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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 07.13.22
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Matt Vensel
10:00
Good morning, Pens fans. How we feeling today? Looking forward to talking hockey with you today as the start of free agency looms. We'll get going around 10:30. You can submit your questions now.
10:37
OK, folks. Let's get started. I plan to chat for 30-40 minutes.
JR
10:38
Good morning Matt. Appreciate the chats. Really happy to see the 3 Musketeers finish their careers in Pgh, but in the overall scheme of things, is this the best thing for the future? I can see them all retiring together and with a weak minor league crop, difficult to imagine the Pens not sliding into a deep rebuild for a number of years. Certainly don’t want to see these guys just leave with nothing in return, but now that we have a group signed to favorable contracts, what are the chances that some major trades are made? #87 is the only one I deem untouchable.
Matt Vensel
10:41
JR, thanks for the question. It's fair to debate whether the Pens can still win a Stanley Cup with this core given that Crosby, Malkin and Letang will all be over 35 when the season starts. But there is also something to be said for treating your star players right and watching some of your all-time greats potentially play their entire careers in Pittsburgh. I understand why the team made this happen. And, yes, it probably isn't going to be pretty a few years from now. But the Pens made these long-term signings with that recognition.
Guest
10:42
I see some people call the pens stale.  Do they mean they are stale because they have too many of the same players ?  If so do you agree with that assessment of pens being stale ?  Very few players are remaining from the 17 cup team so it seems they have tried to change things .
Matt Vensel
10:43
I can't speak for others, but my guess is that folks say that because the Penguins have largely kept the team intact despite four straight first-round exits and continue to play the same style of hockey. I don't know if stale is the right word. But there definitely hasn't been drastic change.
Guest
10:44
Any realistic rumors about trading Zucker or Peterson?  I think Zucker is a good player but he is unreliable health wise, and hopefully they could get a solid forward in return for one or both of these players  (or sign one with the money freed up).
Matt Vensel
10:45
Last I heard, the Penguins were still open to moving out a contract to free up cap space and either of those two make the most sense, particularly Pettersson. Marcus is a fine player but P.O. Joseph is ready and much cheaper. Anyway, that is something to monitor the next few days.
Clark from Virginia
10:47
Do NHL contracts have any flexibility?  Can they be for different amounts for different years in the contract or could a final year be optional?  NFL contracts have all sorts of ins and outs, but NHL contracts seem to me to be rather rigid.
Matt Vensel
10:48
The annual salary can fluctuate but the cap hit each year is the average annual value of the contract. That's why you see us cite the AAV whenever we talk about money.
LN
10:48
Does the pens not making a trade yet point to the pens not being able to find any takers for what they want to trade?
Matt Vensel
10:49
I'm honestly not sure if the Penguins are not getting any offers at all for potential salary dumps or if they are just holding out for something better. But I'd think they should start showing urgency, if they aren't already, to unload a contract before all of the cap space gets used up.
Stuck-in-Philly
10:50
Good morning - very surprised to the news last night re Geno.  I am now willing to bet your last dollar MP will be moved so they can address some sandpaper in the bottom 6.  What say you?
Matt Vensel
10:51
Regardless of whether they move Pettersson or another player to create more space, the Penguins will look to add at least one forward during free agency today. And, yes, the odds of that guy being truculent are fairly high.
Justin
10:51
The Geno deal itself seems fine enough in a vacuum, but what would you say to fans who are concerned that right now they're basically just bringing back a team that wasn't quite good enough?  Obviously anything can happen once a team punches its ticket to the playoffs, but will the space freed up by a Dman salary dump, a few smart signings, and a few prospects arriving this yr be enough to meaningfully improve the team in your opinion?
Matt Vensel
10:54
Justin, I touched on this earlier. But, yeah, it's fair to have doubts about this philosophy when it comes to their Cup chances going forward. Personally, I think they needed to do something significant to change the look of the team. Watching the Stanley Cup Finals, I couldn't help but think that either team would have overwhelmed them with their depth, size and skill. But the Pens, right or wrong, feel that goaltending was all that prevented them from going on deep runs the past two years. We shall see.
Justin
10:54
I'm only like 35 percent joking when I ask... should they just get the whole gang back together and bring in Kessel and Aston Reese on short cheap deals?
Matt Vensel
10:55
No chance on Phil. Possibly Zach Aston-Reese, though there were mixed opinions on him in the organization.
Mike
10:55
Have you heard anything on any defenseman getting moved? If not? Do you anticipate any moved before noon?
Matt Vensel
10:56
All eyes are on Marcus Pettersson here. I believe a team would have to blow the Penguins away with an offer for Brian Dumoulin for them to move on from him, especially now that his top-pair partner Kris Letang is back.
Justin
10:59
Do you have any "favorite" potential low-cost targets?  My non-smart brain sees that it seems like Sonny Milano is a bit of a "advanced" stats darling who could come cheap, for example.
Matt Vensel
11:01
Some players I'll be keeping an eye on are Tyler Motte, Nic Desaluriers, Calle Jarnkrok and Mason Marchment.
Stuck-in-Philly
11:01
I if were Hextall, I would waiting outside Mason Marchment's house with $1M and a pen for the contract.  He'd be much more effective than bringing back ZAR, in my opinion.
Matt Vensel
11:02
Stuck-in-Philly would be on board with Marchment.
Guest
11:06
I see some free agent deals are already being tweeted, are free agents permitted to talk to teams before today ?  Is that part of the reason pens /malkin decided to sign cause the other options weren’t looking good ?
Matt Vensel
11:08
Technically, they are not supposed to talk to free agents until noon today. But obviously teams are having conversations with agents about players. That's why you're already hearing about free-agent deals that will go down.
Kris
11:09
How do you see the pens rounding out the roster now?  Still have two open forward positions, no?
Matt Vensel
11:10
Kris, I believe they will add at least one forward in the next 24 hours, possibly two. They want to see a couple of prospects seriously challenge for a roster spot. But they need to cover themselves with more veteran depth.
Terry
11:12
Any chance Zahorna lands a top 9 role?
Matt Vensel
11:13
I'm not high on him but he will get an opportunity, sure.
SBG
11:13
Hi Matt, do you think the Malvinas contract is a good one for the Pens? It seems like they may be paying him for past performance.
Matt Vensel
11:14
I think it's a fair compromise honestly, if we are talking strictly in terms of the price. The annual value is about right and I have no problem with them tacking on that fourth year to keep a franchise cornerstone around.
AtlPen
11:14
Matt, is there some change coming to the goalie position? I know we probably won’t find another Flower, but we need to get better in goal
Matt Vensel
11:15
It looks like the Pens will go into the season with Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith. They do need to sign a third goalie, whether it's bringing back Louis Domingue or replacing him.
Matt Vensel
11:17
All right, that's going to do it for today, folks. Sorry, have to hop on a call with Rickard Rakell. If I was unable to get to your question, you can always email me at mvensel@post-gazette.com. We will also do another of these chats in the next few days, I'm guessing.
Enjoy the first day of free agency. Should be an interesting day.
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