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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 05.30.19
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Matt Vensel
1:42
Good afternoon, everyone. After chasing a 3-year-old and a 2-year-old around since 5:30 a.m., I need to chug an ice coffee real quick then I'll be good to go. Submit your questions now and I'll get going around 2.
1:58
Alright. I'm sufficiently caffeinated. Let's go.
1:59
Also, we've got a million Kessel questions already. So if you've got something else on your mind, please sent a question over.
Adam C.
1:59
Obviously Kessel is a trade piece they feel will get something back in return. Do you see Letang being dangled out there as trade bait as well? I hope not, but unless Jack Johnson is packaged with Kessel or someone else, I just don't see anyone taking him unless the Pens pick up part of his salary. Thanks.
Matt Vensel
2:01
Adam, I get the sense that the Penguins letting it be known that Malkin and Letang might be available was more about perhaps sending a message to those two than it was actually trying to get a deal done. Now, if another team offered something for one of those guys that blew them away, I think they'd give it real consideration. But I think Phil is the only one of those three they are actively trying to move.
Lorddale
2:01
If kessel ends up with the Coyotes , who do we get in return ?
Matt Vensel
2:05
I'm not sure what the Penguins would want back from Arizona, but they have a bunch of young forwards such as Alex Galchenyuk and Christian Dvorak. The Penguins reportedly had interest in the former before the Canadiens dealt him to the Coyotes last offseason. So maybe that's a fit. But I'm not sure there's a fit here. Do we know that a) Kessel wants to go there and b) they actually want him?
KM
2:05
The Minnesota trade seemed it would have been a decent return for Kessel. Does that indicate that he might have more value than people thought?
Matt Vensel
2:06
KM, I think decent is a good way to put it. Jason Zucker is a useful player who has topped 20 goals in four of the past five seasons, plus he is fast and uses his speed on both ends of the ice. It's easy to envision him thriving under Mike Sullivan and skating with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin. But it's not like Zucker is a star or anything. Given Phil's age and shortcomings, it's hard to expect much more.
Guest
2:07
If Kessel and Johnson get traded, does Maatta still get moved?
Rahn
2:07
I feel like the name we're not hearing that might be in a trade to open cap space or to get some assets in return is Bryan Rust. The fact his $3.5 million hit for through 2022 is manageable is also what would make him attractive and bring a pick or two in return.  What do you think?
Matt Vensel
2:10
I'll answer those two questions together. Sure, I could see either of those two-time Cup winners dealt if the price is right, but I don't know that they are trying to just give either of them away. Maatta was a healthy scratch in the playoffs but the Penguins are obviously trying to unload Jack Johnson's contract given that they were willing to take back Victor Rask, who is slow and was unproductive last year. Given that Olli is somehow still only 24, I'd rather have that guy going forward even though he seems to get slower and slower every year even though he busts his butt about as hard as anyone on the team. As for Rust, he got off to a disappointing start because he was likely pressing too hard after getting paid last offseason, then he got hot and then he got hurt. He's the kind of guy you want to keep around, IMO, but he is far from untouchable.
Biggus
2:10
I am curious why buyouts are not mentioned more for problem contracts such as Jack Johnson... Is GMJR too stubborn to admit mistakes?  It seems like a decent solution.
Matt Vensel
2:11
Given that the main issue with Jack's contract is the length of the deal and not the annual value, I'm not sure it makes sense there.
Mike
2:11
People jumped on Rutherford for defending Jack Johnson’s play this year.. maybe he was bluffing in attempt to salvage whatever marketability  JJ had left?
Matt Vensel
2:12
Mike, that's a decent theory. Not sure if it's true or not. I still don't know Jim Rutherford well enough to try to climb inside his head. But his comments after the season about how this was the best D corps since he's been here surely had something to do with that.
Rahn
2:12
What will Tristan Jarry fetch? Being on a one-way deal this coming season makes him a virtual lock to be moved.
Matt Vensel
2:14
I like Tristan as a prospect and folks in WBS said he made major strides in terms of his practice habits and focus in games. And by all accounts he was better than his solid numbers indicated down there last year. But I don't think he's a blue-chip prospect or anything. Most teams have a prospect like him in their system already. So I don't think they can trade him straight up for anything other than decent veteran or a second-tier prospect. But this will probably come to a head this fall given his contract status and Casey DeSmith's emergence.
Penny Fan
2:14
Does Kessel really have the power to accept a trade to only one team like Roenick said last night?  I think this would be setting a bad precedent for the rest of the NHL if Kessel pulls this off.
