, it is blacked out. You will have to watch it on Sportsnet Pittsburgh. But for everybody else outside of the region, it's going to be a Salt Lake City showdown on TNT.

And I'm excited because it's their first time playing in Utah, obviously their second time playing Utah overall this year. But I'm excited. I watched that first game of the season. And it looks like they have a really nice arena there. You talked about their young players. They're really young and up and coming. But you also mentioned they have an ownership group that actually cares. That was the biggest thing with Arizona was that their ownership just never really cared about improving the team. But you've seen Utah's ownership really spend quite a bit of money this all season. And they really retooled their defense. They added them a few forwards. You know, this year that are getting some good contributions, especially up front. You know, Clayton Keller leads a team in points, 18 goals, 54 points this year. Logan Cooley, 15 goals, 42 points this year. He's also been really good. Nick Schmaltz has been awesome. Dylan Gunther, Mikhail Sergeath. He's been awesome too.

So the Penguins, they're going to have their work cut out for them in this game. You can't be as bad as you were defensively against the sharks in this game. I know people, breaking news. But the keys really are the same that we've said all season. if the penguins are able to be responsible in their own end, not commit too many self-inflicted wounds, they will have a shot to win this game. They also, again, of course, have to get the goal to-tening.

They went to Nadelcovich against San Jose, which I was a little surprised by it. I thought they were going to go to Blumquist in that game, but we'll see if he goes tonight, potentially considering that Nadelcovich loss. I think if Ned had won that game, there would be a higher chance of him going in this game against Utah. But if I had to guess,

and so a strict guess, Um,quist is going to start. But again, man, heart energy enthusiasm. That's what I really want to see from this team, considering how awful these last two games have been. I want to see them generate more offense outside the Crosby line. You saw that against the sharks, man. Crosby line was really the only one that was generating in that game against the sharks,

even though it was a really poor effort from most of those skaters. The bunting line was fine. He especially had a really good third period, but they got to get more offense, man, especially with Havgeny Malkin out right now with a lower body injury. Yeah, there really has. to be more of a collective effort against Utah tonight. We obviously understand logically you look up and down this lineup. It pretty much, especially at forward, is Crosby's line,

especially now with Hvgeny Malkin out before, you know, but I'm talking before he goes out. It was pretty much the top six and you were hoping your bottom six would play to even because that's just how this team is and where they are at this moment. but at the very least, you need your entire forward group to play to a positive. It doesn't mean that you got to get a bunch of contributions from your bottom six, but they can't go out there and be a liability. They can't get pinned in their own end.

They can't be giving up grade A chances. If you play at the very least to even defensively and get some offensive zone time, even draw some penalties, because we know there's some forwards in that bottom six group who can give opposing defenses fits. They may not be offensive juggernauts. We know that very well, but they play the kind of game that can lead opposing teams to taking penalties. And even with Evgeny Malkin out, this power play has continued to click.

So if you can give your special teams an opportunity to give you the advantage, that can help you out against a team like Utah. As for Utah, I got to say, cannot say enough about the development of the Pittsburgh. kid, Logan Cooley, having himself a solid, solid season, 49 games, 15 goals, 27 assists, 42 points. And reading a lot of Josh Yohe, he's reporting the last, I would say 12 or so hours about everything with Utah. He spoke to all of the former penguins who are now on the Utah Hockey Club, as well as talk to them about just not their time in Pittsburgh, but Logan Kuhli himself and they cannot say enough about how good this kid is and you're seeing it on the ice. He is a complete player. He is not at least yet turning into a bona fide superstar, but all of

the building blocks are there for him. He has really good vision. You can see that the production is starting to come up, especially with 15 goals and 42 points. And the biggest thing that Logan Coley has that we know is a part of the modern day NHL is speed. This kid is an absolute burner. And he said to Josh in his reporting that one of the ways his game has matured over the year since last season is last season, he was simply playing at a million miles an hour at all times. And while that can work for a guy like, say, Michael Bunting, for a player with the

skill set of Logan Cooley, he acknowledged, hey, there's times where I don't need to be going full tilt. I need to let the game come to me and adapt to it. And you can see in his game and you'll likely see it tonight, especially going against his childhood team. He is really developing into a great top line forward. No, he's been a lot of fun to see develop over this last year. I will say, I think part of it also last year, Pat, and I think you can say this for the entirety of the Utah team was that the Arizona situation was very waning on them. I don't really think they knew what was going to happen. Like, were they going to stay playing in that arena in Arizona?

