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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 04.04.25
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Matt Vensel
10:55
Happy Friday, Penguins fans. We will start today's chat at noon. What's on your mind day? Shoot me a question at any time. Talk soon!
12:00
OK. Let me grab a cup of coffee here and then we will get going. In the meantime, let's get some more questions in the queue, folks.
Tom
12:03
Nice to see McGroarty up to the NHL, since that was the basis of the Yager trade. He was more NHL ready. Was that really worth it though seeing we are a few years from contending? Also seeing how impactful losing Malkin was a #2 center isn't not having Yager in 2 years a bigger loss for a straight up trade?
Matt Vensel
12:06
Tom is back and still trying to die on this hill! Appreciate you popping by again but, man, today is not the day for this. Rutger McGroarty was Wilkes-Barre/Scranton's leading scorer from Feb. 15 on and has played really well in his first two games back in the NHL. Yeah, you can nitpick some things. He needs to stay on his skates and bear down when he gets scoring chances. But he is a very smart player on the defensive side of the puck and his poise on offense is night and day from what it was in the fall. Will he end up being better than Brayden Yager in the long run? It's impossible to know that now. But jeez, this kid is a bright spot in a long, frustrating season. Try to enjoy it, Tom.
Bob
12:07
Any chance that Geno and Letang will retire so the team can rebuild. They are hurting their legacies with their poor play in their old age.
Matt Vensel
12:09
Both players have said they plan to play next season and are under contract. Evgeni Malkin, who has one more year left, is on the record as saying he wants to finish his career with the Penguins. Kris Letang, who is signed through 2028, is more of mystery when it comes to his thoughts on his future with the Pens. But I would say it is more likely than not that Kris remains with the Penguins this offseason.
Guest
12:10
Now that the Pens appear to be missing the playoffs for the 3rd yr in a row , do you think Sully will be head coach next yr ?
Matt Vensel
12:12
I do expect Mike Sullivan to be back as head coach. He recently reaffirmed his commitment to the Penguins in an interview with The Athletic. And as far as I know, the front office's commitment to him has not wavered. Now, the 2025-26 season will be a vital one in terms of the development of young players such as McGroarty and Owen Pickering. So Sullivan and Kyle Dubas must make sure they are still in alignment when they have meetings after the season. But I anticipate this marriage continuing into next season. And to his credit, Sullivan has handled McGroarty and Ville Koivunen perfectly since they were recalled last week. Small sample, I know. But still.
GenZ
12:13
Since the stealth rebuild started after the Guentzel trade, I've been wondering when the team's prospect system ranks will start ticking up. So far the Pens are still on the bottom third of the league. Are the top names in the system not that well regarded still? Is it a concern none of the players have "popped"? Or is it a recognition game and the team isn't concerned?
Matt Vensel
12:17
Good question. I recommend reading my From the Point column from last summer. I asked Chris Peters, a smart NHL draft and prospects analyst, for his thoughts on the organization and a few of their kids in the AHL. My thought on the prospect system is that the Penguins have done well over the last 2-3 years to make the prospect pool much deeper. Kyle Dubas is rightfully getting a lot of praise for that. But let's not forget that it was the Ron Hextall regime that selected Pickering, Sergei Murashov and Tristan Broz, amongst others. To your point about players "popping," there have been some risers in the system, no doubt. But the Penguins do lack true blue-chip prospects, the kind of players who can change a franchise. And Dubas and his staff knows this. The will get an opportunity to get one of those types of players high in this draft, and they have piled up picks over the next three years to take a shotgun-blast approach to finding future stars.
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
12:18
Like what I see from the youngsters! This probably should have happened 2 years ago. With that said, who goes via trade this summer? Letang, Rakell, Karlsson, Malkin, or Rust?
Matt Vensel
12:21
Hey, Sunner. Welcome back. I do expect at least one of those players to be moved, possibly two. The likeliest, IMO at least, is Erik Karlsson. However, he has a full no-trade clause and a big salary that complicate things. I touched on Geno and Letang earlier in the chat. As for Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust, I don't think either player is or should be considered untouchable. But I think another team would have to blow Dubas and the Penguins away to get them to trade one of those players. They don't believe it is wise to tear the team completely down to the studs, plus they want to ensure that Sid remains happy here.
Billy Conn
12:22
Is there any chance (with our rebuild now) that Dubas (+ Sullivan) shoot for a more Physical and perhaps (play with a mean streak) team...maybe one that actually Protects Syd!
Matt Vensel
12:23
Hey, Billy. One of the top qualities that Dubas and his amateur scouts are looking for is competitiveness, though that can show up in many different ways both on and off the ice. I do think there is a desire to sprinkle in size and toughness. But the Penguins rightfully want to bet on hockey sense and skill with their premium draft picks, not fists.
Henry Hill
12:25
Do you think Ovechkin will have broken Gretsky's scoring record before the final game of the season, or will he break it against the Pens?
Matt Vensel
12:26
I have the feeling that Alex Ovechkin will be tied with Wayne Gretzky and gunning for the record when the Caps come to town on April 17... Are tickets still on sale for that? If so, I would try to be there.
Mike D
12:26
Hi Matt, will you be coming to Wilkes for the playoffs?
Matt Vensel
12:27
Hey, Mike. I enjoyed my trip out there last week and had a blast being around all the young players there. I haven't discussed the matter with my editors yet. I will do that once the NHL club is done. But I assume we will have some WBS stories for you should they make it out of the first round. I like their odds but you never know.
GHPens23
12:28
Does "being tougher to play against" get as much consideration as it should in terms of constructing the future version of the Pens? I mean, Just look at Florida. Sure, there is skill and goaltending, but also several guys who make opponents "pay the price" in all three zones. To me, that element can really help a team make positive steps forward.
Matt Vensel
12:30
I will be honest, in the Sullivan lexicon it is a vague term that applies to a lot of different things. For him, it's mostly applies to structure, not physicality. When he talks about being tougher to play against, he means making smart decisions with and without the puck and not doing things that give opponents easy offense. That second period last night in St. Louis? Yeah, the opposite of "tough to play against."
Sunner in Orlando from Lebo
12:31
The Pens are 6-3-2 since the trade deadline. Does this improved play signal that they could compete next year with the youngsters coming up and contributing or another year of trading some pieces away to get more draft capital?
Matt Vensel
12:34
I will put it this way: This little stretch by the Penguins will do nothing to change Dubas' plans for the offseason. He knows that in terms of the standings there has been nothing at stake for the Penguins since the trade deadline, and he is not foolish enough to think that running it back with everyone a year older will be enough to get them back into the playoffs. Dubas is taking the long view here. The big question is whether Dubas will use his cap space and some of his future assets this summer to hit the gas pedal on contending or if he will take another year to accumulate young talent and get his cap sheet in order. Before the deadline, I heard he was learning towards the latter. But I suspect that is something that will be ultimately determined once the brain trust huddles up after the season and gets a sense of how the draft, free agency and trade market might play out.
12:35
That will do it for today's chat. Great questions today, everyone. We'll do it again next Friday. In the meantime, have a great weekend!
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