Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins look to cool down a red-hot Kings team at PPG Paints Arena

Episode Date: December 17, 2024

The Penguins are back in action tonight at PPG Paints Arena when they welcome one of the NHL's hottest teams, the Los Angeles Kings - Patrick and Hunter discuss what has led to the Kings' success and how the Penguins can slow them down. First, they dive into what has helped the Kings win six of their last eight and how while they don't have any truly dominant players, they get it done with a team effort as well as contributors from Anze Kopitar. Next, they talk about how with Alex Nedeljokvic set to start tonight, he has to be the catalyst for a Penguins victory as he must rebound from what has been a poor start to the season. Finally, with Kyle Dubas's plan of wanting to get young players who need a change of scenery to Pittsburgh, could there be a 23-year-old forward looking to get out of New York for a fresh start? Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Mint MobileTo get this new customer offer and your new 3-month premiumwireless plan for just 15 bucks a month, go to MINTMOBILE.com/lockedonnhl. Disclaimer - $45 upfront payment required (equivalent to $15/mo.). New customers on first 3 month plan only. Speeds slower above 40GB on Unlimited plan. Additional taxes, fees, & restrictions apply. See MINT MOBILE for details.IndeedStill searching for a great candidate for your company? Don’t search, just match–with Indeed. Claim your SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLAR CREDIT now at Indeed.com/LOCKEDON. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? You need Indeed. PrizePicksDownload the app or go to https://prizepicks.onelink.me/LME0/LOCKEDONNHL to get $50 instantly after you play your first $5 lineup. 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.FanDuelYou can start the season with a big return on FanDuel. New customers can place a FIVE DOLLAR bet and you’ll get started with ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLARS in BONUS BETS - if you win your first FIVE DOLLAR BET ! Visit FANDUEL.COM to get started. 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.

Stone cold Sidney Crosby and his team of baby faces will take on the heel faction of the Los Angeles Kings tonight at PPG Paints Arena for WWE night. Hunter and I will get you set 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. 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 at Synonym 4Wet. Join as always by my co-host, my tag team partner, 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 L0 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 podcast as well as YouTube. and if you're following us on YouTube, make sure to hit the notification button so you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Before we jump into this one, today's episode is brought to you by the college football playoff. The college football playoff is here and you don't want to miss a moment of the action.

The college football playoff presented by Allstate begins with four first round games on December 20th and 21st on ESPN, ABC, TNT, and Max. Okay, Hunter, I'll stop being a nerd here and making WWE references. It's a theme night at PPG paints arena. For some reason, in their game day graphic, they put the championship belt on Ryan Graves. That would be quite a plot twist for Monday Night Raw, but, you know, he's not in the WWE, but I digress. This, in all seriousness, is going to be a huge, huge challenge for the penguins tonight

because the Los Angeles Kings, as it says right there in our, run down. They are on an absolute heater right now. They are coming off a 5-1 victory over the New York Rangers, and it was not a close game whatsoever. They dismantled the Rangers. And yes, the Rangers are struggling. They're going through it right now, but you would have expected them to put up a little bit more of a fight than they did. So that win was their seventh in their last eight. This is a team hunter that they don't do anything particularly dominant. They don't have really many standout stars. They still have Anzay Kopitar who is beating back father time with regularity, something we as penguins fans can relate to. But they play a solid 200 foot game

for 60 minutes and you have little to no margin for error when you play this team. So for the Penguins tonight, it is going to be, as I said, a massive, massive challenge. As I hinted at yesterday, Pat, I'm taking a bit of an L on the Kings this year because they have been fantastic to start this season. These last couple of years, they've been kind of canon fodder for whoever they play in the playoffs. Usually it's getting their butt swooped by the Oilers who have obviously a lot more high-end talent that the Kings do.

But this year, they play very well defensively. They're getting more scoring. And of course, Onzee Kopitar has been the ageless one. He could very well win the Selky Trophy again this year. He has been on another level for the Kings, my friend. I mean, he is overall point per game. His defensive metrics are once again crazy. And he has been, again, their best player this year.

