Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins - Yes I am back! Catching up on everything Penguins related...

Episode Date: August 25, 2022

Yes, Hunter is back with a fresh new episode of Locked On Penguins. After a few days of taking care of some personal things, Hunter starts the show by addressing the Mike Vellucci extension and what it means for the team going forward. He looks at his work with the forwards over the last couple of years, while also looking at what needs to change with the PK going into next season. Hunter makes a case for a few select forwards to take some reps with the unit (one of them was really good at it when he was in Toronto) while also wanting Vellucci to not change the entire strategy in a playoff series. After that, he goes into Teddy Blueger's crazy night in Da Beauty League as he had four goals and seven points, while also getting into a...fight? What?! Yep, you read that right. He's had a great summer and there are some higher expectations for him this season. He then goes into the Paul Stastny signing and why it would've made a lot of sense for the Penguins if they had the money for it. Finally, he discusses the big elephant in the room...THE ROBOPENGUIN! He gives a few updates on it and looks at what the Penguins should do with the reverse retro jersey now that the design was leaked.Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!Built BarBuilt Bar is a protein bar that tastes like a candy bar. Go to builtbar.com and use promo code “LOCKEDON15,” 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! 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.

Hey, Yins, happy Wednesday, August 24th, back with another episode of this podcast. You know, took a couple days away. I'm just been dealing with, you know, just something pretty personal. For those that are, you know, don't follow me on social media or not on social media. Over the weekend, my granddad passed away at the age of 93. So I went to his funeral and all that. And it's just been really affecting me, honestly, the first time I've really lost a grandparent. You know, I've, I did not meet his wife, my grandmom, Helen.

She died before I was born. I've had my grandma and grandpa on my mom's side, my granddad on my dad's side for the first, basically 25 years of my life. So it's definitely been hitting me a little harder, but, you know, back now and, you know, we're going to talk penguins. You know, definitely should get my mind off of it in just because, you know, I love talking penguins with you all. For today's episode, Mike Belucci got extended a couple days ago. We're going to catch up on that. give my thoughts on that for you all. Teddy Blugher had a quite an eventful night last night in the Beauty League.

That was something else. And we'll also get to the Paul Stasney signing in Carolina and why I wish the Penguins could have done that if they had cap space. And last but not least, some robo penguin talk because that has just been blowing up on social media on Tuesday and Wednesday. So that's all coming up right after this drop. You're locked on penguins. Your daily podcast on the Pittsburgh Penguins. of the Locked-on Podcast Network. Your team every day.

Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Honour Hodes. You're going to follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hodes. Follow the shows, Twitter at L.O. Armstrong & Penguins, and, of course, thank you all so much for making this your first listen of the day. It's great to be back. You know, I'm just going to...

I'll save something for the end. But again, great to be back talking, Penguins hockey with you guys after a couple days away. I'll have all side episodes on Thursday and Friday for you all. And then we'll be back to three days a week still next week. So a couple of days ago on Monday when I was down to Virginia Beach from my granddad's funeral, the Penguins re-signed Mike Volucci to a two-year contract extension.

Ron Hextall and his announcement said he's dedicated coach who has proven to be a valuable addition since joining Pittsburgh. We are excited to have them back behind the bench for two more seasons. You know, again, more job security for someone who I think was pretty close to taking getting a head coaching job on this officer you know he was interviewed for multiple positions I think elliott Friedman said he had multiple interviews in philadelphia also had i think an interviewer too in boston and i believe he was a finalist in san jose um as well so he interviewed for at least three teams during um this all season i think if he has a good year under mike solvin

this year and we'll see how the coaching market is next year definitely think he could be a head coach in the near future for an NHL team. He's been a finalist for a couple of those jobs this close. If you're asking me, you know, he's been as one of the Penguins assistant coaches for the last couple of seasons. Remember, does the penalty kill? Does the forwards, the PK finished third in the NHL last year, 84.4%. Ninth overall since Fallucci joined the team. So a little, not that good in his first year. Rebounded big time last year, but still in the playoffs. Definitely, you know, did not like what I saw from that unit. I thought, again, they were just doing everything you didn't want them to do

