Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Remembering one of the most famous days in Pittsburgh Penguins history AND answering more mailbag questions!

Starting point is 00:00:00 It's time for part two of opening up the mailback, and Pat and I are going to answer your questions right after this. Your Locked-on Penguins, your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins, part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your hosts, Hunter Hodes. You can follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-host Patrick Damping and follow him on Twitter at Send him for and you can follow the show with Twitter at L.O. 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.

Starting point is 00:00:44 And finally, today's episode is brought to you by GameTime, down the GameTime app, grant account and use code locked on NHL for $20 off your first purchase, terms of lie. So as promised, we are opening up part two of the mailbag for the Wednesday edition of the show after I made the executive decision on Friday to do that just because Pat and I got so many questions from you all. So again, thank you guys so much for bringing your questions. And with that in mind, let's kick this off with our first question of the day. This is from Gaming Goddady. And he asks, do you think we could flip Riley Smith with something else for Marty Natchez in Carolina? Some say he will be about 5 to 5.5 million AAV under a new

Starting point is 00:01:23 contract since he's an RFA. And he's a right winger. And Frank Sorali says the Cairns probably won't keep him. I think at this point, every NHL insider is saying that Marty Natchez is probably going to get dealt. And I discussed NACIS on the show a few weeks ago when Pat went to that wedding in Philadelphia. I think it will be a slam dunk move. If the Penguins were to get NACIS, he helps both the short term and the long term for this franchise. He's also very young. And I think he could enter a new gear for his career. I mean, he's already, I would say, a pretty solid player. 24 goals, 53 points this past season. Last season, though, 28 goals, 71 points in 82 games. That was by far the best season of his career. His underlines are also very strong. The thing is, though,

Starting point is 00:02:08 Carolina is going to ask, I think, quite a bit in this type of deal. And I mean, yeah, I would give up Riley Smith and something else, but would Carolina really be interested in Riley Smith and that type of package over what some other teams could offer? That's where I kind of question that a little bit. So yeah, in this world, I would do it if I were Kyle would do with and the Penguins, but is someone like Eric Tulski going to do that? No, just because I think he's going to do a really solid job as Carolina's GM and I think he's going to look for quite a bit of good value in return for Nature's. So I think from Carolina's perspective, don't think they'll do that. No, and I also, you also have to keep in mind, I know it's a little bit different because

Starting point is 00:02:51 NACS is an RFA with arbitration rights. Kyle Dubas pretty much said earlier this week or over the weekend to Taylor Haas that they don't see themselves in a position to trade for player rights. Because either like now if you trade for an RFA, you get the first crack at them. You take them to arbitration and you end up most more than likely keeping them. But I just don't see a world where the penguins have the kind of assets that Carolina and Eric Tolski would want for a player like Marty Natchez. and they have already started the groundwork of telling the insiders, hey, this guy's a budding superstar.

Starting point is 00:03:35 He's going to be great for years to come. So they're pumping up those tires. And they don't really have to all things considered. The guys only played a little over 350 NHO games. He's already got nearly 100 goals and almost 250 points. This guy is on track to be a star, because he's only 25. And what I love for them to get Marty Natchez, yeah, I would take that in a heartbeat.

Starting point is 00:04:03 But I just don't see a world where Riley Smith plus gets it done just because I don't think Riley Smith is a fit in Carolina. And then if you're getting them to take Riley Smith, you're going to have to give them more. And they just don't have the more that would make this deal worth either worth the Penguins time. they could make it worth Carolina's time, but it would significantly weaken this roster. Right. And with Riley Smith going to Carolina, you know, that would be, I think, from the Penguins perspective, kind of like a quote unquote salary dump. So Carolina, they would want an extra something overall, probably even more than just two things going Carolina's way. I think Eric Tolski would ask for quite a bit. And they've also already started telling the insiders, hey, yeah, some teams

Starting point is 00:04:50 they're giving us offers, but they're not nearly as good as we want them to be. So there are setting a fairly high asking price as they should. I think it's going to come down the closer you get to the draft just because that's how these types of trades work. But I still think that price that Carolina is going to trade them for it, it's probably going to be too steep overall. And while you look at Carolina's cap situation, they have a ton of space, but they have a lot of guys they've got to figure out what to do with, especially on defense.