You also have Adrian Kempbe scoring at a top line winger rate. He has 15 goals, 30 points, and 30 games. You have Trevor Moore. He's also playing well. Kevin Fiala has 10 goals. Alex LaFerey. He has 12 goals, 22 points, and 30 games. They're getting contributions from all over their line.

end up. And they have a new emerging defenseman in Brant Clark. Before this season, he only played in 25 games, eighth overall pick in the 2021 NHL draft. He's already played in 30 games this year. He has been fantastic for the Kings. He's going to be on that blue line for a long time. And again, he's been great. And the thing is, they're doing all of this, even though they lost Matt Roy, and they don't even have Drew Dowdy right now. Dowdy is usually their best defenseman. He might be a bit older, but he's still when he's healthy. their best defensemen. They're still doing this even without him.

They're one of the best defensive teams in the league. The Penguins are going to really have to earn their offense tonight. The Kings really don't make a lot of mistakes in their own zone. There's a reason why they are elite at suppressing shots. They're a very good defensive team. That's kind of been their identity going back to the Daryl Sutter days, if I'm being honest. It's now continued even though he's obviously been gone for quite a while now. But this is a very deep team.

They're good defensively. They're getting the goal tending this year. Penguins, again, you're going to have to get traffic in front. You're going to have to really work for this offense. You're going to have to forecheck hard. I know the Kings, even in recent years, their offense has been a bit troubling at times. This year, though, I will say it's been a bit better. Thanks to Kopitar, thanks to Kempe, you know, thanks to obviously Kevin Fiala, etc.

I think they'll go after another score at the deadline. But I really hope that they're able to, again, do what they've been doing these last nine games. their expected goals percentage, the Penguins that is, is in the top five, the top 10 in the league. If you're able to bring that over into this game against the Kings, where it's hard to generate offense against them, obviously they'll have a shot to win this game. But again, that's easier said than done when you go up against an elite defensive team.

It's very difficult. Tonight will have to be a very patient game for the Penguins because it'll be a game where you might not get a lot of chances. They're not going to fall, but you have to stick to the process. We'll get a little bit more into what the Penguins will have to do to get a win tonight in our second segment. But let's keep the focus here on the Los Angeles Kings for right now. Like you said, they are getting great contributions up and down the lineup.

Obviously, you talked about Kopitar, you talked about Kempe, Kopitar with 34 points this year, Kempay with 30. Those are their two biggest contributors. Those are the guys carrying the load offensively for this team. I do want to push back a little bit on you saying that they are getting offense this year. It's not so much that they're getting offense because they're right around the middle of the pack when it comes to goal differential. The thing is that they're winning a lot of the, you know, putting the Rangers game to the side where they exploded five to one. They're winning a lot of two to one, three to two games.

They're not blowing teams out of the water. They're not going on these great offensive explosions. It's more offense than normal, especially when you look at these last couple years where it was really hard for them to score, especially in the playoffs when they were playing a team like Edmonton, for example. Yeah, you're absolutely right. But then another side of it is while they're not getting a ton of offense, they're getting a lot of contributions looking at their stat page individually. They have 16 players on this roster who have scored two or more goals this season.

So they are getting contributions from everybody. So they don't need, say, Kopitar to score 4550. If he can put up 30, 35, Kempe can be in and around the same, and they get these contributions around the margins from their depth players, they're going to continue to be successful. I will say this. Ridditch has been solid enough for them in the type of game that they play, but this could be at the very least a tiny weakness for them

with him having a sub-900 save percentage, still has a goals against average of about 2.5. But at the end of the day, if there is even a little bit of a weakness on this Kings team, it might be in goal. Right. And we still don't know who is fully starting as of what, 1138 a.m.