against a Red Hot Rangers power play. There were just multiple moments where, you know, the game was, you know, in the bounce, especially in game seven when Rock McGinn took that stupid penalty and you need a PK from one of the five best units in the league and you can't get it. And there was that happened in Game 5, happened in Game 6. Sure, some of those, you know, it's not on the PK, but in a couple of others, they were. And, you know, I want to see the unit be more aggressive. I'm hoping Belucci, you know, adds a wrinkle or two to his unit going into the season.

I'm also hoping that maybe he changes up the configurations of who's on the unit. You know, one player I would actually love to see he start killing penalties next season is someone who was good at it when he was in Toronto. And that's Caspari Kaptain. Remember, you know, I remember watching, I believe it was the 2018-19 season when they played the Bruins in the first round. And, you know, Kappenden was just a menace on that, P.K. You know, he even had, I think, one or two short-handed goals, one of them being in game seven that ended up, I think it tied the game going into third period before the Leafs had one of their collapses. But, you know, with how speedy he is, you know, how quick his release is, how good, usually how decent of a forechecker he is, you know, I think he would do a decent job at it.

And his defensive metrics last season were also pretty solid. He has not really had a lot of PK time in Pittsburgh yet. but that is something that I would really like to see the stats back it up, back it up, the eye test backs it up. We'll see if maybe Volucci decides to change that up a little bit next season. But, you know, overall thoughts on this, I think I'm okay with it. You know, is he going to stay for this full two seasons? I'm honestly kind of saying no, just because I think he is going to get a head coaching job in the next couple of years.

You can definitely see that, you know, teams are impressive. by what he's done in Pittsburgh. And he's been around the game a long, long time. I was coaching Wilkesbury before he got promoted to the Penguins. It was with the Carolina Hurricanes from 2014-19, was the assistant general manager, director of hockey operations there. Also was the Charlotte Checkers head coach, where he was 97 and 43 and 8 in 152 games.

So, you know, he was also with Plymouth Whalers of the AOL for 14 seasons in 2001 to 2014. again, he has been around this game a long time, and I do think it's going to come here in the next couple of years where he will get his first ever an NHL coaching job. I really think that's coming up for him. So overall, I guess the entire staff is going to come back next year. Right move to me. Maybe you can argue that maybe one of Reardon or Volucci was,

or should go, though, I think in both those cases, also I think a fair argument on the other side would be that a lot of the Penguins issues with their special teams units that they coach are more execution-wise than the style. But I think in Volucci's gates with the penalty kills, but I don't think the Penguins were executing. And I don't think Volucci's plan against the Rangers was working at all. It worked against some other teams during the season, but they were also being a lot more aggressive than they were against the Rangers. I think they just wanted out. They wanted the Rangers to sit back and have these passing lanes open up and develop and all that stuff. But, you know, and they did.

It just gave them more time to actually set up when, you know, the forechecker at the top, when they run that wedge plus one is not just causing havoc. And when that's not happening, you see a unit that's playing scared, frightened, passive, whatever word. you want to call it. So I do want to see that change. Actually, I think forward-wise, Volucci's done a really good job with them. Jake Gensel just had another 40-goal season.

Penguins had numerous players score. Double-digicals. That's your day. and Heinz was back to that. Ricard Raquel, obviously. You know, even Kasbury Caput and who had a bad year, was back to double-digit goals. Brock Begin, double-digit goals,

you know, almost all their forwards hit double digits last year. So I've been pretty impressed with him with that regard. And again, if he can maybe change up that configuration on BK, maybe Sid and Jay, could also get some pkishus i think that would be a lot of fun as well so we'll see but overall ends i'm fine with it not gonna you know get my panties in a waddle over that but coming up in the second segment to get into teddy bluebird's rather chaotic night on tuesday in in the beauty

league and why now i kind of don't want to see him fighting too much before the season uh and before training can starts i should say but before i get that Bet Online is the fastest and easiest way to check in all of your betting means. You can find all of your favorite sports and events at the number one online source for odds, lines, and games. You can find reviews and news of every league, including Major League Baseball, NFL, NBA, NHL, Combat Sports, e-sports, and even golf. Bay Online continues to be the top online resource for all your sports wagering information from live-in-game betting, scores and podcasts they have you covered.

