Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Penguins return home to face a wounded Nashville Predators team

Episode Date: January 31, 2025

For the first time in more than two weeks, the Penguins will return home to the friendly confines of PPG Paints Arena! Patrick and Hunter get you ready for a Saturday night matchup with the Nashville Predators. They talk about how both teams have severely underachieved this season but for separate reasons. They also go over how despite both of the teams being below .500, it still is a matchup the Penguins have to be ready for given Nashville's offensive firepower. Next, the NHL and NHLPA have released their salary cap projections for the next three years and this could be a massive resource for the Penguins' current rebuild. Finally, to the surprise of no one, Sidney Crosby will captain Team Canada at the 4 Nations Face-Off! Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors! GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply. Download Gametime today. What time is it? Gametime.FanDuelSuper Bowl 59 is here, And there’s no better way to make every play more exciting than with FanDuel Sportsbook. New customers can bet just FIVE DOLLARS, and if you win, you’ll score TWO HUNDRED BUCKS in Bonus Bets. Download the app or head to FANDUEL.COM to get started.  Bet with FanDuel—Official Partner of Super Bowl Fifty-Nine. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

The Penguins return home for the first time in a little over two weeks on Saturday night when they welcome in the Nashville Predators. Hunter and I are going to get you ready for that game and more on this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. You're Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Welcome back to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me across all social media platforms at Synonym 4WET, joined as always by my partner in crime, the one and only Hunter Hodes.

You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can give our show's Twitter account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. And of course, we appreciate you making us part of your daily routine. Don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts as well as YouTube. Plus, if you follow us on YouTube, don't forget to hit the notification button. That way, you can be among the first to know when we drop our daily Monday through Friday episodes. Before we get started, today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on NHL to get $20 off of your first purchase.

Hunter, it has been a long time since the Penguins have been in the friendly confines of PPG paints arena. and for the first time, in a long time, they will be back at home on Saturday night when they welcome in the Nashville Predators. Another team who kind of like the Penguins, but in a different way, have been very disappointing this year. They were the talk of the offseason landing Stephen Stamco's former Tampa Bay Lightning captain, as well as Jonathan Marcheseau from the Vegas Golden Knights. So they looked like they were primed and ready to be one of the big boys in the Western conference. And they have really been anything. But right now they sit seventh in the Central Division. And if you're looking for a little glimmer of hope as a Penguins fan,

somehow this team that loaded up and appeared to be ready to go for it, they have seven less points than the Pittsburgh Penguins. and only a couple of games in hand. So it's not like Nashville has played a lot less games and are just playing catch-up. No, this team has been pretty darn bad so far this season. They've got a record of 1824 and 7, a goal differential of minus 26.

And surprisingly with all of that talent that they went out and got and still have this year with the likes of Philip Forsberg, March so, Mniosi, Stamcoastoff Nyquist. The only player who is at a point per game clip is Philip Foresberg with 18 goals and 31 assists and 49 games. So for the Penguins, yet another game where they're playing a team that is absolutely ripe for the picking.

Yeah, man, this has been a really weird season for national. I mean, I predicted them to be top three in the central out of this season. I thought they were going to easily make the playoffs. I like the moves that they were really aggressive in getting Sam Crohn's so and Brady Shea as well. But at the start of the season, it was like, okay, maybe they're getting their feet wet. You know, they're struggling a little bit. Let's see if they can pull their way out of this.

It never happened. And they're going to miss the playoffs with all this talent. And you're going to see Barry Trots really start to sell off some assets at the deadline. I don't think it's going to be anyone big. But I think he's going to start selling off, you know, maybe some of their depth pieces forward, some of their depth pieces on defense and all that stuff. And you also didn't mention Pat. UC Soros had a really nice start of the season.

He was doing everything possible. Now it's been a little bit of a struggle bus for him as of late. In 38 games he started this year, 1120 and 6, 900% of 10%. He's also in the negative for goals state above expected on MoneyPuck. Just hasn't been as good this year compared to last year. And that's also played a role with how they've been struggling this year. It just, it's unfortunate because they have all these star forwards up front. they have Roman Yose, one of the best defensemen in the league,

and the Penguins didn't even see Yossi the first time these two teams played. He was still working his way back from injury. They will this time, but they just haven't been able to be consistent this year. Hey, funny how that sounds, right, Pat, considering how the penguins, they're kind of in the same boat, they just really haven't had a chance to be consistent at all this season. However, even though the predators are bad and they're kind of down and out right now, the penguins still need to go out there and really play a strong 60 minutes. actually, as usual, play a lot better in their own zone.

