Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Who is going to lead the Penguins out of the abyss?

Episode Date: April 28, 2022

The Pittsburgh Penguins are set to have their final game of the regular season on Friday against the Columbus Blue Jackets but Hunter starts the show by touching on the David Morehouse resignation. He goes into how it's definitely the timing that's a bit of a surprise but reminds the listeners that this was always going to happen at some point. He points out that the new ownership will want their own CEO in charge with a hockey background most likely. He then thanks David Morehouse for everything he did for the Penguins over the years as he oversaw the 3 Stanley Cups, helped pave the way for the new arena deal, and how close he was with Mario and Ron Burkle. After that, Hunter previews Game 82 between the Jackets and Penguins as the latter goes for a 4-game sweep over the former. He goes over the keys for the Penguins to get this victory, plus looks at how banged up the Jackets are heading into this. He also points out the scenarios for the Penguins in the playoffs and how it's all going to be decided tomorrow. After that, he gives a couple of updates on Jason Zucker and Tristan Jarry before ending the show with the question of: Who will lead the Penguins out of this mess? You won't want to miss Hunter's answer.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!HelloFreshGo to HelloFresh.com/lockedon16 and use code lockedon16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts.Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKED15,” and you’ll get 15% off your next order.BetOnlineBetOnline.net has you covered this season with more props, odds and lines than ever before. BetOnline – Where The Game Starts!Rock AutoAmazing selection. Reliably low prices. All the parts your car will ever need. Visit RockAuto.com and tell them Locked On sent you.Shady RaysEXCLUSIVELY FOR OUR LISTENERS, HEAD TO SHADYRAYS.COM AND USE CODE LOCKEDON TO GET FIFTY PERCENT OFF TWO OR MORE PAIRS OF POLARIZED SUNGLASSES. 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.

Hello, happy Thursday. We're back for another episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. Took a day off on Wednesday. And yes, for those watching on YouTube, I caved in. I am a very superstitious person and I shave my beard. At the end of the day, you know, the penguins are playing like crap. I figured it's best to maybe start over. Hopefully, we'll grow a full playoff period over the next two months and see, you know,

if this is the change that gets them to start winning. You know, I've had a lot of superstitions going back since I was a kid with my mom with the playoffs. So, you know, just I had to try something here if it doesn't work. you know, I guess I'm just a complete moron. But we have a lot to get to for today's episode. We're going to go into a full preview for the last game of the regular season against the Columbus Blue Jackets. We're also going to talk about the David Morehouse resignation and what that means moving forward for the penguins. And, you know, who is going to get the penguins out of this mess?

Or if anyone can, you know, who is it going to be? We're going to touch on that as well right after this drop. You're locked on penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. part of the Locked-on Podcast Network, your team every day. All right, happy Thursday. Welcome back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast.

I am your host, Hunter Hoadies. Remember to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the shows Twitter, L.O. and school Penguins. And, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen of the day. I'm sure I have a lot of Steelers fans to also tune into this podcast on the NFL draft. Of course, it's tonight. Go check out Chris Carter for all of his analysis on what the Steelers decided to do. in my opinion that I think they're going to take Malik Willis if he falls to them, but who knows.

Had to put that shot out there. Chris does incredible work on the Steelers side. And I just want to thank all of you for also tuning in on the Penguin side, even though it is the first day of the NFL draft. But let's get right into it. So big news on Wednesday night, David Morehouse is out as the Penguin CEO. And I guess I wasn't surprised that he's out, but more so of the timing. You know, there's one game left in the regular season.

The playoffs start, right? now in four to five days, four days. Officially on Monday, there's going to be a few series, and then I'm sure the rest of them will be on Tuesday. At this moment, I have not heard either way which day the Penguins will play, whether it's Monday or Tuesday, as soon as I hear word about that, you all will be the first to know. But definitely the timing of it, you know, why didn't this happen maybe, you know, after the

playoffs, you know, when the Penguins are either eliminated or they're hosting or they're hoisting the Stanley Cup in June or July, something like that. So that was the only main thing that surprised me. But overall, I can't say I didn't see this kind of move coming at some point because, you know, this is this is a new ownership group. They want their own CEO in charge of the team, preferably someone with hockey experience. David Morehouse, I'm not here to rag on the guy. He did incredible things from the Pittsburgh Penguins organization for the last 16 years, helped them win three Stanley Cups. He did, I think, a lot of the business side of things.

you know he was i think you know the good cop i think to mary lemieux i know he was very close with mario and ron burkle i can say that for a fact um so the fact that you know they're obviously not the full owner they're not the full owners anymore if this this was always going to be a reality at some point you know when you have an ownership group like this coming in who's you know known for you know wanting to do things i guess their own way and they want their people in charge and all that, this was always going to be a reality at some point. So again, you know, I can't thank David Morehouse enough for what he did for the Penguins with getting those three Stanley Cups.