You can head to Betel Line today or use your phone to more about the trends in action. That's been online where the game starts. All right, I'm back here on this episode of the Locked-on Penguins podcast. I am your host, Honor Hoodies, who is going to follow me on Twitter. At Hunter Hoodies, you can also follow the shows, Twitter, I love for Penguins. So, again, a very chaotic night in the Beauty League. I remember I was talking about that the other week. You know, it's a Minnesota based on the league, lots professional college players.

To have fun, play, and also, they're raising money for local charities. So it's for a great cause. Sure, you know, they're playing hockey during the dead time of the NHL offseason, but it really is for a great cause. And the playoffs got underway. And Teddy Booger, he had quite a game. His team won 12 to 3. His team is called team tradition.

They eliminated team element and they advanced to the cup final, which will be held actually tonight. I have not seen a winner just yet. And he had four goals and three assists for his team. But he also had a fight against. Vince Vinnie Let's Harry, he signed with the St. Louis Blues over the summer. They exchanged words, skating at the length of the ice, after Bluger scored his fourth goal, and then the two dropped the gloves.

I would say Teddy Blucher won that fight. Let's Harry was pretty bloodied after that. But, you know, as long as he's not getting hurt, you know, okay, whatever. Looks like also Teddy has grown his hair out a little bit, which is, you know, I guess we're twilling with that here. My hair is just looking crazy. But, you know, four goals, seven points, getting into a fight, you know, a nice little, I guess,

will that qualify as a Gordy Hall-Hattrick? Yeah, I believe that does qualify as a Gordy Hall Hattrick. Yeah, yeah, yes, yes, yes, it does. And the De Beauty League, their Twitter account put out a funny SpongeBob meme, but players don't care about De Beauty League. I'll just leave, and they put like, I'll just leave this here. Perfect, perfect tweet, you know, well played, I think for that. That's for sure.

And apparently it was the first fight. This is according to Taylor Haas, first fight in the history of W. League. It was founded in 2015. Yeah, I mean, I guess when players are playing for charity and playing for fun, you're not going to see a lot of fights. This isn't the NHL game where a stakes are a lot higher. This is just an exhibition game where, you know,

nothing too major is at stake. But, you know, I guess a player did not like it that he, that, a player that like Vinny LaTherry, I cannot speak right now. A player like Vinny LaTherie did not like that someone like Blue Bougar scored four goals in a game that, you know, at the end of the day, doesn't really mean too much. So Teddy Bougar's team, they'll be playing Team T-R-I-A. That team includes Jason Zucker, his team eliminated Jake Gensel's team in the semifinals.

Ryan Paling, he's also been playing in it, but I think his team is out. And for those who want to know how great Jake Gensel was, this comes forward to C. Taylor as well, 37 points to eight games, 19 goals ranked second in the league behind Vinnie let's Eric is something else. 37 points in eight games. That's, I'm not going to try to do the math there, but I know that's, well, basically over four points per day. Just an absolute menace.

Again, that's almost five points in game. If he did that in the NHL this season, I think he would probably command 12 or 13 million or something like that. But, you know, good to see that, you know, a lot of the Penguins players are playing well in the league. you know, best wishes to Bluger in the championship game. I'll have more on that for Thursday's episode to see if his team did end up winning or if Jason Zucker's team ends up winning.

