Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - The Penguins welcome back Jake Guentzel tonight in a big Metro matchup

Episode Date: March 26, 2024

Jake Guentzel returns to Pittsburgh just a couple of weeks following his trade to Carolina and in this episode, Patrick and Hunter  reminisce about Jake, what he meant to the Penguins, and how he always came up huge for the team. Then, they preview the game against the Canes tonight along with discussing the call-up of Sam Poulin. Finally, they take a look at the weeks ahead and just how ugly this season's end could be. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotos.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.IndeedIndeed knows when you’re growing your own business, you have to make every dollar count. Visit Indeed.com/LOCKEDON to start hiring now. RobinhoodRobinhood has the only IRA that gives you a 3% boost on every dollar you contribute when you subscribe to Robinhood Gold. Now through April 30th, Robinhood is even boosting every single dollar you transfer in from other retirement accounts with a 3% match. Available to U.S. customers in good standing. Robinhood Financial LLC (member SIPC), is a registered broker dealer.SleeperDownload the Sleeper App and use promo code LOCKEDONNHL to get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. Terms and conditions apply. See Sleeper’s Terms of Use for details.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDON for $20 off your first purchase.FanDuelNew customers, join today and you’ll get TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in BONUS BETS if your first bet of FIVE DOLLARS or more wins. Visit FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON to get started. FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN) Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Moving on from Jake Gensel is impossible when we all still see it in our heads. And tonight, it'll be burning red, Carolina Red. 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, Penguins fans, to another edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm one of your host, Patrick Damp. You can follow me on Twitter at Synonym 4Wet,

joined as always by the one and only Hunter Hodes. You can follow him on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. You can follow the show's account at L.O. underscore Penguins. We thank you for making this your first listen or watch of the day because we're your team every day. And we are free and available on all platforms wherever you get your podcast, including YouTube. And today's episode is brought to you by GameTime. Download the GameTime app, create an account, and use code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. So here it is, Penguins fans.

Here it is, Hunter, our good boy, one of our all-time favorites, one of arguably the best wingers in the history of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization, returns to town tonight with the Carolina Hurricanes, and that is the one and only Jake Gensel. So for this first segment, rather than fully preview the Carolina Hurricanes game, we're going to do something that I think a lot of Penguins fans, have been doing recently. And that's kind of waxing poetic about the Jake Gensel days when he was a Pittsburgh penguin because they were a lot of fun.

There was a lot of success. There were goals, milkshakes, chirps, incredible playoff performances, and so much more. So rather than sit here and cry and get sad and think about how much we miss Jake Gensel, we're going to take a look back and talk about a lot of the good times that we had with number 59 as a Pittsburgh penguin. So Hunter, I want to start with this because it's absolutely absurd with Jake Gensel. When he was a Pittsburgh penguin, he played 58 Stanley Cup playoff games as a penguin. He scored 34 goals and 24 assists for 58 points across those games. good for exactly one point per game.

And I was saying this to you before we started. Everybody obviously remembers how great he was in the 2017 Stanley Cup run. And the numbers back that up because we talk about it a lot anecdotally, just about how good he was and how he burst onto the scene, what a contributing factor he was to the second straight Stanley Cup. But when you look at the numbers, they are just ridiculous. 25 games, 13 goals, 8 assists, 21 points, and 5 of those 13 goals were game-winning goals. When it matters most, Jake Gensel goes up.

Goal number three is the game winner in game three. I will forever have that call ingrained in my head from 2017 when Gensel scored his hat trick in game three against the Columbus Blue Jackets. Just tremendous to get to that net front area. He knew Sid was going to get him the puck because he was cooking everyone on the blue jackets behind the net. And just seeing the stunned faces in the Columbus crowd was something else. But again, there were so many great moments from Jake Ansel. That is just the one that will fully be ingrained in my head in terms of the playoffs, as well as his goal past Pecoranay to get things.

started kind of in game two in the third period where it was that basically that shot pass right to Gensel, penguins make it two to one, and then the floodgates opened right after that, when it gets pulled, the penguins go out to a two-nothing series lead. And of course, the game winner in game one, their first shot in over 30 minutes goes in the net. just he had a knack for the big moments. And he was just spectacular to watch in the playoffs. And it wasn't even just the 2017 run to the Stanley Cup, right?

