You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 01.31.25
powered byJotCast
Matt Vensel
9:13
Good morning, Penguins fans. Look forward to talking hockey with you. I am chatting a little early today. I will get started at around 10 a.m.
ARIZONA Bill
10:00
I respect Sullivan a lot, but are you suprised a change hasn't been made at HC yet?
Matt Vensel
10:01
No. Set aside how you feel about Mike Sullivan as the coach of the Penguins at this point, and remember that FSG and Kyle Dubas have all repeatedly said they believe Sullivan is a top-notch coach and believe he's the right coach for the team going forward.
Tom
10:01
Sure would have been nice to see a Yager call up with Malkin out, right?
Matt Vensel
10:02
Tom, bless his heart, is apparently not aware that you can't just pluck a prospect from his junior hockey team midway through a season.
10:03
Anyway, time will tell if the Yager-for-McGroarty swap was the right move by Dubas. McGroarty has been producing in recent weeks.
GoBlue21
10:03
I have seen enough of Erik Karlsson in a Penguin uniform. That awful pass in Seattle was ridiculous.  Does he have any trade value?  Thanks!
Matt Vensel
10:04
I'm not sure how much trade value he has, but more important to this discussion is how difficult it would be to trade his contract. He has a full no-trade clause so he can veto any more, plus his $10 million cap hit is essentially a no-trade clause in itself. Any trade would be very complicated, which is why it would likely need to be done in the offseason when there is more salary cap flexibility for potential suitors.
cliff
10:05
Does Imana stick with club?  Does he provide Protection for Sid?  OR Is he just a Goon?
Matt Vensel
10:05
Boko Imama is a good story and he brings the physicality and fisticuffs that some fans clamor for. But, no, he's not going to stick.
O Captain, my captain
10:06
Mornin Matt.  How much would Dubas have to give up to get someone to take Karlsson and the contract or is it more about how much of the contract the Pens have to eat ?
Matt Vensel
10:07
Folks, with where the Penguins are in a rebuild, why would they give up future assets to get someone to take on the contract of Karlsson (or Ryan Graves or Tristan Jarry for that matter)? It makes no sense.
Kordell
10:07
Do you think GM Dubas will have a chat with the Big Three to discuss the impending trade deadline?  GMD has to be considering trading just about anyone who will bring back some value?
Matt Vensel
10:08
No. I don't know how many times I have to type this, but FSG and the Penguins will not trade Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang unless those players ask to be moved. They intend to honor their no-trade clauses, and frankly that is how teams should treat franchise icons, especially if they want to attract start players in the future.
Joe
10:09
Are you hearing whether Geno plans to retire after this season? Everything he says seems to indicate he’ll play through his contract next season
Matt Vensel
10:09
Joe, I expect him to play out the rest of his contract.
Jeff M
10:09
Could you see the Penguins potentially being a 3rd team in A Vancouver trade of Miller or E Petterson? They seem like they are interested in M. Petterson.
Matt Vensel
10:11
Possibly, only because of that last part. Yes, it's no secret that Jim Rutherford has an affinity for Marcus Pettersson, and Kyle Dubas has shown that he is willing and able to get involved in complicated trade situations to make a deal happen (see: the Karlsson trade).
Sam
10:11
Hey Matt.  I’m wondering what you think this version of a rebuild will look like.  We’ve been blessed that for the 30 years spanning 1989-2018 we’ve had the best player the world for somewhere between 21 and 23 of them.  Statistically speaking this is unlikely to happen again unless you stink for a long time like the BJC (Between Jagr Crosby) era.  The Capitals have somehow managed it, so how can the Pens resurrect themselves before Crosby’s viability is over?
Matt Vensel
10:13
Sam, we are already seeing it play out. Dubas has added a bunch of prospects to the system. I don't know if any of them will be a future superstar, but Pittsburgh no longer has a bottom-10 prospect pool. Plus, the Pens have 28 picks over the next three drafts. The question is whether the Penguins can be bad or lucky enough to land a top-three pick and get the type of franchise-changing talent that allowed them to have this golden era. Right now, they have good odds of that in a class that has a few really intriguing prospects. I don't know if they will get back to contending before Crosby calls it quits, but why not try?
Jim (Cosmo) K in Jax
10:14
Who will be the 2 goalies for Pens next season? 2 young guys or a veteran (Ned) and youth? Will the Russian in WB be in the mix? Jarry is not in the picture at all?                                                                         Mid to high 70s here today, sure beats your recent trip to Canada - great article on a little known topic!
Matt Vensel
10:15
Thanks for the kind words about the scout story, Jim. You guy should check that out. I recently spent three days in Canada shadowing one of the Penguins' amateur scouts. It's up on the website right now.

As for the question, I bet it's the current two goalies: Alex Nedeljkovic and Joel Blomqvist. Sergei Murashov is the wild card.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
10:16
I know Crosby has pledged his loyalty by resigning with the pens. Why would he want to stay through a rebuild at his age? I’ve heard rumors about the Colorado avalanche wanting him. Of course I think he would fetch the most in a trade compared to any other player on the pens.
Matt Vensel
10:17
Respectfully, who are we to tell Sid what to do with his life and career?
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
10:17
Will the rebuild start to happen at the trade deadline? Who goes who stays of the core players?
Matt Vensel
10:19
Sunner, the rebuild started 11 months ago when they traded Jake Guentzel to Carolina. As noted above, Dubas has added a bunch of prospect and picks. But you can expect Dubas to continue to stockpile future assets before the trade deadline. Pettersson is the obvious trade candidate. I could see either Rickard Rakell or Michael Bunting getting moved, too, if the price is right. And then there are depth guys such as Drew O'Connor or Noel Acciari who might fetch the Penguins something while also freeing up lineup spots for some of the kids. It will be an interesting few weeks. Buckle up.
10:20
That will do it for today's chat. I've got to head over to practice. Thanks for joining me and stick taps to those of you who submitted questions. We will do this again next Friday. Talk to you then.
Connecting…