Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins make depth move on trade deadline day before weekend B2B!

Episode Date: March 6, 2026

The Penguins only made one move on trade deadline day, and it was a minor one, but the big story of the day is goaltender interference and Evgeni Malkin. Hunter and Patrick begin the show talking about Evgeni Malkin’s impending suspension after getting ejected for swinging his stick at Rasmus Dahlin’s head. (2:00) They handicap how many games they expect Geno to be suspended, and how, as a leader and veteran, that cannot happen. Then they discuss the controversial goal call that was not overturned despite very obvious goalie interference. (7:35) Kyle Dubas was quiet on deadline day, only trading a third-round pick for a BIG forward out of Detroit. Was it the right call to mostly stand pat at the deadline, or should he have taken a bigger swing?)16:00) Finally, the Penguins have a home back-to-back this weekend when they’ll play the Philadelphia Flyers and Boston Bruins. (27:15) Everydayer ClubJoin the Everydayer Club for ad-free audio, access to our group chat on Discord, and more. Use code DEADLINE ahead of the trade deadline for one month free. Tap here to learn more: 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. 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 FanDuel is giving you a way to turn that energy into even bigger potential wins with a College Basketball Parlay Profit Boost.Visit https://FANDUEL.COMto get started — Play Your Game.   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.

Goaltender interference, Pat and I still have no idea what that is. Evgeny Malkin also likely facing a suspension. We're going to discuss both of those instances, plus a whole lot more coming up 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. Hello and welcome to the Friday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes. you can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. joined by my co.

Patrick Damp, you can follow him on all social media platforms at Cinder and Fruett. You can also follow this show's Twitter at L.O. underscore Penguins. And you can find us on Instagram at Locked On underscore Penguins. Of course, thank you all so much

for making this your first lesson slash watch of the day. We are free and available on all platforms. We're recording this a bit later than normal on Friday, mainly because I was up in cranberry all day. up of the complex covering both practice and the trade deadline. And depending on where you are in Pittsburgh, Pat, it's a bit of a hike to get back from Cranberry for me in the South Hills, about 45 to 50 minute drive back. And there's also traffic. So that's why we're recording it a little bit later than normal. And we also wanted to see what Kyle Dubas had to say about

the deadline and everything else surrounding the Penguins. We'll get into that a bit later on in today's episode. But let's get into the game last night. The Penguins. Lose 5 to 1 to the Buffalo Sabers. That's their second straight loss in regulation. That is too. That's the first time the Penguins have lost back-to-back games in regulation since January. It's been pretty where the Penguins are coming out of games with zero points, but that has happened again, two games in a row. And let's start with one of the big instances of this game. Evgeny Malkin just with a very stupid play. So beginning of the second period, he takes a couple of bad cross-deck checks from Rasmus

Dahlene. And I get it if you're upset. They called Dahlene for the penalty, which was the right call. If you want to whack him a couple of times back, like you see on a nightly basis where players take turns, cross-checking each other, okay, you get that out of your system. However, Pat, what he did, basically swinging his stick at his face is not only unacceptable, but it is selfish, considering where the team is in the standings, how precious points are at this juncture. And oh, by the way, you are still without your best player in Sidney Crosby. He's getting closer to returning. He was back at practice today. He looked really good.

And I know it's only one practice, but I wouldn't be surprised if he's back within a week, within a week and a half. He looked really good out there. But now you're likely getting yourself suspended. There's been a phone hearing. It's set to be at 6 o'clock. We're recording this a little bit before six o'clock on Friday evening. If I had to guess, it's probably going to be a three to four game suspension. And not only are the Penguins going to be down Crosby for the next few games at least, now you're going to be down your number two center as well. It is a completely unacceptable play by someone who knows better.

I'm not happy about it. Nobody should be happy about it. Nobody should be defending it. I haven't really seen anyone defend it, thankfully. That is a garbage play, Pat, from someone who, again, should know better. Whatever he gets is enough. Yeah. I mean, if he get, if he only get, I'll say this,

if he only gets one game, that's not enough. And it should be anywhere between two to four because. It would be stunned if he played this weekend. Because, because listen, the net front battles happen all the time. The jockeying for position happen all the time. The cross checks and the slashes back and forth happen all the time. We can sit here and complain about how they go uncalled,

yada, yada, that's not hockey. That ain't what we're doing here. what Gino did, you don't swing your stick at someone's head on accident. You don't. You do not. I don't care how much red you see. I don't care how wrong do you think you were. You swing your stick at someone's head. You are trying to hurt them intentionally.