In 2018, he absolutely torched both the Philadelphia Flyers and the Washington Capitals. He had that four-goal game in the Flyer Series. He then absolutely destroyed the Capitals in that second round of series. I know the Penguins. lost that series, but he and Crosby together were on another level throughout that series. And then even just a couple of years ago against the New York Rangers, Rangers fans were tired of Gensel by the end of that series because Jake was killing them game after game after game.

I know the Penguins lost in seven games that year, but he still had eight goals and 10 points in those seven games. It was absurd. And I will, like you said, the Columbus goal in 2017 lives forever in your head. Even though it was a losing effort, I will always remember Doc Emmerich's call in game three when Jake scores to put the penguins up one nothing early. And instead of one of his big time goal calls, all he says after Gensel scores is penguins, score, you want to take a guess? Yes. Because he could not stop scoring.

And everybody was like, oh, my God, every time this guy touches the fuck, he scores a goal. And it was so fun to see in his time as a penguin because we have seen so many superstars come and go in Pittsburgh as penguins fans that they all have fun. A lot of them, for the most part, have fun relationships with the fans. but I don't think I've really ever seen a non like because I don't want to quite call Jake Gensel a superstar. I think he's very much on the cusp of it. He's one of the great players in the NHL right now. But I've never seen a guy like this captivated city just simply because of the milkshake factory

promotion, the Jake Shake, because you, we see all kinds, like you're wearing the how about that save shirt right now from Pittsburgh clothing company. And there's been so many great memes in moments. from penguins. But it was like an unending chorus of people anytime Jake would score to the point where it wasn't about what the goal meant. It wasn't about what it was to the game. It wasn't whether it was a tying goal, a game winning goal, a comeback goal, whatever.

Everybody instantly went to, yeah, 50% off milkshakes. Absolutely. I mean, and heck, they're still going to keep putting out that same milkshake. They just changed the name, if I recall correctly, Pat, after, Jake got traded, they just changed the name of the milkshakes because they had that final day of the Jake Shakes where the line was out the door at the milkshake factory. And they retired his Jake Shake jersey at the main location. Yes.

They loved him just as much as the entire fan base loved him. And he is going to get an unbelievable ovation at PBG Paints Arena tonight. Yeah, there's always a chance that he comes back during the all season. I will still go on the record and say that. In my opinion, it is highly unlikely just because you don't really see this happen that often. But if it did happen, boy, it would be a lot of fun, wouldn't it? Just seeing him reunite with Crosby, I know it would be on a very long-term deal. He'd probably be making a lot of money.

But again, I still think it's more unlikely than it is likely. And he's off to one heck of a start with the Carolina Hurricanes. He's only played eight games. And in those eight games, two goals. 12 points in those eight games. And his underlying numbers, 55% of the shot attempts for the hurricanes when he's on the ice, nine goals for,

no goals against, 58% of the scoring chances for rate, 56% of the high danger chances for rate, four high danger goals for, no high danger goals against. Pat, is he still a product of Cindy Crosby? I got it again,

you shouted out our buddy Dan Hopper yesterday. I got to shout him out again today. That discourse is reaching, levels of I was told Steph Curry is not a good shooter because other than a couple of Metro division foes who just don't like him, everybody at this point knows he's not a product of Sidney Crosby. He's a great individual player. And I'll put the final point on the Jake Gensel time in Pittsburgh with this. His stats, just his top line stats with the penguins in the regular season are just something to behold. 503 games played, 219 goals, 247 assists,

466 points in 31 game winning goals. This kid is, I say it all the time about him. He is the ultimate coach's kid the way he plays the game. He knows where to be. He knows how to make himself available. And he just has that goal scorer's it factor to where he knows where to be to score a goal. He knows how to get to where he needs to go to score a goal. It's something that I know I said he's just a coach, he's so much a coach's son,

but he has that thing that you just cannot teach on top of all those great traits that he has as a coach's son that you cannot teach. He knows how to score a goal. He has scoring touch. And he is just a brilliant, brilliant hockey player. So before we had to break, Hunter, anything you would like to add about Jake Gensel? Honestly, no.