Starting point is 00:05:22 And even though they have just about 27 million in caps. space, you probably are better off keeping NACIS letting him go to arbitration. And I don't foresee him getting a giant raise, but I do see him getting a good raise. But I don't think it would be to the point it would blow up Carolina's cap and screw up their entire process. I think at this point, they're just trying to practice good asset management in thinking, okay, what would we rather have the cap space and a bunch of assets or the player? when in reality both are good answers.

Starting point is 00:05:58 Right. I agree with you. And just with Natchez, he's also at least told some of the insiders, or at least that's what they're reporting, that it sounds like he doesn't even really want to be in Carolina next year and in future years too. So they're kind of making this an easy decision for the hurricanes at this point.

Starting point is 00:06:16 So whoever gets Natchez, they're going to get one heck of a player. But yeah, I just don't see it with Pittsburgh overall. Getting to the second question, this comes from Zach Temp. What are your thoughts on a few free agents like T.J. Brody, Dominic Kubalik, and Anthony Duclair. Well, Pat, I don't really need to ask you about Anthony Duclair.

Starting point is 00:06:32 I mean, you've been pumping up his tires for quite a while. I was doing the same thing. I would love if Duclair were to sign with the Penguins this past season, he was great for both the sharks and the lightning overall. 24 goals, 42 points. But I think he's going to get, to me, a decent raise this off season. I mean, he only made $3 million for his AV this season. year, when you score 24 goals and have 42 points in a contract year, teams are going to overpay for that in free agency.

Starting point is 00:07:02 You know, I'm looking at maybe $4.5 million per year for someone like him. Again, I would love to get Duke Claire. I think he is a perfect fit for the Penguins, but I didn't think he might price himself out. It's kind of like Dakota Joshua for me in a way. Someone like him is going to break the bank this offseason just because a lot of teams are seeing what the Panthers have done, what the Canucks did, obviously, and they're like, okay, we need someone like that in our lineup. And I think the Penguins could use someone like that in their lineup, both Joshua and Du Claire. But I just feel like teams are going to

Starting point is 00:07:36 really break the bank for those players. I'm not sure if the Penguins are going to want to go down that route. I think you're right on Dakota Joshua. The, the full court press on how great he was for Vancouver is on. And everybody, a lot of, a lot of hockey minds are talking about Dakota Joshua in line for a big raise. The thing that gives me some pause about possibly getting Duclair is that for some reason, and I've done a lot of reading and research on him, I've never seen any sort of character issues. I haven't seen any sort of complaints or anything about them.

Starting point is 00:08:14 But for some reason, teams just, continue to pass on him. Teams continue to either let him walk or don't resign him or don't trade for him or don't hold on to him however you want to frame it. And while I agree that he should get a raise, you score on 24 goals in a contract year. You probably should look at four, four and a half million. But for some reason, teams don't touch this guy. And if he gets to July 5th, 6, 7 and he doesn't have a team yet, Kyle Duba should have him on speed dial because he would fit with this team so well. I agree.

Starting point is 00:08:53 Yeah. If he somehow doesn't sign on July 1 and makes it throughout the first few days to a week, I would give him a call right away and give him at least some sort of offer to think about because this is a very good depth piece that would help the penguins in multiple ways for next year. As for the other two that you asked about T.J. Brody, once upon a time, I thought T.J. Brody was one of the 10 to 15 best defensemen in the league. He was that good on the flames. Recently, though, with Toronto, his play is kind of cratered a little bit.

Starting point is 00:09:22 He's also already 34 this past season. One goal, 26 points in 78 games. I know there's the Caldubus connection just because they were together for a little bit in Toronto. But when I look at Brody, I see a player who is on decline. He's a bit older at this point. I would rather go for someone who is a bit more younger and has more room to grow over someone like Brody, who I think has lost a step or two over the last several years. years. I don't have a whole ton to add on Brody. I think he's on the decline of his career. And he's

Starting point is 00:09:54 been a solid player. I think he has definitely caught some unfair flack for the way it's gone in Toronto. I don't think he's his bad as his detractors say. But I think at this point, I look at that as an unnecessary ad. He's not somebody that really would move the needle one way or the other. And this team really needs to share up their defense, and I really don't think Brody's the answer. Agreed. And as for the last player that Zach mentioned, Dominic Kubolique, he was brutal this year for the Senators. Seventy-four games, 11 goals, 15 points. Both are career lows for him, and especially points-wise. I mean, the lowest before this was 32, 2021, 2021, with the Chicago Blackhawks. This is a former 30-goal score in 2019-20, also a former 20.

