JotCast | Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 02.24.20

Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 02.24.20

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Matt Vensel

12:04

Happy deadline day, Penguins fans! I'm set up here at the Primanti's at the airport to talk hockey with you guys until my flight leaves for LA.

12:05

I'm going to share my thoughts on the Patrick Marleau trade now and just get that out of the way. But feel free to send over any follow-ups.

12:06

ICYMI, to get Marleau from SJ, the Pens sent a conditional third-round pick in 2021 that can become a second if they go all the way.

12:07

When I first saw that Marleau is the forward the Pens targeted, my initial reaction was meh. Obviously, Marleau has had an amazing career and might even make it into the Hall of Fame someday. But he's 40 and the Pens will be his third team this year. I warmed up to the deal, though, on the way to the airport.

12:09

I was worried about his wheels at age 40 but by all accounts his speed is at least adequate. So it's encouraging that he will be able to keep up. Marleau put up 10 goals and 10 assists in 58 games for a disappointing Sharks team. So the production isn't great but the Pens won't be asking him to play a huge role offensively.

12:10

I'll be curious to see where he fits in. He is a left-shot who can play both center and left wing. He appears to be ticketed for a spot on the line not centered by Sid, Geno or Blueger. Right now, the fourth line is three guys who might not even dress in the playoffs. It will have a different look if they ever get healthy. But I also wouldn't rule out Marleau playing on Sid's or Geno's left wing if that clicks.

12:11

Also, he should help out their second power-play unit. I mean, right now they have Andrew Agozzino on it. So that's a bonus.

Bill M.

12:14

Matt, thoughts on Pens acquiring a defenseman before the deadline.I believe there’s a hulking d-man on the Kings roster but his name escapes me. We need, in my opinion, at least one guy that can be considered a nuclear, albeit low-yield, option. I worry about be pushed around too much by the other Eastern contenders.

Matt Vensel

12:16

Bill, I agree that the Pens should try to add a defenseman but I don't know that they need or want a hulking one. They obviously need to defend better than they have since the All-Star break. If I were them, I'd try to add another left-handed defenseman for depth purposes. A Chad Ruhwedel type. They obviously don't have much faith in Juuso Riikola and there doesn't appear to be an alternative down in WBS. So if they can trade a late-round pick or a so-so prospect to add an insurance policy, I think they should try to do that.

12:17

That way, their three LHD would ideally be Dumoulin, Pettersson and Johnson with a suitable lefty sitting up in the press box.

12:17

You think they are done ? Are they still looking at Sheary ? Wouldn’t mind seeing if he still had chemistry with Sid

Matt Vensel

12:18

They might not make another move, but I doubt GMJR is done talking to teams about ways to get better. So stay tuned until 3 p.m.

66fan

12:18

Marleau a depth player or Zucker experiment with Sid is already over?

Matt Vensel

12:19

I do not think the Zucker experiment is over. It's not like they've been bad. Zucker has three goals and five points in seven games. I just think Mike Sullivan and the Pens need to be patient. Now's not the time to start shaking up the lines, just because you've lost three in a row for the first time since October.

James T.

12:20

Murry had been playing well recently, but just had a dud of an outing that arguably (and in his own words) cost the Pens a big game against a division rival. Do you think this has an impact going forward?

Matt Vensel

12:21

James, I just wrote on Wednesday about how great their goaltending has been since the start of December. I'm not going to overreact to one less-than-stellar game by each goalie. Murray has played really well the last two months.

Guest

12:21

Do you think trying to get marleau a cup could be a distraction and added pressure ?

Matt Vensel

12:21

They made a similar trade for Bill Guerin in 2009. Turned out OK.

Rick

12:21

I like the trade for Marleau, but when do you think Coach Sullivan will pick one goalie and stick with him. It appears neither is benefiting from the every other game idea. Neither can get hot if you are going to sit the next game. I get that they have to play both, but a little more consistency would help.

Matt Vensel

12:23

Rick, until the last couple of games, both goalies had been playing really well. I think if one caught fire, Sullivan would ride that goalie. But recently, both have been consistently delivering B-plus performances. So he's giving them both opportunities and I think that's the right call. This decision will get sorted out on the ice. The playoffs are still six weeks away.

Guest

12:24

I see they lost Agozzino on waivers, why did they send him threw?

Matt Vensel

12:24

I'm guessing that's a procedural thing that will make him available to WBS for their postseason should the Pens decide to send him down. If/when the Pens ever get healthy, I doubt he's going to play.

burt reynolds

12:25

Was Riikola a healthy scratch yesterday, and was it because they felt Trotman might bring some more physical play vs the Caps?

