Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Three big questions facing the Penguins going into 2024-25

Episode Date: August 26, 2024

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a lot of questions heading into this season, and we try our best to answer three of the biggest. Patrick and Hunter discuss if this roster is any better than it was last year, if the goaltending situation is at all improved, and of course, if the power play bounce back after last year's disaster. Next, with the addition of Rutger McGroarty, the Penguins' prospect pool has improved marginally, but there is still a lot of work to be done to get the cupboard restocked. Finally, the boys have some fun and talk about some dark horse NHL Award candidates on the Penguins' roster. Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!IndeedStill searching for a great candidate for your company? Don’t search, just match–with Indeed.Claim your SEVENTY-FIVE DOLLAR CREDIT now at Indeed.com/LOCKEDON. Terms and conditions apply. Need to hire? You need Indeed. eBay MotorsFor parts that fit, head to eBay Motors and look for the green check. Stay in the game with eBay Guaranteed Fit at eBayMotors.com. Let’s ride. eBay Guaranteed Fit only available to US customers. Eligible items only. Exclusions apply.GametimeDownload the Gametime app, create an account, and use code LOCKEDONNHL for $20 off your first purchase. Terms apply.FanDuelNow through September 22nd, ALL FanDuel customers can bet FIVE DOLLARS and get a THREE WEEK free trial of NFL Sunday Ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. 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.

NHL.com has questions about the Pittsburgh Penguins this year, and Hunter and I have answers. We'll dive into that and more on an all-new edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. 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 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 give our show's account a follow at L.O. underscore Penguins. And we thank you for making this part of your daily routine because we're your team every day. And don't forget that we are free and available wherever you get your podcasts as well as YouTube. And before we get going today, today's episode is brought to you by Fandul. Now through September 22nd, all FanDuel customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. Visit FanDuel.com slash locked on to get started. So every year in the lead up to the season, the NHL's official website, as well as all of their correspondents who write for their website, do their three questions edition for each team heading into the upcoming season. and of course the penguins are no exception to that.

From their incredible correspondent who covers the penguins, a Pittsburgh native, one of my former high school newspaper classmates, Wes Crosby dropped his three questions facing the Pittsburgh Penguins going into this season. And if you are a fan of this show, a fan of the Pittsburgh Penguins, you pretty much can tell and know what the three big questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Penguins are. I'll tell you all three of them right off the jump, and then Hunter and I will address them one, two, three. The first one, a very important question that I think encapsulates the team as a whole, not just the one player they have on this. The first question is, is there enough support

for team captain, Sidney Crosby? The second question, another question of Hunter and I have been dissecting all offseason. Can Tristan Jari solidify his place as a number one? goalie and number three. And I think the biggest question that all Penguins fans are asking going into this season, can the power play be fixed? So let's start with number one. Like I said, is there enough support for Sidney Crosby? I think this is more or less a question of roster construction as a whole, not just can we find that winger for Crosby that if you were a fan of the Penguins in the 2010s. You remember that meme of let's trade Sidney Crosby for a winger for Sidney Crosby because we were always looking for that winger. But overall, I think you and I have

talked about this plenty this summer so far. This roster is marginally better than it was last year. It's not a tremendous improvement, but they also didn't take a step back. So overall, I think this team is in a better position to at the very least be in a play. off race this coming season than they were last year. But in the spirit of the NHL.com article, still a lot of questions surrounding this roster. There's definitely still quite a few questions surrounding this roster, especially, you know, both in goal, we'll get to that in a second. Ryan Graves, if he can bounce back, the bottom six, how does that shake out after all the moves that Kyle Dubas has made? And we do think there's at least one or two more moves that will be

made before the start of the season, just because there's such a big log jam down there. We've discussed that a lot throughout the off season. There's a big question mark also just with so many goalies in this organization as well. Again, we'll get to that a little bit later. But when I look at this roster right now, especially the bottom six compared to last season, when I compare these two bottom six is pat,

I feel like this bottom six, at least on paper, is better than last year's one. I mean, last year this bottom six had Chanson Harkins starting the season down there. You had Colin White down there as well. Matt Nietto and we all obviously know he was banged throughout a good chunk of last season. But even when he was in the lineup, he really wasn't doing that much.