I mean, it honestly still feels like a lock that he will score against the Penguins night, just because every former penguin likes to score against this team. But I'm just super excited for him to be back in the building. I know he's not a member of the Penguins anymore. But again, he's going to get one heck of ovation. And this is going to be a tough game for the Penguins. The Hurricanes are one of the best teams in the league.

97 points, one point out of first place in the Metropolitan Division. They're a very stingy team, really good in their own zone. This is a very Hurricanes type team. They don't have anyone who's probably going to hit 100 points this season, but they have plenty of players who can put the puck in the back of the net and who can defend really well. They like to take a lot of shots from the point, and it's an effective system. Now, can it hold up for a full run to the Stanley Cup?

We'll have to see it hasn't so far, but it's been very effective during the regular season. They get quite a few chances off those point shots and from the high danger areas, and the penguins are going to have to be on high alert in this one, especially with how much deadlier the hurricanes are now, now that they have Jake and of getting his nuts off with the way he's been playing. playing since being traded to the hurricanes. Absolutely. And we will preview that game as well as bring up some other roster moves that were announced

following morning skate today for the Penguins. But before we do that, we have to tell you about our first sponsor. And that is Sleeper. We're getting to the end of the season here, Penguins fans. And we know how it has gone. We're likely looking at a second straight year of no playoffs. But regardless of where we are in the current standings, I want to remind you that you could win big by playing Daily Fantasy hockey on Sleeper.

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Use promo code Locked on NHL and you'll get up to a $100 match on your first deposit. Terms and conditions apply. That's code Locked on NHL. See Sleeper's Terms of Use for Details and Locational Availability. All right, we're back here on the Tuesday edition of the Locked On Penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp. That's Hunter Hodes. And as we are starting to talk about before we went to break, there is a game to be

played tonight and it will be against the Carolina Hurricanes at 7 o'clock at PPG Paints Arena. Like we said, the return of Jake Gensel. But as you were starting to say before we went to break hunter, this is a genuinely great hockey team. They are, as you said, one point out of the lead in the Metropolitan Division behind the New York Rangers, but that also means they are one point out of being the top team in the national hockey league. They are 8-1-1. And one. in their last 10, and they have beaten some formidable opponents in that run. They've beaten the Toronto Maple Leafs twice. They got a 4-0 win over the Florida Panthers, and they had what was a game straight out

of the 1980s against the Washington Capitals on Friday. They lose in a shootout 7 to 6, but it was a back-and-forth affair and darn fun to watch. But as you were starting to say, this is a very good hockey team, but they are a very very good hockey team because they win by committee. They have one player with 80 points, but they still have five players with 20 or more goals. So this is a team that comes at you in waves. Sure, they don't have that one true blue top of the table superstar, but they have guys who can kill you on all four lines and on the back end. A team by committee is the perfect way to describe the hurricanes. You already said, you know, Sebastian Alho, he is the player that has 80 points outside of that.

No one else is even on pace to hit 80 points this season. Martin Naches, he's been pretty solid, though, overall 22 goals, 51 points. Seth Jarvis, he has been tremendous for the Hurricanes this season. 27 goals, 57 points in 72 games. Tara Bindon's been great. Stachnikov has been doing well since coming off of IR. Brady Shea has 12 goals. Brent Burns has 10 goals.

Stefan Nason, former Penguin, by the way. has 14 goals. They are just a very deep team. And this is a truly Rod Brindamore coached team. They are all gas, no breaks. It's zero to 100 for the hurricanes every single night. And you know what you're going to get when you play the Carolina Hurricanes. When the Penguins play them, it's a coin flip. That's how these games have been for the past couple of years. It's been a coin flip, but almost every single one has gone the Hurricanes way because they're able to get that extra balance or that extra goal the penguins have not been able to get. I don't think the penguins have been able to fully outplay the hurricanes for a full 60 minutes

over the last couple of years. I would say the penguins have outplayed them in sports during these games. For example, they've played a really good first period or a really good second period, but then they'll take another period off or another period will be 10 minutes nominated by the hurricanes, then 10 minutes nominated by the penguins. They've been pretty evenly played games. The penguins have just not been able to get the results because the hurricanes have won. that coin flip. And in the three games this year, especially, you know, the Penguins won that game

in Pittsburgh earlier this year, but in the two games in Raleigh, the Hurricanes are able to win two coin flips, even though I thought the Penguins actually played fairly well in those games. The biggest question for me with the Hurricanes is, can they sustain this system for a full spring? Because they have them been able to do that for as long as they've had Brindamor and for as long as they've had this score. They are at least a decently fun team to watch. They do fire a lot of shots from the point, as I was trying to say, they don't call them the Carolina Corseys for no reason. Their underlying numbers are pretty solid.