as we're recording this right now. It will be one of Darcy Kemper or Riddick. And Kemper has actually been the better of the two goalies. You look at the stats and they play, it's kind of like a 1A1B, right? he's played 18 games. Kemper has played 13, but Kemper, he's 7, 2 and 3 in his starts. Riddick is 10 and 7. And you look at the individual numbers because I hate using wins as a as a stat for goaltenders. 2.27 goals against average for Kemper also has a 916 save percentage

where you had a Riddick, his stuponage is 890, 2.49 goals against average. So again, Kemper has been the better goalie. I'm not fully sure who they're going to start as of this time. But it's at least been. nice seeing Kemper bounce back after some tough times in Washington. He had a couple of, you know, there was at least one tough year there, but you could tell that it wasn't a fit in D.C. They made that big trade, obviously, with Pierre Logue Dubois, who has looked a little bit better with the capals compared to his time with the Kings,

and the bar was literally on the floor for that. But Kemper needed a fresh start going to a more defensive team in the Kings. I think has worked wonders for his game because even last year and the year before that for the Capitals, they were. you know, defensively, but they weren't this good, like the Kings are defensively.

So that helps a goaltuner like Kemper who can ease himself into the game a bit more, makes him say, see some pucks where, you know, with Washington, again, like it was kind of the opposite, in my opinion,

where he wasn't really easing himself into game. So I do think that's a big reason why he's been a lot better this year compared to his time in Washington. But, you know, we'll also have to see, you know, how Alex Nadelcovich plays

tonight. He's getting the start for the Penguins, which I was a little surprised by. I actually figured they would go back to Jari, even though he gave up that overtime winner. He didn't look good with the Shabakal. And yes, we discussed those quotes during our Monday episode that he had about the Drake Batherson goal. I still felt the Penguins were going to go back to him for this game, considering how he's played compared at least to Nadelkovich. But I guess they want to see what Ned can do against a very good team. I just get a bit nervous because he hasn't been that good this year. For sure. But it was probably about time for Ned to get a start. You don't want to leave him on the bench for too long and throw him out

after an extended stretch of sitting on the bench and watching. But we will get into that. When we come back, we'll put the focus on the Pittsburgh Penguins and what they have to do to come out victorious tonight against the Los Angeles Kings. And we will do that when we come back. But first, we've got a couple sponsors to tell you about starting with built rewards. Today's episode is sponsored by Built Rewards. If you're a renter, listen up. This is a total game changer. Thanks to Built, you can now earn points on rent payments,

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Select quote, they shop, you save. Get the right life insurance for you for less at selectquote.com slash locked on NHL. Just go to select quote.com slash locked on NHL today to get started. That's select quote.com slash locked on NHL. All right, welcome back. It is the Tuesday edition, a game day edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Penguins and Kings tonight at PPG Paints Arena. We just spent the first segment talking about what a good team, the Los Angeles Kings are. They are coming into PPG Panes Arena red hot and the penguins are going to have a significant challenge in front of

them tonight. But let's start in the net. Like you said, you, mentioned in the first segment, Alex Nadelcovic, confirmed by Mike Sullivan, will get the start tonight against the Kings. This is not just going to be a challenge for the Penguins as a whole going up against the Los Angeles Kings. This is going to be a challenge for Alex Nadelcovich. He has struggled pretty low-key this season because of all the focus on Tristan Jari and his struggles going down to the H.L the way last season ended. Nadelcovich has kind of been able to avoid the spotlight with his struggles this year. He has not played particularly well, but his cohort, Tristan Jari, despite some stumbles here

and there, has begun to rebound. And tonight would be a really good place for Alex Nadelcovic to find himself on that same path. You said it, man. I mean, this is a very big start for Nadelcovich, not just going forward for the rest this week, but I think going forward for the rest of the season, obviously he has not had the start to the season that he expected, especially after resigning with the Penguins during the all-season a move that I think we both admitted to not really saw it coming,

just considering that they brought Jari back to the season prior. Blumquist was maybe ready, but I mean, he showed earlier this year that we feel like he is ready for initial action, even though he's backed down in Wilkesbury. But if he doesn't have a good start tonight and really doesn't start to rebound, I do think there is a world where the Penguins potentially move him at the trade deadline to a team that maybe needs either a backup goaltender or maybe a third goaltender in their system. Because as the saying goes, you can never have enough goaltending in your system, especially when the playoffs come around.