So I know Achari and Achari's still on the team right now. We'll have to see how he does. This year, if he's still on the team, you had Lars Eller, obviously. But look at all the moves that they've made. This year, you get Rucker McGroorty in there. And I do think he's going to make the team. You bring in Cody Glass, Kevin Hayes, Anthony Bavillier.

Some of these moves definitely taking chances on players who have been good in the past, but maybe not so much as of late, per se, especially this past year, Cody Glass wasn't that good in Nashville. Kevin Hayes wasn't good in St. Louis, Anthony Bavillier, had a disastrous of a season. But they've all been good players before in the NHL, and the Penguins are trying to see if they can recapture some of that magic. So in terms of support for Crosby, I do think they're in a better position for that to be better this year, but there's still a lot of questions about it.

I mean, we've got to see how these players play once the games start counting in October. I think the main question, or at least the main way I look at this bottom six going into this year, is that last year and the year before, we knew who this bottom six was. We could pretty much say how they were going to play. We had a very good idea. There was enough of a track record of those players to know how they were going to perform. Well, for last year especially, like they built a bottom six to just kind of play each other bottom six's teams, even per se while letting the top six cook.

And sorry to say that really didn't work out. Yeah, the top six was getting production, but the bottom six was just really not doing anything of the sort. So you got to have a nice mix to it. And then you look at this year's, I think there's a higher ceiling and more potential for it to be better than the last two years. So I think that's why I look at it and say,

okay, this roster is marginally better than it was last year. I'm not going to say that it's a lot better or a big improvement. But when you have the potential for higher ceilings in your bottom six, that gives you the opportunity to be better this year. So moving to the second question that you've hinted at, can Tristan Jari establish himself as a true number one goalie? Who the hell knows?

I think, again, it's the one thing that they have to do this year, now that they have brought back Alex Nadalcovic. You have to better the workload, the way you distribute the workload, excuse me, because you can see it every year. It has become a thing now the last three, four years that Tristan Jari starts the year off hot, he fades after the All-Star break,

and then they're without a really true starting goalie. If you can balance their workloads, 50-50, 55-45, 65, 60-40, something like that, I think you have a real world where Tristan Jari can be a good starting goalie, because we know with the Penguins and just in the NHL in general, for the most part, now the way the game is being played, you don't need Igor Shastirkin and net. You don't need a Vezna caliber goalie to win games. You just need a goalie that can't lose them, can play to at the league average or just a little bit above. And if Tristan Jari doesn't get worn down and you can have Alex Nadelcovic perform at a similar rate as he did last year, I think you have a good tandem going into this year. Right. I feel like we've kind of crushed this topic. I feel like so often this all season,

I don't want to spend too much more time on it because I'm sure the listeners are probably going to be throwing stuff with their phones and all that stuff anyway. But yeah, I mean, we've kind of been waiting a long time for Jari to fully solidify himself as a true number one goalie that can be consistent throughout a full 82 game season. Obviously, if it happens this year, I do agree with you. The workload has to be key for that, you know, 55, 45, 45, 65, 60, 40. somewhere in that ballpark, something like that. So it's all going to come down to 35, man. If he can show that he can be consistent for a full 82 game season, this team should be able to be in a better place this upcoming season than they were last year. Obviously, you've got to have the production from the Delkevich as well.

It's going to be nice. Hopefully having two goalies that the Penguins can go to in any situation. But again, the guy who was signed for four more years, he needs to show that he can be more consistent. And I feel like I've said everything else I've needed to say about 35 and I'm just ready for the games to start for him. Same here. And the last thing I'll add about Jari is that we hear in reporting all the time that he's this Uber competitive guy. He has this really heavy competitive streak.

Well, now between all the doubts that you might not be an NHL starting goaltender or at the very least a team's true number one, it's time for that mixed with Alex Nadelcovic coming back in Dubis telling them, hey, this is going to be somewhat of a goalie competition. It's time for that competitive spirit to rise to the top. It's time for him to have that motivation to show that, yes, I am the goalie. I am the number one goalie. I am the guy that when, if and when we make the playoffs again, I start game one, nobody else. So we'll see with that.