Also, some other news that I saw on Tuesday. So this was, again, I was, you know, in Virginia Beach, my granddad's funeral. And I saw Carolina, they signed Paul Stassney to a one-year, $1.5 million contract. Yes, I understand Stassany is a bit. older. I think at this point he's what, you know, 36, 37, somewhere around there. But, you know, he is still a legitimately good player. He can play in your, he can play. She's like I can not, just making sure I got the stats up. You know, he can play on your top line, can play on your second line, can play on your third line. Last year, 21 goals, 45.71 games. Yeah, again,

for someone that's 36. That's what he saw. In fact that he's only making 1.5 million. that's a bargain for Carolina. And I would have loved if the penguins got their hands on him. I understand they're over the cap right now. They don't have any room to sign someone right now unless they do make a trade. But man, if they did have $2 million of cap space lying around that they haven't spent yet, that would have just been a perfect addition to the team, someone that can really compliment the forwards.

You can run something like Gansel-Crosby Rust. You could put Paul Stassing with Evgeny Malkin and Merckin. Ricard Raquel, and then move down Jason Zucker with, you know, Jeff Carter and Denton Hinen on your third line, fourth one, you come on Teddy Blugge with Brock League in and whoever you want is your 12th forward. I mean, that's a really solid top 12 forward group right there. It's, it is a freaking shame that Stassany, you know, signing so cheap and especially on a team like Carolina. And, you know, I think they definitely needed that. I don't think Carolina is as deep as they were last year. You know, played 71 games for the Jets last

year had 52% of the shot attempts when he was on the ice. The Jets also had 56% of the actual goals, 53% of the expected goals, 52% of the scoring chances, 50% of high danger chances, and then 60% of the high danger goals. So he was on a bad Jets team that usually does not have good underlying numbers, especially under Paul Maurice, who was there for a majority of that season before he ended up resigning towards, you know, the end of it. Those are strong numbers. And, you know, he still kicking, you know, pretty nicely, I would say. This was actually his first, this was his first 20-goal season since 2013-14 when he was with the Colorado Avalanche.

That is how good he was last year for the Jets. It's 45 points. Most he's had since 2015-16 when he was with the St. Louis Blues. And that's on a Jets team, again, that is not good. I think he can definitely have 45 to 50 points next year on a Carolina team. you know, playing on the first, I don't think it was playing the first line, but maybe on the second line or something like that. I think that's a good move for Carolina, especially because Patcher Ready,

probably is not going to be back till February at the earliest, maybe looking at March, even April, the Achilles injuries are very tricky. You really have no idea, you know, how long you're going to be out, you know, until you just, you know, you see the progress that you're making. So anytime in that time frame, but, you know, that's, I think, the main reason that Carolina wanted to go out and make. that move and again, I think he would have been a perfect fit on the penguins on any of their top three lines. You're not going to put him on the fourth line, but would have been a really

smooth fit for them. So I want to take some, I'll take a few minutes to talk about that move and, you know, again, why I was definitely high on sassing. I touched on some pre-agents a few weeks ago and he was definitely on that list. Coming up in the final segment for today's episode, we're going to get into the Robo Penguin and why it's looking like my scoop from a few weeks ago is going to turn out. So that's all coming up right after this commercial break.

All right, I'm back here in this episode of the Lockdown Penguins podcast. I am your host, Hunter Hoddes, murder. To follow me on Twitter at Hunter Hoddy's can also follow the shows to order at Hello, Arnold's War Penguin. So last night, it was Fanatics. They screwed up. I'll say that.

They leaked the Robo Penguin design on their official site. And it looks like that is going to be the reverse retro jerseys this season. Remember, I scoop this on a podcast on my Twitter account a few weeks ago. I have heard from someone who knows someone in the organization. Yeah, I heard from someone who is closer to the team than I am, who also knows a couple of people even closer to the team, that said that this is going to happen and that the Robo Penguin is going to return for the first time.