Matt Vensel
2:16
It's my understanding that there are eight teams the Penguins can send him to, and I don't believe all those teams have been reported. But a lot of guys have no-movement or limited-movement clauses, so it's not anything unique. The Leafs gave it to him when he signed his current deal there. He earned that right as a player.
Dee's
2:17
What's more likely with Kessel - a hockey trade that gets the Pens an equal or decent return? Or a deal they may have to sweeten with a draft pick(s), player or prospect in order to get him off the roster and then use the new cap room to try and make up for the loss production?
Matt Vensel
2:18
Dee, given what we know about the deal they had on the table with the Wild, that's probably the kind of return they can expect. I don't think the Penguins are looking to straight dump Kessel. It's not out of the realm of possibilities that he's still with the team this fall.
Dan Mucy
2:18
HI Matt!  It's your new email buddy here!  Hope you're well!   Ok...reading reports this morning, do we now have Antonio Brown:  Part II?   With Arizona playing the part of Oakland?   And I put Kessel's chance of returning here at 15% now.  But...the longer this goes, might that go up?  Thanks...talk soon!   Dan Mucy
Matt Vensel
2:20
Dan, I really don't see this as a parallel to Antonio Brown at all. AB was a bad teammate that clearly caused problems in the locker room. Phil might butt heads with the coach occasionally, but his teammates love him. Plus, it's not like Phil has demanded a trade or anything. We don't really know what he wants. But it seems like he is happy here.
Guest
2:20
It appears the Penguins plan on allowing Zachary Lauzon to resented the draft as they have not signed him, do you know if that is the case?
Matt Vensel
2:21
I'm not sure about that one but we will find out soon enough.
Casey
2:21
Does the NHL actively request that teams not make trades/signings during the Stanley Cup Final? So that the focus is on the last two teams standing?
Matt Vensel
2:22
I think a big deal during the Cup final would be frowned upon by Gary Bettman, sure. Isn't that what all hockey fans are shooting for?
Guest
2:23
Any reality behind the rumor that the Pens still want to sign Hagelin?
Matt Vensel
2:23
I could see it happening, yeah, if things aren't too awkward after he was chosen to be the shock-the-locker-room trade fall guy.
Christian
2:24
Matt, who do you think has a longer championship window: the Pens or Caps?
Matt Vensel
2:25
Honestly, I think it's pretty similar, Christian. Both teams have stars nearing the twilight of their careers and they have a similar amount of young talent to help keep the window open a little longer. I don't see either one of those teams turning into the LA Kings next season.
Feeds
2:25
Logic in moving Schultz? He’ll be 30 when we’re gonna have to resign him. If we wanna get younger, but still remain competitive, wouldn’t moving him now for value make sense?
Matt Vensel
2:27
I just think it's a question of whether you want to pay him market value or not. If not, why not explore moving him this offseason before his contract expires? If Letang is staying, Schultz's value is minimized a little bit because he is relegated to second PP duties. But the Pens are in win-now mode and he is certainly an impact player for them. So again, I think it would take the right over for them to move him.
pozone
2:27
Could the Pens actually do a deal with Flyers say Kessel for Vorachek and Gudas?
Matt Vensel
2:27
Putting the rivalry aside, why would the Flyers want to do that?
Bill Maloni
2:27
Make the best case for trading Phil and Geno and really cleaning house?
Matt Vensel
2:29
I think you only do it if you don't want the franchise to turn into the X Generation team of 2003-04 once Crosby retires. You trade a couple of those stars for prospects and picks, take a step back for a couple of years then hope you get a couple deep runs before Crosby retires. I'm not saying that's what the Penguins should do and I'm definitely not saying that's what they WILL do. They are all-in on the present. But that's the best case I can make for sweeping changes.
thad5192
2:29
hey matt- do you think rikoola or prow have a shot at replacing maatta/Johnson this year ,both low cost,both better skaters,
Matt Vensel
2:31
Good question. They certainly have organizational depth with Ruhwedel and Riikola under team control. Ruhwedel is ideally your seventh defenseman. Riikola is still fairly young but in my eyes he really didn't show much improvement throughout the season. So we'll see what he looks like in camp. As for Prow, I really don't know what the organization thinks about him. It's telling that they didn't bring him up after all the injuries they suffered in February. Plus, he turns 27 in November. He's a late bloomer, but I'm not sure if there's any more room to grow. Still, to your point, they do have some bodies.
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