Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Which Penguin players are next for the HOF, plus the new co-host debuts!

Episode Date: July 28, 2023

Hunter has added some help to the Locked On Penguins podcast as Patrick Damp of Dying Alive is now the show's new co-host. Pat introduces himself to everyone before they dive into the first topic: Matt Murray being placed on LTIR. They discuss how he hasn't been the same since his father passed away a few years ago, plus how he still can't overcome his injuries. They look at how he's come close to returning to where he used to be in 2016, 2017, and 2018, but just gets hurt before that can happen. They also discuss how he'll always be Penguin royalty for what he did during those B2B cup runs before they dive into which former Penguin players are next to get into the Hall of Fame. When does Sergei Gonchar get in? Is Phil Kessel worthy of being in the Hall of Fame? Does Chris Kunitz have a strong case at some point? The two dive into their numbers and give their expert opinions before Hunter brings up Marc-Andre Fleury and while he may not get in on the first try, he still belongs in there. Finally, the two look at some Hall of Very Good players, including Patric Hornqvist and...Kevin Stevens? All that, plus much more is on this episode of Locked On Penguins.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!FanDuelMake Every Moment More. Don’t miss the chance to get your No Sweat First Bet up to TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS in Bonus Bets when you go to FanDuel.com/LOCKEDON.AG1If a comprehensive solution is what you need from your supplement routine, then try AG1 and get a FREE 1-year supply of Vitamin D AND 5 free AG1 Travel Packs with your first purchase. Go to drinkAG1.com/NHLNETWORK.FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as non-withdrawable free bets that expire 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) Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Matt Murray was placed on LTIR earlier this week. What's left for him when it comes to his career? Plus, the new co-host for Locked on Penguins is revealed that's coming up right after this. You're Locked on Penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. Part of the Locked On Podcast Network. Your team every day. Hello, welcome back to another episode of the Locked On Penguins podcast.

I am one of your hosts, Hunter, Remember to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes, follow the show's Twitter at Eleanorst or Penguins. And of course, thank you all so much for making this your first lesson slash watch of the day. You all have waited long enough. The newest co-host of Locked on Penguins is Patrick Damp of KDCA and the Dying Alive podcast. That show started well before Locked on Penguin started. And I have been a fan of that show for a very long time. I have been a fan of Pat's work for also a very long time.

And he was an easy selection, I think, to join me to help co-pilot this show. So, Pat, I really appreciate you coming on the show full time, and I think this is really going to take it to the next level. Yeah, man, I really, I have been bursting at the seams to share this news with a lot of people because I know how popular this network is and how popular this show is around the Penguins fandom. So to get to be a part of it is an absolute honor. I'm extremely excited, partially because I've missed podcasting because life gets in the way. So dying alive has kind of been on a bit of a hiatus. And just getting to actually turn on the camera, turn on the microphone and talk about hockey with you away from just Twitter and texting, especially after our episode two weeks ago, man. It was so much fun.

and I'm just so, so excited to get started. Me too. And again, man, like, dying alive was the gold standard for Penguins podcast for a very long time. I would always tune in to every episode that you, Jesse, and Mike would put out there. And to share a show now with one of you, you especially, that makes me really happy. So I'm really glad that you are a part of the show. Now, diving into our first topic of the day, though, Pat, earlier this week some sad news Matt Murray was placed on long-term injured reserve ending his season

well before the 2023, 2024 season starts. And I just feel awful for him because he hasn't been the same for the past few years. I mean, honestly, I don't think he's been the same goalie since his father passed away. I don't think that's a hot take or anything to say. It's just I think that really has paid a big toll on him. and you have that plus the injuries, it's really unfortunate to see because he was at the top of his game in 2016 and 2017. And to see him now just really banged up, it's really unfortunate. Yeah, you brought it up there when you introduced it.

I do think there has to be something said about his father passing away a few years ago. I can personally relate to that. My father passed away unexpectedly a little over a decade ago. So I know what that does to your mental state. And being a goalie in the National Hockey League, especially with some of the teams that he's played on in Pittsburgh and Toronto, where success is the expectation, having a rough mental state is tough.

