Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins FREE AGENTS, who stays and who goes?

Episode Date: May 5, 2026

The Penguins have 20 free agents this summer between UFAs and RFAs, so who stays and who goes? Patrick and Hunter start the Tuesday edition of Locked On Penguins discussing the five restricted free agents the Penguins will have this summer, including two big ones in forward Egor Chinakhov and goaltender Arturs Silovs. Should Kyle Dubas and the Penguins offer both bridge deals, or should he look to lock them up long-term? (0:00) Then, the Penguins will have 15 unrestricted free agents to worry about, and outside of Evgeni Malkin, there are a few big decisions looming. They spend the second segment discussing the forwards who are in need of new deals, as well as the goaltenders who are due a new contract. (15:47) Finally, one of the biggest areas of need for the Penguins moving forward is the blue line, and with three UFA defensemen this summer, which are worth keeping and which are worth letting walk? (29:31) Everydayer ClubIf you never miss an episode, it’s time to make it official. Join the Locked On Everydayer Club and get ad-free audio, access to our members-only Discord, and more — all built for our most loyal fans. Click here to learn more and join your team’s community: https://lockedonpodcasts.com/everydayerclub Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! Indeed Now, you can speed up your hiring process with a $75 Sponsored Job Credit. Just go to https://indeed.com/podcast right now and support our show by saying you heard about Indeed on this podcast. Terms and conditions apply. KALSHI For a limited time, download the Kalshi app and use code LOCKEDON to get ten dollars when you trade ten. Kalshi. Trade on anything. Gametime Download the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime. FanDuel Today's episode is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just five dollars and get one-hundred and fifty dollars in bonus bets if your first bet wins. Visit https://FANDUEL.COM to get started — Play Your Game. 5-Hour ENERGY The Cotton Candy flavor is HERE on https://5hourEnergy.com or Amazon, crack open Cotton Candy 5-hour ENERGY®️ shot today! Rugiet Get 15% off your treatment → https://rugiet.com/lockedonnhl Rugiet. Performance medicine for men. QuoMake this the year where no opportunity — and no customer — slips away.Try Quo for free plus get 20% off your first 6 months when you go tohttp://Quo.com/lockedonnhl.   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.

It's going to be a pivotal summer for Penguins president of hockey operations, Kyle Dubus, and not just because of the Afghani Malkin decision, but several other hard decisions. So who stays, who goes? We discuss all of that on the Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am 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 my partner in crime, Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. We've got a big show today, just like Kyle Dubas is going to have a big summer. And throughout the episode today, we're going to spend the bulk of, of it talking about the 15 unrestricted free agents the penguins will have on the books or off the books, I should say. But before we get into them, the penguins will have five restricted free agents this summer. So going into this offseason, according to Puckpedia, those five RFAs are

as follows. Forewards, Igor Chinikov and Vila Koivinen, defenseman Alexander Alexiev, and goaltenders, Archer Shilovs and Yoel Blumquist. Hunter, I think this one is a pretty easy and obvious decision for Kyle Dubus in the Penguins. The two forwards, Chinikov and Kovvinan, you're holding on to them. Defenseman Alexander Alexiev, kind of immaterial. If you want to keep them great for some depth, if you let them walk, no big deal. And then obviously, you'll want to keep both of these goals. Yeah, so we'll start with Chinikov. He's 100% coming back and rightfully so.

He literally lit the league on fire after coming over from Columbus to Pittsburgh, finished the year overall with 21 goals. 18 of them came with Pittsburgh also at 36 points just with Pittsburgh alone. The question will be with him, Pat, do they bridge him and sign him to two to three years or do they give him a bit more term like five to six years and give him quite a bit of cash as well? that's going to be the big decision where it comes down to. He's going to be on this team for at least the next couple of years. But to be determined is do they give him a bridge contract to maybe, you know,

I don't want to say prove himself a bit more, but it kind of feels like that's where it is. Like you already know that he's really good already. But say he takes a bridge contract, does something like this again, if not better, he's looking at a pretty big payday right after that, or if they just want to give him that payday right now. So time will tell.