Philip Forsberg, he is the biggest player that can hurt you this year with how he's playing. Pat said it, 18 goals, 49 points in 49 games. He has a ridiculous shot. He's always been a great goal score, especially last year. Jonathan Margessoe, he's almost at a point for game, 15 goals, 38 points. Roman Yose, you know what you're going to get from him. Great offensive playmaker in the offensive zone. Also really good in his own zone, but Yosey, one of the five, 10 best defense in the league.

Stamcoast, 17 goals, 33 points. Ryan O'Reilly has 14 goals. And we've discussed this. They're kind of treating him as someone who has a no trade clause, even though if I'm Nashville, I would actually look to move him, considering how he's playing, the veteran leadership that he would bring, and all that stuff. But again, that's just one man's opinion.

And then if Gustav Nike was still there, you know, Brady Shea struggled a bit this year. They got Tommy Novak. So, again, this team, they have a lot of talent. They just haven't been able to put it together. So when you have a team down and out like this, you need the penguins, especially in your first game home in a little over two weeks, to really go full throttle here.

And also, Nashville is playing tonight. This is a road back-to-back, back-to-back with travel. They're in Buffalo tonight for this game on Friday. They'll then go to Pittsburgh on Saturday for the second game. So the jury is still up in the air in terms of whether we'll see UC Soros for that game on Saturday. The Predators will probably announce who starting on Friday well after this episode is recorded today.

posted for everyone to listen to. But if the penguins don't see Soros, that is also a pretty big break. Even though we have struggled this year, you'd still rather see the backup to Soros compared to Saros, considering we've seen the level that he can play at numerous times over the years. But still, back to back with travel for Nashville, Penguins also have to take advantage of that pack. You really do, especially because you finished your longest road trip of the year as the Penguins with a win over Utah, a hard-fought victory that really didn't make much of a difference in where your season's going. But at the very least, it helped the vibe, it helped the mood in the room, it helps you feel

a little bit better about yourself. And then you get a couple days of rest and then it's back at it. But at home, and like you said, they're traveling from Buffalo. And while not that long of a flight from Buffalo to Pittsburgh, it still is they got to rush out of the room. They got to get to the plane. they got to check into their hotel, and then they got to get a weird night of rest to play a very well-rested penguins team.

Much like the penguins, though, I will say this. The penguins beat them in a 5-4 overtime game earlier in December. That was when the penguins went on their little bit of a run to end the calendar year. And the penguins looked pretty good against them. But now, in a very similar way, this month, the Preds have kind of done that as well, even though they're sliding as of late. They had a very good month of January overall, getting quite a few wins over some very good competition in Vancouver, Calgary,

the Golden Knights, the Minnesota Wild. Then they posted wins over the sharks. But as of late, a loss to the ducks, a loss to the Canucks. They've got the Sabres tonight, like you said. So very similar to the Penguins, they've had their moments where they look like the team we kind of expected them to be. Now, I know that we didn't expect the penguins to be anywhere near contender status, but they had us believing for a few weeks, and the predators kind of did the same thing.

So for the penguins, golden opportunity tonight. And I think the biggest thing to keep in mind here is, like you said, the defensive zone play, because despite the struggles of the Nashville predators, and despite the fact that they haven't gotten the production out a lot, of a lot of the guys they expected to. They're still extremely talented. Philip Forsberg, you brought him up already. Great, great player has been for quite a while. I will never forgive Ray Shiro for passing over him in the draft

when he had the opportunity to get him. Absolutely unforgivable sin. Marcoso, and then guys like Margesso and Stamco's and Shea, who they got this offseason, have actually played better as of recent. So you have to have a response. defensive zone game tonight because even though it has not been the most productive and most successful season for Nashville, it's still an 82 game season and those guys, despite the struggles, can still find a way to kill you in a single game. Right. And I'll be curious also to see who

gets the start. Do they go back to Alex Nelkevich, which it's funny. Every time I feel like they're getting close to going back to Blumquist for a game, they go to Ned. So I'm just going to see who like Sullivan decides to start. I'm not even going to try to make a prediction on that path for this game. But with the way they were defending to end that road trip, it's got to be so much better. I know Nashville is not very good, but you said it. This team still has quite a bit of talent, especially up front. They can burn you, even if you try to turn this game into a track meet, which the penguins really should never do against any team considering how they play defensively. You try to do that. They have pure snipers that can really, and I mean, really hurt you.