And it can snowball. And I think it did snowball on him. And it just kind of derailed his career. I don't want to say it was a total flash in the pan because you look at the way he played in 16 and 17. He was a very technically sound goaltender. It was a very black and white distinction between going from Mark Andre Fleury to Matt Murray. Flurry relied on athleticism. He was a goalie that could seemingly defy physics to make a save.

And then you went to Matt Murray, who just seemed to never be out of position. So I think between the death of his father and just not being able to get back to that level he was at in 2016 and 17, just kind of derailed his career. And you know what? I don't think a year off to recover and maybe get his mind right and do a little bit more away from the hockey rink might actually be the best thing for him. So maybe he's got one more kick at the can. I say that with some bias because he's a back-to-back Stanley Cup winning goaltender for my favorite team. and I'd love to see him bounce back. But the clock's ticking and this, you know, this might be it for him,

which if so, thanks for the Stanley Cups, man. Great memories. But sometimes it just, it's not there. So who knows? He's shown an ability to get close to that level that he showed in 2016-17. This past season, Pat, I was at the Leafs Penguins game in mid-November that he started. And he looked like the old Matt Murray. He was, his movement was fantastic.

He was making saves that I hadn't seen him make in a few years. And he was shutting the penguins down very efficiently. He was making some really good saves from in tight, like, you know, 5, 10, 15 feet out in those high danger areas. And I was like, man, if he can continue this and stay healthy, he's going to be the number one goalie for this team for the rest of the season and into the playoffs. Obviously, that didn't happen because he got hurt again.

But he's shown that ability to come close. It just stinks that the injuries just keep piling up. even when he was in Ottawa, I think this was a season or two ago. The Penguins played a game up there. And I believe the Penguins only won the game one nothing. Murray played out of his mind. And so we've seen him come close. It's just unfortunately that he hasn't gotten back to that same level of consistency.

Because, you know, when I think of Matt Murray, obviously 2016 comes to mind. But right after that, the back-to-back shutouts in game five and game six against the Predators, the swagger that he had in that series against the Predators, and in those two games especially, you can't beat that. And he will always be a Penguin Legend for forever. Yeah, and I think back to what Josh O'hee, friend of the show, wrote about Matt Murray, the day of the 2017 Cup clinching game. He was like a lot of us where we were like, man, this is,

Preds have been pretty good. This might be tough. And he saw Matt Murray get off that bus and was like, there's no way they're losing tonight. And it's the same, he kind of has the same issue that the penguins still have right now with Tristan Jari. It's consistency and injuries. When both of them are healthy and on their game, pretty good.

When they're not, it's a problem. So I would love to see Matt Murray get back to some healthy consistency. Hopefully he can do that in the 24, 25 season. whether it's with Toronto or someone else. But, you know, we'll see. And, you know, obviously same thing for Tristan Jari. Kyle Dubus just took a big bet on him. And here's the hope in this season he's healthy and consistent.

Penguins better be hoping so, that's for sure. And one question that came to mind just before we wrap this up, what do you think we've learned about goalies just since the back-to-back Stanley Cups as we relate this to the Matt Murray situation? Well, to quote a band from the 2000s, Godsmack, It's voodoo. Because you look at the back-to-back cups, right? Matt Murray, great goaltender, consistent,

looked like he was going to be a rock-solid number one, maybe even bordering into the elite conversation in the NHL. Then the same thing happens in 2018 with Braden Holpey. And then 2019, Jordan Binnington kind of comes out of nowhere, rises up, does that, but then falls apart. Then you get the back-to-backs with Toronto with Andre Vasilowski. one of the most elite goaltenders in the national hockey league. And as we've kind of seen throughout the last few years,

we still don't know. Like, what's the formula? Do you invest in a big time elite goaltender that's going to be a rock back there? Or do you go goalie by committee, two or three guys who can play a few games at a time and switch in and out? Because, you know, everybody wants to credit Matthew Cachuk for the Florida Panthers run, even though they came up short, the whole reason the Florida Panthers got where they were this year

is because Bobrovsky decided to have a renaissance for two months. So again, it's voodoo. We don't know what the right answer is. Sometimes it's an elite goalie. Sometimes it's somebody coming out of nowhere. You're right. And heck, Barbrovsky was terrible during the regular season. They got to the playoffs, Pat, because Alex Lyon went on a heater. He's not even with the team anymore. But Alex Lyon, who honestly had been a career HL goalie for most of his career, went on this crazy heater down the stretch and got the Panthers in, started the playoffs for the Panthers before Bavrovsky took over and obviously went on that crazy run for Florida. But agree with that overall. But Matt, hopefully you can come back strong and healthy for the 2024, 2025 season.