I know we're a decade in that. That is a weird cricket noise right outside my door. hopefully not many people heard that. And, you know, this caught a lot of attention on Penguin's Twitter. I put out the tweet if you didn't see it on my Twitter account saying soon dot dot dot with a beautiful photoshopped bar down robo penguin black jersey on Sidney Crosby. It is absolutely gorgeous. Got somehow 2,200 likes, 163 re-tweets you if you haven't seen any of you go check it out. That is the jersey that I want to see back.

next season in some kind of reverse retroform. I think it's the best one. And, you know, it's funny. You know, there's definitely a lot of people that don't like the Robopan because, no, it's from a time where they didn't want a cup in. You know, it came also in the Howard Baldwin era who, yes, I understand as a really crappy owner. He is the reason why the team was bankrupt before Mario Lemieux brought the team. And here's a fun fact for some of you, if you don't know this.

if you ever encounter someone that says oh yeah the fan attendance was so bad back then there were no penguin fans that's why they almost sell the team you know that is not true they almost sold the team because

Howard Baldwin was bankrupt and he had no idea how to be an NHL earner it had nothing to do with fan attendance that is the facts but so but hopefully you know if again if some some idiot try to say back to you

Just say what I just told you all to them. And again, I get it. You know, David Volbeck happened. You know, 96 happened with the Panthers and all this other stuff. But it is a beautiful jersey. It's trying to reverse the trend, that stupid losing trend, and win a cup with those jerseys. They are absolutely gorgeous. They're one of the best jerseys in the franchise history.

I will not stand for the slander. And I think at least two-thirds of the fan base, actually like it. I'm pretty positive. I'm pretty confident in saying that. Again, there's definitely a large portion of the fame base that doesn't like it. I mean, you know, just check my mention. You know, good. You don't have people saying it's not good. And they have a lot of people saying it's good. You know, that's just, that's how things are. I think at this point for anything in the world. But I think when it comes to this jersey, the new ownership is probably going to go with the majority. And again, I do think most of the fans like this jersey.

It's really good. And it's going to sell a whole lot of merchandise. I think it's going to be one of the biggest reasons why they're bringing it back. You know, the penguins, I don't want them to change their home and away jerseys. I think they have the best home and away kits in the league, especially with the diagonal penguin, nothing beats it. Absolutely nothing beats that. even the Pittsburgh diagonal is awesome. You can wear that, you know, 10 to 15 games a year.

But for this reverse retro jersey, you can also wear that for another 10 to 12 games a year. And again, I think a lot of people are going to spend quite a bit of money on it. And, you know, I'd be foolish to not point out that I think a good reason for this coming back is because Mary Lemieux is not the majority owner anymore. I've heard it on very good authority. And I think, you know, most fans would probably know this as well, that Mario, hates those jerseys he has never been a fan of them so the new ownership's in they're like hey we're going to bring this back you're not only the team anymore this is what's going to bring good business and um by all accounts it looks like it's only a matter of time before this announcement is made

as for the winter classic jersey again do not have any updates on that all i've heard is that the pangling logo is not going to be on it and it's just going to be a massive massive throwback so we'll have to see if there is an update on that at some point. But, you know, I'm sure Penguin's sweater and all that is just going to be on fire for the coming days about the RoboPen. We'll have to see if any of this, you know, gets more confirmed. But, you know, again, I checked with the same person last night after that leak came out. And, you know, he talked to a couple of people after I texted him in and he said, yeah, he basically told me, like, it was only a matter of time before this was going to get leaked. There you have it.

So get used to it. It looks like we are going to have the Robo Penguin back for next year. So let me know your thoughts on that. Do you like the Robipen? Do you hate it? Would you think Paul Stasney would have been a good fit with the Penguins? What do you think of the Mike Volucci contract extension? Just let me know in the comments.

Or you can also DM me on social media and all of that. Real quick here, just want to dedicate this episode to my granddad, who, again, I know I touched on the beginning of the episode, I passed away at the age of 93. Someone who is such an inspiration in my life, someone who always, you know, push me to, you know, do the most and to just, you know, do everything out of 110%. And I really hope I've made you proud, you know, throughout these last 25 years.

You weren't just a family member to me. You were one of the best friends I could ever have. And I love you. I hope you tell Grandma and My Gila say hi. and fly high forever.