So Malkin, with just the most selfish play, he could have possibly made. And listen, this is for both him and for the listeners of the show. I get it. He's of Gennie Malk. He is a top five player in the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is a beloved figure in the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He is a three-time Stanley Cup champion. He deserves to go out however he wants to go out.

I get that people are frustrated, that Malkin is frustrated, that he has not been offered an extension yet. July 1st is a long way away. the penguins also have nearly $50 million in cap space this summer. It is probably going to happen after the season. So for Malkin to do this, right now, with the penguins battling for a playoff spot, whether he likes it or the fans like it or not, I don't think Kyle Duba suddenly decided he doesn't want Malkin back anymore,

but Malkin didn't help his case last night. I hear you on that. I don't think that's going to be the end-all, be-all, oh, I'm not giving Evgeny Malton contract extension because of that. That would be ridiculous. I mean, Malkin has been an unbelievable player for the Penguins this season. You and I have talked all about how instrumental he has been for the Penguin's success this year, how he has turned back the clock, not just with his skating,

but how well he has been as a playmaker this year, the fit that he has had with Igor Chena, on the second line, he has been marvelous this season. But you cannot lose your mind in that situation. Again, you want to give a couple wax or two, like regular cross checks. Okay, maybe we'll go play four on four. You want to go, you know, laugh at Rasmus Dahlene after. Okay, whatever. But you cannot see red there and swing your stick at his head.

It is a boneheaded play. it is completely unacceptable and again he's 39 years old he has been in this league for a long time you cannot do that man you simply and you know what it's the it's the swinging of the stick

that gets me if you want even if you would have dropped his gloves and fed dolly in a few right hands it would have been goonery it would have been uncalled for it would have been dirty for sure but it would not have been as bad as what he ended up doing I agree with you on that

like, you know, I would have still come on here and be like, hey, probably don't do that, but that's still not nearly as bad as what he ended up doing. So we're going to find out pretty quickly here what his suspension will be. If I had to guess, Pat, it's at least two games, but could see definitely three to four, maybe even five. It's not an in-person hearing, so it's not going to be more than five games. But overall, I would be stunned if he played this week. And I think it's going to be at least a two-game suspension, if not more.

Now, as for the other very big thing that happened to this game, the controversial goaltender interference call, I will say this. This is my take on it. You can agree with me or disagree. I think Josh Done went into the crease on his own after a little bit of contact with Crystal Tang. Yes, there is a little bit of contact before,

but Done goes into the crease on his own, makes contact with Shilov's, then Lettang and him start wrestling, then the goal is scored. That is how I saw it. And that's why I think it should have been goaltender interference, because he really was not pushed into she laws. He didn't really make an attempt to get out of the way. To me, that is textbook goaltender interference.

And I saw the statement that the NHL made last night for their decision, talking about how Lettang pushed him in and all that. I completely disagree with it. That is not what I saw when I have watched this play 100,000 times. you also saw today, if you haven't watched Kyle Dubus' four plus minute rant about this during his presser, you should. He went absolutely off about it, cited numerous recent examples, including the Penguins game against the Rangers last weekend, a couple of instances last night, especially during the National Boston game where he wasn't happy, the Columbus Florida game, where it looked like that play was pretty similar.

And to me, he was as nice as possible without cut. because it felt like he was about to really cuss out the league. But that one felt like it was very obvious to me. And it's ridiculous that we still aren't really getting a lot of clarity when it comes to goaltender interference. And that's all I ask for, really. I just want clarity. I want to understand the consistency with this rule.

