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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 06.07.23
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Matt Vensel
9:22
Good morning, Penguins fans. Looking forward to chatting with you all today. It's been a while! I will start answering questions around 11 a.m. But you can start submitting them now. I'll get to as many as I can.
10:55
Got a bunch of questions in the queue already, so let's get going.
Zipstar
10:55
Helo Matt. Dubas opening message was basically "I am charged with winning now AND re-building for the future."  That's impossible especially given the Pens situation.. Sounded like either a promise he told management he could accomplish OR a philosophy Management laid at his feet. Either way it makes no sense. The cupboard below is bare. Trying not "win now" will never fix the future. What say you?
Matt Vensel
11:00
Your point about it being difficult to successfully be on both tracks is well taken. Obviously, the previous regime also stated that it wanted to do that and they lasted only 26 months. I personally have no problem with the Penguins continuing to try to build around Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. They are all-time great players and many fans want to see if they have one more deep run in them. There's also the matter of no-movement clauses. Eight players, including those three, have some form of no-trade protection, severely limiting what Kyle Dubas can do in the short term. So why not try to see if you can put the right supporting cast around Crosby and Co. this season? I'll add that Dubas made an interesting comment about this while appearing on Mark Madden's radio show the other day. I'm paraphrasing, but he said the Penguins will be open to pivoting next season if things don't go according to plan. I think that's sensible.
chuck mac
11:00
Was Petry really that bad last year or did the injuries set him back.  I feel like he gets alot of unfair criticism???
Matt Vensel
11:05
Hey, Chuck. Great question, because there is some nuance here. Jeff Petry arrived with pretty high expectations and a $6.3 million cap hit. The Penguins would probably tell you he did not perform as they had hoped. But he was still pretty solid and certainly showed value while soaking up big minutes in the absence of Kris Letang. Was he worth all that money? No. But he was a solid second-pair defenseman. Because of his contract, which has two years later, and his age, Petry will be one to watch on the trade market this summer. But it won't be easy for the Penguins to find another righty to adequately replace him.
Jay Daven
11:05
Matt, would Jarry stay and take a pay cut to be a backup goalie while the Pens look for a starter? Or should they keep DeSmith as backup?  Either way they need a more consistent  starter than Jarry has been.  Your comments.
Matt Vensel
11:09
Jay, Tristan is not accepting a backup role with backup money here in Pittsburgh. He's a two-time All-Star and one of only a few appealing options in a week free agent class. Someone is probably going to pay him pretty good money. If his market is cooler than expected, maybe there is a short-term prove-it deal that would appeal to both Jarry and the Penguins. But I can't see him agreeing to come back at a figure less than his 2022-23 salary of $3.5 million.
Brian G
11:10
Any good options in FA for a goalie. Not retreads
Matt Vensel
11:11
Brian, thanks for the question. Respectfully, aren't all free agents technically retreads? Anyway, there's not much out there among the unrestricted free agents. A few notable goalies are Freddy Andersen, Semyon Varlaov and Joonas Korpisalo. There's also the trade market if an All-Star such as Juuse Saros becomes available. Plus, there are restricted free agents. Which brings us to our next question...
Adam N
11:12
Matt, love your work! Lots of goalie talk out there but one option i haven’t really heard is Swayman. Only 24 and has a good track record. Thoughts on trying to price him out of Boston bc of their cap situation? Maybe 4-6mil a year for 2-3 years?
Matt Vensel
11:17
Adam, thanks for the question and thanks for the kind words. Appreciate that. Jeremy Swayman is someone who will definitely be in consideration, especially because the Bruins would have difficulty matching an offer sheet due to their tight cap situation. But the Penguins will have to structure the deal carefully due to the NHL's compensation rules. The best path would be to offer him an AAV between $2.1 million and $4.3 million, which according to Capfriendly would require them to give the Bruins their second-round pick if the Bruins don't match. Anything above that $4.3 million would mean the Penguins would have to surrender a first-round pick and more. I like Swayman, but I think that's too much to give up for him.
Ted
11:17
Will the big three be back next season?
Matt Vensel
11:18
Yes. That has never really been in question. They're locked in and Kyle Dubas said last week that he thinks the Penguins can still win with them. The challenge is putting the right pieces around them.
11:19
Apologies, folks, but I need to take a brief intermission to perform some dad duties. Be back in a few. Keep sending in questions!
Kenny Pittsburgh
11:26
How can they buy-out Granlund without affecting the cap?
Matt Vensel
11:30
Mikael Granlund, IMO, is the only logical buyout candidate for the Penguins. Per Capfriendly's buyout calculator, they would free up $4.2 million in cap space for 2023-24 and $3.2 million in space the following season. However, the buyout would leave behind a cap hit of $1,833,333 in each of the two seasons after that. The Penguins, at that point, might be looking to pivot to a full-on rebuild. If so, the cap hit wouldn't really matter anyway. If Dubas is unable to dump his contract in a deal relatively cheaply, he should definitely buy him out.