Finally, another thing that we have pretty much talked to death, and that's the power play. again, the key to me this year is the David Quinn, Eric Carlson relationship. It's very much time for David Quinn to tell Eric Carlson and the rest of the players on the team. Eric Carlson runs the top power play. It runs through him. He's the general out there. He is the straw that's going to stir the drink and bring this power play back to, again, similar to the discussion on goaltenders, we don't need it to be the best power.

play in the national hockey league and you look at the talent on it. I don't think there's a world where they would be the top power play because there are teams with better offensive power play attacks than the penguins. So we want to see you in the top half of the league. That's my expectation for them. Somewhere between number 16 and 10th in the NHL is where I would want to see them land this year. I want them to be more decisive.

I want them to put players in a position where they are supposed to succeed. And finally and lastly and not leastly, movement. This power play has become so stagnant in the literal definition to where nobody is moving around. We need movement. You've got to pull the penalty kill out of position, get your mismatches and score goals. So more movement, a more definitive leader on it, and just finish in the top half. And I think this team's in a good place.

Yeah, that was the biggest thing last year, right? It was just so stagnant. No one was moving on that unit. The penalty killers were just like, okay, we're just going to stand here. And we don't really have to do anything because we know you're not going to do anything on your powerplay. That's just how it felt like no opposing penalty killing unit fear the Penguins powerplay at all. And that's ridiculous, considering how much elite talent the Penguins can put out on their top powerplay unit. But that's just how bad that unit was.

They weren't moving the puck. Everyone was kind of standing still. There was no shoot-first mentality. That has to change as well this year. I want to see Sid move around to the ice a bit. Obviously, he's great below the net, but I want to see him move around. I want to see the Afghani Malkin use that awesome one-timer to his advantage. I want to see Carlson also use his quarterbacking skills to his advantage as well.

Like how he did, I felt like late in the season when he was really starting to cook. I want to see him do that for a full season this upcoming year as well. Michael Bunting cleaning up the garbage in front of the net, having him for a full season there, that's going to be, I think, really big in terms of like that low-key Hornquist role, at least on the power play where you can go and clean up a garbage in front of the net. So again, we've talked this to death quite a bit on the show as well. I'm just ready for the game to start as well for this specific question so we can see how different this unit is under David Quinn compared to Todd Reardon.

That's going to be, I think, the biggest X factor for this team outside of anything because as we've talked to death, we've said last year, if they're even league average, they're probably in the playoffs and in the first round, but that really derailed their season. But that'll do it for this first segment. When we come back, obviously we're still very much riding the wave of the penguins acquiring Rucker McRourty, but that also helps this team's prospect pool as one of the latest rankings have come out.

Hunter and I are going to talk about that when we come back. But before we do that, we have to tell you about our first sponsor. And that is Fandul. heard us talk a lot about Fandul America's number one sports book. Well, we have something a little different for you. Now, through September 22nd, all Fandual customers can bet $5 and get a three-week free trial of NFL Sunday ticket from YouTube and YouTube TV. I have NFL Sunday ticket through YouTube TV. It's fantastic and well worth your time. I suggest you try it out. Then with a YouTube TV base plan, you'll be able to watch every regular season Sunday afternoon out of market game.

All you need is a Google account and a current form of payment, and you can cancel anytime. Just visit fandul.com slash locked on to download America's number one sportsbook. All right, welcome back to the Monday edition of the Locked On Penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp. That's Hunter Hodes. And Cronman on the Athletic has dropped his annual prospect pipeline rankings for this upcoming year. If you haven't read that from Corey Prondman, it is a great read on. the athletic. He breaks it down like nobody else. He is the guru when it comes to prospects in the

NHL. So penguins get a little bit of a bump this year. They went from being 29th in the league. Last year, they are now 26th. He brings up a point at the start of his story or article, whatever you want to call it, about the penguin of saying that this is the first time in a long time that the organization is looking in to bring, looking to bring in prospects and younger talent. But given the way this organization has operated for the past almost two decades, it's going to take a while. This is not going to happen overnight. They're suddenly not going to restock this covered and make it one of the best in the league.