Starting point is 00:10:47 goal score with the Detroit Red Wings in 2022, 2020, and his underlines this year, boy, they stunk. When he was on the ice, the senators only had 43% of the shot attempts, 16 goals for 44 goals against. I know the senators flat out sucked this year, but when you're a minus 28 at 5 on 5, there's a problem with your game overall this year. So just with how he declined throughout this season. I'm not really too interested in signing him. Yeah, could he bounce back? Sure.

Starting point is 00:11:21 But I think, again, there's some better options out there for this team. I think if you can get him on the cheap, it might not be the worst idea because he is a very solid bounce back candidate. He's only 28 years old. You look at the teams he's been on in his career, Chicago, Detroit, and Ottawa. That's, he hasn't exactly played on powerhouse teams. At the same time, I also kind of compare him to what I call the Olimata paradox, which as you're never as good as your rookie season when you got really built up and surprised people. There wasn't a ton of hype behind Kubalik.

Starting point is 00:12:01 There was some, but he wasn't this can't miss guy. And then he goes out and scores 30 goals and then follows it up with 17, 15, 20, and then 11 this year had his worst season. but I think maybe people overvalued him and thought he was better than he was. If you can get him on a cheap one-year deal and it's not costing too much, I wouldn't mind it. But we saw how that went this past year. A lot of guys on not that bad of deals, but just didn't work out for the penguins. And I've said it before on the show, they're at a point in their franchise where you really have to have some sure things. You can't risk it to have a guy who might not work out. So again,

Starting point is 00:12:49 if it's a cheap enough deal, you think he can bounce back. I wouldn't hate it, but it would not be a preferred move for me. I agree. And just to end the first segment here with one more question. This comes from baseball, Jake. If you had to pick three, most likely UFA signings out of the pool players that you would like to have. So my three that I would pick out of the pool of players I would like to have. I was going to put Dakota Joshua here, but I just think, again, he's going to get a lot of term

Starting point is 00:13:17 and a lot of money from some team just because they value that type of player. Again, I would love to have them all the penguins, but I just don't think that's going to happen. But my three, Jake DeBrusk, middle six-sick Swinger can also play in your top six. Oliver Shillington can play on the left side, especially on that second pairing,

Starting point is 00:13:34 and Max Domi, potential third line center of candidate. They also didn't make that much money throughout this past season. they're also under 30 years old, so you're getting younger with all three of those moves, and you're also filling holes there. You're getting a middle six winger, which you really need. You're getting another top four defense in which I think this team needs. And you're getting a better and improved third-line center,

Starting point is 00:13:57 which will allow you to slide Lars Eller down to the fourth line, even though he did play well for the Penguins this past season. So those are the three that I would go after of the pool of players that we've discussed so far. Max Domi is on my list. I think he plays with the kind of sandpaper. This team has been missing the last few years. I already went over Anthony Duclair. I'm very high on his game.

Starting point is 00:14:21 In my last one, I think it's out of reach. It's a perfect world, perfect scenario, silly season idea. But if there was a world where they could get Sean Monaghan, I would take Sean Monaghan in an absolute heartbeat. He had a fantastic season, 26 goals, 59 points. he didn't seem to fit all that well down the stretch in Winnipeg, but he is probably due for a nice raise. And if that's a guy you can get at age 29 for a couple more seasons, and he continues the level of play that he's had,

Starting point is 00:14:56 give him to me all day long. We haven't really discussed him that much, but he did play well, I felt like with Winnipeg after the deal. And I mean, I'm curious to see what he fetches on the open market. I feel like he's always been a pretty undervalued and underrated player throughout his career. So yeah, that's also someone to keep in mind as all. But that'll do it for the first segment. Coming up in the second segment, we're going to continue with a few more questions to round out our full mailback,

Starting point is 00:15:22 including what player from a division rival that we would love to have on the Penguins? But before we get to that, we have to tell you all about our first sponsor, and that is game time. Game time makes getting NBA finals tickets even faster and easier. Prices of the game time app actually go down the closer it gets. the tip off and with killer last minute deals, all in prices, views from your seat and their lowest price guarantee, game time takes the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets. You can do priority for last minute deals. Save up to 60% off buying last minute tickets for sports, concerts, comedy, theater, and even more. You can also do flash deals. See even more with exclusive in-app deals

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Starting point is 00:16:33 Terms apply. Again, create account and redeem code locked on NHL for $20. off your first purchase, download game time today. Last minute tickets, lowest price guaranteed. All right, we're back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Hunter Hodes, joined by my co-st Patrick Dam. So continuing right along with part two of our mailbag. This comes from St. Canoli.