Were they going to move to Utah? And I think once they figured out their future, especially Cooley, I think that was a giant weight lifted off his back. And that's also, I think, part of it with how you're seeing him develop this year in a more stable environment, a band base that obviously loves them very much, and an ownership group that, again, very much cares. I do think that's part of it, too. but I don't see him being, you know, a top 10, top 15 player in the NFL,

considering how much talent is in the league right now. But there is no doubt he can be a very productive top six player for his entire career, especially with the way that he has started his career. So I'm going to keep my eyes on him again tonight. He was great in those two games last year. He was noticeable on the ice each time, even though that was a really delegate situation. He was really good in that first game earlier this year in Pittsburgh. I'm excited to see what he does tonight.

But, yeah, it's very imperative of the penguins end this road trip on a good note, heading back home with a few games before, you know, that Four Nations phase off and my dog's barking too. They agree. They agree that the penguins need to finish this road trip with some good vibes. I'll add this one quick thing before we go to break about Cooley. I know that everyone has been hypercritical and rightfully so of ESPN and the NHL partnership, but their ad campaign of the next golden age is here is absolutely. right because that applies to players like coolly you look at all the young talent in the national

hockey league in the modern age we are in the golden age of development because 10 15 years ago logan coolly would have been among the best young players in the national hockey league but players are getting so well developed and becoming so talented in the sport in this day and age that a player like coolly is going to become a guy where you go oh yeah that's really that's right, Utah has that coolly kid and he is really damn good. So that shows you how good of a place the sport is in in 2025. But that is going to do it for this first segment. When we come back, we're going to do a little bit of rapid fire here and combine a lot of things together.

The trade deadline, penguins, players that should be called up from Wilkes Bear, as well as maybe who we think is going to get traded or who needs to step up and things like that. but we got to go to break before we do that. Penguins and the Utah Hockey Club 930 tonight at the Delta Center in Salt Lake City. Sportsnet, Pittsburgh, if you're in Pittsburgh, everywhere else, it'll be on TNT. But like I said, we got to go to break and we will talk about more when we come back right after this. But first, we got to tell you about our sponsor, and that is Fandul. Super Bowl 59 is here, one game, two teams and endless possibilities.

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Bet with fanduel, an official partner of Super Bowl 59. All right, welcome back. It is the Wednesday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp, joined as always by Hunter. Hodes. And as I said to end the first segment, we're going to go a little bit rapid fire, a little bit scattered here because we pretty much know at this point that this penguin season is not going to end with the penguins playing in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. We are likely to be headed to a third straight year with no playoffs. So with that in mind, Hunter,

we are going to look at a couple of names, whether it's players we think will be traded, players we think that should get their shot coming up from Wilkeshire, whether it's right before the trade deadline or right after. And the guy I want to start with, who I am genuinely surprised, was not called up in the wake of the Afghani Malkin injury. And before I give the name, I understand that Yassi Puyarvi got the, I guess, priority because they want him. him to be in the NHL.

But at this point, I think we kind of know what Yesy Pooey-R-V brings. There's not a whole lot left to find out. The guy I'm surprised that was not recalled is Vili Coivant, because he has had himself a very solid season down in Wilkes-Barre this year, 36 games, 10 goals, 21 assists, 31 points. And he has been a productive, flexible player. currently manning the top line at center. He is a versatile player who can play wing or center. And he's done a really good job in that role.