I always say it, man. The Penguins, it was so much fun watching him play in 2016-17. Honestly, even after that, I thought he was good in 2018, 2019. he was fine. But I think in that COVID-shorten year, Pat, it was a year too late that Mike Sullivan stuck with Murray. He was his guy. That was how he saw it.

I mean, I'll never forget when the camera paned to Sullivan in game three in Ottawa, when he was just looking at Matt and him saying, like, yeah, you're going in. You're my guy. This was the time for him to go in and the rest was history. But I think he just stuck on to him a little too long. But overall, really hope he gets back healthy and he can have more of a career. in the NHL. But that will wrap up this first segment. Coming up in the second segment, who are some of the next penguins to get the call to the Hockey Hall of Fame,

especially after Tom Barrasso just got in a few weeks ago. But before we discuss that, our next partner is AG1, the Daily Foundation on Nutritional Settlement that supports whole body health. I drink it literally every day, usually around 839, 930, right when I get up in the morning when I'm making my coffee. And honestly, I love it. It's a, perfect way to start your day. Also, all great athletes have one thing in common. They take care of their bodies and a huge part of that starts with optimizing whole body health. A lot of them also drink AG1 and it's why I'm a huge fan with every daily serving. I'm setting myself up for success with 75 high quality ingredients that give me key daily nutrients and support energy,

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I am Hunter Hodes. That is Patrick Namp, the new co-host of the show. So Pat, this is a fun topic to dive in to because RASO just got in the hockey Hall of Fame a few weeks ago. Was very happy for him. I know his numbers weren't that good during his career, say percentage below 900, but he's a lot of the number. but he also played at a time where scoring was really high.

So those numbers honestly, they are what they are, I think is what I can say when it comes to that. You can't really air, like, I mean, you can. You can error adjust goalie statistics. You can error adjust any statistics if you like. But for his era, those numbers were very good. Yeah. And I'm not surprised that he got in.

You can easily make an argument that he's the best goalie in franchise history. I will personally side with Mark Andre Flurry, but you can certainly make the argument with Barrasso. But in terms of next penguins to get the call to the hall pat, Yarmier-Arger should be, but when is he going to stop playing? I think it's the big one. He'll get in first ballot whenever that is. But that's the easy one. Outside of him, though, Sergey Gonshaw, he was eligible this year.

I wish he got in. Right now, if you look at all-time points for defensemen and NHL history, Sergei Gonshire is 17th. He played in 1,301 games, 220 goals, 811 points in those games. A beautiful quarterback on the power play. Love the way he broke the puck out of the defensive zone. Honestly, his defensive work was also great when he was a penguin

and just when he was not a penguin. I think outside of Yager, he should be the next penguin to get into the hall. Yeah, we're both agreed on that one. Sergey Gonchar should be in the Hall of Fame. He should go in next class, I think. Just because away from all the numbers, he's got the Stanley Cup, you just look at the way the guy played. He really was kind of the encapsulation of the modern day defenseman.

He had incredible vision. He had great offensive upside. And he could very, you know, he wasn't a blazing fast guy. but he was very fleet of foot. You know, if you go back and watch those mid-2000s, early 2010s Penguins teams with him on them, he could lead a breakout by himself like Chris LaTang. Chris Lattang learned how to do that from Sergei Gonshire. And in the couple of years that I coached, I would always tell young defensemen,

go find on YouTube highlights of Sergey Ganshaw, especially if you want to be a power play quarterback. because if you looked at the way he quarterbacked to power play, his head never went down. His head was up at all times, especially in that 2009 cup run when he would score a clutch power play goal. His head never went down to look at the puck. He'd fire a slap shot on net and his head was up the entire time. And he's just genuinely one of the most talented defensemen in Penguin's history, if not NHL history. I agree. And I wish Chris Lange took all of that for his quarterback work on the Penguins power play.

