Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins make a bunch of roster moves, including WAIVING Tomasino

Episode Date: November 18, 2025

The Penguins are back stateside, and on Tuesday, the front office made a bunch of roster moves, including waiving a young forward. Patrick and Hunter begin the show by breaking down the Penguins' roster moves on Tuesday, including calling up Sam Poulin, placing Ville Koviunen on injured reserve, and waiving Phillip Tomasino. They focus mostly on the waiving of Tomasino, and given his start to the season, it was probably time. (0:00) Then, with the Penguins off until Friday, they take a spin around the Metropolitan Division and see how our counterparts are faring so far this year. (12:37) Finally, the Penguins will get back to action on Friday, but just around the corner is a hectic December schedule. Patrick and Hunter take a look at what will be a massive test for the Penguins in the final month of 2025. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!RugietVisit https://rugiet.com/LOCKEDONNHL to get 15% off your first order. 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.MonarchTake control of your finances with Monarch. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at https://monarch.com/lockedonnhl for 50% off your first year.FanDuelDownload the FanDuel app now by visiting FanDuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The penguins are officially back state side, and they weren't taken Tuesday off. They had practice and they made a slew of roster moves. Hunter and I are going to break all of that down right after this. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome in to another 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. You can give our show's Twitter account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. And you can also find us on Instagram at Lockedon underscore Penguins. as well as TikTok at Locked-on Penguins. As always, 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. And if you're following us on YouTube, which you should be,

once you do, make sure to hit that notification button. That way you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Before we get started, this episode is brought to you by Fandul. Download the Fandul app now by visiting Fandul.com, and you could win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins. Well, Hunter, the break did not last very long for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they are back in the United States from the global series where they took three of a possible four points from the Nashville Predators in Sweden. and Tuesday very much was a work day for everybody involved as the penguins were back at practice and Kyle Dubus and the management team were making plenty of roster moves. Let's start with the front office.

Two big moves, three technically of note today. Sam Poulan has been recalled from the AHL as Velae Coyvenin was put on injured reserve. He is now considered week to week. And then the third move that we've got to discuss is Philip Tomasino has been placed on waivers. And I'll be honest, not that surprised. It has not been a very good season for Tomasino. I had really high hopes for him this off season, especially the way he played when he became a penguin last year. He showed a lot of flash, a lot of promise.

and it seemed like the only thing missing from his game was consistency. And to start this year, he has been anything. But nine games played in just one assist, and he is a minus two. So this is not a very surprising move by Kyle Dubus in the front office. Not at all. He's only played in nine games. So yeah, he's been scratched a little bit, but it's been deserved. Only one point in those nine games.

That one point is an assist. No goals this season, especially after last year. year when he was on, he was a really solid depth contributor for this team 11 goals in 23 points and 50 games for the Penguins last year. He got some time up on the second line with Evgeny Malkin. He was also on the third line at times. He got some time on the power play at times. And, you know, when he got to hear, Pat, he was red hot out of the gate. And then he would go on a little bit of a cold streak. He'd get a little hot again. And then he would go cold. And to start the season, he's been ice cold. And that's the thing. He hasn't really even

been getting a lot of prime scoring chances. He's just been invisible on the ice. On Sunday, that was really the first time I had seen him in quite a while, you know, really give it all. And you could tell he knew he was playing for his job. But at that

point, I think it's kind of too little too late, even with the injuries right now. And Rucker McGority, he's now back playing in Wilkesbury. He got a goal over the weekend. Eventually, he is going to make his way up to this team as well. Kyle Dubas said, you know, They want to give him a little bit of runway down there, Wilkespray before bringing him up.

But once the team gets healthy, I just don't really see a spot for Tomasino in the lineup. So it's unfortunate. I'm glad they took that bet with him when they acquired him last year. I was fine with them bringing him back because I wanted to see the consistency. It just hasn't been there to start the season. And that happens sometimes, people. So I'm not really surprised. As for the other two moves really sucks for really co-evident because I really felt like he was

playing well these last few games he's just been snake bitten man i mean he's getting really good scoring chances i'm not as down on him as some other people in the fan base are i've seen some interesting takes from fans out there on social media and you know discord other places saying that hasn't really been good and yeah the beginning of this season i would probably agree with that but ever since he came back up from wilkesbury after dominating down there when he got sent down he's been better he's getting chances he's driving offense just hasn't the puck hasn't been going in the back in the net. So I liked his game, at least for the last few games, just sucks that he's now week to week with an injury. And for Sam Poulan, might be his last big shot here, if we're

being honest. He has done well in Wilkesbury to start the year. Seven goals, 15 points and 16 games. His 15 points leads Wilkesbury right now. So if you're looking at a other chance, this is probably the last big one, even though I still, he kind of is what he is at this point. That's kind of the theme of this first segment is last or close to last chances because you brought it up with Tomicino. I brought it up with Tomicino. The biggest issue with him was consistency. He would have a couple of good games and then disappear for a couple of weeks. For him to develop into a better player, he needed to start getting that consistency.