Artie Shilovs, I do think is coming back. You saw how great he played in the playoffs in those elimination games. Was he a bit inconsistent during the regular season? Yes, but when Pushkin came to shove in the playoffs, he was huge for this team. Yeah, I know they got eliminated, but he has that big game aura that some goaltenders in this league lack. And this is not just an NHL thing. He has done this for the HL, the World Championships. I can keep going down the list.

I do think he comes back. I don't think it's going to be on like a long-term deal, Pat. Maybe like two to three years, something like that. But I do think he comes back. As for some of these other ones, really covenin, I think he probably comes back on a short-term contract. He's not really going to make too much on that deal. Alexiev, you can probably let him walk if you want to.

It's no really, you know, it doesn't really matter that much if you let him walk. And then Blumquist. I do think returns on a short-term contract as well. At the very least, Sergey Muroshaub, I expect to be on the NHL roster next season, which means Blumquist, I think he's probably going to be the starter in Wilkesbury again, unless they dangle him for a player coming in from a different team via trade.

And then I also imagine, of course, that Taylor Godier will be in Wilkesbury next season as well, though he also is a UFA this offseason. We'll get to that a little bit later. But again, those are just my main thoughts on the RFAs. for this year. The two, you have to bring back 100% are Chinikov and she loves for me. And that means obviously that Stuart Skinner will most likely walk to free agency, but I don't want to get too far ahead. Yeah, we will get to Gaudier and Skinner in that

in later segments of the show, because like I said, we're spending the whole episode today on RFAs and UFAs, just to kind of give you that prep for the off season. So your mind's in the right spot once the Stanley Cup is awarded and we get closer to July 1. But I'm mostly agree in the sense that Chinikov, you bring back for sure. She loves you bring back for sure. I think with Chinikov, I'm in the camp right along with you that I think you go long term on this just to keep his cap hit down because I see a lot in his game where he's a player that I do think he's going to keep growing. I do think he's going to get better. I don't think, at least not yet.

He hasn't shown me totally that he's going to turn into a true blue superstar. But if you bridge him and that does happen, you are going to have to pay him so much money. And that's going to put you in a more difficult spot. And you can tell that what happened with him in Columbus, he wants more stability. He wants more known quantities when it comes to his career. So if you can offer him five to six years,

years and keep him here with a good amount of money and he does blossom into a star by years four or five he's a bargain so with the amount of cap space they have and not really having anyone else of that quote unquote caliber you might as well just pay him now that way you get it out of the way i see both sides to it honestly say you bridge him pat and he does turn into that you know like more of a game breaker i i could say i think they'll also have plenty of cap space where yeah he'll be looking for an even bigger payday and rightfully so after those two to three years they'll have plenty of space plenty of term to give him because the cap is going to keep going up and they're still going to have quite a bit of salary cap space so i can see angles for both sides

get it out of the way now give him five to six years give him five to six million per or wait a little bit give him two to three years say hey prove it for these next couple of years, say he blossoms into that Gamebreaker slash star. Okay, we'll pay you as such. Now, I can really see both sides to it, honestly. Yeah, I mean, I don't think there's a bad option, really. I think either way, you come out on the right side of this. It's just you got to keep them.

Here's the big one that I want to end the segment on, and that's Yoel Blumquist. Yeah. And I got to give a shout to Adam Gretz. He had a really good piece this morning. Maybe it was this morning. Maybe it was yesterday. time's running together for me. But it was basically what are the next steps for Kyle Dubus and the Penguins.

And one of his big things was taking a look at the teams that are still in the postseason and the teams that have won the Stanley Cup over the past few years. And a big theme and a big trend is that a lot of these teams aren't really building out just via the draft. They're doing a lot of their team building, especially supplementally. via the trade market. And I look at where the penguins are as an organization when it comes to goaltending. And I think you bring back Yoel Blumquist on an affordable contract. And whether it's this year or next year, that's an asset you can use on the trade market because you have

Sergei Murashov. You're likely to bring back Artur Shilov. We'll talk about it in a little bit, but you're likely to bring back Taylor Godier. So at this point, I look at Blumquist not so much as a failure, because that's not what I'm saying, but he's getting squeezed out because of the numbers game. He's probably not going to make it to the NHL in Pittsburgh. He's probably going to have his ceiling as third goalie call up for the penguins, but starter in Wilkes Bear.