I mean, you know, with the arena deal with everything, with getting PPG up and running after Mellon Arena. When the Penguins stopped playing at Mellon Arena in 2010, did a lot of great things for the community, of course. No, that said, you know, he's probably going to go back into doing what he did before he was with the Penguins. I mean, he's very into politics. So I would not be surprised if he has a job in some way or fashion in the world of politics.

But again, you know, what this means moving forward, they're going to want to hire their own CEO that fits their vision and what they want to see from this team. I think the biggest thing from the Fenway Sports Group, what I can say is, you know, they want to win. They're not here to be cheap and to be bad and to do like a six to seven year rebuild. They want to win as soon as they can and they will do whatever it takes. to what I mean, remember, like this team owns the Boston Red Sox, this ownership group I said, they own the Boston Red Sox, they own Liverpool out in the English Premier League,

two very high-class organizations. So, again, they will do whatever it takes to get back to winning. And, you know, I think this is going to be potentially the first of many changes to come within the Penguins organization, especially front office wise. We'll get to the on-ice stuff,

maybe a little later on in this episode. I don't have to remind you of how many free agents this team has. But inside of the organization, you know, what other front office members could be on their way out? You know, who really knows at this point? But Morehouse will not be the first and he will certainly not be the last. Ryan Burke is going to be one of the people in charge of the day-to-day operations with the team until they fill that CEO role. I'm sure they're going to start interviews as soon as they can. There's no names.

Once I hear names or there's reported names or something like that, again, you all will be the first to know. And Elliot Friedman even said on the Jeff Merrick show today and in his 32 thoughts blog last night, you know, he knew this move was probably coming at some point, but some people around the league were definitely surprised that this was the time they were going to do it. And it wasn't going to be, of course, my lab starts to whine, not six minutes into the show. If he keeps that up, we are just going to have him as a guest. on this episode, to say the least. Just so you all can see him and he stops smiling. Well, he laid back down.

So it looks like he's okay here. We always got to love puppies. I've had him for almost two weeks at this point. So at the end of the day, you know, again, just want to congratulate David Morehouse for everything he did for the Penguins organization. I still remember, you know, one of my earliest memories, memories of, you know, of seeing him do a press conference. everyone you know this was at the end of the race show Dan Bilesma era

and the penguins dismissed Ray Shiro I remember after the 2014 series and the Penguins will let 3 to 1 lean to the Rangers you know I honestly I wasn't even that mad about that because either way following that game there were two good options penguins are going to keep playing or they're going to need the change that they need because things were just going stale and when they dismissed Shiro everyone was wondering like oh is Maryle you're going to talk finally it's going to be one Burkle is it going to be David Morehouse?

And sure enough, Moorehouse comes in. And, you know, he had a very good press conference. And he surprised me, I think, in a lot of ways, for someone that, you know, did not have a hockey background to say the least. You know, born and born, born, raised in Pittsburgh, his family's there, very close with Mario and Ron.

And again, you know, he did a lot of good for this year. I know I've probably been repeating myself a lot of these last, you know, a couple minutes, but I just really wanted to drive that point home for you all there. So that's that with that big news. We'll see who they decide to hire to fill that rule for right now, Brian Burke, and then the Penguin CEO. I'm almost, geez, the fact that I'm even, like, forgetting his name is, that's just embarrassing.

Let me just find this real quick here on the Penguin's social media account. Yeah, Kevin Acklinga, he's the CEO, he's the C-O-O of the team. So him and Brian Burke will be conducting the day-to-day operations within the team. I apologize for some reason not even having the off top of my head. That just makes me look like a complete and utter moron to say the least. Coming up in the next segment, we're going to preview the Penguins Jackets game on Friday. The implications it has, get to some of the injury updates, one from Elliott Freeman on the Jeff Merrick show, and then a Jason Zucker update in case you all did not see it on social media.

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Hunter Hodes. Follow the show's Twitter at L-N-Square Penguins. So game 82, we finally made it through another regular season on this podcast. This is my third full season covering the team for you all. Again, I cannot say enough how appreciative I am for you all that you continue to tune into this podcast and hear me rant, bravo, praise, whatever I do with this team. It means so much to me. And, you know, for as long as this podcast is going, I am going to be the host unless

something ridiculous comes up and I don't really see that happen. at all. I love doing this show. I have a blast with it. And it's just, it's always so much fun to talk about this team. So again, from the bottom of my heart, thank you all so much for a wonderful regular season. And, you know, we'll see what they can do in the playoffs. Game 82 again against the Blue Jackets. The Penguins have not lost a game against the Blue Jackets since December of 2015. I was 18 years old. The last time the Penguins lost to the Blue Jackets, at home at least. It's pretty crazy. Hopefully I did not just jinx it. I just knocked on wood. Ford's wise, Gustav Nyk was on the top line. Jack Rossovich, who's had a good year.