And now that is going to be the challenge for Sam Poulan is I have frequently. referred to him as a quad A player. He is a guy who is probably too good to be in the American League full time, but probably not good enough to be a full-time NHL player. He's doing exactly what he needs to do with the baby penguins. He's producing. He's a leader. He's setting the tone for them. Now, he doesn't have to do all that here in the NHL, but he has to be a contributor. He has to bring something to the table, whether it's a little bit of production, we're not going to ask him to light the world on fire. We're not going to ask him to be a leading scorer, but you're going to have to chip in every couple of games. He's got to bring energy. He's got to bring a little

bit of physicality. He has to be a valuable piece. That doesn't mean that he's got to suddenly become a first round pedigree guy, even though he was a first round pick. He just, just has to be able to make some kind of a difference when he's in the lineup at the NHL level, which is something he has kind of struggled to do every time he's gotten an opportunity with the big club. Right. I agree. And he's going to have a bottom six role to start this upcoming weekend.

Maybe he'll play on the PK a little bit. But now it's time for him to show another coaching staff. What can you do after dominating the HL to start the year? because he has been good. Like he's scoring, he's setting up his other players, he has the points, he's playing all right in his own zone. But now, how can you bring all of this up to the NHL where, yeah, the sample size isn't that big,

but he still hasn't wowed me in any NHL game that he has played? This is probably his, again, his last big opportunity under a new staff to really potentially show maybe he can be a little something. in the NHL, but he has to go out here and prove it because he hasn't yet. So I'm curious to see how he does. We know that Tristan Brose is eventually going to come up here. Avery Hayes, the same as well at some point down the line. But with Spool-Anne, it's probably not going to be for that long date.

They just honestly needed another body. But again, he'll have at least a little bit of an opportunity here to try and prove some of us wrong, including me especially. And the actions have to match the words because after practice, he did say that it's really about consistency, and he's been working on that at the at the HL level, and he just needs to bring that up to the NHL level. So that is where the challenge lies for him. Can he just continue to do in a way the things that we're working for him at the

HL level now that he's with the big club? And we will see, like you said, I imagine he's going to be in a bottom six role to start, make a little bit of a difference, continue to bring the energy that the bottom six has brought for a lot of the penguin's season so far and show that you can be a positive contributor and we'll see what happens from there. Mews said that the staff and management were impressed by the way he carried himself in the way that he has played so far this year in Wokes Bear. So these are all positive steps.

But now it's time for the rubber to really hit the road and see if he can do that here with the big club. obviously we could go through some practice notes but as we found out it's kind of an optional skate not a ton really that happened but hunter was there anything that you saw that stood out when you were there today hey tristan jari was back on the ice so that is a positive development for the penguin's goaltender looked to be fully cleared for everything he was taking shots from his teammates i know it was an optional practice but he was still taking shots his movement looked fine only one day I don't think his return is too far off so we'll have a couple other practice sessions

this week I'm assuming before the back to back and we'll have to see if he's available for the back to back to back if he'll send him to Mrhov down or if he's going to be available starting next week just because again they play Friday Saturday but good news to see him back also Jackson Ivany was on the ice really good to see him out there in a white non-contact jersey so he's going to be ramping up as well before the penguins they potentially send him down to Wilkesbury to get some games. That's my assumption, just because even with all the defensemen, mostly healthy outside of Caleb Jones,

I just don't really see a spot right now. But he's at least practicing. I assume they're going to send him down to Wilkesbury. So good to see him back practicing. It's definitely an underrated part of this little bracket of time off that the penguins have right now is it's providing a window for a lot of these guys to work their way back to health and keep the healthy guys rested and ready. to go as we get into what is going to be an incredibly hectic run of the schedule.

