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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 03.14.25
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Matt Vensel
8:52
Happy Friday, Penguins fans. It's a beautiful day in Pittsburgh, but I am happy to take a little time to talk hockey with you all. Should be a lot to discuss in the aftermath of the trade deadline. I'll get started at 11 a.m. today. You can submit questions at any time. Talk to you soon!
Bill
10:57
Hi Matt. Should we be happy or sad that the Pens are winning right now? I know about the higher draft choice but i am just happier when they win no matter the consequence.
Matt Vensel
10:59
Hey, Bill. That's entirely up to you. The Penguins still have only a 0.1% chance of making the playoffs, per MoneyPuck. And their odds of getting a top-five pick haven't meaningfully changed despite the team reeling off three wins in a row. With the stakes so low in terms of making the playoffs, you could just look at every game as a win-win. If they get the W, great. If not, it could help them get more lottery balls.
Sam
10:59
Tristan Jarry playing well like this for the rest of the season is good for which reason?    A.) Maybe his head is back on straight and the Pens will keep him and his career arc will go back up.      B.) The Pens are committed to being out on him long term, but maybe they can get someone else to take him now.
Matt Vensel
11:04
Hey, Sam. First off, kudos to Tristan for putting in the work and trying to make the most of this opportunity. Long way to go still, but this is no doubt an encouraging start. If you're asking me how I think the Penguins view this, my guess would be it's the latter. Even if Jarry continues this for the rest of the season, I don't know that they will ever be able to put their full faith in him again. Whether it's injury or inconsistency or lapses at inopportune times, Tristan has always seemed to let the team down when it needed him most. That does not mean he can't correct there here or elsewhere. But I imagine that if the Penguins got an opportunity to move him to someone else, they would do that. It just comes down to trust, or a lack thereof.
Surley
11:04
Who’s your favorite NHL mascot?
Matt Vensel
11:07
Now we are talking! I don't know if this will be a controversial take here in Pittsburgh, but Gritty has to be in a tier of his/her/its own, doesn't he/she/it? For one, Gritty's antics during games are legitimately hilarious. And second, Gritty for better or worse completely encapsulates the city he/she/it represents. I can't even think of another mascot that would be in consideration. (Sorry, Iceburgh!)
SCJOHN
11:08
Thanks for the chats. Long time Pgh sports fan. I view the Pens, Steelers and Pirates as all rebuilding. Of the three, I’m most impressed with how the Pens are doing it. Thoughts?
Matt Vensel
11:11
Hey, John. Thanks for stopping by. I disagree with the notion that the Steelers are rebuilding. Their issue, IMO as someone who covered the NFL for about a decade, is that they refuse to even just reset for one year. Instead of a Super Bowl, they chase a wild-card loss ever year. And the Pirates, well, they have basically been rebuilding ever since Sid Bream rounded third base. As for the Penguins, they are completely rebuilding even if Kyle Dubas will not say that word publicly. It's not the full teardown that some folks want. But I think Dubas has done a very good job of accumulating draft capital over the last 12 months. Now comes the hard part, which is identifying and acquiring the right players. That's what will determine whether Dubas is successful.
Bob G.
11:12
This is a worst case scenario. This team is very old and slow and not capable of even a play off spot but this late season spurt may make them think they can keep these geezers and tarry and contend with a few pieces instead of the needed rebuild.
Matt Vensel
11:13
Hey, Bob. Nothing this team does the rest of the way will meaningfully change their plans. Dubas has a vision and virtually every move he has made over the last 12 months is in line with that. He's not going to change course because they beat the St. Louis Blues.
Tom
11:14
Should Dubas trade his amassed 2nd round picks for prospects or trade them all to move up in the 1st to get elite talent? Assuming we don't continue this hot streak and start with a top 10 pick.
Matt Vensel
11:17
Tom, Kyle is on the record as saying that he doesn't expect to use every single one of these draft picks on prospects. From a practical standpoint, it is possible to have too many kids in the pipeline. So, we may see him use some of those picks to trade up (not into top 10 or anything) or a player they really like. Or he will use them to acquire a young NHL player. Maybe he will even use a mid-rounder to dump a contract at some point, assuming it makes sense with where the team is at in its rebuild. For 15 years, the Penguins had precious few draft picks. Now they have a bunch, and it gives Dubas a a lot flexibility with the NHL roster. And, yeah, they will draft a lot of kids, too.
Surley
11:19
Is there a rule where a team can’t get the number 1 overall pick, two years in a row?   Isn’t there a rule that the Penguins get to pick a generational talent every 20 years?
Matt Vensel
11:20
Under the current NHL lottery system, a team cannot get the top pick through the draft lottery more than twice in a span of five years.
Joe
11:21
What to make of this three-game winning streak? Jarry playing better because there’s no pressure to win now? He’s not going to up his value much for a trade in a short, end-of-season winning streak, so why not bench him, go with Ned, and try to preserve a high draft pick? Their first round pick is currently falling, as are their chances at the first overall pick.
Matt Vensel
11:21
It's three games, guys. Relax. Let's not forget it would benefit the Pens if Jarry gets it together. We touched on that earlier in the chat.
Joe from cincy via coraopolis
11:23
Matt, enjoy reading all of your work here in Bengal land (UGH). Just curious if you can shed some light on why Kolyachonok was benched last night after seeing how poorly Graves continues to play? Not saying he is the next Norris Trophy winner, but, he seems to be a good fit compared to what we've seen all year.
Matt Vensel
11:24
Hey, Joe. Glad to hear that. You are right that Vlad Kolyachonok didn't play in the final 15 minutes last night. The Penguins will practice in about a half hour. We'll see if it was injury or performance related.
Baby Pens
11:25
An AHL question, I saw Rutger McGroarty got in a fight. He hit a guy and the guy retaliated. Both were skill players. Rutgers got beat up without even and attempt to defend himself. They say he is a good kid, but he showed little to no toughness or leadership in that moment. Even Crosby gets tough when it is needed. For a guy that is supposed to be our future franchise player isn't that a bit concerning? If he was dominating in scoring I would brush it off, but he is struggling there too.
Matt Vensel
11:27
You're right. The Penguins should definitely trade a 20-year-old who is loved by the coaching staff and who has 16 points in his last 13 games, just because you didn't like how one altercation went.
Richy
11:27
Hi Matt, do you foresee a certain strategy in the upcoming draft? Will they take the best player available approach or focus more on offense vs defense?
Matt Vensel
11:28
Pick the best players. It's that simple in the NHL.
62 Stack Monster
11:28
Hi Matt, I'm a very casual hockey fan over the past three decades since I moved from Pittsburgh.  I got to say that the accumulation of draft picks over the past couple of weeks is welcome news that the Pens have realized that a rebuild is necessary.  Regardless, is it too late to rebuild around Sid or could he be dealt away?
Matt Vensel
11:29
The Penguins have no desire to trade Sidney Crosby, and the man just signed a contract extension to remain in Pittsburgh like four minutes ago. So that answers the second question. As for the first question, a quick rebuild will not be easy. But the Penguins are going to try.
11:30
That will do it for today's chat. I've got to head to the rink for practice. Thanks for joining me today, and enjoy this warm, wonderful weather.
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