But there is no clarity. There is not a lot of consistency to me, in my opinion. And to me, that one was goaltender interference. to a T. Dubus isn't going to say it. He hinted at it throwing his presser. So I'm going to say it for him. They're hazing a rookie head coach. They are hazing a rookie head coach. Have there been one or two that I've looked at this season from Dan Muzon gone that was stupid and he shouldn't challenge this? Yeah, of course. He's not got to stir. He doesn't have a perfect record on challenging goal tender interference. But this one and the Raquel one earlier in

the year, he should have 100% won those. The other ones, but those two that I just mentioned, he easily should have won those. I still can't believe he didn't. The league does this all the time. To rookie players, to rookie head coaches, to rookie general managers, if you come in and try to show them up and by show them up, you try to tell them that they're wrong or you do something that makes them look stupid, they show you up. They get mad. They take it out on you. And for some reason, they don't like Dan Muses. And you can sit here and say, I'm filling my diaper. You can sit here and say, whatever the slang is now. I'm 35, going to be 36 here soon. I don't know what the slang is anymore. But at the end of the day, the league has a history of doing this stuff where if you're a first year

player, if you're a first year coach, if you're a first year executive, they don't think you're in the club yet. They don't think you've earned your way into the club. And listen, I know we joke, yo, you spin the wheel, whatever it lands on. That's how it works for the veteran coaches. And Buffalo fans, I'm going to say this outright. You're a great team. Oh yeah. Beat us fair and square last night. But tell me with a straight face that if that challenge didn't come from good old boy Lindy Ruff, they would not have turned around and gone. That's a good challenge. No goal.

It's interesting because I do want Dan News to really give it to the officials a bit more. There was one thing about Mike Sullivan and I know he was the Penguins head coach for a while. He would really give it to the refs. And you kind of even saw that during his first couple of seasons as Penguins head coach where he would kind of go off a bit. I know Dan Muses, his demeanor is a bit different. But I do want to see him be more of an ass. on the bench to the referees in general.

That's just my opinion on that. Though there's also a deeper discussion. I don't want to go, you know, more into it. But, and I tweeted this last night, there is a league-wide officiating problem, and it gets worse every single season. The NHL will try to say that it's not true. It is.

It gets worse every year, especially down the stretch and into the playoffs. Nothing has done about it. It's bad, man. But it's just unfortunate. because I just want more clarity and I just give me legitimate explanations on this stuff. That's all I'm asking for, man. So I disagree with that call, but you're right, Buffalo beat them fair and square.

They were the better team. They're going to be a playoff team. That team is damn good. And I thought the Penguins were very lucky to be tied in that game going into the second period. I thought Buffalo was the much better team. And I'll also give the Penguins a little bit of credit in the final 40 minutes, especially in the third when they were down by a few goals.

they were fighting. Puck just wasn't going in the back of the net. They pulled the goalie a bit early in the third. They went full Patrick Waugh there as he's been doing as the head coach of the islanders. And again, I'll give them credit. They fight their asses off for DMUs.

But once you got in that big of a hole, it was too much to overcome. So we'll see if this is the last controversial goaltender interference call that we get for the penguins this season. You know it's going to come up again, countless times. Maybe hopefully it's next season. I'm just, I am sick and tired of all this. It really is just annoying.

But I think that's going to do it for this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, Penguins were a bit quiet on Deadline Day, but they did make one move, and Pat and I are going to analyze that move coming up right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our first sponsor, which is Fandul.

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One free breakfast item per box for one year while the subscription is active. All right, we're back here on the Friday edition of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-s, Patrick Damp. And Pat, the Penguins were mostly pretty quiet today, but they did make one move. Acquiring Forward Elmer Soderbaum from the Detroit Red Wings, 24 years old, 6 foot 8, 252 pounds. Pat, what do we call that? Beef. Yes, very much so.

And this is a player. he has played in 39 games for the Red Wings this year. Two goals, three points during that time. Last year, played in 26 games with four goals in 11 points. And in the year before that, he had five goals and eight points in 21 games. So he does have some NHL experience. The Penguins gave up a third round pick in the 26th. And he'll draft for this player.

To me, he's going to get some games down the stretch here. I still think when everyone is fully healthy, he's kind of like a 13th ward for the rest of the year. But I think this is more a move where they're looking for, next year going a little bit younger lineup-wise where you're going to be making some changes over the off-season. I think personally he's going to get more games next year, and they'll try to see what his next contract will be because he'll be a RFA at the end of next season. This does continue what Kyle Dubas has been doing with his last several moves, going after players

in their early to mid-20s who are not working out on their prior teams and giving them a shot to try and flourish here. The last one obvious with Igor Chinochav, and he has been lighting the league on fire next to Hvgeny Malkin, and this is the next one. He kind of hinted that he was going to do this on Wednesday, Pat.