But can they get enough goal scoring in the playoffs and can they get enough goaltending to go far? That's when I'm going to be watching for them this strain because no matter who they play in the first round, if they get that number two seed, they'll be the favorite over Philadelphia or Washington. And I will expect the Hurricanes to win at least that series. But what happens if they do play a team like the Rangers who are playing really well this season?

I think they're in a better position to win that series because they have Gensel, whose Netsov has found in new form since returning, or not really returning, but since getting to Carolina, excuse me. So that's why I'm going to keep an eye on for them overall the season. But in terms of this game, the Penguins just have to do a good job of limiting Carolina's speed and getting through the neutral zone with the puck cleanly, because the hurricanes are really aggressive in the neutral zone, and they like taking the puck the other way and going full steam ahead in terms of transition off.

The Penguins are going to have to be on high alert for this one. Make sure they're not being too aggressive with their pinches as well, because this team can burn you pretty quickly, which has been evidence for most of the season. It has. And I want to build off the two things you said there about the playoffs when it comes to goal scoring and goaltending is one, they,

Kuznetsov is looking a lot better now playing for the Carolina Hurricanes. Stats aren't that great, but still, you know, you didn't expect him to come in and be prime Kuznets off, but 10 games, two goals, three assists, five points. Jake Gensel, obviously, we already talked about two goals, 10 assists, 12 points and 10 games. And the thing is with those two, they are two very bona fide playoff performers. They show up in the postseason.

And that's kind of what they've been missing all these years is that true game breaker, who is great in the postseason, now they have two guys on that. The other thing is, and obviously injury played a factor in this, but Frederick Anderson is having himself a nice season coming back from injury. And that was always kind of his issue when he was with the Toronto Maple Leafs, was that by the end of the season, he had played so much that he was burnt out. And now they have a fairly fresh Frederick Anderson going into the playoffs. And when you combine those two things, those are two things that have ailed the Carolina Hurricanes the last couple of seasons,

was they didn't have a prime time playoff performer, and now they've got two of them in Gensel and Kuznetsoff, and they're going to have a fresh goaltender who, when healthy and fresh, is a pretty darn good goaltender. That's why this is, I think, Carolina's big year, because you expect Gensel to probably walk after this year.

I don't think the hurricanes are going to reassign him. Crazier things have happened, but I see this as a pure rental for the hurricanes. And once he leaves, they're going to have to find a replacement for him, which is obviously easier said that none, the penguins are going to, you know, I like what Michael Bunting has provided for sure,

but he's still not going to provide the value that Jake had been providing for the last several years. And then goaltending, you never know with Frederick Anderson, how long can he stay healthy? That's going to be my biggest question with him. And just also with Carolina's goaltending, can it be consistent in the playoffs? Because we said this on the show numerous times.

The Eastern Conference is not that good this year. I mean, I think the Rangers and the Panthers are 1A, 1B in the conference, and then the hurricanes, I guess if you want to call a 1C or a 2, those are the three best teams. But can the hurricanes get past them? And if they do, can they finally win at all? Because I do think this is Carolina's best shot out of Stanley Cup for as long as Brindamore has been there and for as long as that core has been there as well.

And they better take advantage of it for sure. Yeah, definitely. And for the penguin's side of it, today we learned that Sam Poulan has been called up. Nolachari has been placed on IR. He's week to week. Alex Nadelcovic will get the start in net tonight against the hurricanes. And Jeff Carter is a game time decision, which as we know in Mike Sullivan speak, pretty much means he's playing tonight. So with that in mind, do you think Sam Poulan gets into the lineup? Yes. I mean, I think he should get in the lineup.