And I don't think it will be getting a lot back for Ned. If that happens, probably a mid to late round pick, something like that. But you look at his numbers this year. He's 76 in the league with allowing over six goals above expected this year. 76. These actually two spots below, Tristan Jari, only has an 8.82 percentage. and a 3.37 goals against average. This is a massive test against a very good Kings team

that just blew out the Rangers who are very down bad. Stay tuned for something regarding the Rangers coming up here for our crazy trade idea in the final segment. I don't think it's that crazy, in my opinion. But this needs to be a big start for him, considering the year that he has had. Also, I feel like this has to be another Michael Bunting game.

He's played really well these last two to three weeks. He's going to the net more. He's being more of a rat. he's forechecking aggressively. I need to see that in this game against the Kings, who again, don't give you a lot defensively. So I need to see Michael Bunton create some havoc. I need to see Blake Lazot create some havoc as well in front of the net.

I also want to see the big guns for the Penguins in this one. I want to see Crosby and Malkin really kind of wake up out of their small slumber. Again, I don't think they're playing like poorly by any stretch. I think part of it is a bit unlucky. But I do feel like these two are ready to strike. and I'm hoping that it's tonight because you can see the balances just aren't going their way. You know, they're creating offense. Puck's not going the back in the net.

They're kind of fighting it a little bit. But I feel like it's only a matter of time before they both start breaking out of this and they start scoring quite a bit. So I want to see a big game from those two tonight as well. So that's what I'm really looking for for some of my keys for this game against the Kings. And then, again, making sure when you get a chance, you bury it because you're not going to get many against this Kings team. Absolutely. You beat me to that one.

I was going to say that two of the players I've got my eyes on tonight are Sidney Crosby and of Gennie Malkin. The process has been there. The effort has been there. Heck, even the chances have been there for both of them. Now they just have to start falling. When you compare the Penguins top six to the King's top six, it comes back to the point that the Los Angeles Kings don't really dominate games. so much as they get it done with a full team effort. Everybody chips in. Everybody is rowing in the same direction.

But when you look at the Penguins top six compared to the King's top six, I would give an ever so slight advantage to the Penguins top six. And this is a game where they have to prove that. Crosby would love to see him break out of his goal scoring slump tonight. It was reported yesterday that he stayed an extra, I think, 25 minutes after practice, and he was working on net front tips, shots. So you can tell that he is well aware of where he is at right now in this goal scoring slump. And he's not shying away from it.

And you know when he gets into these modes where he stays 25 minutes after practice, He starts working on a very specific thing. The progress shows up and he eventually breaks through. That said, the chances have been there for him. Eventually they're going to start to fall. Same thing goes for Hvgeny Malkin. I've really liked his game the past couple of weeks. He's moving a lot more smoothly.

He's making good decisions for the most part. A couple of turnovers here and there. But that is the Hvgeny Malkin experience. When you have the puck a lot, sometimes you turn it over. So I want to see those two break out. The other thing I'm very curious to see what happens tonight is with the defense. Because we now know Marcus Pedersen on injured reserved. Nathan Clermann has been called up.

And I doubt we'll see Clermann draw in tonight. They'll probably go with what they had in practice yesterday, which was Pickering and Latang on the top pairing, Grizzlic and Carlson on the second, and then Graves and Ryan Shea together. So this is a sink or swim game for this defensive six, because we know that Letang has been playing extremely well lately. Owen Pickering looks like he's making his case to never get sent back to Wilkesbury Scranton. Grizzlick, the play has been improved ever so slightly recently.

He hasn't been as bad, but again, very similar to his cohort Ryan Grasman. Braves, bar wasn't set very high. And we know how bad Carlson and Grizzlic are as a pair. So I want to see if these guys can live up to the moment tonight. I mean, I love the top pairing, Pickering, Latang, keep feeding, pickering those minutes. They've been very good together. Totally good with that. But man, that Grizzly Carlson pairing, it stinks, man.