Starting point is 00:16:58 What's one player from a division rival that you would love to have on the team? I've been thinking about this for quite a while, and there are so many, I think, that fit here. But if you're asking me, Rangers defenseman Adam Fox, I love watching him. He's great in the offensive zone. He's great in his own zone. I mean, he's had three straight 70-point seasons. I know he wasn't himself in the playoffs after getting hit by Nick Jensen in the first round, but he's one of the three to four best defensemen on the planet, in my opinion.

Starting point is 00:17:30 And adding him to this roster would make it even more fun. He's my pick. I was going back between him and Matthew Barzell. I was going to throw Jack Hughes in there, too. Hughes is so much fun to watch in New Jersey. But Barzell, I know the Islanders are a very boring team to watch, but Barzell is so crafty with the puck on his stick, man. What he can do with the puck, his skating ability is off the charts.

Starting point is 00:17:56 Those are probably my top three from rival teams. I'll probably throw Igor Shisdurkin in there from his play on the ice. I know we like to joke about him with how. interesting he is kind of compared to Henrik Lungquist in a way with how he treats some players on the ice but he's still one hell of a goalie but in my view, Adam Vox from the Rangers. There's a name when you were going through some of your, uh, your possible picks there.

Starting point is 00:18:21 I'm surprised that you left out because it's the one that I'm going with. That's Sebastian Aho, the good one from Carolina. I mean, he is one of the best talents in the NHL. he's had three straight seasons of over 35 goals. He has over 250 goals in his career. He's got near, he's got just over 550 points in the NHL.

Starting point is 00:18:46 And he is just an electric player. He just can really pretty much do everything you want of your top line forward to do. And for all the faults Carolina had in not winning against the Rangers this year, He wasn't one of the reasons, man, 12 points and 11 games. He did his job. And could you imagine if there was a world where they still had Gensel, they have Crosby, put Aho with them? That line would score infinity billion goals. And it would be so much fun to watch.

Starting point is 00:19:24 I mean, this is very much fantasy land here, people. So just bear with me. but Pat, a right side of Chris LaTang, Eric Carlson, Adam Fox, at least the vibes would be immaculate there. And the play in the offensive zone would also be a treat to watch. Yes, very much fantasy land. It would not work, obviously. But it would be a ton of fun to watch overall.

Starting point is 00:19:50 It would be reminiscent of the 90s penguins when they just collected talent like Infinity Stones. And they just had, oh, another Hall of Famer. Oh, another Hall of Famer. Oh, even another Hall of Famer. Oh, my God. And just going back to your point about Sebastian Aho, yeah, it was him and Gensel that were the two main reasons why Carolina got to where they did in the playoffs. I know they lost in six games to the Rangers, but you already said for Ajo, he was great.

Starting point is 00:20:18 Gensel, four goals, nine points and 11 games. He continued to be a great playoff performer overall. And without them, I think Carolina loses a 11. lot quicker to the Rangers and who knows maybe they somehow get upset by the Islanders. I don't know if that fully happens, but they don't last six games, to say the least, against the Rangers. But moving on to our next question, this is also a very interesting one. This comes from Eric Scott on YouTube.

Starting point is 00:20:45 Another question that's in the grounds of your guys' silly season, if you had to trade one of the core three, Malk and Crosby-Littang to a different team, which team would the both of you choose? So I think for me, Sydney Crosby to Colorado for the next. Nathan McKinnon aspect would be a ton of fun. It's not going to happen. Sid's going to retire as a member of the Penguins. But seeing him play with his best friend, I mean, what more can you ask for?

Starting point is 00:21:10 Yeah, that would be my choice for him as well. See, it would be Colorado for the McKinnon aspect, like you said, having him play with his buddy. I also wouldn't be against, I mean, I'm against this period. I don't want any of them getting traded. Call me whatever name you want. I want them to retire as penguins. but either that or I would like to see him go to Montreal

Starting point is 00:21:32 because that was his boyhood team. He loved the Montreal Canadians. And the funny thing is, Canadians fans are ruthless, but not to Sidney Crosby. They love him up there. They will torment anybody that's not wearing a habs sweater, but not Sidney Crosby.