Dean
11:31
Hi Matt. Thank you for taking my question. Why hasn’t Valtteri Puustinen been given more of a chance to play in the NHL. He reminds me of Jake Guentzel in hockey smarts and scoring.
Matt Vensel
11:35
Dean, it comes down to the Penguins being able to trust Pusstinen to have some semblance of defense and responsible play with and without the puck. He's been very productive at the AHL level, but I don't know that he has the potential to top 25 goals in a season. He might be the classic AAAA tweener type, to use a baseball term. It's telling that the Penguins called up Alex Nylander and a couple others over Puustinen last year. By the way, Puustinen is an RFA this summer. We'll soon find out what Dubas thinks of his potetial.
Yogi
11:35
I hate to see Zucker go. How can you not root like crazy for that guy? Do you think there's any chance he comes back or is his departure a foregone conclusion at this point?
Matt Vensel
11:39
Yogi, no doubt Jason Zucker was a great story last season. Finally stayed healthy and met expectations. Not only did he put up points, but he was a tone-setter for the team pretty much every single night. Zucker has said he wants to return to the Penguins but there are a couple of things working against him. One, the Penguins only have $20 million in cap space. Sounds like a lot but they will have several spots in the lineup to fill. That money will dry up quickly if they don't create more space. Two, as important as Zucker was last season, he is 31 and has ample injury concern. The Penguins need to get younger and faster and should be hesitant to commit long-term to Zucker.
Scotty Baird
11:40
Hey Matt. How many years out are our Goalies in the Organization away from the NHL
Matt Vensel
11:44
Scotty, there is no one knocking on the door. Filip Lindberg has headed back to Finland after injuries derailed his AHL career. Taylor Gauthier has a chance to play NHL games at some point in his career but needs more seasoning at the AHL level. Joel Blomqvist, the 2020 second-round pick, could come over to North America next season but barring a leap in his development probably shouldn't be expected to be ready for a regular NHL role until 2025-26. Sergei Murashov, a 2022 draft pick, is a total mystery. So realistically, the Penguins need to look at this situation as if they need to sign or trade for a goalie who can be their starter for the next three years, and potentially more.
John
11:45
Are there any Chris Kunitz type players in the free agent market. Not tough guy goons but he sure stuck his nose in any time someone tried to rough up Crosby.
Matt Vensel
11:48
John, guys like Chris Kunitz don't come along very often. But in terms of a winger with speed, snarl and some scoring touch, I really like Tyler Bertuzzi. He was affected by injuries during his Red Wings career but we saw during his stint with the Bruins this spring that Bertuzzi can be an impactful postseason performer. Personally, I think if the money is close, I'd thank Zucker for his contributions last season and give the contract to Bertuzzi, who is three years younger.
Jeff M
11:49
Love the chats. Do you think anyone would trade for Grunlin or Petry?
Matt Vensel
11:50
Jeff, they will probably have to give up a pick or prospect to unload Mikael Granlund. As for Petry, who we discussed earlier in the chat, I imagine the Penguins could get something decent in return.
Grumpy Bear
11:50
It will take a miracle worker to undue what Hextall & Co. did to this team. I don't see how it is possible to both win a Cup and build towards a future. These are two opposing forces that go in different directions. Can you name a team who was ever in a similar position as the Pens and successfully accomplished both? The more I look at free agents, I feel the Pens will have to dump salary and draft picks to get rid of the bad contracts. That will free up money, but will get little in return.
Matt Vensel
11:51
This is the situation. It is what it is. Winning another Cup in the Crosby era will be incredibly difficult. But might as well give it a shot.
John
11:52
Do you think the Penguins will be back in the playoffs next year?
Matt Vensel
11:55
John, that is impossible to say right now, before the offseason transaction period has even begun. But I will say this: I think Kyle Dubas was an excellent hire and I still think the infrastructure for a playoff team is there with Crosby, guys like Malkin and Letang and Jake Guenzel and Rickard Rakell and a good coach in Mike Sullivan. The Metro figures to be the NHL's best division next season, but the expectation should be that Dubas puts the Penguins back into playoff position. But this is Pittsburgh we are talking about. The bar is to win titles, not just sneak into the playoffs. Let's see how the next few weeks unfold and then circle back to discuss whether we think the Penguins have a shot at a deep playoff run. They may.
11:58
That is going to do it for today's chat. Some awesome questions once again. Thank you for that. If I didn't get to your question or you joined us after the fact, have no fear. I plan to do a Penguins mailbag next week. So you can email me a question at mvensel@post-gazette.com and it will be in consideration for the mailbag column.
12:00
Have a great rest of your day, everyone. We'll do this again soon.
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