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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 09.20.24
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Matt Vensel
10:21
Happy Friday, Penguins fans. Looking forward to chatting with you today at noon from Penguins training camp. Finally, we have actual hockey stuff to discuss. You can submit questions anytime.
11:57
I'm ready to get going. Apologies if any of these responses are a bit delayed. Hockey is happening in front of me here at UPMC66.
Dan N
11:57
Matt with last week’s acquisition of a seventh goaltender albeit a backup in Wheeling ..there has to be some type of trade in the wind ? Also very impressed so far by Tristan Broz! Is he a possible left wing on Syds line down the road ?
Matt Vensel
11:59
Dan, I believe the Penguins bringing in goalie Luke Richardson on that camp tryout deal was due to Taylor Gauthier being out due to injury. Has no impact on the NHL club. As for Tristan Broz, he was awesome at the Buffalo Prospects Challenge. He was one of Pittsburgh's best players there, and I know that at least some people in the front office agreed with me. He will have to have a dynamite camp and preseason to make the NHL club before the start of the season. But Broz might play his way onto the call-up radar if he keeps this going in Wilkes.
Boesch
12:01
You got a good one in Rutger McG. Great guy.  Lincoln, NE couldn't be prouder.  Any mumblings of his skating fades away, as the biscuit goes in the basket, repeatedly.   Go get 'em Rut!
Matt Vensel
12:04
Thanks for checking in from the Midwest! I'm not a pro scout, but I have watched Rutger McGroarty play or practice several times in the last week and his skating hasn't stood out as a glaring issue that will prevent him from panning out. Obviously, there is something to that critique of his game or he wouldn't spend so much time working to improve his skating. (He seems to be more concerned with edge work down low than open-ice speed.) Anyway, so far I have been impressed with his game and even more so his personality. Funny, energetic kid. I think there is a decent chance he starts the year in the minor leagues. But if he does, I don't envision him being there for too long.
Jason
12:06
Hi Matt! Do you think Crosby signing for 2 years will be his last 2 years or is it more of a wait and see how he’s doing physically and then either announcing his retirement or signing an extension? If it is his last contract would it be safe to assume he will announce this at the end of this year?
Matt Vensel
12:08
Jason, that is to be determined. Sid did not sign this contract, which keeps him in the fold until 2027, with conviction that it will be his last. Now, he was careful about choosing the term because he doesn't want to be a drag on the team down the road (psssh... as if such a thing was possible). But after previously saying he thought he would only play until he was 40, I think now that it is on the horizon he will let his play and his body dictate it when the time comes to think about signing another contract. I personally think that with his smarts, his drive and his lower half, he could play capably until he was 45 or maybe even 50 barring injury. But that's all up to him, of course.
Jim (Cosmo) K in Jax
12:09
What do the Penguins do with their surplus of goalies in the organization? If Jarry plays well early in the season, do they keep him or try to trade him for NHL talent or draft picks? Would it make sense for them to go "young" in net if Jarry is tradable?
Matt Vensel
12:12
Good question, Cosmo. I think the answer to that depends on the performance of both Tristan Jarry and the team. We'll start with the team. If the Penguins get back to being a playoff team, we can assume Jarry's play will have something to do with it. They would want to keep him through the season presumably. But if the Penguins are clearly not contenders, there are a bunch of factors that will come in to play. Is Joel Blomqvist ready for the NHL? What is Alex Nedeljkovic's value to the Pens and to other teams on the trade market? Is Jarry a coveted asset? Kyle Dubas would have to consider all those things to decide if it made sense for them to make a trade at the deadline or next summer. But right now, it's too early to say how it's going to all play out.
Dean
12:14
Hi Matt I know it’s a little early but do you think Valteri Pustanen sticks with the club with all these acquisitions?
Matt Vensel
12:17
Dean, I expect Valtteri Puustinen to start the season in Wilkes. Maybe that changes with a strong camp and preseason. But he is 25 now and signed for relative peanuts, so there is not much invested in him going forward. The only thing that could separate him from this crowded, crowded group is his theoretical playmaking skill, something we have only seen in spurts in the NHL. Maybe that gets him on the third line, because we know he isn't the type of player that coach Mike Sullivan has historically (and understandably) utilized on the fourth line.
The spirit of Pete the Penguin
12:18
I'm rolling over in my grave at what this team has become the past 6 seasons.
Matt Vensel
12:19
Noted. Appreciate you joining this chat from the afterlife, though!
OG_SteelPenguin
12:19
Hi Matt...with respect to Rakell's precipitous decline in point production last year, what line do you expect him to fall into on this year's roster?