But you are starting to see that progress. Obviously, you have the Rucker McGroity trade. You have the fact that Kyle Dubos and company are acquiring, picks as well as some prospects here and there in most of their moves. But there was something that Hunter and I were talking about before we hit record that was a tiny bit puzzling. Obviously, we both think that Rucker McGority is going to make the opening night roster, which you would think would catapult him to the top of Cronman's rankings as the best

prospect in the penguin system. However, he puts defenseman Owen Pickering as the penguin's top prospect in. I think both you and I disagree a little bit. Yeah, I think with Owen Pickering, he's definitely one of the Penguins' top prospects, number two, number three, in my opinion. But to put him over Rucker McGority, I think is a little bit of a stretch right now. And yes, Rucker McGority is still number one on the Penguins list, just because he hasn't made his NHL debut yet,

even though Pat and I do think that is coming this upcoming season. But I think everything Magrorty does well, you know, his shot, his playmaking ability, his play in his own zone, everything else. Even though he's not that good of his skater, I think all the other parts of his game are better than Pickering, in my opinion. And even though, again, they play two different positions. I get it. But I still think McGority is the better all-around player right now than Pickering.

I think with Pickering, he's going to be making his full-time Wilkesbury debut this year. I don't think he's going to be on the Penguins to start the season just because of the log game, also at defense, but he still has a few kinks, I think, to work out with his game as well. His skating, I do think, also needs a little bit of improvement. His puck skills, I think, could also be a bit better. I see him more right now, at least as a Brian Dumlin type player who is good in his own zone, but could work on his offense a little bit more. I think if he's able to start the season in Wilkesbury and work on that part of his game,

he could potentially get to the Penguins a bit quicker. But I still think right now I will put McRourty over Pickering. No disrespect to Pickering. He is one of the Penguins' top prospects. I will just move him down a ranking or two. I think the way I would look at Prondman's logic here as in putting Pickering ahead of McRourty, I think the way he's looking at it is more long term. He's looking at it as I think there's probably more of a shot where Pickering has a longer

NHL career or at the very least could lock into a spot with the penguins for the longer term. Because if you look at the way Pickering plays in the way he should develop, he could become that guy that ride shotgun with an offensive defenseman in the Penguins top four, where he's not going to be the flashiest guy. He's not going to put up a ton of points. But he'll be that safety net back there. Think Brian Dumlin with Chris Latang. think Petterson with Carlson, the guy who you can rely upon to consistently be there,

and you can let the other guy cook and go off and basically be a fourth forward, and you know that you have pickering back there. And then you compare it to McGrody, who he looks more NHL ready right now, but there are questions about his game. I do think that McGrody is going to be on the opening night roster. I do think that he is going to be a solid NHL. player, but there's a very real world where everything he's done in college and on the international level at World Juniors with Team USA in the developmental program might not totally

translate to the NHL to where he could still be a very good middle six forward that plays on your third line and fills in on your second line when you need them, but he might not be your top line right winger forever. He might not become that big time scoring winger, whereas I think there's a world where you can see Pickering as a top four defensemen. And I think if you look at it from that perspective, that's why Prondman's putting Pickering over McGroarty. Whereas overall, though, I think in the near term, like as we're looking into this upcoming season, you would put him as a higher prospect. You'd also probably put a couple other players ahead of him of Pickering just because they're ready to make an NHL jump, but it doesn't necessarily mean that they'll be long-term, consistent top

NHL players. Right. And I do think that is at least fair. I've always said the main comp for Pickering for me is Brian Dumont. Someone who, again, very good in his own zone. Not as good offensively. His puck skills, I think for Dumlin improved as he got more seasoning in the NHL. And I could see that the same happening for Pickering once he does hopefully get minutes in

the NHL again. I don't think it's going to be this season. I think he's going to fix some of those, I guess, puck-moving, puck-handling skills, wherever you want to call it down on Wilkesbury. And then once those, I feel like, are ironed out, then you'll see him called up to the main squad with the Penguins. As for some of the other players on this list,

Harrison Brunich number three, I really have no problem with that. I really loved him during the draft. Tristan Brose at 4, really no problem with that. I don't think he's going to make the team this year. But I do think in the next maybe season or two, he could find himself fighting for a spot on this team. Tanner Howl fans are going to love him, very ratty player.