You don't want to give up too many Ottoman rushes, do players like Stamcoast, like Marcoso, like Forbesberg, like Gustav Nyquist, O'Reilly, Roman Yossi, how talented. He is offensively, you're just asking for a losing situation there. So they got to be so much more diligent because even against Utah, I like that they were able to come back and win that game, but they were still so shaky in their own zone and relying on Ned to make a lot of time with the saves, especially in that third period, even after Carlson tied it. So got to be better with that.

But again, we've been saying that all season at this point. So not really sure how much it's going to change. And one more thing, Pat, Patrick was Bob one night on Saturday. Got to win for that. Got to win for Horny on Saturday night, especially for everything he brought to this franchise. I won't wax poetic about him too long because we've got to get to a break. But man, what an absolute warrior.

Absolutely changed the culture of the Pittsburgh Penguins. And a huge, huge reason they won those Stanley Cups in 2016 and 2017. But that is going to do it for this first segment. When we come back, we are going to talk about how both these teams have disappointed, but some news from Elliott Friedman recently could provide a little bit of a spark of hope for not just the penguins and preads, but a whole host of NHL teams across the league. But first, we've got to tell you about our first sponsor, and that is game time.

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Again, create an account and redeem code L-O-C-E-D-O-N-HL for $20 off. Download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right, we're back here on the Friday edition of Locked. Don Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp, alongside the one and only Hunter Hodes once again. And it wasn't just Elliot Friedman taking swipes at our boy on Twitter last night. He was actually breaking a good bit of news today about the salary cap.

And this is no longer just speculation. It's not just super agent and super podcaster Alan Walsh, giving out his takes on the NHL salary cap. According to Friedman, the NHL and NHLPA have released cap estimates for the next three seasons. Next year, 2526 is expected to rise to 95.5 million. Then 2627, another big jump. We go up to 104 million and then hold on to your hats, kids, because 27, 28, it's going to go pretty high with an estimate of 113.13.1.4.4 million.

$5 million. So, well, we don't see a world where the Pittsburgh Penguins are going to be a cap team in three years. They are going to have a lot of space to play with over the next few seasons. First off, thank you for the swipe from Elliott Freeman last night. Yes, I did get ratio by Elliott Freeman last night because I thought John Torrell lied about Morgan Frost not being traded. And Elliott quickly said, no, I don't think he did. I was being careful about it. I was like, well, okay, Elliot, I appreciate you quote tweeting my tweet,

and I'm going to print that out and probably frame it in my office here because that's why the first and last time he's going to quote tweet, one of my tweets. Elliot, you do great work, we're just trying to mess around. Really funny tweet that you send me my way. But yes, this is really good news, not just for the penguins, but for the entire NHL. We have been waiting for a cap increase like this for the last several years. I think COVID kind of had it stalled for a little bit. Now that we're well out of that, you're seeing this spike up.

And you know who's going to win with this, Pat? I'll tell you. Middle six forwards, bottom six forwards, second and third pairing defensemen. They're going to get a boatload of cash when this cap keeps going up. And it's going to be really fun seeing the contracts that can hand it out by general managers now. From a pure penguin's perspective, you're right. they're not going to be a cap team in three years when this jumps up to $113 million, which means, Pat, they're going to have a lot of space.

Like we're talking probably what, man, $45, $50 million plus of cap space potentially with a lot of the big guns coming off, for example, like Crosby, like his contract after this year has a couple more years. Malkin's contract after this year has one more year. His is going to be up. Crosby is going to be up a couple more years. You'll have Lattang's contract at some point, but still, I'm not sure if he's going to finish that contract

because he might retire before then. Eric Carlson, I don't think we'll be on this team in three years, at least in my opinion. Then you'll have other players who will get traded off slash go to other teams and stuff like that. So again, they're going to have a lot of room to make trades, signings. The jury is still out on how good slash bad they'll be in three years when the cap goes up to $113 million.