Starting point is 00:21:54 He does things up there and he gets cheers, he gets applause. Everybody in the starting lineup of an opposing team gets booed until the announcer says 87, Sidney Crosby, and they cheer. So him having that kind of informal homecoming would be really cool for him. Same with Chris Letang as well. I think seeing him in Montreal, they really don't boo him too often up there either. I mean, he spends a lot of his off-season's up there anyway. So seeing him go to Montreal, Latang, that is, I think would also be kind of cool.

Starting point is 00:22:26 I was trying to figure out one for Gino. Oh, I've got it's been hard. I mean, Washington to play with Oveckin, but I feel like that's just pure evil. I don't want to see Fgeny and Malk and go to Washington. That's just, I think, would be too gross. But what one were you thinking of? Florida Panthers.

Starting point is 00:22:43 He lives down there in the off season when he's not in Russia. And he's, I don't know if he's like good friends with him, but I know he's friends with Bobrovsky. And it would just be kind of like a, one year end of my career. I'm going to play in the NHL for a year in the place I live in the off season and then I'm just going to call it quits.

Starting point is 00:23:05 But similar to Latang and Crosby, I don't want Evgeny Malkin wearing any other sweater in his career. No, I want all these players to retire as Penguins. And I think we're probably going to get that wish unless something catastrophic happens. But last question, this comes from Garrett Cooper. Any progress or updates on a future locked on Penguins podcast, meetup. Okay. I figure we would get this question at some point. Hopefully during a game this season, we can both go. And we went to a couple of games last season and they were a ton of fun. But

Starting point is 00:23:36 we're going to hope to do the same, this upcoming season. And then figure out a time to where we can meet some people that are also there and all that good stuff. But once we decide on what game we're going to go to once the schedule drops, I think we'll start planning something for like a meetup or something. Yeah, it would be a lot of fun because it's like I say all the time. If we didn't have you guys listening to this show, there'd be no point in doing it. I also, and this isn't me teasing anything or me saying it's going to happen. It's just something Hunter and I have kicked around a few times. I know that him and I have discussed doing a live like watch along kind of thing on YouTube or wherever. So we may do that as well in the future and you guys would get to be a part

Starting point is 00:24:20 of that as well. So I would love to do both of those things, if possible, because we've got a damn fun community as evidenced by the fact that we're doing part two of a mailbag because we had a fully stuffed mailbag last week. And you guys gave us a run for our money for things to answer that we have racked our brains over for the last week. Yes. I very much appreciate all of you asking the questions for us. Just again, we got like 35, 40 plus questions from you also. Again, thank you all so much for sending in these questions. And actually we'll say I did miss one.

Starting point is 00:24:58 This comes from Christopher Hart on YouTube. He asks, what winger should we get to replace Jake Gensel? Or should we call up Kowuvunin up to start learning under Crosby? Or should we put Raquel there and hope he has a bounce back season? So I think with Koiunin, he's probably not going to be ready just yet for the penguins. That's just my opinion, though. Wingers to replace Jake, we named a couple of early. year in the show. But in terms of Raquel, that's a big question this offseason, man. I really see

Starting point is 00:25:23 both sides to it. I kind of lean towards the side of maybe looking for a trade that makes sense just because of the year he had. But on the other hand, I also completely understand what other people are saying and how he was a bit banged up this year. He was better to end the year, which he was. He started playing a lot better down the stretch. So give him a chance to bounce back. It's just the age factor, the contract he has. It just scares me a little bit going forward. But that's still a big question that the penguins will have to answer this off season.

Starting point is 00:25:53 I'm more in the camp and maybe not putting him up there with Sid, but I can see a bounce back coming from Raquel. The bad news and bad vibes piled up on him so badly this year between injury and a cold streak. It just, it was not a good situation for him to be in, assuming he's healthy. and ready to go. I can see him bouncing back. Maybe not to a level he was before,

Starting point is 00:26:20 but still being a valuable piece on this team's forward group. Yeah, I mean, if he can balance back to 20, 22, 23 goals, I think I would take that for next season. If he's on the team, again, I just get scared of the age in his contract, which why I kind of lean towards maybe looking to see if a trade makes sense. But if he comes back, I won't be surprised. And, of course, I'll obviously cheer for him to bounce back for this team. But that would do it for the.