But keep that in the back of your mind because we're going to talk about that to end the show. But just because the penguins are off, it doesn't mean that we're off and it doesn't mean that the NHL is off. Since we've got some time here, we are going to take a look at the rest of the Metropolitan Division, a little bit of a check-in to see how our friends in one of the most hectic divisions in the National Hockey League are doing. We will do that when we get back right after this. But first, we've got to tell you about today's first sponsor, and that is Fandul.

The NBA is back, and there is no better place to get in on the action than Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA. Even if you miss the start of the game, or you just want to ride the hot hand, Fandul has live bets on everything from who will score next to fourth quarter comeback. Plus, you can even combine your live bets into a same game parlay for a shot at a bigger payout. Fandul keeps every game exciting, especially when your team is making that late push. Right now, Fandul is giving new customers $300 in bonus bets when their first $5 bet wins. So head to fandul.com and sign up to play your game with Fandul, the official sports betting partner of the NBA.

Back here on the Tuesday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast, I am Patrick Damp right alongside Hunter Hodes and let's take a look at our pals in the Metropolitan Division because it's a log jam here in the old Metropolitan Division. Just seven points separate the top team from the bottom team and then right in the middle about three to four points. separate the seventh place team and the third place team. So this is a division that is really coming along. And here is something for me that I want to start with before we do a quick couple of seconds on each team. What's wild to me is there is exactly one team in the metropolitan division that has a negative goal differential.

everybody is either even or positive and the New York Islanders are the only team with a negative and it's simply a minus one. So this is a division that I think going into the year, a lot of people looked at and went, all right, it's going to be Carolina, New Jersey, maybe Washington a little bit, and then a whole lot of meh. It's kind of been the opposite to start the year. Is it though? I mean, we have Carolina and New Jersey up there, and then the rest I would still say.

I mean, the Penguins, they're surprising everyone. They're in third place, but you look at all these other teams as well. They're kind of right there as well. There's a whole lot of men in this division. New Jersey, they've been great when healthy, but really unfortunate news with Jack Hughes, a freak accident injury out at a team dinner, and he's going to be out for a while. That is just brutal luck for someone who continues to have the worst injury luck throughout his career. He was off to one hell of a star looking like a hard trophy favorite. He's going to be

out for a while. Carolina, the hurricanes are doing their thing during the regular season where they'll beat up on a lot of teams, but I still need to see it in the playoffs. But I had both those teams up there at the top of the metro before the season started. After that, you have a lot of these teams kind of jumbled together. The biggest surprise I think for me so far is Washington being in last place, nine, eight, and two. I knew they would take a step back, or at least I predicted Did it? It's coming right so far. I didn't think they would be in last place almost through Thanksgiving. They are just not really playing well for the most part.

They won their last game, but they've still lost seven or their last 10 games. This has not been a consistent team. Even OV, I mean, he has six goals, but you can see he's showing his age at times on the ice. And I mean, for God's say, people, he's 40 years old. So that's, it's expected a bit. But the rest of that team has really taken a bit of a step back. Logan Thompson's been great in Ned. I will.

I will say this for the capitals, their Achilles heel right now is special teams. They are not good on the power play and they are not good on the penalty kill. At five on five, you pop the hood and look at their numbers. They are one of the best five on five teams in the league. But the special teams have been such a drag on their efforts that it has them down there. But we also have to keep in mind, because it is the way this division is going this year, they are in the bottom of the metro in 8th with 20 points, four back from the Pittsburgh Penguins for third.

So one good week and suddenly the caps are right back up there. One good week for the Flyers, the Rangers, they're right back up there. It's going to be a tall task for everybody not named the devils and the hurricanes to separate themselves from the pack. But at this point, third place and even maybe a wild card spot is, really going to be up for grabs for quite a while in the metropolitan division. Oh, 100%. I think that third place spot is wide open for anyone who wants to go get it.

I mean, I assume even with Hughes out, I think the devils are probably going to be fine. And I think they'll be locked and loaded whenever he comes back. Carolina is basically a lock for one of those top two spots. But that third place spot wide open, even the Rangers, they've started to play a little bit better in one seven in the last 10. But I still don't really trust them that well much. You know, their expected goal share is, you know, for a Mike Sullivan team, again, it's good. But you look at their actual goals and it's kind of what we've seen with the Penguins over the last couple of years when he was the head coach.

So I'm still not really a believer. And then they only really have two really good defensemen, if you ask me, the blue jackets are off to a fine start. I like a lot of their forwards up front, but they got to get going a little bit more, in my opinion. But they definitely are still a solid team. The Islanders, and again, there are cockroaches. they don't ever go away. Matt Schaefer's been absolutely great for them. Bo Horvatt has also been really good for them this year. And I know some Islander fans are down in Ilya Sorokin, but you can take over a game at any point in that.