But he's also been able to go up and down the lineup playing both center and wing. And I think at this point, I would have rather seen him get a little bit of a runway to see what he can do because he plays the kind of game that Mike Sullivan wants a player like that to play. It's not just finesse. It's not just production. but he is a difficult player to play against. Great on the walls, heavy forecheck and produces to boot. So I would have really liked to see him get a call up. I hear you.

It's been really nice seeing him really translate over to North America from Europe. And he's been great in Wilkesbury this year. I will say this. I think once they make some deals around the deadline, they move some forwards out of this lineup for, you know, probably just picks at this point. I think he is going to be one of the. players that you see get called up for the final month of the season to see what they have

in him. I also think Rocker McGrady is in that conversation of Ashley Ponomerov when he's fully healthy. I think he could also be in that conversation as well. I know he's battled some injury concerns this year, but I still think after the deadline, that's also an opportunity for him to get called up as well. I feel you're going to see most of these forward call-ups, Pat, from Wilkesbury after the deadline. I don't think you're going to see it right now when there's stole out of veterans, especially in that bottom six group. So I think after the deadline, you'll see someone like a, the equivalent didn't get called up, someone like a Vasily Ponomerov get called up,

a Rucker McGority get called up. And, you know, maybe McGority doesn't get called up and he stays down there for the rest of the season. But I'm still going to be on the hill that I do think he's going to get a call for the final month to see what he's done. And I think that could be the call, even though it's for the final month, the regular season, I do think that's the call that puts him in the NHL for good. I think Owen Pickering.

Yeah, he's down in Wilkesbury right now. I disagree with the decision a little bit, though I understood it just because of, you know, the injury concerns, the roster, flexibility and all that. I do think the time is coming as well when he is going to get that final call up and he's not going to go down to Wilkesbury again as well. But Covenant, having a great year. I definitely want to see what he can do at the initial level.

Just don't think it needs to be just yet. I think you can wait another month. Yeah, I mean, I will agree with that. I don't think it was imperative that he had to come up now. or it was going to hamper his development. It's not like Pickering, who at this point, I think we're safe to say, has nothing left to prove at the American Hockey League level. He has pretty much shown that he is an NHL ready defenseman.

He may not be quite yet in every night or second or first pairing guy, but he is certainly a player that you can shelter or that you can even, it wouldn't be the worst thing if he spends a night or two in the press box while getting NHL life experience rather than just NHL game experience. But I digress. Let's move on a little bit here to some trade candidates. We're going to skip over real quick, some of the obvious ones. I think we know Marcus Pedersen, Good is gone.

Matt Grizzlick is a guy they'll probably look to move, as well as Anthony Bavillier. A name that I think could be a surprising one for the penguins to look to move. And again, I want to make this clear when we talk about the deadline. The penguins don't have a lot of A1 trade chips. I think Pedersen's obviously your biggest one. People will overpay, especially for a pending UFA defenseman at the deadline. But you look at the rest of the roster and there's not a ton there that's going to fetch big returns. But I do think that this deadline is setting up nicely for the penguins because they are putting themselves

for better or for worse, in a position where everybody knows that they are going to be a seller, but so many teams in the Eastern Conference are still in the race, which I think could give them more of a pool to pick from to figure out where to get the best deals. And the name that I know is going to break a lot of hearts

when I say this is somebody that they could potentially move is Michael Bunting. I think that there would be a market for a player, like him for a team that maybe needs, especially in the east, a little bit more snarl in their lineup. You want to keep up with, say, Florida or Tampa, those teams that you know are going to make you earn every inch of ice. And Michael Bunting on a contract that has one more year left at $4.5 million and is very movable. It is very affordable with the cap going up. I think a lot of teams could come calling for Michael Bunting.

The Panthers actually make so much sense for Michael Bunting. If you were to think about it, like look at the way they play, Pat. Look at the type of players that they have. He would fit right in with their play style. You know, someone like, again, you know, Sam Bennett, Matthew Cuch, you know, all these other players, especially in their bottom six that play like such rats. Michael Bunting used to come on a third line role on that team. I think he'd feast.