Jacob Vorichick has added a pretty interesting year. He's been a good playmaker. Goals-shring-wise, though, it hasn't been there. He doesn't even have 10 goals, but he's been playing pretty well playmaking-wise. They will not have Zach Werenck in the lineup. He's going to miss the final two games of the regular season on the second line. Cole Cillinger, he I think is going to be a big part of their future. moving for you know he's a player that I really like um and you know he's he's also had a pretty he's had a good rookie year enough 15 goals 30 points um so far you know again borchek leads the team in points with 59 he only has five goals that that's the funny thing i went on to left wing lock

to check that out patrick lane he will be in the lineup yes he uh him and all of your borks bork strand excuse me they lead they both lead the team in goals with 26 launay has 56 points Bjork Trent has 54 points. You know, Iqqis has had 17 goals. You know, Brune Jenner has also played well. 23 goals. Rossolich, again, 21 goals for him. So, you know, this team, they have offensive talent.

You know, they've never not had offensive talent. You know, Chikanov, he's in the top six. He's also been a really good rookie, though they will not have Sean Corrally in this game. Either, you know, he is done for the season with a foot injury. If I'm trying to, the last I checked, I don't think Lanei, is in the lineup. I'm going to check this out, though, for the Columbus,

but for the blue jackets here, actually, just making short, because when I look to see, I thought he was back healthy, but I guess he was not. Yeah, it looks like, okay, yeah,

he's still out of action, so he may not be playing in this game on Friday. At least it doesn't look like it right now. So the blue jackets are definitely a little bit banged up, but again, you know, Roslovich is good. Wardcheck, Gustav Nykos, Chikanov is a really good young rookie. Cole Sillinger, Bjork Strand, has had a really nice year.

Defensively, though, without Zach Wrenski, there's not much there. Bean is not bad. I think he's going to be a good player for years to come, but he's also on the second hearing. Kukin is fine. Gavrikov's on the top pairing is whatever. Peak is whatever. Carlson on the third pairing is, eh.

I'm sure they're going to start Elvis Merzleetons in this game. They're backed up right now as J.F. for ruby. It looks like Corpus Sallo is also done for the year. So this is a pretty banged-up Jackets team. But this is also a game that the Penguins, they should be able to win. You know, you want to go into the playoffs on as well as a note as you can.

I know they've not played well these last two games. But, you know, hopefully a win here can maybe change the fortune a little bit. You're going up against a team that it's a big brother, little brother rivalry. You usually own the Columbus Woo Jackets. The Penguins have beaten them all three times this year, both times in Columbus. And both the games, I think,

we're almost in blowout fashion, well, at least I think the second one was. And then the first home game they played in Pittsburgh, the Penguins just absolutely blitzed them, was five to one, six to one, or something like that. The game was just not even close. So I would expect hopefully the Penguins to win this game. I know it doesn't really mean much outcome-wise. You know, they're going to have to play a tough team in the playoffs no matter what, whether it's the Florida Panthers, whether it's New York Rangers.

But I still want to go out here on a good note. I don't think the penguins are going to rest anyone. At this point, just because there are valuable standing points in play here. There's the chance that the penguins could be playing. I mean, they will be playing for third place, but there's a chance that if they only have to win the game, they will get third. It all comes down to what happens for this Capitals Islanders game on Thursday night.

If the Capitals lose either in regulation or in overtime, no matter what, all the Penguins have to do is win against the Blue Jackets, and they will play the Rangers. If they don't, and if the Capitals go to the, Madison Square Garden and they beat the Rangers, it'll be Capsed Rangers first round, it'll be Penn's Panthers first round. So a lot up in the air,

it's all going to be decided on Friday. Stick with the podcast, of course. I'll let you all be the first to know, and I'm sure you also will get the alert to. So the jackets, you know, again, this should be a very winnable game for the Penguins. The jackets have not been playing well down the stretch. And I'll be curious to see.

You know, this game, you know, just play better defensively. I think that's really the main thing that Penguins have to do. to get this win, you know, they should be able to forecheck fine against a Jackets team that's not that deep. But if the Penguins, you know, they can get back to, you know, being really stingy in the defensive zone and not giving up these odd man rushes and being able to get the puck out swiftly and efficiently, they should be able to take home the win here. Casey Smith is expected to get the start against the jackets.