So if you can get something for him, I do think it's worthwhile bringing. him back and at some point over the next two years moving him to an organization to further bolster whether it's your prospect depth or you're here and now on the NHL roster. Yeah, his situation is fascinating to me because he has been really good for Wilkesbury this year. I've actually liked how he and Murrishaw have really pushed one another throughout the 25, 26 season in Wilkesbury. They've formed a really nice tandem together down there. But I don't think it's any secret that. that Murashav is the quote-unquote preferred goaltender of the two when it comes to the front

office and the coaching staff. I mean, you obviously saw Murashav got his cup of coffee this year. He looked ready at times a little bit. There are other times where I was like, okay, still needs a little bit of work down to the HL. He's had a great season, obviously. He's had a really good playoffs so far. But, like, again, I think it's been obvious that they see him more as the long-term

answer than what. Blumquist. So I still think they'll bring Blumquist back on a short-term contract, but to your point, if they do dangle him in a trade, I won't be surprised because that could potentially help bring back a player to help you get younger, whether it's a defenseman or a forward. Like, we've talked about that goaltender logjam a lot in the organization. It's starting to not be as much of a logjam, but if you do trade Blumquist and move to bring another player back, it only furthers my point. there and it also does get Taylor Godier starting minutes in Wilkesbury which honestly Pat to at this point he probably deserves it considering that he has done literally everything that

he is needed to in Wheeling in the ECHL now they can all obviously just keep Blumquist if they wanted to and have him be the starter have Gotee be the 1B plenty of options there by the very least I do think they bring him back I don't think they let him go during the all season I'd be a little surprised I would too and And the other reason I think it trends towards him being a potential trade piece over the next couple of years is you also have Dague in the system who could be coming up here soon. And you know that they're going to find whether it's a free agent or somebody in the draft over the next couple of years, a younger goalie. And I think just it spells out that Blumquist could be expendable and valuable on the trade market. Now, the last thing I'll say on it is this, is that I don't want people to have overinflated expectations.

He's not going to bring you some big haul where you get your next massive piece. But it's a good problem to have that you have a lot of capable goalies in your system, that you can bring a lot of them back and then they can be used to further this retool on the fly. And finally, you set it as much. Coivinen, you bring them back. It's not going to cost a lot. The upside is still there, but he has got a lot left to prove after the way this year went. Yeah, I don't think they're really going to give up on him just yet.

I think they're going to bring him back on a short-term contract to see what he can do going into training camp. It's on him to make this team out of camp. And I remember last year training camp, he came in like a buzzsaw at a few really good days in a row. But then, you know, towards the end, fizzled out a little bit. And then we saw during the NHL season, Pat, where just hasn't fully figured it out yet at the NHL level. You have the reference of a quad A player that I'm sure a lot of our listeners are probably tired of hearing. But it's on him to really figure this out because I'm higher on Avery Hayes. I'm still higher on Rucker McGrody.

I think both those players are going to be solid NHL players once they're done developing. You know, I'm not giving up on Covenin, but I think of those three, Pat, he is the furthest behind when it comes to being ready for a full-time NHL spot, all that good stuff. So I think they bring him back. I don't think they're ready to give up on him yet, but it's on him to put in the work, excuse me. The clock is definitely ticking once we get into next season on Coimbin. But that is going to do it for the five restricted free agents the penguins have.

For the rest of the show, though, we've got 15 unrestricted free agents. Some of them you know, some of them you don't. we'll get into all of it and what the penguins should do this off season. So stick with us. We'll get into that right after this. Before we do that, though, we have got a couple of sponsors. We've got to get to starting with Ruggiat. The Stanley Cup playoffs are here where every shift matters.

Every moment is intense. And the pressure is at its highest for the penguins, the final three games of their postseason were nothing but pressure. Just like performance matters on the ice, it matters off the ice as well. and that is where Ruggiat comes in. Ruggiat offers treatments designed to help you get ready and stay ready when it matters. Their top option, Ruggiat Ready, combines clinically proven ingredients and a simple mint that dissolves under your tongue.

It works fast, often in about 15 minutes, and it can last up to 36 hours. They also offer go long designed to help with both performance and control. It's all about confidence and feeling like yourself again. Just head to Ruggiat.com slash locked on NHL and get 15% off your ED treatment. That's RUGIET.com slash locked on NHL for 15% off. Ruggiat performance for men. And we're not done. We've got one more to get to.