But it's going to make the possibilities pretty endless for the moves that they could potentially make. So really good news. I'm excited to see it. Start this coming all season. You know, again, 95 million for the cap, man. It's going to be a lot of fun for this next season. It also kind of furthers something that I was saying on the show yesterday,

where you look at where this team is headed going into this off season. They're going to have a lot of cap space with this rising cap. They have all of their key pieces for the most part, completely locked up. They don't have any big pending UFAs. They've got a couple RFAs who they may have to give slight raises to or at the very least keep them status quo because they're not exactly burning the world down and showing that they're a franchise cornerstone. So it's going to give them a lot of flexibility over these next few years

because there is no big pending free agent coming. And as you said, with all the big names, Sidney Crosby, Evgeny Malkin, Chris Latang, Eric Carlson. They're either completely locked up for the foreseeable future. You're not going to have to negotiate a new deal. And it's pretty much expected that sometime over the next three to four years, most of if not all of those guys are going to retire. I know it's a rainy, crappy day in Pittsburgh.

So if hearing that sentence gives you some bad feelings, go ahead and go under the blanket and put on your favorite comfort show because sadly that day is coming sooner rather than later. But it also builds on what I was saying yesterday in the sense that if they're looking to get younger players who need a second chance, players who might have fallen out of favor with other teams, they'll also be in the position to take on bad contracts. Because depending upon how some of these prospects and what kind of picks they get over the next couple of years, they're likely not to be in a real total contention window.

So they're not going to worry about, oh, okay, you've got this fourth liner who's making two and a half, three million that you're trying to jettison off of your cap. You give us that prospect, that pick or that NHL ready young player along with them. We'll bring them in and we'll take them. We've got plenty of cap space to do that. And along with that, if they want to say, buy out Tristan Jari, if they want to retain salary on an Eric Carlson or a Ricard Raquel. They're going to have the flexibility to do that.

So at the end of the day, you look at what Kyle Dubus wants to do with this. At this point, I think we're safe to say rebuild because the way things are are projecting right now, I'm very skeptical, skeptical that they can get themselves into a real contender status with the big three one more time. But at the end of the day, it is going to give him a lot of flexibility to swing maybe a couple big trades, maybe make a couple of splash signings because you mix, like I said, all of the big guys who are locked up and are either going to retire or take team friendly deals if they want to continue to play. And some of these young prospects who aren't going to command big deals right away unless

they absolutely overshoot their expectation. Going to be a lot of cap space, going to be a lot of flexibility. So over the next two to three years, this Penguin's franchise outside of two or three names, it's going to be pretty unrecognizable. Agreed. And we already said it a couple of times.

We'll say it again. They are not going to be a cap team going forward in the next two to three years. I'm pretty comfortable saying that with how much the cap is going to go up. Yes, FSG has a ton of money. if they really wanted to, they could be a cat team. But they told us they were doing this rebuild on the fly pat when they traded Jake against the last trade deadline. Like that was the message, okay, we're starting to go in a different direction.

We're starting to turn over this team while keeping the main core pieces in place. But we're going to try to rebuild on the fly around them so we don't have, you know, the quote unquote dark ages coming, tearing it down to the studs because you're seeing less in less of that type of rebuild over the last couple years. You know, more teams are doing this. Rebuilds, retool on the fly. Penguins are no different. Like, they want it to be as quick as possible so that they can get back into contention quicker

and not be like, again, an Anaheim, a Buffalo, even, heck, a Detroit, where all those teams, they're still trying to take that next step. Heck, the senators, they are in the race this year, but if they make it this year, they'll be the first time since the 2016-17 playoffs they've gotten in. Again, it's been taking a long time because they tore it down. pretty good. And it's taken a while for them to rebuild their team backup. And again,

I don't think the Penguins have interested in doing any of that stuff. They just didn't want to do this rebuild on the fly. But also, I don't think they would buy out Jari. I don't really think Kyle Dubus wants to do that. I think the more likely outcome is that they find a taker for him and maybe have to retain either during the summer, maybe a little bit down the line,

something like that again, that they can just bury him in Wilkesbury until them. But I don't think they're going to buy him out. they also have an opportunity to potentially move on from Ryan Graves at some point. You have his contract at which right now it goes on for the next several years. I mean, after this year, he has three seasons left at $4.5 million. He's not up until the 28, 2029 season. It'll be a UFA that year.