So I mean, you look at the Islanders right now. Go ahead. You look at the Islanders right now. And it is, it is an anomaly. It's not the New York Islanders that we're used to where they are going, they're going to bore you. They're going to put you in the Gunter sleeper hold and just wait for. you to tap out or pass out. They're a team that funnily enough this year, they're playing really well offensively and they're pretty spotty defensively. So not used to that whatsoever with the Islanders.

And then I'll say this, the one thing that is interesting to me, the most interesting team to me in the metro outside of our deer penguins is our friends to the east in Philadelphia because you look at their record. If you just look at the record, they're in seventh. They've got 21 points, 9, 6, and 3. Here's the part of it that's crazy. Of those nine wins, only four of them are in regulation. They have five regulation and overtime wins,

and they are just total and complete shootout merchants. They are 4 and 0 in the shootout. And it's the exact opposite of the penguins where if Philly gets to a shootout, you might as well just turn the lights out they're going to win where with the penguins you get to a shootout and go well they're wasting a point here tonight so tough break hey we saw that earlier this year and also trevor zegris you know for as ratty as he is as a player and you know we talked about that earlier this season he's been a great fit for them like it feels like when you watch him play for that team pat like you you mentioned rick talk it that guy's a flyer i think

trevor zegris was almost born to be a flyer by the way he plays so he's been a great fit wouldn't to be surprised if they extended them. I still don't think this is a playoff team yet, and I think Mietchkov is going to get going more as the season gets into December in January. But hey, they're not an easy out anymore. That's always going to be a tough game. A lot of these teams, they're kind of right in the same

space in the metro. You're going to start seeing some separation, but it's really, you know, you mentioned it was like the opposite of what you said. I kind of disagree. It's New Jersey, Carolina, which what I said going into the season, and then it's kind of mostly everyone else. I know we all pick the penguins to be further down, but a lot of these other teams that we expected to be in the race,

they still are. Like, you know, the Rangers, the island, not even the Islanders, but the Blue Jackets, the Capitals, of course, I have them as a playoff team. And sure, they're in last place,

but there are a decent little run away from going right up, back up to fourth place, for example. So there's still a lot of movement that's going to happen here. Well, along with the expected goals, Mike Sullivan special, Rangers somehow have to figure out how to win at home. Yes. Because right now they have a one seven and one record at Madison Square Garden.

But then when they leave Madison Square Garden, dear God, they are damn near unbeatable. They're 9-1-1 on the road. And you have to figure eventually that is going to even itself out because Madison Square Garden is one hell of a place to play if you're an opponent. because it is not a great it's not a fun atmosphere it's new york city it's the bright lights and you would expect that to be a home ice advantage for the new york rangers but it's been a disadvantage for them so far this year i don't expect this to last forever they're eventually

going to rattle off some home wins and get themselves going but like you said we're kind of in agreement here the devils and the hurricanes are the class of the division flip a coin and decide which one you want to put on top depending upon the day and then third place and a wild card spot are going to be up for grabs for a while and the biggest thing is outside of the flyers kind of not being able to really get it done in regulation i look at all these teams and i see trends of they're eventually going to even out and then we're really going to find out okay who is for real and who isn't in the metro right and you know we're coming up on the first benchmark Thanksgiving is literally in nine days and for the playoffs you know if you're in a playoffs spot at that time there's a good chance you're going to make it and then after that you're at Christmas so you know nine days you'll probably see a little bit of a difference but once you get to Christmas and then New Year's I think you're going to start seeing some separation we're going to find out okay who is really serious about potentially make them playoffs this year and we already know two of them of course but from these other teams who is serious and who is starting to

to fall off a little bit? Are the wheels starting to, you know, get off the bike here, for example? So I'm excited, you know, it's competitive, but, you know, a lot of these teams outside of the top two are still, I don't know how good all you guys are. That's the thing. I want to find out how good you guys actually are. Hell, stay on the penguins. Yeah, that's the other key to this is we have liked the penguins start.

They've had a little bit of wobbliness lately, thanks to injury, thanks to whatever other reasons. But at the end of the day, as we record this on November 18th, they're still sitting in third. They banked themselves early enough points to have a little bit of a wobble, but they're going to have to get it back on track to end the month because looming right around the corner is December. And ladies and gentlemen, December is a nightmare schedule for the Pittsburgh Penguins. We are going to get into that in what we expect from this team going into December when we come back right after this. But we've got one more sponsor we've got to tell you about and that is Ruggiat.