I mean, I actually do think that would be a perfect fit for. him. I think they move him if they can get a pretty good haul. Otherwise, I think he's going to stay and maybe they do something about that during the offseason. And I say the same thing for Ricard, Raquel, and Eric Carlson. I do think they would look to move them, but they're not just going to move them for the sake of it. Like, they're going to want to try and get a haul for both of those guys. You know, Carlson, it's a bit tricky just because of the contract. You know, do you retain a little bit because they only have one retention spot open right now? So that's, again, probably something that you're going to have to say for the summer. Raquel, I only do it if you get like a big, big return back in.

I do think part of the reason I think they may not move in this is because you don't want to piss off Cindy Crosby. You know, he's loved having him as a line mate. Yeah, he was upset that Gensel got moved last year, but that was more necessary, I think at the time, compared to Raquel right now. So I can see bunting, especially because of the year he's having, but I think that they might save that for the offseason. I like the point that you brought up with a lot of these East teams being in because you'll give the teams out West or a player like Pedersen, one of these teams could get desperate and give you a late first plus a prospect for him. I really do think it's possible.

Would I say it's likely? No, I think you're still looking at a second plus a prospect. But if one of those West teams, man, gets desperate, give him a late first and a prospect. Like I would gladly take that for a return for a top four defenseman. But yeah, like if you want to go rapid fire here, yeah, Pederson, Bobilli, A, Gryslich. I would throw O'Connor in there too, Pat. I think he's also potentially going to get moved at the deadline.

If I had to give you an answer right now, I would say yes. He's not having a good year, but A, he's cheap. And B, he has a history of at least playing competent hockey. You know, last year was his best season. I think teams will look at that and see, okay, if we can try and capture that magic, he can be a decent third-line player for us. We'll just give the Penguins of mid-round pick, something like that. So I do think he's going to get moved as well.

And then, you know, so I'm like a chari-slash-in-year. I think is one of those two, I think will get moved as well. And then, again, that's going to pave the way for, you know, or these young players to come up from Wilkesbury. You know, Tristan Brose is able to get over Mono, which hopefully he is, I can see him coming up at the end of the season, you know, with potentially Grizzlic and Pedersen getting moved, that left side pat, wide open.

Pickering is definitely going to come back up. You'll have P. Joseph over there. We'll have to figure out that other left side with Ryan Graves, Ryan Shea, all that good stuff. But they're going to have quite a few openings. have this deadline. So again, you know, we, we, I just did my rapid fire. If you want to do any more that you think are definitely going to get moved,

I'm going to see the floor to you. Well, the other thing that I want to break down about what is making this a potential really good trade deadline and off season for the penguins right now with the position that they want to go is that you look at everything going on with their contract situations. And you brought up their retention slots. Two of them open up after this season. Because you go down to their retention slots. The Riley Smith retention is up.

The Jeff Petrie retention is up. Buyouts don't count towards a retention slot, but still you get two that open up because those come off the books. And then you look at everything else on this team. Everybody that they want to have locked up for the most part is locked up. Cody Glass is an RFA. He's not going to likely be due for any sort of a big raise. he only makes 2.5 million.

I don't see him getting any more or any less than that. That's probably about what he comes in at again. And then you have Philip Thomasino, who's an RFA, and he's only making 825. You're probably going to give him a bit of a pay raise because he seems to have found something here in Pittsburgh, but you're not going to break the bank for him. And then you go up and down the lineup. Everybody who that they want to keep around is here, Crosby, Malkin, Rust, Raquel, if he stays, Kevin Hayes, if he stays.