Starting point is 00:26:45 mailbag segments. Again, thank you all so much for taking the time to ask us questions about this team and just everything in general. Coming up in the final segment, it's June 12th day. So we're going to reminisce on the Penguins beating the Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup final and the San Jose Sharks in the 2016 Stanley Cup final. But before we do that, we have to tell you all about our next sponsor and that is policy genius. A lot of life is unpredictable, but a good life insurance plan gives your family a financial safety net to protect against. some of the unknowns. PolicyGenius is the country's leading online insurance marketplace. It makes choosing the right policy for your family easy and quick. In Policy Genius, you can find life insurance policies that start at just $292 per year for a million of coverage. Some options are 100% online and let you avoid unnecessary medical exams. Policy Genius helps you easily

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Starting point is 00:28:17 12th day, buddy. It's been 15 years since the penguins beat the Red Wings in the 2009 Stanley Cup final. And it's also been eight years since the Penguins beat the Sharks in the 2016 San Licka Final. And we also should shout out June 11th day was on Tuesday. It's been seven years since the Penguins beat the National Predators in the 2017 Stanley Cup final. But June 12th, man, this will be forever a day that will be so close to me in my heart. just starting off with 2009 that game seven against the red wings i mean i don't think i sat down that entire third period that final minute of game seven i think it's still this day the longest minute of my life i was pacing back and forth i was so scared and just that entire third

Starting point is 00:29:09 period also. It was all red line and out. The penguins didn't get anything offensively in that period. The Red Wings were throwing everything, including the Kitten Sync at the Penguins, but it wasn't enough. And the way they were able to defeat a juggernaut in that series is just amazing. And as a whole, I knew that team was different when they won game four. That's when I was like, okay, I think they can beat this team two more times. The way they won game four, Jordan Stalls, tying goals short-handed, Tyler Kennedy's goal that made it four to. I'm like, yeah, they can do this.

Starting point is 00:29:46 I know they lost game five, but even at that point, I still had confidence that they could pull this off, and they sure did it. And that was just an amazing way to slay a dragon. Let me set it up with this. June 12th, 2009, Detroit, Michigan, all the Penguins players and staff wake up in a hotel in Detroit.

Starting point is 00:30:12 And they've got an unread text message on their phone from one Mario Lemieux. And it says this. This is a chance of a lifetime to realize your childhood dream to win a Stanley Cup. Play without fear and you will be successful. see you at center ice mario how would you not go out and play the game of your life when mario lemieux sends you that text message the morning of game seven of the stanley cup final and here's the thing

Starting point is 00:30:49 i have the best memory of 2009 said it before in the show happened the day after i graduated high school, went to a hockey teammate's family's house for that game. All the families were together. Parents, siblings, friends were all together. And this was also the year 2009. It happened in August after the Stanley Cup. My father passed away unexpectedly. And when the clock hit zero, I'm standing in the middle of a couch, or not on a couch, but in, by the middle cushion of a couch, and who is the first person to lead the dog pile on me after the Penguins win the Stanley Cup, but my dad. So it was an incredible night. It was so much fun. And I'll say this too.

Starting point is 00:31:44 2016 means a lot more to me than any of the Stanley Cups because 2009 felt like, all right, they've arrived. The dynasty starts now. And yes, I know it was not that long of a drought, all things considered. But with the ways, the way they lost in the playoffs in those following years in the lead up to 2016, it felt like, oh my God,

Starting point is 00:32:09 they're never going to do this again. This core is going to get one and that's what they're going to be remembered for is underachieving. They were unable to win more than one championship with this collection of talent. And then in 2016, I mean,

Starting point is 00:32:25 from the opening round against the Rangers all the way through. And yes, there was a scare against Tampa. But even then, you could just feel it with that 2016 team. It was a team that was going to win the Stanley Cup because they had to beat the Rangers who had tormented them for two straight years. Then the Capitals. And then the Tampa Bay Lightning who were looking to avenge a loss in the Stanley Cup final. And then the San Jose Sharks who were still.

Starting point is 00:32:55 looking for their first ever Stanley Cup. And all chances for them to fold, all chances for them to get a, ah, you know what, good, they were a good team, but just fell short, not that big of a deal, but they would not stand for that. And then they do it again one year later in 2017 on nothing but hope, vibes and a prayer in 2017. So it's, it's insane to me how lucky we have. I say it all the time and I get pushed back and I don't care.