Let's be real, making excuses, it doesn't solve anything. And we've all heard the excuses before. It's just stress. I'm tired or it happens to everyone sometimes. But when it comes to performance, sometimes your body just. needs a little extra support, and that is where Ruggiat comes in. Ruggiat.com offers fast acting doctor prescribed treatments for ED designed to help you stop making excuses and start making moves.

Ruggiat makes it super easy to get started. You just connect with a board certified doctor 100% online so you can avoid those awkward waiting rooms, those no eye contact moments where you know why you're there, you know why everybody else is, and you just don't want to talk about it. And if prescribed, it ships directly to your door discreetly, and you have a fast, simple process, private, and it's all handled by real doctors. It's all about confidence, connection, and getting back to the moments that matter. Visit r u.g iet.com slash locked on NHL to get 15% off your first order.

that's r u g iet dot com slash locked on n hl and don't forget to use our code locked on n hl so they know that we sent you rougi it stop making excuses and start making moves closing out the tuesday edition of the locked on penguins podcast i am patrick damp that's hunter hodes and december holy mother of god As content creators and hockey fans, we are going to be eaten so good in the month of December. The Penguins will play 14 games across 30 days. So we're going to have a lot of hockey to watch. We're going to have a lot of hockey to talk about.

But the Penguins are going to be put through a ringer. The biggest highlight I want to start with in this December schedule is between December 9th and December 16th. The penguins will be at home for a five-game home stand, and they will take on the Anaheim ducks, the Montreal Canadians, the San Jose sharks, the Utah mammoth, and the Edmonton Oilers bookend, that homestand. I look at that, Hunter, and I say, that is the moment in this hectic December schedule, where you are really going to have to try to make a move. Anaheim, they're starting to come back to Earth a little bit, young, exciting team. They are very much on the precipice of being one of the better teams in the West, but not quite yet. Montreal, they're dealing with a myriad of injuries, and it's a young, exciting team, but they're really going to find out what they're made of.

San Jose, still young, still exciting, but they ain't there yet. Utah, another team that is really as of late coming back to Earth. And obviously by mid-December, the way this league is gone this year, that could completely change. They could be back to looking like a juggernaut. We will see. And then on the 16th, McDavid and the Oilers, say what you will about their record, say what you will about that team right now. But guess what? They've still got the super weapon and he can change a game like that.

So that five-game homestand is huge for the penguins in December. it's definitely big but I think the stretch even starts a little before that if you're asking me so you brought up the ducks and they've won they still won seven to the last 10 they tied the game last night with four seconds left before winning it winning it excuse me in overtime against Utah that was a blast of a game to watch at the end anaheim is still a ton of fun I'm not sure how long they'll keep this up for if they get in the playoffs but there's still a lot of fun I love watching their young talent but before then you have Tampa Bay and you have Dallas on the 4th and the 7th.

You want to even go back to the 1st of December, talk about the Flyers game, sure. But they play the lightning on the 4th and the stars on the 7th. The lightning, yeah, they started up the season a bit slow. They lost the last game, but they've started to figure it out a little bit over the last 10 games.

1-7 or the last 10. They're still pretty banged up right now. They're going to get healthy as we go through the season, but they still figured it out at least a little bit. That's still going to be a tough game. Dallas. We all know how good the stars are. They're 12, 4 and 3 to start the year. They've won 5 in a row. Their forward depth is among the best in the league. They have one of the five best defensemen on the planet. If you ask me,

Amaro Hayskin and Jake Ottinger is a stud in net. That is also going to be tough. That homestand, though, you said it. A big test against the ducks. The Canadians, another big test. The sharks, who let's give credit to the sharks, man, they are actually playing better hockey than we last saw them. They were horrendous to open the season. Now, you know, they're 8, 8 and 3. Not, you know, overall, they're not 500, but I guess by NHL point standards they are. But, you know, they're 8 and 11. It's a lot better than where they were when the Penguins last saw them. And Macklin Celebrini is playing like an absolute stud, playing like someone who may go to Team Canada for the Olympics. You have

the Utah Mammoth. And I think, Pat, that's probably the team that you're looking at in terms of they had a really hot start, but they've fallen off. 10, 7 and 2. The Ducks. sure a little bit but they did have that big comeback they're playing really well for the most part of the mammoth i think is the one you are probably thinking of they had that really hot start and now they've kind of tailed off a little bit i still like them and i think they can make the playoffs i predicted them to get in but they're not playing as well right now as they were to open the season edmonton yeah they stink right now but you know when a team has connor and leon that can come back at will whether it's a three or four goal deficit that's always a tough team to play against