It is bad. They were getting feasted on when they had that pairing early. the season when they were making changes in putting Pedersen with Lettang, which again, I like the Pedersen-Latine pairing. They have good underlying numbers together, but you screw over Carlson in that process because him and Grizzlik were a disaster. Both were making really poor pinches, especially Grizzlic. Carlson was at times too, but Grizzly was especially making bad pinches.

And you're putting Carlson in a really bad situation there where he's having to defend all these two-on-ones and such. So that pairing, I have very, and I mean very low expectations for it. and you know, we'll see. If it blows me away tonight, I'll go on the show tomorrow and say, hey, I was wrong, but I don't know if that's going to be the case, considering how bad it's been this year. And then Shay,

I mean, let's be honest, this season quite a bit. You and I have been forced to eat our words. So maybe tonight will be another one of those nights. Hey, I will say that is fair. But again, you mean, looking at the numbers for that Grizzly Carlson pairing, I do have some stats for you, Pat, just from my notes. 32 games this year with Carlson and Grizzlick on the ice, almost 100 minutes. They have a 44% shot attempts per 60 rate, four goals for, five goals against.

They've also been on the ice for only 37% of the scoring chances and 36% of the high danger chances. Is that bad? I never said that we were going to have a good meal when we ate our words. I just said we might eat them. So this might not be the best meal you've ever had. I mean, yeah, it's probably going to be, you know, again. just pretty piss poor. But yeah, those numbers stink.

And again, I just don't have high expectations for it when you look at the data and the eye test matches it. And with Graves and Shea, you can make an argument. Oh, let's put Graves up with Carlson. No, the numbers last year were just as bad. And I don't need to see Ryan Graves in a top floor role right now. So, yeah, it's going to be a big test. And, you know, we'll see if they can hold on for however long Pedersen is out because it is week to week right now. Yeah, and it'll be okay.

I think I said this yesterday. It'll be all right because we do have the holiday break coming up next week. So at the very least, he'll have a time to recover where there are no games being played. So he could realistically only miss, say, six games and then be back. But we'll see when we get updates on that injury moving forward real quick before we throw it to break. Just to look at the lines that they had yesterday at practice, not a lot of changes from what we saw earlier this week.

Crosby with Raquel and Rust on the top line, Malkin with Bunting and Thomasino on the second, glass in the middle of Drew O'Connor and Anthony Bovillier, and the fourth line, Blake Lazot in the middle with Noelle Achari and Matt Nietto. So big test for the Penguins tonight at PPG paints arena, but that is going to do it for our game preview portion of the Tuesday edition of Lockdown Penguins. When we come back, you know the Penguins plan. right? They're looking for a lot of guys who might need a change of scenery. And with one of their Metropolitan Division rivals going through quite a rough patch,

there might be somebody available on the trade market that Kyle Dubas should target. Hunter and I will talk about that when we come back. But before we do that, we're going to tell you about our last sponsor. And that is Fandle. Get ready to tackle the NFL action with Fandle, America's number one sportsbook. Because right now new customers can bet $5 and, get 150 in bonus bets if you win. The Fandle Sportsbook app gives you everything you need to place live bets on the NFL all in

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It is the Tuesday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp. That's Hunter Hodes. And Hunter, what is Kyle Dubus's plan right now for this rebuild, not quite a rebuild retool on the fly? What is he looking for? Well, he's looking for all these young players that really haven't panned out with their teams to try and see if he can kind of,

inject them with a new situation here in Pittsburgh. I mean, you've seen that with Philip Tomasino. He's been a really strong fit. You saw that with Cody Glass over the summer. You saw that with Mark and Grosvenority, even though he's not in the NHL full time. He's really getting going in the HL, by the way. We'll have a Wilkesbury update coming up for you all.

