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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 06.06.25
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Matt Vensel
11:09
Happy Friday, Penguins fans. What do you want to talk about today? The new coach? What's next for the Pens? The Stanley Cup Final? The NHL draft? I'm all ears. We'll get started at 1 p.m. today. Fire away!
TomB
12:52
Any prior connection between Muse & the Big 3 that you’re aware of?  Thanks for chatting!
Matt Vensel
12:55
Tom, as far as I know, there are no direct connections between Dan Muse and the Penguins' stars. The hockey world can feel like a small community at times, though, so Sidney Crosby and Co. surely know a few people who have been around Muse. For example, Nick Bonino spent a few years with Muse in Nashville. I'm digging into Muse's back story right now, and it sounds like he should be able to win over those guys with his work ethic and his knowledge and passion for the game.
KDUB
12:56
What do you think the rest of the Penguins' coaching staff will look like? Does Muse need either a former NHL player or former NHL coach to be on staff?
Matt Vensel
12:58
That remains to be seen, but we do know that the only potential holder is Andy Chiodo. The rest of Mike Sullivan's assistants have all moved on. The incumbent crop of NHL assistants has been mostly picked over already. But it would make a lot of sense for Muse to add one assistant with extensive NHL experience, perhaps even one who was a former head coach. Having that type of person as a sounding board isn't a requirement, but it would definitely come in handy.
SDWC
12:59
Is Dan Muse more of a doppleganger of Chris Mueller or Joe Block?
Matt Vensel
12:59
He looks a little like Post-Gazette sports editor Ryan Winn, as well.
SDWC
1:00
Do you think Ovie sticks around to try for 1,000 goals?
Matt Vensel
1:02
I will not pretend to know what Alex Ovechkin is thinking. I've only spoken to him a couple times in my life. But he is 103 goals away. So that means he would have to stick it out for another 2-3 seasons. He's 39. I could see him maybe playing two more years, but there may be some legitimacy to the recent story about the Capitals sending out a marketing email that hyped next years as Ovi's last. The Capitals PR staff walked that back, but skepticism is warranted...
Craig
1:04
Have you heard anything about the Penguins possibly trying to acquire JJ Peterka from Buffalo?
Matt Vensel
1:07
Craig, I don't know if the Penguins will pounce on Peterka, per se, but I think we should assume the Pens are in on pretty much every young player with pedigree who is getting shopped by their team. The Rutger McGroarty and Philip Tomasino trades are proof of that. So if it's not Peterka, maybe they go get his Sabres teammate Bowen Byram or Marco Rossi or K'Andre Miller. Those four are all young, talented restricted free agents who find themselves in trade rumors right now.
RS
1:08
With the cap space and draft picks why is this year a punt for the Pens? I know they want to build long term but couldn’t they be competitive and still look long term with some well signed FA and trades?
Matt Vensel
1:12
Fair question, RS. As last season wound down, I wondered if the Penguins would take the approach you mention here. Kyle Dubas made it pretty clear after the season ended that the Pens will not be aggressive in free agency. He doesn't want to hand out big, long-term contracts to guys who are in their 30s or even their late 20s. Maybe there is a free agent who is young enough that Dubas would go for. But it seems that is the Penguins make an aggressive move to add someone, it will be a young player via trade, possibly one of the four guys I just mentioned. Anyway, another "transition" year might not be fun for the fans, but Dubas is smart in recognizing that there are no shortcuts back to contention available to him. Stay patient.
Guest
1:13
What do we think the top 6 is going to look like?
Matt Vensel
1:15
We know who the top two centers are. And I'm assuming that Rickard Rakell and Bryan Rust will be retained, though a trade involving one of them is certainly possible. Ideally, at least one of Rutger McGroarty or Ville Koivunen seizes a top-six spot. And then the Penguins are looking at someone like Tommy Novak or Offseason Acquisition X to fill the other spot. We'll see how Muse feels about loading up the Crosby line versus giving Geno one of Rust or Rakell on his wing.
DXF
1:17
Hi Matt. You have the best chat in town. Do you have any idea on what type of game the new coach will play? For instance, I got really tired of the previous coach and his passive gentlemanly type of game. Do you think our new team will be tougher and protect #87 more? Thanks again for your time.
Matt Vensel
1:20
Hello there. Thank you for the kind words. Happy to talk hockey any day. The construction of the roster falls on Kyle Dubas, and Muse will have to work with what the Penguins give him. Right now, as you know, there is not much physicality to speak of. We'll see if Dubas injects some of that through the draft and offseason roster churn. I do know Muse's last team with the USNTDP leaned into the physicality and feistiness that Muse had on his roster. We will find out more about this question next week when Muse is introduced to the media.
Jason
1:21
Do you think Jary is in the fold this year or do you expect him to be elsewhere next season?
Matt Vensel
1:24
Jason, my hunch is that Tristan Jarry will be back. Even with his encouraging finish to this past season, I still think he has negative trade value. And if the Penguins don't plan on pushing to make the playoffs next season, then what's the point of giving up an asset to dump his contract or buying him out? Might as well bring him back and see if he can continue this positive momentum. It would be one thing of Joel Blomqvist had an awesome 2024-25 campaign and showed he was ready to be an NHL regular. But at the very least, Blomqvist plateaued this past season. He's a question mark now. One thing I have wondered about with Jarry is whether the Penguins would entertain a swap of unwanted contracts with another team, like the Hornqvist-for-Matheson trade a few years back. That is one path I could see them taking if the right opportunity comes along.
Marge
1:26
What is Big Jeff Carter up to these days?
Matt Vensel
1:26
Hi, Mom. Please stop asking me. It's starting to get uncomfortable.
Rahn
1:27
If you were to guess -- which I think is what you'd be doing here anyway -- are the Rangers going to keep or transfer their first-rounder this year to the Penguins and why?
Matt Vensel
1:28
My guess is they keep their 2025 pick and send the Penguins their 2026 pick. They hired Mike Sullivan because they believe they can still contend next season, and therefore the pick that they would send the Penguins in 2026 would come late in the first round. Obviously, there is a lot of downside rink with doing that. If Chris Drury were to hand the Penguins a prospect like Gavin McKenna, he'd go down in infamy in New York. The fear of that is what could lead the Rangers to keep their 2026 pick instead.
Ryan
1:30
Good afternoon Matt what is the penguins next move other then The new coach getting introduced and his staff getting hired is there any free agents that you think they will sign
Matt Vensel
1:30
Ryan, wrote a piece about all that yesterday. Here you go: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2025/06/05/nhl-offseason-...
1:31
That will do it for today's chat. Sorry, have to hop on a call. We will do this again soon. In the meantime, you can always drop me a line at mvensel@post-gazette.com. Have an awesome weekend!
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