And then you have Blake Lazot, and then you go to the defense. Obviously, we think Pedersen is as good as gone. Matt Griswick is as good as gone. POJ's an RFA. I would imagine they'll probably keep him around because they do seem to like him. Ryan Shays a UFA. You're probably not bringing him back. So this sets up a trade deadline where not only can you open up more cap space,

you don't have any priority free agents that you have to get locked up. So not only can you maybe get some low risk, high reward signings, but you can also, when it comes to players like Raquel, Carlson, maybe even Rust, if you want to move them in the offseason, you can do that and take back some money that these teams might need to get rid of. And those can become trade deadline chips next year when you're, doing this retool on the fly. So they're in actually, I know that things aren't great right now because they have

completely fallen off of a cliff. I know that times are grim, but you look at the way this roster is set up and the way this cap situation is set up. It is very reminiscent of the Washington Capitals from a couple years ago. They're going to be able to sell off a lot of pieces. They're going to have a boatload of cap space. all of their big contributors aren't going anywhere. And you can go get those younger players who may have fallen out of favor with other franchises.

You can get those second chance guys who teams are giving up on. And you will have both assets and picks and prospects that can help you turn this thing around a little bit quicker. Now, all of these things have to hit. And that is obviously a question mark. But overall, you look at the outlook of where Kyle Dubin, wants to take this team with this retool on the fly, they're in a very good position to do a lot of that. Yeah, and this summer,

they're expected to have a little over 20 million of cap space once again, I believe right now, if I have my notes, 22 million as of right now. And that's without the cap going up. We're expecting the cap to go up. You might have upwards of, you know, 25, 26 million of cap space.

And you're an opportunity to really make some interesting signings. You know, that's when it gets interesting, you know, But deadline, if they do it right, we get some futures back. You'll open up more cap space potentially. But then this offseason with over 20 million of cap space that you're guaranteed to have, plus potentially moving out some other pieces that can open up even more cap space. The old opportunity to really overhaul the roster here. Like that, that's the biggest thing.

And there's a real world where they'll have a decision to make. Do you want to accidentally tank again, especially for Gavin McKenna next year? Because he's one hell of a prospect. He's going to be the number one pick of the 26th draft in case anyone forgot. Do you want to do that? Or do you want to be a bit more aggressive this upcoming off season and try with Cindy Crosby to make the playoffs next year one more time before he retires? I can see them doing either one.

Honestly, Pat. If I had to guess, and this is a strict guess, I think they might lean towards putting a more competitive team on the ice next year rather than accidentally tanking once again. But if they were to choose that other option, you know, the accidentally tanking, I would be fine with it, obviously, just because the prize, if you get him, is Gavin McKenna. And especially if you're able to get that top five pick and say this season keeps going down the drain this year

and you take a player in the top five potentially with lottery luck that is able to play on the ice right away next year for you, that's also a huge luxury as you go towards the sweet tool slash rebode on the fly. Also, and this is a topic for another day as well, this free agent class is pretty decent. I think compared to last year, I think it's better. If someone like Meeco Ranssenin or Mitch Marner is available to Kyle Dubus on July 1, do not be surprised if he goes after one of those guys. I would not be surprised in the slightest, considering that they can help now, but also way more important well into the future.

That's someone that you can really build around after Crosby, Malk, and Imletang, all hanging up. So just want to put that out there for everyone. Would not be surprised if they, again, big if, if those two guys make, make it to July 1, do not be surprised that the penguins are in on one of them or both. And like I said, a lot of things have fallen into place for the penguins for the trade deadline with their salary cap situation and just everywhere that they are right now to where, like you said, real opportunity to rebuild this roster and completely overhaul it outside of the big names.

So if you need a little shot of hope with everything that's going on with the penguins right now, that is your shot of hope that they are. going to get very close to a blank slate going into this off season. But that is going to do it for this second segment. When we come back, it is Wednesday once again. That means it is time for us to give our weekly MVP here on Locked on Penguins as part of Warrior Helmet Wednesday and Hunter and I will do that when we come back right after this. But first, we've got to tell you about our last sponsor.