Probably a bit later this week, yet another really nice goal last week where all the teddy bears came flying on the ice in Wilkesbury. That was awesome that he had that goal. He'll be in the NHL full time at some point, but there's a pattern. He's taking chances on younger players to try and get them in the lineup here to try and inject them with, you know, some youth, energy,

all that other stuff. And Cabo caco of the New York Rangers might be someone who at least he could potentially make a call on. I think the Rangers aren't just going to give him away, especially to one of their biggest rivals. The Penguins will have to pay at least a decent price to get him. You'll have that Metropolitan Division tax. Obviously, you saw that with the Riley Smith trade to the Rangers, you know, earlier this

year during the last season. But I don't think it's going to be like that type of package. I think it's going to be a bit more considering he's, you know, a bit younger. He's shown some promise in the league and all that good stuff. And, you know, this year only has four goals, 14 points in 29 games. He's been a healthy scratch a couple of times just because the Rangers are really going through it this year, man. I mean, they are down bad. There's been rumors about a big team meeting on the Steve Dangel podcast, apparently,

where they were discussing Chris Drury and how he needs to change his ways or get the heck out of Manhattan. It's rough there. I don't even know if they're going to make the playoffs at this point. I can't even believe I'm saying that, considering that we all saw how they played to start the season and they were on a roll. Now they're just playing some awful hockey. And even before this year, last year, he had a 13 goal season, the year before that, had an 18 goal season.

I know people are going to come in here like, well, he hasn't lived up to the hype of the second overall pick. And I get that. You know, there's been some consistency issues. But if he, in this circumstance, were to come in here, be a solid middle six player, I think the penguins would take that, considering where they are in this retool slash rebuild on the fly, you know, getting another younger player in the lineup.

I would be more than down for it if the price is right. Another player, if the price is right, that also could be on that list is Buffalo Sabres for Dylan Cousins. And that's probably even more unlikely because you look at that contract, that's a lot. Right now it would have to be dollar in, dollar out, probably some retention. I like cousins a lot.

Probably not at 7.1 million. But if he lives up to the hype and lives up to what he's done in the league before, I would be down for it. But so far this season, he hasn't lived up to that number. So I think the Penguins would have to look for some retention there. You have to at least call the Sabres

because Kevin Adams' job is obviously on the line. I don't really think he's that good of a GM. And there was rumors that Terry Pojula just met the team in Montreal, I believe, and talked to them about this and was like, oh, like, this is the group. We believe in you guys. It's like, okay, if you want to say that, that's whatever. I mean, you've lost 10 in a row, but okay, but that's still another player that I would at least

have my eye on. Again, I don't think the Penguins are going to do it. They don't have the cap right now to do it unless they send players out and maybe ask the Sabers to retain some money. But it's at least someone that I would call as well, because he also fits the type of player that Dubus will go after, even though, again, probably for salary cap reasons, it's not going to work out. Yeah, Cousins for me is kind of a, I like the player, I see the potential, I don't like the money, I don't like the term.

So that would have to be a really complicated deal that I don't think the penguins want to get involved with, especially considering they already have a lot of money tied up in defense. When you consider Ryan Graves, Eric Carlson, Chris Latang, that's a lot of money locked up on the blue line. You don't want to add $7 million to that pool of money. already, even if you get a little bit of retention, you're still maybe talking at most. It would go down to $6 million. And that's still quite a lot to pay for a defenseman who has not lived up to his potential. Well, not a defenseman. It's a forward.

Or forward. Yeah, excuse me. But my point to that is the main name that you think of in these deals is Marcus Peders. That's where I was coming in with the defense. and it's the same deal with the Buffalo Sabres. They have a ton of money locked up on defense. And I don't think they would want to take on,

even if it's for one more year, Marcus Pedersen to add to their blue line just because they're not a Stanley Cup contender. They're likely to not make the playoffs. And he just wouldn't be a fit there. So that would be a more complex deal. But then I look at the Rangers. They just moved out Jacob Truba.

