You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 01.07.22
powered byJotCast
Matt Vensel
11:56
Happy Friday, Pens fans! Pumped to chat with you today after the team's 10th straight win. I've popped off the PA Turnpike on the way back to Pittsburgh to answer your questions. We'll go for about a half hour or so then it's lunchtime. Roy Rogers or Starbucks? That's my question for you. Alright. Let's get going, folks.
Tom
11:58
Matt, happy New Year. Just a pretty simple question for you. How much longer do the Penguins put up with Kapanen?  He is a complete zero game in game out.  Thanks.
Matt Vensel
12:02
Tom, it's obvious that Kapanen has not met the hype Sullivan and the Pens placed on him heading into the season. He's a one-trick pony. He's so dangerous off the rush but doesn't make much of an impact elsewhere. Here's a stat for you, courtesy of our friends at Sportlogiq: He has just 10 shots from the inner slot this season and has just two chances off rebounds. That's a guy who is nowhere near the net. The hope is that Kapanen will get going when Malkin gets back. Those two were on fire for a few weeks last season before Malkin gets hurt. But if that doesn't happen, I'm not sure what you do with Kapanen.
George
12:03
How many more Espn plus games do we have to put up with? I myself won't subscribe
Matt Vensel
12:04
George, you are definitely not alone in your frustration with the ESPN deal that has some games exclusively online. I believe they only have two more on ESPN+ the rest of the way: April 7 versus the Rangers and April 26 versus the Oilers. So you're good for a while.
12:05
Based on Twitter, it seems like fans haven't been thrilled with ESPN's coverage overall. Curious what you think of the TNT broadcasts?
Guest
12:06
Do they extend/re-sign e-rod in season ?  His price tag keeps going up !
Matt Vensel
12:08
What a story Evan Rodrigues has been. Dude was a healthy scratch the last two postseasons. They played Freddy Gaudreau over him in May! No offense to Freddy, who did some good things, but it's crazy to think about now. And then Rodrigues didn't get much interest in free agency and returned to the Pens without a guaranteed top-nine role. Look at him now. As for re-signing him, I'm sure there will be mutual interest after his career year. But he is 28 and this screams "outlier season," so the Pens will have to be careful with the contract. He's basically been Jared McCann and then some, so maybe that's a good contract comp for him at around $3 million a season.
Joanne
12:09
Hi Matt, How about those PENS !!!  Do you think Hextall will resign Rusty before the end of the season ???  He needs to stay !!!
Coach Sullivan
12:09
Rusty contract year, do I "Pay the man his money"?
Matt Vensel
12:13
I agree with Joanne and Sully. Bryan Rust is a keeper. There aren't many people who appreciate his rise and what he brings to the table more than me. The only issue is that whole salary cap thing. There's no question the Pens would love to keep him around but he deserves a nice pay bump if he wants one. For the third straight season, he is scoring at a 30-goal pace and is a great character guy who would fit in well with Cup contenders and rising teams alike. What will be the right number for a secondary star who turns 30 this spring? That's the only question Hextall and Co. have to consider with him.
10 in a row!
12:14
Matt - Jarry looked good last year in the regular season and we all know what happened in the playoffs.  Aside from the benefit of now having had some playoff experience, is there anything you see in his game this year that gives you more confidence in Jarry come spring?
Matt Vensel
12:17
The postseason question is the elephant in the room as Tristan Jarry continues to impress. We've seen torrid stretches from him before but he has yet to have a season like this, when he brings it game after game after game pretty much from start to finish. One reason he is thriving is the change to Andy Chiodo, who has encouraged Jarry to be less robotic in his movements and save percentage and rely on his instincts and athleticism. Others have suggested that Jarry has upped his focus and work ethic after last May. It's probably a bunch of little things. He's been great this season but you still wonder how he is going to respond in the playoffs. Truth is no one really knows.
Guest
12:18
Do you think they need to trade for a back up goalie ?  Should we be worried about desmith ?