Tristan Jory will not be available until the playoffs at some point, you know, who knows. And speaking of Tristan, I did listen to Jeff Merrick. and Elliott Freeman on the Jeff Merritt show today, and Friedman was talking about some of the goalie injuries, and he said, and I quote that the penguins, they're hoping and they're crossing their fingers that he will be available here at some point in the playoffs, but he doesn't know when that is going to be. So for reference, he said the UC Soros injury, he was hearing a lot worse with that one. So the fact that Tristan's injury doesn't seem as bad as UC Soros is one, that's good news. It's been two full weeks now since he had that broken bone is fit.

But, excuse me, has not been on the ice. He was hoping that, you know, sometime over the weekend or sometime early next week, he'll be back on the ice and, you know, somehow playing through pain. And as for Jason Zucker, excuse me, Mike Sullivan confirmed that he is still being evaluated for lower body injury, did not say one way or another if it's related to the core muscle injury that he had for a lot of the season. You know, this is what you're going to get from NHGEL coaches at the end of the season going in the playoffs.

They're going to be very tight-lipped with injuries just because that's what it is. There's gamesmanship. They don't want the other opponent to know who's going to play, who's going to not play. That's just how it is this time of year. I think if you're not used to it yet and you listen to this podcast, get used to it. I will say that 100% right there. But that wraps up the second segment of the show. Glad we could talk about the Columbus Blue Jackets.

If you are a betting person, I will say this, especially for bet online with what we do on the show. I would bet Jake Gensel to score against the Blue Jackets. He usually owns them. That is a team that their fans basically probably hate him at this point, after what he did in the 2017 playoffs when he was basically scoring on every shift when he was out there. Lines-wise today, Mike Sullivan did a little bit of juggling, took Brock McGinn off of Guinea-Malkins wing.

Thank God. I do not need to see Brock McGinn on that wing. He slided them down to the bottom six. Dan Hinen was up there with Ricard Raquel. I would still move Ricardo Raquel up back to the Crosby line, moved Brian Russ down. But it was canceled Crosby Russ. Heinen was with Malkin and Rakel.

And then Rodriguez was on the fourth line with Brian Boyle, Teddy Blugar. And then Jeff Carter was with Kisbury Kappin and Rock McGinn on the third line. So Jason's, of course, not ready to go for the playoffs. Brian Boyle will be in the lineup. But if he is ready to go, I would assume Boyle would be the scratch, but I would also not be surprised if it's Gersberg Capitan and Hill. At this point, I think Capitan should be out, and I think Ryan Boyle should be in. But that's how I see it, at least.

It's just, you know, nothing Caspera Capon is doing at this point. You know, he should not be in the lineup. That's just, as I say, he's been given chance after chance after chance to say that, you know, this is different. And, you know, to show us that he can play the level that he played out last year. But it hasn't been there, to say the least. So coming up in the final segment, we're going to get into the topic of who can get the penguins out of this whole, you know, who does it have to be? And I have my answer for you all.

But first, dentalline.net is your number one source for all your betting stats and sports info. You can find all the latest sports developments, league reviews, and news, including this year's basketball playoffs and the start of the major league baseball season. Benel line is your continued source for all of your sports wagering information from live betting to playoffs, e-sports, and more. You can head to the website today or use more devices to learn more about the trends in action. That is Benin Online, where the game starts.

All right, we're back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hodes. You know, follow me on Twitter. Hunter Hodes, follow the shows, Twitter, L.O. R.Square Penguins. So, you know, I know I crushed the team a lot on my last episode. And, you know, I don't take back what I said just because I still feel that way today. And I also don't take back what I said the previous four months, you know, when I said this team was a contender and that they can play with the best teams of league,

because I know they still can't. it's all a matter of can they rediscover that part of their game again. And for that to happen, they're going to have to be led by their captain. It's going to have to be Sidney Crosby that leads the team out of the abyss and gets them back into contention here. He is the main player that I am looking at to get out of this mess. He's had a hell of a season. He has to know in the back of his mind that this could be it

for not just this entire team, but for two of his most long-tenured teammates and also two of his best friends. I mean, think about it. He has played with Hvgeny Malkin and Crystal Tang since the 2006, 2007 season. The last 16 years, he has played with those two players. I was watching clips of the 2009 and like a final few days ago just because I love to reminisce and all that stuff.

