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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 07.16.21
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Matt Vensel
12:43
Hello, Penguins fans. Excited to chat with you today about what should be a busy two weeks for the team with the expansion draft, the NHL amateur draft and free agency. If you're got a question for me, feel free to submit it now. We'll get started shortly, after I chug this smoothie my wife just made me and then shake off the ensuing brain freeze.
Nick Brlansky
12:52
Hextall has been rather quiet since taking over 5 months ago. Do you really think he’ll make many big moves this off-season or just tinker and add a piece or two
Matt Vensel
12:56
Nick, the new GM has a much better poker face than his predecessor, who probably would have declared three weeks ago whom he planned to protect. Ron Hextall's actions so far -- bringing back Mike Sullivan and stating publicly that he sees Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang as part of the future -- already suggested we might not see an overhaul after all. And all indications so far that is indeed the case. For one, the Penguins don't have much financial flexibility or future assets to bring in a veteran without sacrificing a roster player. And second, Hextall by all accounts likes the team and feels it can contend with some tweaks. Of course, he will explore all avenues to improve the team. But I am not expecting anything seismic at this point.
Gary M
12:57
Are you hearing any trade rumors from our current roster? Would make sense to get much needed cap room.
Matt Vensel
1:00
Gary, to piggyback on what I said with the previous answer, there have not been much rumblings about the Penguins, especially with Hextall being so tight-lipped. I did wonder if Hextall might be able to execute a trade prior to Saturday's deadline to submit protected lists. By doing that, Hextall might be able to get a future asset of value for a player such as Jason Zucker whom he may not be 100% committed to keeping around. Obviously, that has not happened. With the expansion draft Wednesday and the NHL amateur draft Friday and Saturday, things on the trade front could heat up then.
Dan N
1:01
Hey Matt…All the talk of bringing in a 1a goaltender if you will..what do they do with DeSmith ? He’s actually rather serviceable…also has anyone heard if the division is going back to the old format?
Matt Vensel
1:05
Dan, there are a lot of moving parts in the Pittsburgh crease. I'm projecting them to protect Tristan Jarry to ensure they aren't caught without a goalie when the record screeches on the game of musical chairs. But if they do indeed protect him, it does not guarantee that he will be the No. 1 goalie or even on the team at the start of next season. I think Hextall will look to find someone who can push or replace Jarry. To your point, if they keep Jarry, who has a $3.5 million salary, and add another veteran, Casey would be the odd man out. They do need a veteran goalie for their AHL club who would be the NHL No. 3. In that event, maybe they could wait until the end of the preseason and try to stash Casey like they did two seasons ago. But I can't imagine he would be thrilled about that happening again and I could hardly blame him. He's a really good NHL backup.
1:06
Got a question about the expansion draft, free agency, the amateur draft, the Kapanen-Tanev offseason bromance? Fire away, folks.
Joey
1:06
Matt. Let's say the Gods smile on the Penguins and the Kracken take Zucker and they are able to trade Pettersson. Do they make one big splash in free agency (Goalie or rugged D) or spread out the new cap room over several players?
Matt Vensel
1:09
Joey, I think you just laid out an ideal scenario for the Penguins. Nothing against either player in a vacuum. But their contracts don't match their performance level and moving on from those two would give them the financial flexibility. I don't think they would blow all that space on one player, unless maybe they could get a truly elite goalie. I'd see them splitting that up among two or three players. Their biggest needs appear to be an upgrade in goal, a top-nine power forward and at least one bruiser on the back end.
Eddie Shack
1:09
Matt, does it really matter who we lose to Seattle?  If Blueger is left unprotected I take him over McCann as a defensively conscious bottom six center is more important imo than a streaky mid to bottom six winger.
Matt Vensel
1:12
Absolutely, Eddie. With all due respect, that is kind of a silly question if you ask me. The Penguins want to make sure they keep the right guys in order to have the best chance to win this season and beyond. And the last thing they want is a situation like when Vegas added afterthoughts such as William Karlsson and Jonathan Marchessault who turned out to be really good players for them. Think Columbus and Florida want a do-over? As for Blueger versus McCann, I agree. I would keep Blueger and I suspect the Penguins agree.
Joey
1:12
Why are so many willing to expose Kapanen? It's easier to find a Blueger than someone with his skill set.
Matt Vensel
1:17
Joey, we did something on the website yesterday about which players we would protect if we were GM. And I did protect Kapanen because I think he's an asset with trade value. But I do think an argument can be made that he is less valuable than Blueger, who plays a more important position. Kapanen is blazing fast and has a pretty good shot in transition. But he did so much of his damage on the rush (a lot of it over a two-week span when Geno and he were on fire) and that style might not translate to the postseason. Plus, he wasn't a great forechecker or defender last season. Basically, he's a talented but imperfect middle-six player. All that said, this isn't to say he stinks or the Penguins should trade him for a bag of pucks. We're debating which player has more value and that leads to nitpicking of these players, who are also human beings. I can't wait for the expansion draft to be over so we can stop doing that.
1:19
Here's that article, BTW, if you missed it: https://www.post-gazette.com/sports/penguins/2021/07/15/pittsburgh-pen...
amy
1:20
I miss Sidney Crosby. Do you have a Sidney anecdote you haven't told before?
Matt Vensel
1:24
Amy, I'll share an email I got from a fan a year ago, back when players could actually interact with fans in person. Basically, a fan drove down from Canada to try to meet Sid in Buffalo. He waited and waited outside the arena and someone tipped off Sid, who stopped out after practice to say hi. The fan gave him a hat from the CFL team in Hamilton. There's more to the story but I'll cut ahead to the best part. The next time the fan came to a Penguins game, the fan let Penguins PR know he was coming. He was sitting in his seat in the 300 level when a Penguins employee arrived at his seat with an autographed game-used stick from Sid. This kind of stuff happens ALL THE TIME but Sid does not want the team to publicize it. Says a lot about who he is as a human. Hope you enjoyed that, Amy.
Joey
1:25
Thanks for your answers. And I did see the article but a lot of pundits aren't as smart as you. Especially some of the national guys.
Matt Vensel
1:26
No sweat, Joey. Great questions. Thank you! And I think I do a decent job of making myself look smarter than I really am.
1:27
Does anyone have any more questions? I can take one or two more.
1:28
In the meantime, I'll share whom I think the Pens will protect in the expansion draft and hope it doesn't look silly two days from now.