Matt Vensel
12:21
Ah, yes, the other goalie. Yeah, concern is definitely warranted. It looked like DeSmith had turned a corner with those two strong starts in December. But he got lit up this week and didn't really look comfortable, whether it was the funky goal off the back boards or a couple of goals against the Blues when he loomed to be back on his heels and guessing at where long shots are going. With Jarry back from COVID and looking good, the Pens should feel less pressure to find a quick fix for DeSmith. Ride Jarry again and have DeSmith go back to the drawing board with Chiodo. And if DeSmith, who has allowed three-plus goals in 11 of his last 14 starts, doesn't win back confidence, by all means Hextall should explore a trade. Vancouver's Jaroslav Halak, to me, would make a lot of sense.
Guest
12:22
I am with you Matt that Sullivan and the US team would have brought home the gold .  Do you think the league started canceling games as an excuse to pull out of the games ?  It seems the 2 pens games canceled before Christmas did not need to happen .  Philly was missing more players for last nights game than the one they canceled .  I guess I don’t trust the leagues intentions
Matt Vensel
12:23
Hey, no one can prove us wrong about Team USA now, right?
12:24
As for your question, obviously there is a lot of external skepticism about the league's motivation, and that includes some NHL players. I'm not going to pretend that I'm plugged in on what the NHL was thinking so I will not speculate on that. But I will say that in hindsight it definitely looks like the league erred in postponing those games, especially that second one in Philly. That seemed to be called off for no reason at all. It will be a challenge to cram all of these games in if another wave of COVID hits the Pens or their opponents.
Clark from Virginia
12:25
Seems like this is a contract year for the entire team and the Pens won’t be able to resign them all.  Who’s the odd man or odd men out?
Matt Vensel
12:30
Clark, it should be another interesting offseason in Pittsburgh no matter what happens this spring, but it sure feels like Malkin or Letang are coming back, doesn't it? Both players have expressed a desire to return and Malkin basically said publicly that money is not his primary motivating factor. And then FSG chairman Tom Werner said this week that the Pens want both players back. That was significant. Obviously, the price and term has to be right for both sides. But both the team and the players being receptive to returning is encouraging on that front. Malkin must take a pay cut. Letang? That could be a little tricky because he remains a bargain at his $7.25 million salary. But OK, so let's say both guys come back. That's going to make it difficult to retain Rust while also improving the rest of the team. As we discussed earlier in that chat, Rodrigues will need a new deal. Ditto for Danton Heinen. So it seems unlikely that all of them will be back unless they trade Kapanen or Jason Zucker or both.
12:31
That's a long-way of essentially typing the shrug emoji! But there is a lot of balls in the air and the decisions all start with 71 and 59.
Clark from Virginia
12:32
And Roy Rogers.
Matt Vensel
12:33
And that's where I'm leaning, Clark. The healthy part of me is telling me to go get some sort of panini thing at Starbucks but I've sat here savoring the smells of Roy Rogers for 45 minutes now...
Coach Sullivan
12:34
OK Matt.  So 10-in-a-row now. When do I start telling folks I have the next Stanley Cup winning squad under my tutelage?  Or is my head hanging a little too far out over my skates with this one?
Matt Vensel
12:40
Coach, shouldn't you be in the video meeting right now? Anyway, as excellent as the Pens have been on pretty much every front over the last five weeks, I still don't see them as a top-tier contender. I still think there are six or seven teams who have better Stanley Cup odds. But these guys will have a shot, especially if Malkin is 85% of what he was two seasons ago and buys in 85% on what you, Coach Sullivan, have been selling. That's a couple of big ifs, for sure. But a healthy and motivated Malkin raises their ceiling. So they might not be in elite company right now, but I'm telling you there's a chance...
Philip
12:40
Matt get something good for lunch...
Matt Vensel
12:41
I'm pretty sure my wife just created an account with the pseudonym "Philip" to try to prevent me from wrecking my diet. Sorry, honey, but I see a fried chicken sandwich and greasy fries in my future.
12:43
Aaaaand that's going to do it for today's chat. Appreciate everyone who popped in and stick taps to those who asked questions. As a programming note, we plan to get back to having these weekly Pens chats be a regular thing, whether it's my partner, Mike DeFabo, or me answering the questions. So keep an eye out going forward.
12:44
Have a great weekend, everyone, and enjoy that rare dusting of snow. Can't wait to get back home and do snow angels with the kids.
Connecting…