You and I went on here just on Thursday, talking about how it's kind of what he's looking for. And he even said the Chinikov deal was the template. Obviously, you know, not as much draft capital going back the other way, not as of a package. But still, it's a similar type move for, you know, a 24-year-old who, it just,

it's not working out with the Red Wing. So I'm fine with this move. They're going to give him some opportunities here down the stretch to see what his game is made of. And then next season, I think he's also going to get a bit more of an opportunity, more depth to the organization, kind of that quote unquote, safe buy that I was talking about. I also just don't think he liked a lot of the prices out there for maybe better players that he wanted. I mean, you saw it today, man. Like, Braden Shen, that package going back to St. Louis, that's a lot.

like some of these prices were outrageous. So I don't really blame Kyle Dubus for going a bit more on the safer side. And hey, I'll be curious to see what they have here in Sodorblum. I'm fine with Kyle Dubus not doing a whole lot today because one, I've said it to plenty of people and I'm pretty sure I've said it on this show. You made your big moves with Igor Chinikov with Sam Gerard and then the, obviously the Jari trade earlier in the year. you made your big moves already.

You didn't need to make any other big blockbusters going into the trade deadline, even for as surprising as this Penguins team has been. And here's the other thing about that. I believe it was Jonathan Bomboli who said it on Twitter last night. Either Kyle Dubas believes in the plan or he doesn't. Yes, we can all be, including us on this show, we can be prisoners of the moment. We can look at the last two games and go, oh, God, what are we doing? Make a move.

Kyle's, we got to get better. No, his job is to see the big picture. His job is to say, I don't want this team to get the one to two year sugar rush, which I think the New York Islanders might be a little bit of trouble doing here with some of their moves today. I get Matthew Schaefer's pretty good, and you want to maximize that, but they're running out of draft picks, they're running out of cap space, and people are going to start needing contracts here soon.

So it might be a little bit tougher for them. But I digress. So I keep coming back to this. This season is house money. You were supposed to be in the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes. You were supposed to be a team that was headed for the draft lottery. Now you're a team that looks like has a legitimate shot to not only make the playoffs, but potentially get home ice in the first round.

You don't need to stray from the plan because, You still have a ton of cap space. You've got a ton of prospects. You've got a ton of picks. All the big names that you have on your roster for the most part are locked up for a while. So you don't need to go crazy here. If they make the playoffs win a round or two, fantastic. That's great.

You get more revenue for the franchise. The fans are excited. You're seeing the plan is starting to work. And then you go into the off season, boatload of cap space. you look a little bit better than people thought. Still a bunch of picks. Still a bunch of prospects. What do you say?

We're running back again next year. Yeah. And you brought up a really good point during your answer there. And that was about, you know, not being prisoners of the moment and staying true to the plan. Because social media last night, Penguin's Twitter was just flat out war zone. Let's be real here. It was really bad. And to me, it's like some people in the fan base, I think, need to act like you've

been here before. This is what a playoff race looks like. Sometimes there's going to be nights where some dumb crap happens like you saw against Buffalo. But the Islanders lost in, yeah, I know. Columbus is playing really well. There are three points out. However, in early January, they were six points out. It's been basically two months. They've only gained three points during that time. It is extremely hard to make up a lot of ground this time of year. And Columbus is eventually going to cool off. They're not going to keep this pace for the rest of the season. I'd be stunned if they did. So as long as the penguins keep surviving, keep treading water, banking points where you can, I think they're going to be fine, at least again, until Crosby's able to return,

which it looks like it's going to be sooner rather than later. Once of Gany Malcon comes back from his likely suspension, we're going to get word on that virtually any time now. I think he's having his hearing right now as we're deeper into this show. But I think everyone, Pat, needs to take a breath. I know. Yes. It was ugly. It was.