That guy who I was most excited to see on the list because I look at him not so much as a top prospect as in I don't think he's going to be a guy who comes in, scores a pile of points, and becomes one of the best players on the team. But I think he can become one of the more important players on a team. because you look at the way he plays the game. Everybody thought, okay, Connor Bedard, he was just riding shotgun with Bedard and the WHL. Baddard goes off, becomes a star for the Chicago Blackhawks.

Ho-hum, Tanner Howe keeps producing. Right. But he is a guy who is a cannonball. And he fits the mold of all the players I've been saying, the Penguins need to go after. He's a rat. He's a bastard. He plays a very aggressive game.

And he's a disruptor. He's a guy who is going to go a million. and Miles into the corner, blow up a defenseman, get everybody off their game. And he's the kind of player that you need in the modern NHL where he is going to be a wrecking ball. And he's going to be the guy that knocks other teams off their game to where they focus on, oh, we got to go pay back Tanner Howe for blowing up our defensemen. And then they forget about the good players who are going to then feast because they're too focused on Tanner Howe. So that's a guy that I'm incredibly excited for and really rooting for to develop.

Because like you said, fans will love him if he develops the way he should develop. Him and Magrorty are very similar players. And if they both pan out the way we think they will, they're going to be really fun to watch on this team for many years to come. After that, you can do the rankings however you want, you know, Miroshov, Blumquist, Ponomerov, Kov, Kovunegov, if I had to maybe make a ranking of those four, like I guess, you know, six to nine or whatever, I would probably go for me. see I'm really high on Murshov considering what he's done I could easily put Blumquist over just because he's closer to making his NHL debut I would personally go Mershov six Blumquist seven Coyvenin eight and then Ponomerov nine I mean again I think Ponomerov he's also very close to making being a full-time NHL player I think at this rate Coivinen he's getting close as well I don't think he's there just yet those are just my personal rankings overall but you can rank those players however you wish, but those are still four pretty solid prospects in the penguin system. Yeah, that's pretty much where I would go as well. I think, again, it's very happenstance. We can put whoever, wherever, when you get to that six through nine, just because those guys are

all kind of packed into the same position at this point. And putting them on a certain numerical ranking is just cannon fodder. It doesn't really make that big of a difference. But I think that's going to do it here for our second segment. When we return, it's the dog days of summer. Let's have some fun. Let's talk about some pie in the sky ideas about this team, this upcoming year. And maybe there's a couple people on this penguin's roster

that we could see on the stage at the NHL Awards around this time next year. But before Hunter and I do that, we're going to tell you about our next sponsor, and that is eBay Motors. Passion Drive and Patience, the formula for winning championships, is also what keeps your ride or die, alive. eBay Motors has everything you need to maintain your vehicle and level it up to peak

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Exclusions apply. eBay guaranteed fit, only available to U.S. customers. All right, welcome back for the final segment of the Monday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I'm Patrick Damp. That's Hunter Hodes. And let's have some fun, Hunter. We know that we think this team is a bubble team to make the playoffs.

We know that this team is doing a rebuild, but don't you dare call it a rebuild. It's a retool on the fly. But why not? Let's have a little bit of fun. We could see a couple of players on this team may be finding their way onto an award stage next summer. But while unlikely, here's some dark horse candidates. I'll start here with this one. And I can already feel the tweets, the comments, and everything getting thrown at me.

I could see Mike Sullivan being a dark horse for the Jack Adams Award. Because like we're talking about here, this team has missed the playoffs two years running. This team has a lot more questions than it does answers. And that's the expectation for this team. And we know what the Jack Adams Award is in the NHL. Rarely is it given to the best coach. It's the we thought you were going to stink. You didn't stink.

here's the Jack Adams Award. If this team goes on a little bit of a run, stays consistent all year, gets into the playoffs comfortably, I think there's a very real world where people can say, we didn't think this Penguins team was very good. And now here they are comfortably in a playoff spot. They're going to be in the playoffs. They're going to play in the first round. We got to give the Jack Adams to Mike Sullivan.

You know what the award also is? It's also which goalie overperformed to help out said head coach. So if the penguins do get insane goaltending from both Jari and Adelkevich this year, that could also be a factor in Sullivan being a dark horse for the Jack Adams and also if this team overperforms in general. There are then a couple of years where I do think Sullivan has been kind of quote unquote robbed from being a finalist for the Jack Adams, you know, namely, you know, several years ago, you know, maybe during the, you know, 1819 season, 2021, all that good stuff.