He took some of it. I don't think he got the shot part down. I don't think Chrisa Teng shoots as much from the point like Gonshire did. But his puck movement, it's not Gonshire level good, but I think it's still pretty solid. But, yeah, I mean, I absolutely loved watching him when he was a penguin. Hopefully he'll get in next year, if not then, the year after. you have the obvious ones Pat, Sidney Crosby gets in first ballot. Evgeny Malkin should get in first ballot, but I know there's a weird Russian bias.

I mean, heck, Alexander McGilney is not even in the Hockey Hall of Fame right now, which is absolutely ridiculous. He's one of the best criminal. Absolutely criminal. Yeah. One of the best Russian players to ever play. It's a joke, to be honest. Chris Let's hang.

He will get in as well. And then the big one that, you know, people will debate this, I'm sure, for a while. Mark Andre Fleury. I think he is a Hall of Famer. He has won numerous Stanley Cups. Let's be real here. He's won a Vezna. He's been a great goalie throughout his time

in the National Hockey League. But he has had a lot of years where he's let his teams down, especially with the Penguins in the early 2010s. You think of this series against the Canadians. You think of the series against the Flyers. Think of the next year against the. Islanders where he had to be replaced by Tomas So Kuhn, just wasn't good enough during that time.

But that said, Pat, he's still a Hall of Fame level goalie. He's the best goalie in the franchise history, in my opinion. He has the numbers. I'm sorry, if Tom Barrasso gets in with his numbers, Mark Andre Fleury gets in with his. Right. And those who follow me on Penguin's Twitter, they know that I'm one of the people who absolutely loathed the revoked the revisionist history on Mark Andre Fleury. The way I always put it to people was this. After they won in 2009, until they won again in 2016, I know, wo is us, Penguins fans.

We had to wait all that time. But he wasn't the reason they didn't win another Stanley Cup in that window, but he certainly didn't help either. So with all that said, though, he's going to get in for kind of an opposite reason of Tom Barrasso. It's no secret Tom Barrasso was an absolute pain to deal with. From his teammates to other teams to media, you name it, just a genuinely prickly person. Mark Andre Fleury, on the other hand, is beloved by everybody. Every teammate he's ever had, every coach he's ever had, every reporter that's ever covered him. So that helps him out.

But then you get into the numbers. He's probably in both of our opinions, the best goalie in Penguins franchise history. He led the expansion Vegas Golden Knights to the Stanley Cup final in their first season. He quickly followed that up with a Vezna. He's won the Stanley Cup three times. The guy's the Hall of Famer. First ballot, maybe, who knows? But that also gets into the fact that, you know, for some reason, the Hall of Fame has an anti-goly bias.

and they just feel like they can't put in more than one or a couple in the same year. So maybe he has to wait a little bit. But I think he's in. I think so too. Again, I don't think he's first ballot. I think he's going to have to wait a little bit whenever he calls it a career. But I don't think he is first ballot at this point. But he will get in fairly quickly.

Pat, do you have any other penguins who could get the call to the hall really soon? So there's one I want to ask you about it. It's similar to Flurry. It's kind of similar to Yager. I kind of want to get your take on it. He's won the Stanley Cup three times. He's scored a lot of goals. But he's not exactly well liked by a lot of people.

Does Phil Kessel get into the Hockey Hall of Fame? That is a wow. I'm like so biased. towards Phil that I want to say yes. I think he has the numbers to get in. At the very least, he's at the hall of very good. I will say yes. I will say it.

I think he has the goal scoring ability to get him in. He has the Stanley Cups. And I know he's been kind of rude to people about his career. I mean, the Toronto media perception didn't help Pat. Let's be real here. I mean, Steve Simmons and all those people up there wrote some weird hit pieces on him. And then I love how he takes the Stanley Cup back. back of Toronto again this year.

Right. I do think he does get in, especially for his goal scoring ability, his work on the power play. He was just always such a consistent goal score in the NHL and took him a while to really just go downhill. Yeah, I'll say it. I think he gets in at some point. It's going to take a while for him to get in. But yeah, if that's a hot take, it's a hot take. I'll say yes.