And that is our pals at quo. Mist calls and slow follow-ups are silent killers for businesses. That's how money gets left on the table without people even. realizing it. That is why today's episode is brought to you by Quo, spelled QUO, the business communication system built so that you never miss a call. Quo helps businesses keep every conversation organized by letting your entire team manage calls and texts from one shared number. No more drop messages, missed opportunities, or disconnected communication. It's designed for how modern businesses actually operate. And I love that everything lives in.

and one clean thread calls, text, voicemails, all of it. And that means the whole team sees the conversation, so nothing falls through the cracks. It makes your business feel more organized and more responsive. Money is calling, so always make sure to say hello with Quo. Try Quo for free, plus get 20% off your first six months when you go to Quo.com slash locked on NHL. That's QUO.com slash.

Locked-on N-HL. Welcome back to the Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes. And before we get back into it, if you never miss an episode of Locked-on Penguins, it's time to make it official. Join the Locked-on Every Day or Club and get access to ad-free audio, our members-only Discord, and so much more. It's all built for you, our most loyal fans.

head to Lockedon Podcasts.com slash everydayer club to learn more. All right, Hunter, let's jump back into it. As I have said, the Penguins will have a total of 15 UFAs this summer, the biggest, obviously being of Gennie Malkin. Now, we're not going to spend time on Gino, okay? We have talked about it ad nauseum. You know our feelings. You know what we think.

And we're going to leave it at that. Other than Gino, you have got these players who are UFAs. You have Kevin Hayes, Anthony Mantha, Noelle O'Hawr, Connor Dewar, Bokoamma, Yonah Copan, and Raphael Harvey-Pennard, excuse me, at Forward. Then on defense, you've got Connor Clifton, Ryan Shea, Ilya, Ilya, and Sebastian-Oha. No, Ojo, Aho, sorry, Sebastian A-Ho. What in the heck are you saying there, Pat? I don't know. I got the list in front of me, Hunter, and I'm just trying to read it off, but By the way, it's not that Sebastian Aho.

He's still playing against the Flyers. Don't worry about that. And your UFA's in net, Stuart Skinner, Taylor Godier, and Philip Lindbergh, who he's not even with the organization. So Ryan spent time on that one. But honestly, looking at this list, most of them, I think you're just saying goodbye. Yeah. Honestly, I'm in agreement with you there. We've already discussed that beginning, Malkin.

You all know our thoughts. We would bring him back. Time will tell what happens. Kevin Hayes, Pat, I wish him the best of luck. Really good soldier throughout the year. Obviously, a great teammate, but I just don't think there's any reason for the Penguins to bring him back because he hardly played. I think he's going to go to a team on a very short-term contract to maybe be a 12th slash 13th forward. Don't think it's going to be with the Penguins.

Anthony Mantha led the team in goals. Great regular season. Not very good in the playoffs. I am letting him go. yet you can see if you're watching on YouTube. Pat is literally waving goodbye. I am with you. I would not bring him back at this point.

You and I were talking a lot about it during the regular season where there was a world where we would, but then you see how bad he played in the playoffs. That just really soured me on bringing him back. He's going to get more money from someone else and he deserves it after the regular season that he had. But playoff wise just, again, doesn't have that dog in him when the stakes just, get higher. So I would let Anthony Mantha walk. Noel Chari Pat, great final season for his contract, but he's in his mid-30s now. In my opinion, Avery Hayes is ready to take his spot in the lineup.

I would let him walk. It might not be a popular take to some people in our comments and our DMs, but his team at some point has to eventually start getting even more younger. Kyle Dubas has preached that over the last year and a half, even though there were some youth in the lineup this year. There was still a lot of veterans. I think this is a player that you can let walk because you have a replacement ready to go with him. And then I'll close out my thoughts here because before I'll get to other ones, Pat, with Connor Dewar. I would bring him back. I would sign him to a short-term contract. I keep saying it. I think he's the straw that stirs the drink on the fourth line. Great on the PK. Really good at five-on-five. He was one of the

Penguins best players in game six against the flyers. I would bring him back on a short-term contract. Only made $1.1 million for this past season. If you can sign him to a couple of years, you know, maybe he gets, you know, 2.5 million per year, something like that. That works for me. He is someone that I definitely bring back, though, Pat. That's where I am, too.