4.5 million for the next three years. I think that way think the Penguins are going to try to potentially find a taker for him if they can to get out of that contract and then for Lantang as well. He has three more years on his contract at 6.1. I'll have to see if he finishes out that contract because I do think there is a chance that he could retire before that contract is up the same year as Ryan Graveswoman. But again, we'll have to see. But the bottom line is this. They're going to have a lot of cap space.

It's going to be a lot of fun to see what they do. And over the next couple of seasons, there's going to be a lot of new faces coming into this line on whether it's some young pieces from Wilkesbury or some younger pieces slash other players, maybe some other vets from other teams that are going to come in here. So I hope everyone gets ready for that because again, even after, you know, this next season, 25, 26, they got a lot of UFAs. I mean, Michael Bunting is a UFA in 26, 27, Kevin Hayes, but I'm not sure he's going to be on this team after this year. Cody Glass, you know, we got Noah Chari has one more year in his contract, Blake Lazada is one more year in his contract.

There are so many players whose contracts are up after the 25, 26 season that, again, And after this season and the next season, a lot of new faces are going to come in here. There really are. And I don't want to stretch this segment too long because you do have to get to a break. But I will say you hit on something that has kind of become, I don't even know if I can call it a pet theory anymore because we're seeing it across the NHL a lot more than we have in recent years. And it feels like we're leaving the era of the strip it down to the studs rebuild because the only actually. quote unquote success stories of tearing it down to the studs and rebuilding of the last 25 or so years are pretty much the Pittsburgh Penguins.

And I know everybody's going to laugh at this one, but you can look at their roster and their talent and see that it worked. The Toronto Maple Leafs pretty much around everybody else, they're finding themselves stuck in the mud on these strip it down to the studs rebuilds. You brought up all the names. Buffalo's been doing this forever. Anaheim's been doing this for quite a while. The Red Wings have been doing this for quite a while.

Ottawa, it's a little bit more complicated because they had some really tough ownership issues, but they're starting to at least turn a little bit of a corner. But there was a long period of time there where they were stuck in the mud kind of doing the same things. And then you see these success stories like the Los Angeles Kings who held on to some good big time veterans that they won with and got rid of everybody else and started to let the young. young guys take over, the Washington Capitals, they're doing the same thing this year. And I do think Kyle Dubus learned quite a lot during his time in Toronto with how to get this done because if you do look back at Toronto's tear it down to the studs rebuild, they did do

one thing that a lot of those tear it down teams didn't do. They held on to a couple of veterans. They weren't your franchise players. They weren't guys that you won Stanley Cups with or anything like that. but they were guys who had experience with the franchise. They were guys who had a few years under their belt in the National Hockey League. They didn't just immediately say, here's all the young guys, go get them. So I think Kyle Dubus learned pretty well from that in the sense that,

yeah, you know you're never going to get rid of the big three. That would have you tarred and feathered in Market Square in downtown Pittsburgh if you did. But it still shows that, okay, he understands if you're, not a key core piece, you are absolutely movable and we're going to try to get young players in. And now you mix that with a significant rise in cap space over the next few years. They're in a very good position to retool this team for the future. But he's got to make the right moves and we will find out if he's able to do that over the next few years. But that will do it for this second segment.

When we come back, hey, we just talked about one of those core guys and one of those core guys. and one of those core guys is once again going to be wearing the sea for team Canada at the four nations face off. We're going to talk about that and a little bit more when we come back right after this. All right, welcome back. It's the Friday edition of Locked-on Penguins. I'm Patrick Damp. That's Hunter Hodes. As always, we appreciate you making us part of your daily routine throughout the week because it's Friday. You got to end on a high note. We can't go in talking about doing. doom and gloom, even if it is gray and rainy outside my window here in the city of Pittsburgh.

But Sidney Crosby, to the surprise of absolutely no one, will be the captain of Team Canada at the four nations face off later this month. And again, not a surprise whatsoever. The quote that always stands out to me was from a couple of months ago when Connor McDavid got asked about it. And he said very directly, very simply, very non-Connor McDavidly, it should be Sid. It should be Sid for sure. That's not even a question. It's just how it should be. He's Sidney Crosby and he's been there so many times and he's the guy.