But I still think that one is more unlikely than it is likely. considering some of the other dark horse awards that we're going to discuss. I think for me, and yes, I'm sure the pitchforks will be coming out here. A dark horse for the Norris is Eric Carlson, considering what he did with David Quinn in San Jose. There is history there. We are expecting Carlson to be better under David Quinn now that he is the assistant head coach of the Penguins. And, you know, wow to see. He played at a very high level under Quinn in San Jose.

Yeah, I know he didn't play any defense. I understand that. It was mostly all offense from Eric Carlson. Actually, it was all offense for Eric Carlson and San Jose here people. But I think he's able to keep up some of that production that we saw at the end of last season, mix that in with some good plays in his own zone. I do think he could at least be a dark horse for the Norris.

Do I think he's going to win it, people? No. I don't even think he's going to be a finalist considering Cal McCarar, when he's healthy, is the best defenseman on the planet. I would put Adam Fox right after him, Quinn Hughes, right after him. You have Roman Yosea. there, et cetera, et cetera, Charlie McAvoy as well. But hey, what if Carlson goes out there and is a total baller this year?

He could at least be a dark horse overall for that. And then for the Calder, Rucker McGority, it's been a while since we could say that for a penguin to be, I guess, a dark horse for the Calder. But, hey, if he goes out there, plays his tail off during the regular season, makes this team, you know, he could definitely be at least a dark horse for the Calder. I don't expect him to win it just because, hey, Pat, that guy in San Jose is probably the favorite to win it this year. But you know, maybe he's a dark horse. Who knows? Yeah. And to the Carlson point, if this power play revitalizes itself and he's a huge part of it, I think you could see him getting

some votes for it just because you know that he's going to be the quarterback of it. You know he's had success under David Quinn. Again, like you do, I think it's possible. Probably not. But you can see the ingredients of him getting his name in the conversation. Same thing with Rucker McGrody. There's always won in the Calder race, especially when there's a big name first overall pick. There's always a guy who you don't think about in that season that emerges and plays really well. And I think a lot of those descriptors fit Rucker McGroity. Finally, this one, I don't know if it's so much of a dark horse, as in the voters will finally do it, just because we know how good the top level talent in the NHL is now.

So I don't think you can really put Sidney Crosby's name in for the heart anymore. But they might finally just give him a Selke as the Lifetime Achievement Award. Now, again, I agree with our buddy Danny Shirey from breakdowns and breakaways. Penguins fans overrate Sidney Crosby's defensive ability. Is he better than most? Yes, he is very solid as a defensive forward. But in no world is he one of the best defensive forward. I saw that point and I just could not agree more with him.

He was, he was bang on with that one. He's probably not going to beat out someone like a Sasha Barkov for this award. Very much a dark horse, but I still just don't see him winning this. Neither do I. The only way, like I said, the only way I would see him winning it is the Lifetime Achievement Award of, hey, you're Sidney Crosby. We can't realistically give you the heart trophy anymore. But here's a Selke on the way out the door for us.

to say thanks for everything. Good job. You did, especially if he has another big year where he puts up 80, 90 points and he's like plus 25 or something, then you can justifiably say, okay, here's your lifetime achievement award, Selke. But overall, like all of these, all of these names, it would be genuinely shocking if any of them were even so much as on, well, maybe not for McGority, but for the most part, it would be shocking if any of them were even on the stage come NHL award season. Agreed. But you know what? We're having some fun. We've made it to the end of August here. People hockey is getting close to being right around the corner at this point. So we wanted to have some fun with this final segment overall. But yeah, I think we would be able both be pretty surprised

to see most of these players up there for the actual awards at the end of the season. But hey, you know, crazier things, I guess have happened at some points. Hey, nobody thought the Vegas Golden Knights were going to make the Stanley Cup final in their inaugural. And yet it happened, but that is going to do it for the Monday edition of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. Hunter and I will be back with a brand new episode for you on Wednesday. But for now, thank you as always for tuning in for Hunter Hodes. I am Patrick Damp. Thanks again for tuning in.

We will talk to all of you again on Wednesday.