I mean, I look at this list. Hayes, I feel bad because he's a great dude and he's a great soldier. he talked to Yohe in the lead up to the playoffs about not being in the lineup very often and just kind of being a character guy and you need those. But at this point, his career is suns setting. I feel bad, but at the end of the day, this is a business of winning. This is a business of developing. And he's done well, all things considered, but thanks for everything.

Anthony Mantha, I mean, listen, he might go somewhere else after all these years, finally find it in the playoffs, but I don't want to risk that here, especially because he's going to command a lot of money. So at the end of the day, it was a fun regular season, a nightmare of a playoff, but he earned a lot of money. It shouldn't be here. Achari loved the bounce back this year, loved it, thought he was fantastic all year long. But you've got players in the system who are more than ready to take that role. And then for Connor Dewar, If you can get him cheap, he's 26, he fits the mold of a guy you want to have on your fourth line, honest player, brings it every night, really gives you that energy in that sandpaper

in the bottom six. So if he's not going to cost a lot, totally good with bringing him back. As for the rest of the forwards, Boko Amama, I'm fine with bringing back as a character guy in the, in the, in the, in the, in the, the, in the, the players down there respect him. the NHL players like him. And he's not a physical element. Great teammate. Give him a two-way contract.

I am totally good with him. Yeah. And he's, I'll say this a lot. I know it gets overused in hockey circles. But he's a good character player. He's not going to cost you a lot of money. He's not going to have that big of an impact one way or the other.

But he's good in the locker room. He's good with younger players. And we see the way the NHL is trending. It's going back to being a very tough, almost dirty league. And if you can't beat them, you might as well literally beat them. So having that guy in your system when you need them every now and then, not the worst thing. Copan in our, RHP, they can go.

I mean, Copan never really worked out. Same with RHP. Whatever. Thanks for everything. He's been solid in Wilkesbury this year, though I'm not sure they're going to bring him back for another year. Could be wrong, but if he leaves, it's fine. Yonokopin hasn't really shown me much of the NHL level.

Either Sebastian Ahjo, there you go with the name pronunciation there, Pat. You know, if he leaves, that's also fine as well. And then for Taylor Godier, he is also UFA. I am bringing him back a million percent for at least next season, maybe even the season after. I think he is ready to take the next step in his career and be in Wilkesbury. for the entire 26-27 season. Now, whether that's as a starter or a 1B slash backup,

that's to be determined. But he has done everything that he is needed to, to, you know, really be in this position. Again, he's been fantastic in Wheeling. He doesn't really need to do anything else there. It's time for him to go up to Wilkesbury full-time. You know, Stuart Skinnerrat, well, actually, you know, what, we can save those because we do have a few more to get to

for our final segment that we really haven't discussed. and there are some good conversations to be had there. So I'll leave it at that. Yeah. And just to build off what you were saying about Gaudier, he's only about a year younger or older, excuse me, than Yowell Blumquist. And it's not like this is a journeyman, tweener kind of goaltender

that you have in your system. You don't, again, very similar to Blumquist. I don't see him making it much further in this organization than the H. A HL. But as I continue to say, you're going to want for at least the next handful of years, the Wheeling Nailers and the Wilkes-Berry Scranton Penguins to be playing good competitive hockey. So you are going to have to field good rosters at the AHL so that your prospects who you have NHL designs on are playing meaningful hockey. And you don't want to neglect that. So bringing back Gaudi A, especially after the.

the postseason he's having with the nailers, he's ready to graduate to the H.L. And with Sergey Murshov seemingly ready to take the next step into the NHL, that's got to be your replacement to step in with Yowell Blumquist, who again, they should bring back. And then Stu Skinner, let's finish on this one. And then we'll go into the defense to finish out the show. This is a tough one because I have said,

I said this at the conclusion of the season in the series. Skinner, I think, gets a lot of unfair grief because look at the two teams he's played for. The Edmonton Oilers and the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the history of those franchises, they are not known for being suffocating defensive teams. Every now and then, they will show you that they can play defense, but they are two franchises built on. Look at this insane group of forwards we have. Good luck, everybody else.