It's just such a no-brainer. And again, none of us are surprised by this. But I got to give a hat tip to one of the best reporters in the business, Chris Johnston. He pulled this stat on the athletic yesterday when the announcement became official. When Sidney Crosby has put on a team Canada sweater, hockey Canada's record is 45 and 5. He is Captain Canada. That's a ridiculous record. And it goes to show how many great players Canada has had every single time they have played in the World Championships,

the Olympics rolled a cup of hockey, you name it. 45 and 5. I know one of those losses was the team USA. I know that, that. 2010 prelimbs. You're absolutely right. I can't name the other four off the top of my head. I can't.

I imagine it. I know they didn't lose in Sochi in 2014. I'm fairly certain. I'm sure someone in the comments will correct me if I'm in, if I'm wrong. I don't think they lost at the 2016 World Cup of hockey. I think Canada ran the 10th. table. And so that kind of leaves you with some sort of world championships loss. And I imagine

there was probably a loss or two at World Juniors. But again, I could be wrong. But at the end of the day, you play 50 games in a team Canada sweater and win 45 of them. Is all of that on Sidney Crosby? No, of course not. Canada has been an embarrassment of riches for all of my life. So he's had a lot of help, but we all know the history, man. The golden goal in 2010 in Vancouver, he was dominant in the 2016 World Cup of hockey. He won that tournament MVP and there was no second place. He was genuinely spectacular. And it's his country until he decides to hang him up.

And yeah, Connor McDavid has probably passed him as the best player in the world. but given his resume, given his level of play even to this day, until he decides he's no longer playing, Sidney Crosby is the captain of Team Canada. Yep, he's the captain of this team. He'll be the captain of the next Olympic team in 2026 as well. David talks about the World Cup of hockey in 2028. We have to see if Crosby is still playing.

If he is still playing at that time and he does get onto, well, he will get on to the team. But I'm curious to see if they name him captain for that. if they are able to finalize a little cup of hockey, or do they give that to one of Nathan MacKinnon or Connor McDavid? That'll be interesting. But these next couple of years, especially this year in 26th, Cindy Crosby is the captain of Team Canada. No questions asked. He has led them to so much success every single time they've had a big international tournament. And I expect him to play really well during this Four Nations face off. Yeah, isn't an advertisement a little bit for the

Olympics? Sure. But you know what, Pat? I would much rather watch this than watch the BS All-Star game festivities. I'm sorry. I would much rather watch something like this than the All-Star game where it's kind of a joke. Like the skills competition is not nearly as good as anymore anymore. Excuse me. I'm really excited to watch this. And for people that are wondering if we're going to have content during this. Absolutely people. We are going to cover the Four Nations face off. We're going to cover all things Penguins probably do some mailbox, bring in some guests and all that. There is going to be plenty of content during the Four Nations face off break. So just get ready for that. But congratulations to Sidney Crosby. Very well-deserved. Excited to see who he plays with also during this. Could we see Brad Marchand next to him, considering the success they've had at the Olympics and World Championships and the

World Cup of hockey? That will be a lot of fun. Could we maybe see Nathan McKinnon next to him as well? Hey, they have so many centers. They're going to have to put some of them that weighing on this team at. So, really fascinated to see what Canada does here for this lineup, but really excited for this. also best team USA team of my lifetime and it's going to be the same at the Olympics in 2026 as well so super stoked for this international hockey is it in a very very good place right now

and you said it hunter the NHL and the penguins may be going on break for the four nations face off we will not be we will still bring you daily Monday through Friday episodes will give you our updates and takes on the four nations face off as it occurs like hunter said we'll also try to get some guests lined up throughout the week so we can get you some good stories, talk to some interesting people, and kind of shift the tone a little bit of locked on to make it a little bit. I don't want to say more fun because we do have a blast here, but it'll be a little lighter, I guess is the best way to put it. And one last thing before we go, just so everybody remembers Eric Carlson, he was named an alternate captain for team Sweden.

and of course, Mike Sullivan is the head coach of Team USA. So there is Penguins representation in the Four Nations face off. So we will have an excuse to talk about it because a lot of Penguins connections in the Four Nations face off. But that will do it for our Friday episode of Locked on Penguins. Hunter and I will be back with a brand new episode on Monday to recap this game as well as get you set for the week ahead. before the break for the four nations face off.

But for now, for Hunter Hodes, I'm Patrick Damp. Thank you as always for tuning in. And we will talk to you once again on Monday.