But they are still very much in this thing. And they're going to see this thing through. Let me put it this way. Right. There are multiple teams in the East. And I understand that after the trade deadline, there are teams that put up the white flag. And a couple of the teams I am going to mention here have thrown up the white

flag for all intents and purposes. But there are one, two, three, four, five teams that are out of playoff position right now, but are less than 10 points out. This is going to be a stressful run to the playoffs because everybody is going to have a week where they don't do very well. Everybody's going to have a week where they look like world beaters. And it's going to teeter and totter until we get to game 82. Honestly, the thing that I think a lot of Penguins fans,

got to keep in mind, including us on this show, because don't get me wrong, I had a awful taste in my mouth after the Buffalo game just because of everything. But when we came into post-Olympic break, one of the first things you and I talked about on this show was for them to make the playoffs, they essentially just have to play 500 hockey. They don't have to win every single game. they don't have to put together seven, eight, nine game winning streaks. If they trade off wins and losses the rest of the way out, there's a pretty good chance they make the playoffs. So I'll end it with this because the more I listen to myself,

especially on a day where my allergies are going nuts, I sound like I'm being a condescending jerk. This is fun. This is what a playoff race is all about. I know it's been a couple years since we've had some meaningful hockey. This is what it's all. all about guys you want to be in march in april in ripping your hair out with every moment because it means it matters 100% agree with you on that this is what like moments are made of like i love

the stretch run for an annual season where games really matter like the last couple of years well the last year especially it wasn't as fun like yeah it was cool seeing rucker mcgrody and Billy Coyven to get some chances and Cindy Crosby doing his thing, but that team was cooked at this point in the season last year. Now you're playing in meaningful games. You have a legit chance of making the playoffs. Let's have some fun with this. And yeah, I know it's been a tough start to the week, but the Penguins, they will have an opportunity to get some points on the board this weekend, starting with Philadelphia and then Boston before they have that very daunting five-game road trip. One last thing on the trade, though. I got this message from Brian Fisher of Locked on

Red Wings, who tells me, Hunter, I think Penguins fans are really going to love Soder Blom. He disrupts the transition with his length and has incredibly soft hands. He's not that fast. He also lacks an edge, which is what kept him out of the lineup. But when he plays, you also can't miss him. I can tell you that Red Wings fans really liked him. He's one of those guys that every fan was hoping to put it together because when he flashes his game, it's a lot of fun.

So definitely look for those aspects of his game when he makes his penguin's debut pretty soon. curious to see how he does as a penguin. But again, that's going to do it for this second segment. Coming up to end the show, Pat and I are going to preview both games of the weekend back-to-back against the Flyers and against the Bruins. That's coming up right after this. But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our final sponsor, which is Indeed.

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This is a job for Indeed's sponsored jobs. All right, we're back here to close out the Friday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-s, Patchamp and Pat. It's yet another weekend back-to-back for the Penguins, but it is a home back-to-back. Both games will be at home before the Penguins go on that very daunting five-game trip, starting with the Philadelphia Flyers, the fourth and final meeting against the Flyers this season.

The Penguins have won. two of the first three, and the Penguins have blown out the flyers in those two wins. Those two wins have been very convincing for the Penguins. And yep, no Cindy Crosby tomorrow, very likely no Evgeny Malkin. It's going to have to be a very simple game for the Penguins, but I also want to see more players step up. I think especially over the last couple of games, I want to see a little bit more from Anthony Mantha.

Don't get me wrong. He's had a great season. I have not liked his game last couple of games. I'm not trying to overreact to small sample sizes, but there have been some instances these last couple of games where he has passed up some really good scoring opportunities for an extra pass. Can't be doing that, especially without your two best forwards in the lineup in Crosby and Malkin. I want to see him play better.

This is also a really big opportunity for 18-year-old Ben Kindle because if I had the guest, Pat, and this is a strict guess, he's going to be centering the top line. So welcome to this, Ben Kendall, another big test for you after you've passed literally every other test so far, but I think he's going to be centering that top line with Evgeny Malkin likely out. And they're going to have to get back to basics a bit more defensively. Obviously, Skinner and Sheelows are going to have to keep doing their thing. The power play over the last couple of games, I haven't liked it as much as I did in the first two games out of the Olympic break. So that has to be a bit better. But you really need

these two points, especially against the Flyers. This is a Flyers team that has waived the white flag. They are basically saying, hey, it's not our year. you've got to get the two points here against the Slyers team. The Bruins, we all know how tough they have been against the Penguins this year. I don't need to go on and on about how, you know, their style of play, bores me the tears and all that. But if you bring most of that same performance on Tuesday to Sunday's game, penguins, despite not having Malkin and Crosby,

at least, again, most likely for Malkin, definitely not for Crosby. I think the Penguins will have a pretty good opportunity to, win that game because I really like the Penguins effort for 45 of those 60 minutes. It was just that Jeremy Swayman stood on his head. So again, man, really big opportunity and they need to seize the moment here. They do. And this is going to apply to both games. I want to you, this might be a little bit of spin zone, might be a little bit of cope,

whatever you want to call it. If getting Malkins impending suspension can be applied to this Dan Mews quote. Be pissed off. I don't want anybody walking out of tonight seeing this is okay. Here's the thing. All season long, everybody has said that the penguins are going to suck, including us on this show. We said they were going to be in the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes.