Matt Vensel

12:26

Mike Sullivan said it was a coach's decision, I believe. And Trotman played Saturday, too. So they simply think he's a better option right now that Riikola. Which says a lot given they'd like to have lefty-righty pairings if they can swing it. Riikola has some tools but just hasn't been able to put it together the last couple of years.

12:26

Looking at the prices paid for other quality forwards (Taylor Hall, Trocheck, possibly Kreider) do you think we spent our resources properly on Zucker? I get it that we can fit his salary under the cap, and he has term and those other guys might be hard to resign or fit under the cap. But in my mind, he’s a finisher. Zucker doesn’t seem to drive play. He’ll probably score 30 goals with Crosby, but I think Crosby is going to have to work harder to carry and keep the puck in the zone with Zucker on his line. I would have preferred a bit more muscle plus finish for the price. Thoughts on how this will age?

Matt Vensel

12:29

I liked the trade at the time and nothing that has transpired over the past couple of weeks has changed my mind. If anything, it's only made me feel better about Zucker's fit. Now, I'm not saying he's been great. It's clear he is still getting used to his new teammates, the system, Pittsburgh, being away from his kids, and on and on and on. But he's gotten a bunch of opportunities and cashed in a few of them. You kind of dismissed his goal-scoring ability in your question. Somebody has to put Sidney Crosby's passes into the net.

GPT

12:29

Has Riikola done something terrible to Sullivan that we're not aware of? JJ is an anchor on Letang and every stat imaginable shows that.

Matt Vensel

12:31

Can we please give it a rest with the Jack Johnson thing? You realize Brian Dumoulin is hurt, right? The Penguins don't want to play Jack Johnson with Kris Letang but they don't have many alternatives. When Dumo returns, he'll skate with Letang and Jack will slot back into the proper spot in the lineup. But let's be clear: Jack is not a standout but he is by far a better player than Juuso Riikola.

12:32

Look, I think it's fair to criticize the Jack Johnson signing, especially given the term. But he's on the team now and Mike Sullivan and the Pens have to work with what they've got. Right now, they've got a depleted defensive corps. So Jack has to play a lot.

12:33

I would have like to see them pick up a younger wing with some “grit”. There are plenty of guys in the point range of what they got that could have given them a little physicality.

Matt Vensel

12:34

MM, that's the course of action I thought they might take. But they instead prioritized adding another skilled forward, not that Marleau is a slouch in his own end. Even after trading away Joseph Blandisi, they do have some guys like that down in WBS if they really wanted a young guy to come in and skate fast in hard. I'm surprised we haven't seen Adam Johnson since early in the season, to be honest.

66fan

12:35

it was refreshing to hear Murray actually take some responsibility yesterday but to me the breakaway was less of a problem than his inability to catch with the glove and control rebounds on the 3rd and 4th goals... these have been his issues since forever and they haven’t improved. throw in that he has never had a complete or solid regular season in his career. would you give him an 8 year deal? I say no considering they could keep Jarry for less

Matt Vensel

12:36

How about we worry about this one after the season, like the Pens plan to do? Much can be proved over the next three months. But I do get your hesitation about giving Murray a long-term, big-money deal. He's such a unique case without a comparable whose resume comes close to him, both in terms of postseason success but also, as you correctly note, streaky play during the regular season.

Todd

12:37

Do you like where the Pens are at in the Metro? Even with the Islanders getting Parise just now and all the other moves the Metro teams have made.

Matt Vensel

12:38

Todd, that deal is not done yet but let's assume it does. I think that's a huge, telling move by our old friend Bill Guerin. I've always thought Zach Parise was a little overrated (good, but not great player). But I think he would be a good fit in the short term for the Islanders.

12:39

Questions coming in about the Zucker experiment being over???? He has 3 goals in 7 games. Meanwhile, Simon historically scores once per 10 games. And gets a free pass because he dumps pucks in with the best of them. Lol

Matt Vensel

12:39

Poor, Dom. Just minding his own business and gets dragged again.

Ireland4517

12:39

Once everyone is healthy (a huge assumption) how do you see the lines/D-pairings?

Matt Vensel

12:39

Dumoulin-Letang
Pettersson-Marino
Johnson-Schultz

12:40

OK, let's take a few minutes to regroup. I'm going to order a sandwich here at Primanti's while you guys think up more questions. Deal?

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