Even after that, man, you know, you got Ottawa. That's going to be tough. You go to, you have another home and home against Montreal, Toronto, and the vibes are not good there, but we saw what happened if you took a period off. Chicago is playing a little better. You have Carolina, December 30th. They play very often in the month of December. Like, you look, it's, you know, either back-to-backs every other day.

You look at, starting on December 7th, for example, they'll play on the 7th, the 9th, the 11th, 13th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 21st. It's literally, Pat, every day slash every other day at that point. It's going to be a lot going into the new year. And that's why these next few games in the month of November where the schedule is eased up are going to be so important for them to bank points. So they have a little bit of a cushion going into that really nasty stretch of their schedule. And by the way, the March schedule is also pretty bad too.

Well, yeah, because it's an Olympic year. The players are back at the Olympics, so they're trying to get as much hockey in around the Olympics as they can. And you expect March to be a mad dash because they play their last game in February on February 5th, and then they are not back in action until February 26th. So you essentially get nearly three weeks without penguins in NHL hockey, and then you go to March, and it is just a murderer's row. but let's stick here with December.

The thing that is both good and a little bit promising for this month is it relates to our middle segment. We talked about the Metropolitan just kind of figuring it out. You look at a lot of the teams that they're going to play or that they're going to host in December. It's a lot of that. Talked about the Flyers. They start and end the month with divisional. games. They've got the Flyers on the first. They've got Carolina on the 30th. The rest of the month, it's either Atlantic Division teams or Western Conference teams. And very similarly, of all those

teams, I'm not doubting Anaheim. I think that that is a really exciting, really talented young team, but they're figuring it out. Does it mean that they're bad? No. It just means that they are going to go through the struggles of a young, talented team. They're going to have a stretch of a week or two where you go, holy crap, they have arrived. This is a good young team. And then they're going to have two weeks where you go, maybe not yet. And that's the growth of a young team. So you've got to take advantage of that. Same thing goes for Montreal. Same thing goes for San Jose. And then you look at the rest of the month. Ottawa, I have no idea what the hell they are anymore. They are simply right there. Toronto, who knows what the vibes are going to be by December 23rd with

them because they are nosediving right now, and we'll see if they recover from it. Chicago is a surprise, but again, there are a lot of winnable games in December, but the schedule will be relentless. So when you have opportunities, you've got to take advantage of them. So we'll be here for all of that. Don't you worry, we're going to cover all these games, get you ready for them. But there's one last thing that we've got to do before we end this show. It's going to be a nice little bonus Easter egg for those of you who hung around with us

throughout this whole episode. Hunter, I'm giving you the floor for, let's say, 90 seconds. Big Virginia Tech guy. James Franklin is your head coach. Your thoughts. Super excited. I think this is a monumental hire for the program, a program that's lost its way since Frank retired or a little bit before. If you want to say that, I won't argue against it. I feel like Virginia Tech has been a little bit of a, a sleeping giant for a while that's been wanting to wake up. And do I think he's going to lead us to a national championship? Probably not, you know, but I think this is the first step towards them wanting to compete

in swim in the deep end of the pool with some of these top teams. I think he can lead them to an ACC title. And I think he can take us to the playoff now how far they can go. That's the question. But I just want to start winning some games. Like I'm tired of three and nine, six and six, seven and six seats. reasons. The fan support has always been there. It's time to start winning games. I'm super excited. I think you can recruit the area really well. If you're a Penn State person, let us know

in the comments what you think about that. And let's know what you think about anything Penguins related. But anyone who follows college football, just let us know. I couldn't let the episode end without letting you give your thoughts on the Franklin hire. I knew you wanted to talk about it because you're all decked out in your VT gear today. So I had to give you the floor for that. But that is going to do it for the Tuesday edition of the locked on penguins podcast. Hunter and I will be back on Wednesday to cover any more news, anything else that might happen in the world of the Pittsburgh Penguins as well. Hand out our MVP of the week as part of my favorite segment, Warrior Helmet Wednesday. So stay tuned for that. But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you as

always for tuning in. And we will be back on Wednesday. Thank you.