Starting point is 00:33:28 But in 20 years with this core of players in this era of Penguins hockey, we've got to experience more than most fan bases experience in an entire lifetime. Yes, we are in for pain. Yes, you should be frustrated with the way things have gone lately. But don't forget, this has been an embarrassment of riches and success in Western Pennsylvania and it's going to be over before you know it. So take some time to appreciate what we have gotten to experience with Crosby and company for the last 20 years. You couldn't have said it any better than that. And I had that same thought for those several seasons after 09 where they

Starting point is 00:34:13 just kept losing. I was like, oh my God, like they're just never going to win another one. There's so many trade rumors surrounding Chris LaTang, Evgeny Malk and maybe should they trade Cindy Crosby. All of that was out there after playoff failure, after playoff failure, whether it was to the even heck, the Canadians in 2010, the Flyers in 2012, the Bruins in 2013, they blew the 3-1 series lead to the Rangers in 2014. Then you have that five-game series loss to the Rangers in 2015. But I knew that 2016 team was different on March 20th, 2016. They destroyed the capitals at home, 6 to 2.

Starting point is 00:34:51 and the way they beat them, I was like, this has the makings of a jargonaut. They were all over them from start to finish. And I said to myself, if they meet them in the playoffs, I think they're going to take that team. And especially once they beat the Rangers in five games,

Starting point is 00:35:08 when they steamrolled them, I should say. I'm like, I'm honestly not sure if they're going to lose a series. And the way they beat down the capitals was flawless. And then the Lightning Series, the only reason I think that even went seven games, was because of Andre Vasilevsky. The Penguins were the better team throughout that series.

Starting point is 00:35:25 And in the series against the Sharks, that Sharks team was very good. You go look at that Sharks core. It was awesome. And the way the penguins dominated them from start to finish in that series, the way they smothered the Sharks also, the Sharks should be lucky that it even got to six games. If it weren't for Martin Jones playing like God in game five, the Penguins win that Stanley Cup in five games.

Starting point is 00:35:49 I had the biggest thought heading into that game after the Penguins won game four in San Jose. I'm like, they're going to win the cup here at home. Just seeing all the crowd outside the PBG Pains Arena, seeing the crowd in Marcus Square, they had to set up an extra screen just because the crowd was so crazy right outside the arena. And I was saying to myself, especially also after the Penguins tied it in game five, when the sharks went up to nothing, they tied it a few minutes later. I'm like, I think they're going to blow the doors off this arena. and I think they're going to blow them out.

Starting point is 00:36:21 But Martin Jones turned in one heck of the game. It goes to game six. He still plays well. Penguins smothered them in the third period and win that Stanley Cup. But that 2016 Penguins team, when you look at the five Stanley Cup teams, there's not one better than that team. I don't think so. And real quick, I know we're running long on this one, but the game five in Pittsburgh, I think I've told this story in the pod before, but either way.

Starting point is 00:36:48 I was in Allen, Texas with the nailers because they were in the Kelly Cup final that year. And I'm sitting in the press box next to one of the beat writers from Wheeling. And I just look over when the penguins tied it. And I go, I swear to God, if the penguins win a cup on home ice while I'm in Texas, I am going to be so angry. I wanted them to win the cup that night just because I've told the story on the show. before. My high school graduation was June 12th, 2016, obviously, so eight years ago today. And I was so nervous heading into that day as old, just because I wasn't allowed to have my phone

Starting point is 00:37:29 for a good chunk of that game. I missed the entire first half of that game. I didn't get home until the very late stages of the second period. So I got to watch the entire third period, and then I went back and watched most of the first 30 to 35 minutes a few days after. But that was the main reason why I was so scared. And just the celebration, that I had, you know, just after graduating high school, but just then winning the Stanley Cup on my graduation night, it's something that I'll always remember. And then just for 2009, the way, you know, my mom, I got to see her so excited with the Penguins winning the Stanley Cup for the first time since 92. It's something I'll never forget. And this day, again, will forever

Starting point is 00:38:10 live in every Penguins fan's heart. So I think that I'll do it for this episode of the Lockedon Penguins podcast. Thank you all so much for taking the time to listen to slash watch this one. Pat and I will be back with another episode for you all on Thursday. So for Patrick Damp, I'm Hunts or Hodes. Thank you all so much for tuning in. We'll talk with you all on Thursday.

Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Remembering one of the most famous days in Pittsburgh Penguins history AND answering more mailbag questions!

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