And for the vast majority of this season, they have taken those takes and stuffed them down our throat. And after last night, after the losses to Boston and Buffalo, everybody is sitting here going, well, it was fun. but, you know, we better start planning for the draft because they're not going to make the playoffs now. It's over. This group has continually told everyone to shut the hell up. We're a good hockey team.

Stop questioning us. And the best way to do that is to go out, take on your rival in the season finale against them, series finale, I should say, and beat the hell out of them. You want to get this fan base back and rowdy again? go beat the hell out of the flyers on Saturday. That'll get people excited again. And then a little bit of revenge over the Boston Bruins. Listen, I highly doubt that the Bruins can do this to the Penguins three games in a row.

It's really, really. That doesn't mean I'm guaranteeing a win. It doesn't mean I'm saying that pencil and a W in two points. But it's easy with that much distance to do this to a team twice. because you know the blueprint. The Penguins pushed back well against it. This Sunday at home, it's a different kind of game. This is a weekend where you really have an opportunity to put it in your words, Hunter,

to seize the moment and get everybody refocused on what the mission is. And getting ahead of Columbus a little bit more. Yeah, I know. Columbus has been red hot. They're making a push for one of the playoffs, spots, whether it's Metro 3, Metro 2, the final wildcard spot, they're right there. But if you potentially sweep this weekend back-to-back, Columbus stumbles a little bit, you put more distance between them and you.

And also you can say the same for Washington because those games in hand are going down a little bit. So you have an opportunity to put more distance between you and Washington. That's another team to me that has waived the white flag on this year. They just traded John Carlson, who has been literally a Washington capital for almost my entire life, a good chunk of it. Not all of it, but a good chunk of it. And I warmed up to that return. At first I was like, if I was a little bit light, then I really thought about it, but more, I'm like, okay, maybe I was just a little too tired at 1.30 in the morning earlier this morning. But that is-

Speaking of that, Hunter, I know they can't now because the trade deadline is passed. I know what you're going with this. but I think I think the Washington Capitals just owe it to hockey to send Alex Ovechkin to a contender. They're just clinging on to an era that's over. They're just reliving the glory days and delaying the inevitable. He deserve the hockey world deserves to see him playing in the playoffs, don't they? Very funny that they'll always say that for Sid, but they'll never say it for Ovi, who is also just a fantastic player.

But yeah, like that's a team again, that's wave the white flag on the year. like you see the season they've had in. Do they have a chance to still make the playoffs? Sure, but right now, like, do I think it's likely? No, but anything can still happen down the stretch. But again, you have an opportunity here to really get back some of the momentum that you have lost this week, heading into a big road trip where I assume, and I think you are, you will agree with this, that Crosby is going to go on the road trip.

He's getting closer. He rejoined you guys at practice today. that should get you all jazzed up that oh crap our captain is getting closer to returning he in my opinion at least is ahead of schedule let's go out there bank these points and see what happens when he is ready to come back hopefully during this road trip do you have anything else to add before we send go off today hey i'll see you guys at p p pg paints arena on sunday i'm heading to finally my first game of the year. So of course, I picked the Boston Bruins who have tortured this team all season long.

So hopefully, hopefully they can turn this thing around and get us a W against the big bad Bruins. We'll see if you can go 1 and 0. I'm 0.3 this year. So I'm honestly a little bit spooked to go to another regular season game. I am going in a few weeks to the Dallas game with a few people. So hopefully I can get off the goose egg there. But hopefully you can get to 1 and 0 for. this season. But that's going to do it for the Friday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

Thank you all so much taking the time to listen to slash watch this one. Pat and I will be back with a fresh episode for you all on Monday, recapping these games against Philadelphia and Boston, and getting you all set for another very busy week of Penguins Hockey, as they will start that big road trip. So for Patrick Damp, I am Hunts for Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in. We appreciate it.

We'll be back on Monday.