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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 01.08.21
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Matt Vensel
1:01
Good afternoon, Pens fans. Can't believe we are five days away from the first game! That escalated quickly. Anyway, pumped to talk hockey with you. Submit your questions now and we will get started shortly.
1:07
Nice. We've got a few questions in the queue. Let's get started.
Where’s my Clark Bar?
1:07
Matt, hockey needs fans in the stands...just a much better game with them!! Question, is this teams championship window still open?
Matt Vensel
1:09
I hear you but public health should come first. Here's hoping your butts will be in the bleachers by May, though, to your question, there is no guarantee the Penguins will make the playoffs in a tough East division. I do think they have a chance, even if it's slim, to go all the way again. It will take strong seasons from Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, consistently solid goaltending and better play from the bottom of the lineup, amongst other things. But, channeling Lloyd Christmas, I'm telling you there's a chance.
Dennis
1:11
What do you believe is the biggest change the new assistants will be able to implement in how the team approaches or plays the game?
Matt Vensel
1:13
Dennis, Mike Sullivan has talked a lot about fresh ideas that Todd Reirden and Mike Vellucci have brought to the bench. Reirden's imprint has been especially evident with a power play that should be less stagnant and predictable. Reirden also has pushed the Penguins to get their defensemen more involved in the attack. Vellucci was a good addition, too, and he'll oversee the penalty kill. He wants to be aggressive there and the Penguins certainly have the personnel to rank among the NHL's top 10 penalty kills.
Doug
1:14
Hey Matt, Who is responsible for or what were the extenuating circumstances around Kasperi Kapanen's travel.  If the team made a big move to bolster the 1st line one would think there was communication about travel, beginning of camp etc. Was most of it related to policies entering the US from Finland or leaving Finland?
Matt Vensel
1:17
Doug, I'm not sure precisely what has prevented Kasperi Kapanen from arriving from Finland whereas other NHLers have made it back here safely. I don't think it's for a lack of effort or planning on Pittsburgh's part. Our Mike DeFabo reported a few days ago that the Penguins have been working on this for at least a few weeks. Perhaps Finland is particularly tricky when it comes to visas. Finnish goalie prospect Emil Larmi also had issues getting back over here this summer. The hope is Kapanen will be in the U.S. this weekend and begin his quarantine. He'll miss at least the first two games.
Guest
1:18
Hi Matt , it does seem weird that hockey is finally back .  How do you think they replace the passion and energy Hornqvist brought ?  He was one of the few that had a big personality .
Matt Vensel
1:21
It did feel strange walking into the arena on Monday and Sidney Crosby agreed that pretty much everything feels different during this camp. Like everything else in this pandemic, we'll get used to this new normal quickly. As for Patric Hornqvist, his fire will be missed but you can't pay someone that kind of money to basically be a fourth-line cheerleader. Hopefully, other leaders emerge. Brian Dumoulin, Jason Zucker and Bryan Rust are a few guys who come to mind.
Guest
1:22
When the new divisions were first discussed the pens were placed in the central .  Do you know why they were moved back to the east?  The central would have been an easier division and I thought it would have been fun to play some different teams for one year .
Matt Vensel
1:25
I'm not going to pretend that I was plugged in when it came to the NHL/NHLPA discussions. I was like you guys, waiting to hear what everyone agreed on. But one thing I've noticed the last 10 months, especially prior to the playoff bubble, was that a bunch of ideas would get tossed around and one of those many ideas would get leaked to the media. So public interest would latch onto that. I don't know that the Penguins were ever close to being placed in another division. But selfishly, I'm glad they didn't. I know from experience that it's a looooooooooong drive to Minnesota.
Where’s my Clark Bar?
1:25
Love the Marino signing! Any chance we see another young breakout surprise this year?
Matt Vensel
1:28
The player you'll want to keep tabs on is Drew O'Connor. The team is very excited about his potential, enough that they have him ahead of guys like Anthony Angello and Sam Poulin so far in camp. I anticipate he will start the season in Pittsburgh and get a chance to convince the Penguins they shouldn't send him down to Wilkes-Barre when the AHL season starts up next month. O'Connor is a 6-foot-3 winger who skates well (perhaps because he was a late bloomer physically) and displayed scoring touch at Dartmouth. Eager to see more from the former college free agent the last few days of camp.
Mountian Gus
1:29
Hi Matt.  No way the Pens are tough enough.  Folks can cite the decline in fighting all they want, but d-zone and net-front toughness still plays a factor as well as open ice hitting, and the Pens suffer from a severe lack of all of the above.  Your Thoughts?
Matt Vensel
1:30
Gus, they did OK without a bunch of bruisers in 2016 and 2017, no? It's fair to ask whether they should have changed their philosophy after early playoff exits the past two years. But they showed just three years ago that a team can win without a bunch of bruisers.
Mike
1:33
If the Pens continue to underachieve, and miss the playoffs, will Rutherford  get fired?  His trades and contracts over the past several years have not done much.
Matt Vensel
1:36
Mike, first things first, it by no means has been all bad the last couple of years. Jim Rutherford and Co. stole John Marino from the Oilers. They signed Jake Guentzel to a team-friendly deal. Marcus Pettersson, Jason Zucker and Brandon Tanev were quality additions. Let's not get too spoiled around here and lose sight of the fact that it's really freaking hard to win the Stanley Cup. That said, if the Penguins flame out again this spring, we could see Rutherford or Mike Sullivan or maybe even both go. Time is ticking down on the Crosby-Malkin era and the Penguins want to squeeze out at least one more title.
Joe
1:37
Hi Matt. Anyone stand out both good and bad at the scrimmages? I haven’t been able to watch
Matt Vensel
1:39
Tristan Jarry has looked very sharp. I think the Malkin line could be really good. Jake Guentzel looks much more confident than he did in the bubble. On the flip side, I still have doubts about the bottom six and the third pair. Regarding the latter, Mike Matheson can certainly skate. But it's going to take a lot of work to get him straightened out to the point where he can be a legit top-four blue-liner.
1:40
Any more questions? Or is it time to fire up the virtual Zamboni?
1:42
OK, that's a wrap. Thanks for the questions this week. Some good ones in here. We'll do this again next week. Five more days!
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