They could be in the market for someone like Marcus Pederson. And you look at Capo Caco's cap hit. Wow, that is a tongue twister. Capo Caco's cap hit. $2.4 million for just this year. Then he's an RFA. You look at his career numbers, 329 games played 61 goals, 131 points. I don't see him getting a massive raise.

in restricted free agency. Maybe he bumps up to $3 million, maybe like 3.2. But this is the exact kind of player that Kyle Dubas has been targeting since this past off season. 23 years old, he was a second overall pick of the Rangers in 2019. And you brought this up. He has been healthy scratch this year. And that is something to keep an eye on because the Rangers are going through it.

looking for any answer they can find, even if it means scratching a player like Kako. Here's the thing. He's been scratched by all three head coaches that he's had in his time with the New York Rangers. So this is clearly a relationship that's not working. And if you got to pay Marcus Pedersen and a pick or two for a 23-year-old forward who has a ton of potential and is not costing you a lot of money, I know Kyle, Dubus wants to restock the system. I know he wants to hold on to picks and prospects, but if you can get a guy who already has more than 300 games of NHL experience and has put up solid middle six forward numbers on an affordable deal with the chance and the potential to become a top

six forward, you've got to make that call. Yeah, Pedersen to the Rangers could be a sneaky little thing just because they need help on defense. I mean, obviously they traded Truba. Ryan Lingren has not been good this year, once again on their left side. They definitely, I feel like, have a hole on that side. If you can maybe get Kocko as part of that return, and I would die if this happened,

somehow get Gabe Perra coming back as well. That's not going to happen, but I can dream, right? A man can dream, people, if they want to send Gabe Perra back again. That is not going to happen, but if they were to include something else in that deal, and they did that, I would, you know, that would just be awesome considering how good of a prospect he is.

But, yeah, that's not going to happen, especially for a rental defenseman. But yeah, Cocko, I feel like would have to be part of that trade. And, you know, maybe with, you know, a second, maybe even a late first, for example, I think would also work in that deal. So, you know, there could be something there in terms of a deal. But, again, if you can somehow prod cocko out, whether it's that type of deal or even maybe if it's something smaller where even Peterson's not going to New York, I'm still very much considering it, considering that,

I was kind of funny. I didn't mean to do the alliteration there, but that's okay. But I would definitely consider it because of the plan that Kyle Dubas has had with acquiring all these younger pieces. It fits right in, too, with that plan, but also back to the Rangers real quick.

The other thing I think that would be appealing for the Rangers for Marcus Pedersen is they have all of two defensemen, or three defensemen, excuse me, locked up. past this year. Obviously, Adam Fox, they have got him for the next three years after this one at 9.5 million worth every single penny. He is a tremendous defenseman. They have Braden Schneider, who is locked up for one more year at 2.2. And then they have Connor McKay, who is at 775,000,

or 775,000, excuse me. And then they also have Victor Mancini, but that's more of a minor league guy who's up due to injuries to Bacchanin and Kianjee, Andre Miller. So they have the ability this offseason to essentially reshape their entire defensive core outside of Adam Fox and one or two other guys. So realistically, if you send them a pending UFA defenseman who does well for them, they're going to have the money to keep him in blue and red. And it'll be one of those moments where you look at it and go,

well, you know what? like yeah sure maybe caco kills us as a penguin but we're going to have a really good defenseman that we got in return it's not like you're going to fleece them and he's just going to be a killer against you you'll have somebody there that makes this valuable for both sides right and kandre miller has also had a really up and down season this year on the left side again they have a big hole to fill and i think peterson what he does i think would fit the rangers to a t especially with how many defensive problems they've had this year i think he would be a step towards potentially fixing those problems, even though it would be painful,

St. Pedersen in a Rangers sweater. It really would, but we kind of know that he is not going to likely be in a Penguins jersey past this season. Hell, even maybe past the NHL trade deadline. But that is going to do it for the Tuesday edition of Locked-on Penguins. Penguins Kings tonight,

WWE night, the main event at PPG Paints Arena 7 o'clock. Hunter and I will be back with a brand new episode, recapping that game. as well as Warrior Helmet Wednesday tomorrow. But for now, thank you as always for tuning in. We appreciate it. For Hunter Hodes, I'm Patrick Damp, thanks once again for tuning in,

and we will be back in your podcast feeds on Wednesday.