And you look at the players on the team today, it's those three. It's always been those three. And, you know, it's going to have to be said that does it. You know, he's, he, he, what's the word I'm looking for here? You know, you know, he's so motivated by winning. I know he wants to get that fourth Stanley Cup, you know, and especially with Evgeny Malkin and, you know, be the first duo to win for since Gretzky and Messia.

His 200 foot game has never been better. He's having a ridiculous season with almost 90 points and not even 70 games. he would definitely be on my heart trophy ballot if I had a vote. And he needs to continue to play like this in the playoffs. You know, his line is going to have to drive a lot of the offense. You know, he especially is going to have to drive, I think, a lot of the offense. Because if if Gennie Malkin is off even just a little bit, you know, the depth may not be able to pick up the pieces as it has in years past. And again, I think putting Rakel back up with Sid will do wonders for him.

but even if Brian Russ is up there, Sid still needs to do his job. You know, his line got shut down pretty efficiently in that game against Edmonton. And, you know, Sid looked pretty pissed off at himself for, you know, missing on some chances, missing on some passes as well. I think he's going to take that personally going into this game on Friday and into the playoffs. So again, you know, it's going to have to be sick. You know, Mike Sullivan can do all he wants, you know, with, you know, changing up the lines and maybe changing up some of his tactics and, you know, changing up some, you know,

defensive pairing as well. But if Sidney Crosby is not playing at a high level, level that this team is not going to go anywhere in the postseason. You know, he, he cares too much to let this team, you know, be swept in the first round or lose in five and all that. You know, he's going to be very motivated, I think, to prove a lot of people, and, you know, probably myself included right now for what I said on Tuesday, wrong.

He's probably one of the most competitive people I think I've ever seen in my life, you know, for as long as I've been watching sports at least. So, again, it's going to be said, it has. has to be said if his team wants to go on one more run before the window closes and potentially before one, if not both of Crystal Tang and of getting Malkin-walk. You know, I know Sid spoke to the media today about that possibility and he said, you know, I know we're not going to play forever. And, you know, obviously he said it's in the back of his mind. But right now he's going out and trying to focus on winning this last game and then winning in the playoffs. And, you know,

and I hope he shows that. You know, last year, I thought he was pretty decent in the playoffs. He was not the reason they lost, and he needs to play at that level, if not a higher level, if this team is to potentially have an upset in the first round because the Penguins, they're not the favorite going into any of these two series. I will say that right now, especially not against Florida with their high-powering offense and especially not against the Rangers either with how they played in their final three games against them. The Penguins only scored one five-e-five goal in four games against the Rangers, which is just flat out embarrassing to say the least it should not even be a legal thing to happen.

But again, you know, I'm looking at, I'm looking at the captain. He's going to have to pull them out of the abyss and for them to go on a deep run. And if he can channel some vintage Sid like he's been doing for a lot of this season, their chances go up dramatically. You can never rule out the penguins, especially a team led by Sid. And again, you know, if there's anyone, you know, behind the bench or on the ice that can lead them, you know, out of this slump and in the playoffs where it all resets to zero zero, it's Sydney Patrick Crosby

and I will stand by that hill. I don't think, you know, it's going to be, you know, General Lutang for as good as they've been, they're not going to, you know, take charge and, you know, put the team on their backs. It's going to be said. That's how I see it, at least.

But again, that'll do it for this episode of the Locktime Penguins podcast. I really appreciate all of you listening to this one. We'll be back again on Friday. I believe I'm going to have Taylor Haasson from D.K. Pittsburgh Sports. We're going to talk all about this season, going into the playoffs, going into that game, excuse me, against the Blue Jackets.

And then Monday, it's a schedule's going to be interesting moving forward. I don't know if I'm going to have a full game recap episode for that. I think we're going to have a playoff preview with one of the other locked-on hosts. It's going to be Armando from Locked on Panthers, if the Penguins played the Panthers. And then it should be John Chick of Locked on New York Rangers. So I think he might be out for the next couple of days because he and his wife just welcomed a baby. so congratulations to him.

I think it might be Gil Martin of Lockedon Islanders to take his place, or I think one of the people from Lockedon Sanders may take his place. So I'll have more details for you all on the Lockedon, Penguins, or on the Twitter account at L-Oeners for Penguins or on my Twitter account at Hunter Hodes.

I will fill you all in on the schedule as soon as I know. So we might have potentially a weekend episode, we might have a preview episode on Monday. I do not know that, that's for sure, but what I do know is very likely having Taylor Haas on the show on Friday to talk all things, Penguins. So appreciate all of you coming on, coming on to the show.

I appreciate all of you listening to the show. I cannot speak for some reason right now. And I will be back with another episode of this podcast again on Friday.