Why would you call him up just to healthy scratch him? That makes no sense. right and yeah i understand that jeff carter is a game time decision and usually that means he's going to play and mike sullivan loves playing jeff carter that's just been the case for as long as carter's been a penguin so you think he's going to get back in the lineup so if carter coming back in and if pulan's going to play someone has to come out then and in my opinion it's going to be one of yassie paul yawrvi or emil benshrum if poulan does get in the lineup in my opinion i would go towards removing benstrom from the line just because i don't really think he's been doing much for the last

several games. I think you want to see what Pooleham can do at the NHL level for these final 10 to 12 games of the season to see if he factors into your plans for the entire 2024, 2025 season. And he's been good down in Wilkesbury so far this season. I mean, in 36 games, 13 goals, 27 points in those 36 games. Again, I don't think he's a role beater. He's not going to come on of this team, light it up in the top six or anything like that. But you owe it to yourselves to see what you have in this player with how he's been playing when he's been healthy this year. I'd much rather see what he can do in the lineup over someone like O'Chari, even when

healthy. Obviously, he's her. I wish him the best in getting back. But even when healthy, I want to see what Poulin can do over Ocari. I want to see what he can do over someone like Benstrom who hasn't been playing that while. I want to see what he can do over someone like Carter. No offense, Pat.

I know you're the president of the Jeff Carter fan club. but I would want to see what Puan can do over someone like Carter, over someone with Johnson Harkins, who obviously is hurt, Matt Nietto as well. You owe it to yourselves to play him. And don't just play him for seven to eight minutes. Give him some runway. Give him pat 10, 11, 12 minutes.

Staple him on maybe your third line. If you want to, for example, break up that third line for a little bit, even though it's been playing really well, if you want to put him on there, give him some minutes that makes sense. Or if you put him on your fourth line, don't just shelter him and play him seven minutes. Give him adequate ice time to see what he can do at the national level.

There is no risk to doing it. Yeah, I'm with you. And I think to me, the odd man out should be Emil Bemstrom. He has not really done a whole heck of a lot since joining the Penguins, despite scoring in his first game against the Flyers. Outside of that, I mean, I'm fine with Carter coming back into the lineup because I think contract aside he's been a fairly solid fourth-line contributor this year. and I think you do need to have that at the very least.

And with Bemstrom, like I said, there's not a whole lot of there there for him. So this is probably the opportunity that Sam Poulan is looking for and needs. And before we go to break and preview the rest of the week ahead, there is a clinching scenario on the table tonight for Carolina. So this is a little bit of an opportunity for the penguins to play a little bit of spoiler and delay the inevitable for Carolina. The scenario for the hurricanes to get into the playoffs is as follows. Should they win tonight in any fashion in any of these three scenarios occur again tonight?

The Red Wings lose to the Capitals in any fashion. The Flyers lose to the Rangers in regulation or the Flyers lose to the Rangers in overtime or a shootout and the Capitals lose to the Red Wings in regulation. And lastly, if the Cains only get a point against the Penguins and the Red Wings lose to the capitals, they will get in. So this is a chance for the penguins to be a little bit of a spoiler and delay the inevitable. But that is going to do it for this second segment. When we come back, we're going to take a quick look at the week ahead.

All right, we're back here on the locked on penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp, joined as always by Hunter Hodes. And outside of Carolina tonight, pretty uneventful week coming up here for the Pittsburgh penguins after tonight, they've just got a home at home. with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and they are actually off this weekend, no game on Saturday or Sunday. So not a whole lot there to talk about,

but two very winnable games. Pat, they actually do play on Saturday. So take the L on that one. They play Thursday and Saturday against the Columbus Blue Jackets. So they do have off on Friday and Sunday. So it's not a full clean weekend for the Penguins, but they play Columbus at home on Thursday before traveling to Columbus on Saturday for the home and home.

and then they will travel to New York to play the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Monday, April Fool's Day. So that's the rest of this week when it comes to the penguin schedule. Overall, I will say this, outside of tonight, which I mean, I feel like is probably going to be a penguins loss just because of the way they've been playing lately. I do think the two games this week against Columbus

are pretty winnable for the penguins, considering how the penguins have owned the blue jackets over the last several years. those two games might be the two most winnable games left on the schedule. We can go through it right now. Those two games against Columbus, Carolina, the Rangers, the Devils who the Penguins just can't ever beat right now, the Capitals. I mean, that's maybe at least a little bit winnable, but the Capitals are playing at least

better hockey, even though they have a terrible goal differential. Tampa Bay, Toronto, Detroit, okay, that's a winnable game. Boston, Nashville, the way they're playing. My God, they're playing, like, crazy. crazy hockey right now. And then the Islanders, that's at least a little bit of a winnable game too. But outside of these two Columbus games, the only ones that I would say are even remotely winnable are the Detroit game, the Islanders game, and maybe the Capitals game overall.