Forward (7): Sid, Geno, Guentzel, Rust, Tanev, Blueger and Kapanen

Defense (3): Letang, Dumoulin and Ceci

Goalie (1): Jarry
1:31
The things I'm not totally sure about are:
1) Will they protect Jeff Carter or leave him exposed and hope Seattle won't take a 36-year-old? They definitely want him back.

2) Really no idea who will be the third defenseman they protect. Could be Cody Ceci, a UFA. Could be Mike Matheson or Marcus Pettersson despite their less-than-ideal contracts. Could even be Mark Friedman. That's a name Penguins fans shouldn't forget.

3) I suspect they keep Jarry but can't say that with 100% certainty.
Joey
1:32
I give you one more. If they decide to go after a 1A goalie. Which pending FA you think is the best fit?
Matt Vensel
1:36
OK, last question. Thanks again, Joey. Options aren't great beyond Philipp Grubauer, who is presumably out of their price range. Tuukka Rask has said it's Boston or bust, so I'm not considering him. That leaves Frederik Andersen, who hasn't won a playoff series in like seven years and platoon types such as Antti Raanta, Petr Mrazek and Jaro Halak. If they do keep Jarry and want to pair him with a veteran, I am intrigued by Halak, who has a solid playoff pedigree. Now, he's 36, so you wonder if he can still hold up. But he's someone I would personally inquire on. All that said, the best and most likely option for them might be via trade. We can talk more about that next time.
1:37
That will do it for today's chat. Thanks again, everyone, especially if you sent over a question. We should do this again next week. Will presumably be plenty to talk about. See you then?
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