I mean, he's one of the best American goal scorer. to ever play the game. Maybe not the best, but I would say top five easily. He's scored everywhere he's gone, and obviously he's trailed off in Vegas just because of the aging curve. But, you know, he comes into Pittsburgh and wins the Stanley Cup. He goes to Vegas, and by all accounts, he was a great teammate that helped them win the Stanley Cup.

And, I mean, the guy also had a pretty solid international career with Team USA, whether it was at the Olympics or the World Championships or World Juniors. And he was really good at Minnesota when he was in college. So because people often forget it's not the NHL Hall of Fame. It's the Hockey Hall of Fame. So you have to look at a guy's entire body at work. And I think you put it all together for Phil Kessel. It might not be right away simply because, again, a lot of Canadians on the board at the Hockey Hall of Fame and, you know, how they feel about them.

but he seems like a guy who when he gets in our entire discussion is going to be, man, that took way too long. I think that's fair. It's probably how long do you think it would take five, six years after, maybe more, I would say. Yeah, like he would be a guy that he strikes me as kind. You know, I don't want to compare the two players here, just comparing the discussion. Compare it as a little bit to McGilney where it's like, How is he still not in?

Yeah, I mean, he should have been in a long time ago. Right. Yeah, which is a joke. But I do think he eventually gets in. You can make an argument either way on that. And there's going to be a couple players coming up in our final segment in terms of who is in the Hall of Very Good. I know people try to argue them into the Hockey Hall of Fame as well. So speaking of that, that's coming up right after this.

All right. We're back here in this episode of the Locked on Penguins podcast. I am Hunter Hodes. that is Patrick Damp. So Pat, Hall of Very Good, some players who, in our opinion, are not good enough to get into the Hockey Hall of Fame, but are very, very close. And let's start off with Chris Kuhnitz,

four-time Stanley Cup champion, played over 1,000 games, 268 goals, 619 points. Sydney Crosby basically took him to the Olympics with how he played on his line. Let's be real here. The reason why he got to the Olympics was because of Sidney Crosby. You look at his overall body of work,

plenty of 20 goal seasons. You have a 30 goal season in there. Kind of trailed off toward the final few seasons of his career. After 2013, 14, Pat, when he had 35 goals for the Penguins, he did not score 20 goals again for the team, but his underwings are also always good. I don't think he's good enough to get in the hall. Maybe one day he will, but in my opinion right now,

I don't think he's done enough. he has the Stanley Cups through the Penguins, one with the Ducks, I don't think he's done enough, you know, production-wise and just overall to get in. Yeah, Chris Cunis doesn't have the numbers to get in. You know, you look at four Stanley Cups, and he didn't play a massive role with the Ducks when they won, but he played a big role in 2009 in 2016 and in 2017 with the Penguins. But it's one of those guys where,

you know, if you could get in on Cups alone, he'd be a shoe in because you win it four times. That's four times plus one of them being back to back, two of them being back to back. That's, you know, everybody hates in this era the discussion of intangibles and all that. But that's a winner. You can't teach winning. You just winner you don't. And I loved the guy. Like, you know, before there was a real start of cracking down on headshots and the way people hit,

Chris Kunitz, man, he used to be a kamikaze. Like if you remember him when he first got to the penguins, he blew some people up and it was so much fun to watch. That hit on Teaman is one of the biggest ones I've ever seen in my life. It was just, it was a nuke. He absolutely destroyed him right behind the net. I mean, even Cindy Crosby, I believe, went on a podcast a few years ago and echoed that statement.

He said, yeah, I think he actually said it's the biggest hit he's ever seen. And I know Flyers fans are not happy about that, but... Which is surprising because his former linemate in BFF, Colby Armstrong, that he basically created that hit. If you remember Colby Armstrong's early years, a defenseman chugging along behind the net, Colby was right there to put him in a body bag. Yes.

Man, both were just absolute wrecking balls when they were on the ice, another player who just retired Pat. Patrick Hornquist, a lot of concussion problems this year. It's really sad because when he was in his prime, best net front presence in the league, a modern day Tomas Holmes from the Penguins do not win those back-to-back cups without him. He had the clincher in Nashville.