And that's, again, 12 games left for this team. There are not many, I guess, sure wins left on the schedule. And I don't even know if we can call anything a sure win at this point with how the Penguins are playing. You expect the Penguins to be the Blue Jackets both times because of their history, but we have to see if they do indeed show up for those two games. And then with Washington, that's always a 50, 50, no matter what. And then Detroit, the Penguins just blew out the Red Wings just a couple of weeks ago.

I do think that's a winnable game as well. But not too many left on the schedule. But at least the opportunity is there for them to get a couple of wins this week if they aren't able to beat Carolina in this game Tuesday night. For sure. And I will take the L on that. I misread the Penguins website because their calendar is goofy. So I screwed that up. I'll wear that. But yeah, I mean, the way this team

has played, you really can't say anything's a winnable, for sure, winnable game. But there is opportunity there for them to make a little bit of a mark as the season comes to a conclusion. Real quick, before we wrap the show, there was a great piece in the athletic this morning from Aaron Portsline about the history of the Columbus Blue Jackets. It was called the team that parody forgot in the Columbus Blue Jackets. And it was a great, great read that basically chronicled how this team has kind of struggled for its entire history. But to give a bit of a perspective on the Penguins in it, there was a visualization in

there, a nice bar graph about points percentage in the NHL since the 2000, 2001 season when the Columbus Blue Jackets in Minnesota Wilde joined the NHL. And if you take out Vegas and Seattle from that visualization, because the Vegas Golden Knights have only been in the NHL for a handful of seasons now, Pittsburgh Penguins sit fifth in the National Hockey League since 2000 in points of percentage. Now, lion's share of that obviously has happened in the Crosby era, so a little bit skewed. But it just kind of makes me realize, like, yes, you should be disappointed with this team.

You should be disappointed in the last couple of seasons for sure. But we have seen a 22, 23, 24 year ride where this team has consistently been among the top five teams in the National Hockey League. This is one of the most spoiled fan bases, not just in the NHL, but in all the sports. I mean, five championships since the early 90s. There are not many franchises in sports that can say they've had the success that the Pittsburgh Bird Penguins have had. And you're right. You have every right as a fan to be upset, disappointed, pissed off, whatever word you want to use to describe the season. Because heading into the season, there was a lot of buzz. There was a lot of excitement. There was a lot of promise when it came to this

team, especially after the Air Carlson trade happened. You and I both went on the show numerous times and said that we expected this team to make the playoffs at least as a wildcar team and fight to get into maybe the top three for the Metropolitan Division. I know things haven't gone according to plan, and they're on pace to miss the playoffs for a second straight season, but overall, just remember everything that has happened throughout this era of Penguins Hockey because it's an era that you're probably not going to see for a long time, if not potentially ever again, with the level of success that this team has had.

And we have a full off season to discuss potential moves. We both expect this team to try and do a retool on the fly this off season to try and get back to the playoffs for next year. But just remember everything that has happened throughout the Crosby era and then even before that with the Lemieux era in terms of the success with this franchise. And if you want to gloat about it to other teams, go ahead. You know, Jesse Marshall was even saying on Twitter last week. You brought it up just yesterday. Glote to people. Who cares?

Like, do you want to gloat about the Stanley Cups? by all means do it because those franchises, they'll never probably see that type of success that we all have when thinking about this team. Yep. We have had it very good for very long. But that is going to do it for this edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Penguins and Hurricanes tonight, 7 o'clock, PPG paints arena.

Hunter and I will be back tomorrow to recap that game and more. But for Hunter Hodes, I am Patrick Damp. Thank you, as always, for tuning in. and we will be back on Wednesday. So have a great day and let's go Penns.