Matt Vensel
12:21
As we know, Sullivan likes to utilize tandems with his forward groups. Crosby and Bryan Rust is definitely one. I am assuming Evgeni Malkin and Michael Bunting will be another, even though they aren't skating together yet in camp. Just a hunch, but I think Rickard Rakell will be one of those moving pieces who bounces around from line to line, depending on how he is playing and what Sullivan thinks his lineup needs at the moment. Rakell simply needs to play better, too. The production is one thing. But I believe his lack of pace and intensity is what rubbed some folks the wrong way last season.
Guest
12:22
Matt, can you picture moving Evegini Malkin to the wing on a line with Sidney Crosby? Thanks so much.
Matt Vensel
12:26
The PG staff did a piece a couple of days ago that made predictions for the season. One of mine was that we see Malkin spend more time than ever on the wing this season. Now, I don't think that will be the case early in the year. And some of that will depend on whether the Penguins trade someone such as Lars Eller to do something about the logjam at center. But I do think we could see Malkin on the wing more given that the top six isn't as solidified as it has been in recent years. Plus, maybe it will help them get more out of Malkin in his late 30s. I'm skeptical about that because he's spent so much time seeing the ice from the center spot, but I am open-minded to the possibility.
Joe Blow
12:27
I feel like the Penguins needs at least 2-3 of these young guys, Mcgroarty, Koivunen, etc., to stick around following training camp in order for the team to have a legitimate chance at making the playoffs.  I think the older guys need the energy the younger players provide to feed off of and provide a boost throughout the season.  Do you think this will happen?  If so, how many and who from their pool of young talent will make team out of TC and will HCMS give them a meaningful role or bury them in the bottom six?
Matt Vensel
12:30
Mr. Blow, I thought we would see the Penguins start the year with two or three young forwards in the lineup. Then they added more and more and more veterans. Throw in the fact that Sam Poulin is now eligible for waivers, and I think a lot of the young guys will start the year in Wilkes. All that said, the Penguins didn't have much financial commitment to vets such as Kevin Hayes, Anthony Beauvillier, etc. So the Wilkes-to-Pittsburgh express will likely be very active all season.
Brad C
12:30
rank the 3 players from likeliest to least likeliest to make the team… Glass, Mcgroarty, Poulin
Matt Vensel
12:33
Cody Glass is another offseason pickup who doesn't have a contract that necessitates him being in the NHL. But I think he will make the team out of camp. We will see about those other two. I already talked about McGroarty in this chat. As for Poulin, this feels like a make-or-break year for him with the organization, and maybe as an NHLer. I still think there is a regular NHL player in there somewhere. He has had awful, awful luck and timing throughout his career with injuries, mental health stuff, the pandemic messing with his development. But at some point, he's got to go out there and leave no questions about whether he should be in Pittsburgh. We haven't seen that yet.
Jim (Cosmo) K in Jax
12:33
When a goalie makes a glove "save" on a shot which is clearly going to go wide or high and the goalie holds the puck for a faceoff, is that considered a save even though the shot wouldn't have been in the net?
Matt Vensel
12:35
That's up to the scorekeepers in each arena. And let's just say it can be extremely subjective! What's interesting is that the NHL, with the embrace of sports gambling throughout pro sports and over/unders on everything, has had to do a better job of auditing that stuff.
Guest
12:35
Hi, Matt. What are the Penguins’ plans for Beau Jelsma? Are they signing him?
Matt Vensel
12:36
I think "Guest" might actually be Beau Jelsma. Anyway, he's hurt.
Jim (Cosmo) K in Jax
12:37
Who is the "enforcer" or potential fighter on the team when needed? Pettersson can't be the guy again, can he? And for the record, Darren says fighting should be banned and I tend to agree...
Matt Vensel
12:41
I don't think the Penguins need an "enforcer" in the traditional sense of the word. We really don't see guys dropping the gloves very often. But they do need more pushback for sure, guys who are willing to stand up for teammates in some form or fashion when it is required. I think the Penguins would love for someone like John Ludvig to seize a spot. But with Ludvig in particular, he hasn't shown that a) he can stay healthy and b) be a reliable enough defender to justify getting his fists and fire into the lineup. Beyond him, I don't know that there is anyone else here in this camp that you would consider to be an enforcer. For example, Kevin Hayes is a massive man but he only has one career NHL fight. So, yeah, for those of you who are clamoring for the Pens to bring back some old-time hockey, do not get your hopes up.
12:42
And that will do it for today's Penguins chat. I've got to head down to the dressing room shortly. Appreciate all the questions this week. You guys brought it. We'll do it again soon. Have a great weekend!
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