You had the empty netter in San Jose. You had the game winner in game four against the capitals, 2016, countless other goals where he would be cross-checked from behind or just tripped. He'd get right up. Deflect the puck right into the net, and he would just laugh at you. It was so much fun to watch. And you look at his overall numbers for his career. 900 games, 264 goals, 543 points, plenty of 20 goals seasons.

never hit the only hit actually 30 goals once hit it with Nashville in his second season in the league I still don't think it's good enough to get him into the hockey Hall of Fame even though he does have two Stanley Cups but man what a fun player he was to watch and I'll never say anything bad about Patrick Hornquist at all he was just an absolute treat I say this about Hornquist all the time. He was exactly what the penguins needed at that moment in their franchise. I was a big James Neal guy when he was here. I thought his chemistry with Malkin was the greatest Malkin has ever had with a line mate. Yeah. But man was Patrick Hornquist, the absolute culture shift this franchise needed at that moment. He, his motor was always going. He didn't

care if you were on the first line or the fourth liner in the HL, he was going to make sure as soon as you showed up at the Penguin's facility, you were one of the hardest working people there. And you're right. They don't win those Stanley Cups without him, not just for the goals, just for the way he played. You hear the way that Crosby, the way that Malkin, the way that Latang, the way that Sullivan talked about him when he was on the team. And they were

like he his motor never stops he is full go full time and it rubs off on guys and every time they had him miced up and they would show you know whether it was in the room or the n hl or wherever any mic'd up segment with patrick hornquist made me want to throw on my skates and go play because he was just that intense and that upbeat and i was like oh my god like i'd follow this guy into war and just to take a quick break from like the statute and stuff just looking at you know stuff both on and off the ice. What a leader he was. He quickly became outside of that core group,

87, 71, 58, 29 for a while before he left for Vegas. He quickly became one of the top leaders in that locker room. Every time he spoke, you knew the team was going to, what's the where I'm looking for, bounce back from a bad performance. and just seeing the way again, he pissed off so many opposing fans, so many opposing goalies, defensemen on the ice,

him in front of the net. The Penguins' power play was so good in part because of the way he played in front of the net. Phil Kessel could do his thing from the half wall. Crystal Tang could do his thing from the point. Evgeny Malkin could fire his quote-unquote geno bombs from his spot and Hornquist would be there to clean up the garbage.

He was so good at what he did and just so good at everything when he was a member of the Penguins that I will always treasure that. Again, I don't think he's good enough to get in the Hockey Hall of Fame, but Hall of Very Good is still, he still had one heck of a career path. Like, that's the thing. And you can't really put a quantifiable value on that, just the way he rubbed off on on his teammates you you talk about his net front presence you know who that rubbed off on jake gensel yeah look at the way jake gensel plays in front of the net now

we had the debate at we had the debates after the last couple series losses some people did not us about gensel's size gensel plays above his size a because he's just that good and b he played with a guy like hornquist who he'd watch just go to the front of the net get his ass kicked and be no worse for where because he was like okay okay, you can beat me up in front of the net. If you're going to focus on me, you're going to leave Crosby, Malkin, and Latang, and whoever the fourth person who's going to be very talented uncovered.

So go ahead and worry about me while I let those guys go to work. I agree with that for sure. I mean, it was just, man, every time I think about him, a smile just comes on my face, to be honest. Pat, do you have any other players for the Hall of Very Good before we wrap up here? So this one, we don't have to discuss it too long. It's a what if for me. It's a holla very good.

He's probably never going to get in. But he was one of my all-time favorite players growing up. And I'm so glad he's been able to get his life back on track and actually help the penguins now. And that's Kevin Stevens. Kevin Stevens, outside of Maryole Mew in Yarmier-Yager when I was a kid, was my favorite player. I mean, he was the prototypical power forward in the 90s. The guy was big, strong. he could run you over, he could get into a fight and win, but then he could put up gigantic goals.