when it comes to the goaltending. So I think he's better than he gets credit for because he's played in front of some good offensive teams. But at the end of the day, he's got to go somewhere else just because you don't want to block Sergey Murshov. Arter Shilov's had a great postseason. And you can save money by letting him go

because somebody will pay him. And unfortunately, it's not here. He's a great teammate. I think he's better than he gets credit for. But his time here, It was short. It was sweet, but it's not going to be long. Yeah, they made that jari trade with the future in mind,

and I just don't think they're going to bring him back for another season, if not more. I think we've discussed that Sergei Mureshov is most likely ready for the NHL. We think they're going to bring back Artie Shilov, especially after the way he played in the playoffs. They do both those things. There's just no room for him here. Great teammate, great guy in the locker room. Everyone loved him.

I think some fans gave him too much crowd. map for that playoff series against Philly. In the first two games, he was one of the only players that showed up. And I said it on the show that I felt he was the best player in those two games, really outside of Afghani Malkin, to be honest. Game three, he let in a couple of howlers, but he also did make some big saves. You kind of got what you expected to get out of Stu Skinner. There were some really good moments, and there were other moments that really made you shake

your head. So, again, for as good as the vibes have been with him, overall, again, a good. great dude. I think another team is going to pay him to be a 1A slash 1B gold tender, maybe a two to three year contract, three million per 3.5 million, maybe somewhere in that range, maybe a little bit higher. I just don't think the penguins have the room here to bring him back. That's what I would say to. And again, you know, it's not an indictment of Stuart Skinner. No. It's just there are better or at least more affordable options that could work out long term for the penguins in net.

But we avoided talking about the defense and Sebastian Aho, whose name apparently I can't say, but he's not going to be a big topic of discussion. But a lot of other defensemen will be a topic of discussion going into this offseason as they are UFAs. We will finish up the show with that when we come back right after this. But we've got one more sponsor to get to, and that is indeed. workplace chaos, deadlines stacking up, inbox overflowing in that one position, you have to fill still sitting open.

When the pressure's on and you need the right hire, this is a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Indeed sponsored jobs help you reach the people who actually fit what you're looking for, skills, experience, and location. So you're not just hoping that the right candidate happens to stumble across your job. And here's a stat that says it all. And of the about minute I have been talking to you. Companies just like yours have made 27 hires on Indeed according to their worldwide data. So if you're hiring, spend less time searching and more time interviewing candidates who check all of your boxes with Indeed sponsored jobs. Less time searching, more time actually interviewing those candidates who check all the boxes.

So you've got less stress, less time, and more results. When you need the right person to cut through the chaos. It's a job for Indeed sponsored jobs. Listeners of Locked on Penguins will get a $75 sponsored job credit to help get your job the premium status. It deserves at Indeed.com slash podcast. Just go to Indeed.com slash podcast and support Locked on Penguins by saying you heard about Indeed on this very show. Indeed.com slash podcast. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire. It's a job. for indeed sponsored jobs. We're finishing up the Tuesday edition of Locked-on Penguins.

I'm Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes. And let's finish with the defensemen. There are quite a few in case I screwed up with some of the name pronunciations, which I totally did. You've got Connor Clifton, Ryan Shea, Ilya Solov, and Sebastian Aho. Now, Aho, don't really need to talk about him. minor league player one way or the other who really cares but these are the couple that I look at that I think really do need to be considered to be brought back and that is Ryan Shea and

Ilya Solov I think Shea had not even arguably he had his best season as a pro with the penguins he was solid all year he's a good sixth or seventh defenseman I liked Ilias solov's game limited as it was in the postseason but I do think there is a nice ceiling for him. He's still relatively young when you look at him, 25 years old. And as I say a lot, defensemen take a while to develop at the NHL level. And at 25, in some sheltered minutes, he played well. So I look at those two as candidates that the penguin should really consider bringing back.

The Ryan Shea one is really fascinating to me. You said it. Career year, six goals, 35 points. this season in 80 games. You look at his contract, Pat. He didn't make that much. 900K against the cap. He's looking for a pay raise,

and deservedly so. He had the best season of his career. But how much is too much when it comes to him? Because I do think you can see at least a few teams in free agency potentially look to overpay for his services. So I think with Ryan Shea, would I like him back?