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but I have used it to get to Penguins games. I used it last summer to get to Pirates games. And browsing through the deals was so simple. I found great seats with great value at both PPG and PNC Park. The Super Deal, that was especially impressive, which offers the best value for the events. The app features like seat view. You can get a panoramic view of your seat in the app before you buy. And of course, all in pricing gives you that total up front.

So you are not hit with any of those surprise fees at checkout. That makes the game time experience smooth and reliable, plus the on-time ticket delivery and lowest price guarantee will give you peace of mind. So take the guesswork out of buying tickets with GameTime, download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code Locked-on NHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.

Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N-H-L for $20 off. Download game time today, last-minute tickets, lowest price, guaranteed. All right, welcome back to the Wednesday edition of Locked-on Penguins. Patrick Damp, joined as always by Hunter Hodes. And like I said, it's Wednesday. That means it is time to hand out our weekly MVP in Penguins land here on Locked on Penguins. And that is what we call Warrior Helmet Wednesday.

We have gotten a lot of new subs lately, Hunter. So some people may not be familiar with Warrior Helmet Wednesday. So let me give them that quick rundown. We are paying homage to the 2016 Stanley Cup winning penguins where in the locker room, the players would give out their game, player of the game MVP with a warrior helmet. So that is us paying homage to that team. It's a player or a coach or an executive or a fan, whomever, we don't discriminate, who is our MVP of the week.

And boy, this week was not easy to pick an MVP because it was not a very good week for the Pittsburgh Penguins. But there is a pretty obvious one. I think you and I agree on it. It's the captain number 87, Sidney Crosby. goals in his last two games. And the one thing, I know it's an outdated stat, but the one thing that actually stood out to me about his stat line is in those two just awful efforts against Seattle and against the Ducks,

he somehow comes out with an even plus minus rating. So score some goals, doesn't give up many. Good week for the captain, I guess. Yeah, two goals this last week, easy choice for me in a week that they're really, weren't too many good choices. But Sid was by far the best player. I said it during the Tuesday episode. At least he still gives a damn.

There's other players obviously that have been great this year too. Brian Russ. Michael Bunting, Rickele, I think even Eric Carlson ever since before Thanksgiving has also played fairly good hockey these last couple of months. You know, Philip Tomasino has been really fun. Heck, even Cody Glass outside of taking that penalty has been a bit better these last couple of weeks.

I like Y'all Blumquist game. But you can see at least with Crosby the way that he's playing. he still very much gives a damn. And he's had some really nice performances over this last week. I know this team is going nowhere fast. All I care about right now is him getting that point for game record, man. That's what I want.

The season is a win if they get that point per game, if he gets that point for game record, and if they do fall out of it, they get a top five pick in the draft. Again, those are wins for me, man. I will gladly take that because you can get a player that can really help you potentially for next year and in future years.

And just to add a little bit more to what I was saying at the end of the second segment, And again, there's really two worlds I see them doing next year, you know, overhauling a lot of this roster to really try and potentially make the playoffs one more time under Sid while still doing this reboot on the fly. Or tanking next year, accidentally tanking for Gavin McKenna. Like I think two are both legitimate options. I'm just curious to see which one does Kyle Dubus choose. Again, and this is my strict guess. I think he might choose overhauling it and trying to potentially.

sneak in one more time with Sid, but if he were to choose to have them be potentially really bad for one more year, I will gladly take that too, because especially if you can get Gavin McKenna and that really sets you up for a little, for quite a long while as well. So two really fascinating options over this off season, curious to see what the front office does. You and me both in the one thing they will not be doing. Stop talking about it. stop rumor milling about it. They're not trading Sid. He said himself.

He's not going anywhere. And that is all we're going to say about it on Locked on Penguins. But that is going to do it for the Wednesday edition of Locked on Penguins. Hunter and I will be back to recap this game as well as talk about anything else that may happen between now and then in the world of the Pittsburgh Penguins. But as always, we appreciate you making us part of your daily routine. for tuning in for Hunter Hodes, I'm Patrick Damp, and we will be back with a new episode for you on Thursday.