I mean, when you look back at the Penguin Stanley Cup runs in 1991 and 1992, just like we were saying about Patrick Hornquist, they do not win those Stanley Cups without him. He, I mean, 1991, 17 goals, 16 assists, 33 points in 24 games. 1992, 13 goals, 15 assists, 28 points in 21 games. Just a monster. And it sucked to see him get hurt in 1993. That's completely what derailed his career because he got injured, then came the drug addiction and everything else that came along with it.

And I think I screwed up those stats because I was looking at the wrong chart. But either way, you know, 33 points, 28 points. 17 goals, 13 goals in both cup runs, just an absolutely elite power forward who did so many things right. And I'm glad his life's back on track and just, man, if there was a guy who got me into hockey aside from Lemieux and Yager, it was watching Kevin Stevens on those Stanley Cup videos when I was a kid, just running amok. And I say it all the time. You can go ahead and keep Messia's will win tonight guarantee. Give me Kevin Stevens, 1991 guarantee in Boston when he says, when they go down 02, we're going to win four straight. And guess what they did?

They won four straight. He was always, I think he still is, kind of an underrated player in Penguin's history, 250 goal seasons, 240 goal seasons. Honestly, he probably belongs in the Hockey Hall of when you look at his numbers today, but I just don't know if that's going to happen. And I mean, I know that was before my time, Pat. I'll put that out there. Everyone knows how old I am. I think you look at, you look at his numbers. He didn't play a thousand games.

He only had 329 career goals. He only had 726 points. I know only, but like his career came at the tail end of a very high scoring. era. And he was able to produce in the dead puck era for the most part. But it just from where he started to where his career ended, it tails off so hard. And just when you, when you're a product of that era of the NHL, I think you got to have at least 400 goals to be considered. That's fair. I'll say this though. If he's healthy, they don't get David Volick in 93. No.

that would not happen they do not blow that three to one series league against i mean i also think there's something to be said of the fact that they were coming off two straight stanley cups and they didn't get it scotty bowman pushed them to win the president's trophy and that team was just exhausted that's true i'll still again i know i wasn't alive for that series but i will never going back and just watching the highlight seeing how good that team was when i i've seen that goal way too many times and it pains me to see it because that team was so freaking good.

I just don't understand how that team lost that year. I know Kevin, again, I know Kevin Stevens was banged up and if he was there, they would not have. But man,

even without him, they probably still should have won that series. Yeah. See that stupid goal scored on them every time it comes up. And it doesn't matter what age you are

as a Penguins fan. It's always the friggin' islanders. Yep. They, they've been breaking the penguins' hearts since the 70s. Since the 70s, people. They came back from 3-0-0-down-pat against the penguins in the 70s. They've been doing this. If I'm not mistaken, that was the first time it happened in NHL history. Of course.

Because why wouldn't it? It's the Islanders. They love breaking the penguins' hearts. And it happened this year as well when they knocked the penguins out of the playoffs. Well, that was officially, unofficially. it was the Blackhawks, but officially it was the Islanders beating the Canadians. But Pat, I think that will do it for this episode of the Locktime Penguins podcast. You are now the new co-host of the show.

And both of us will be back on Monday for a lot more Penguins content. But before that, Pat, where can everyone find you on Twitter and everywhere else? As you can see, if you're watching here on YouTube, you can find me on Twitter at synonym for wet, because my last name is damp. There you go. It's explained. That is my handle just about everywhere else. Instagram, threads, Xbox.

You can also find my column. It's on a little bit of a break right now just because there's not a whole lot going on in the Penguins world right now, but it'll start kicking back up once we get closer to the season. I write a Friday column on KDK.com called Penguins Perspectives. I don't want to say that the Dying Alive podcast is gone, on just because who knows right now we're just on hiatus maybe but that's about it.

I am so excited to get this rolling and keep going with locked on penguins and join you who you heaped praise on me at the beginning. So I'm going to heap praise on you here at the end. Been a fan of your work for a long time, a fan of the podcast. And man, this is an honor and I'm excited. Well, I'm really excited to have you. I know all the listeners slash watchers will be really excited to have you as well. But again, thank you all so much for tuning into this episode of the show.

We'll both be back next week, probably on Monday, for another episode of the show. Hope you all have a wonderful weekend, and we'll talk to you all back.