Yes, I think that one has to be on your terms, though. And I'm not saying that because, oh, by God, the penguins are in salary cap hell. They're not. They have plenty of cap space to make it work. I'm just saying that this type of situation still feels like it needs to be on your terms to the point where you don't overpay him. Because I loved the season that he had. Really good on the third pair. Show that he can play on the second pair at times two.

But you just have to be careful here with that one. I'd like him back, but you don't want to give him an overpay on the contract. When it comes to Solov, I'd also like him back. I also don't think he's going to cost very much. He made 775K. He showed some flashes if you bring him back on a one or two-year deal as like a seventh, eighth defenseman. That's fine with me.

Connor Clifton, though, Pat, see you later. And I'm not trying to be mean when I say that. Very good vibes guy. loved in the locker room, but especially down the stretch pat and into the playoffs, he saw he was scratched, just didn't play his best hockey in those final couple of weeks and in the playoffs. I don't think I would bring him back if I were Kyle Dubus, but we'll see. I let him walk to free agency.

Yeah, I mean, when it comes to Clifton, if you can bring him back for a year or two, and it's honestly less than what he made this year, which was $3.3 million, I'm okay with bringing him back. He gives you good depth. You can bring him in in a pinch. I think you look to upgrade, though, that spot. Like overall, you also have Harrison Brunich coming here, potentially next season. I just don't think they're going to bring him back. Yeah, I think of the guys who saw NHL action.

He's the most likely to walk. As for, as for Ryan Shea, I agree on the sense that it needs to be on your terms. You don't want to overpay him. It does sound, though, like he really wants to come back. It sounds like the penguins do have some leverage in the sense that he wants to stay here. He wants to be here. And hopefully that can lead you to getting him back on an affordable deal. He's going to be due a raise.

But when you make all of 900K against the cap with the season he had, you're looking at one and a half, maybe two million, I think in total. Just because with the salary cap going up with him being essentially, a fifth defenseman as his ceiling. You're not going to pay him a ton. So I do think that's going to be easy for them to get. And Saloviev, I mean, 775K, he's a good depth defenseman. I think his ceiling is a little bit higher than most think.

But at the end of the day, it'll be a good depth signing. So I do think you look at the defense, there's going to be room to upgrade both internally and externally with the cap space that they have. So they're in a good spot, I think. Obviously, we know all the deals that they have on the books right now, which, you know, Eric Carlson, we'll see what happens with him over this season and the off season because he is making $10 million against the cap, but it's the last year of his deal. So there is a world where they could move him, depending upon what they get offered.

With Tang, you're stuck with that. Hopefully he can bounce back. Sam Gerard, he's going into the last year of his deal at $5 million. Ryan Graves just got to deal with it. And then Parker Watherspoon, you got him for another year at $1 million. So I think they're doing all right on defense. But at the end of the day, I'm fine with bringing back Shay and Solov. Clifton, thanks for the memories.

See elsewhere. Yeah. I still want them to really upgrade the top four spot, especially on the left side. I'm not trying to disrespect anyone, but I still think they need another legit top four guy. on the left side, preferably top pair. Love Parker Waterspoon.

I thought he had a great season. I still would like an even better defenseman on that side. Just that's for more long term, though. Like this is for short term. Long term, I'd like a legit top pair guy on the left side. I think if you can swing that this off season, that's something that I would be looking for, you know, in that, you know, young to mid-20s range.

Again, that's the age range that Kyle Dubus is really looking at to try and upgrade the roster again this offseason. So we'll see if some of those players become available the summer. I think that's an area that he could look to upgrade as well. And we got plenty of time to talk about that because we are still well away from the Stanley Cup being awarded, the NHL draft and free agency all coming along. And we are your place for all of that. So make sure you are subscribed.

You're following us on social media and all that good stuff. But that is going to do it for the Tuesday edition of Locked on. on Penguins. Hunter and I will be back with a brand new episode for you on Wednesday. And guess what? It's time for our season ending. Warrior Helmet Wednesday will give you the recap of Warrior Helmet Wednesday this past season and hand out our season long Warrior Helmet Wednesday Award. And we'll talk about anything else that might happen between now and then for the Pittsburgh Penguins. But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you as always for tuning in. And we will talk to you. on Wednesday.