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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 10.03.19
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Matt Vensel
11:59
It's a hockey night in Pittsburgh, Penguins fans. Pumped for another season to start tonight. Please submit your questions now if you've got them. I'll try to get to as many as possible over the next hour.
Guest
12:00
All preseason and camp we saw Jack Johnson either paired with Gudbrandson or a “4th pairing” and then Yohe writes article saying JJ has high probability of being moved prior to season starting. Now all of a sudden he’s on second pairing skating with Schultz (whom he did not skate with at all during camp) and Rutherford is out there saying he was never being moved. What is going on? Is this a case of HCMS wanting to move on from Johnson and GMJR forcing him to be played (similar situation to Ian Cole) or is this then showcasing him, or do the honestly believe he’s capable of playing on a second pairing for this team despite all his problems, liabilities, and shortcomings from last year’s excitement of him being on the 2nd pair?
Matt Vensel
12:04
It's no secret the Penguins have been open to dealing Jack Johnson. He would be with the Wild right now had Phil Kessel not nixed that trade to Minnesota in May. But they have been unable to find a deal they like -- or maybe any at all -- to move on from Johnson, who will make $3.25 million in each of the next four years. They use camp to evaluate players and pairings and Riikola, who is far from proven, got a shot to bump him out of the lineup but hasn't done it yet. Instead of having a problematic third pair in Jack and Gudbranson, they split those two up, with Jack playing with Schultz because of handedness. I have a feeling I'm going to be saying this a lot in this chat, but this is the lineup for Game 1 of 82. Things and will change. And that could include Johnson still being dealt if GMJR finds a deal.
Buckaroo Banzai
12:04
Did Rust's injury cause a potential Jack Johnson deal to fall apart?  It's awfully curious timing that a deal was imminent, then nothing happened after Rust got hurt.  On the other hand, why keep nine defensemen on the roster if nothing is cooking?  John Marino will probably be a healthy scratch, when he should be getting experience.
Matt Vensel
12:06
I don't see how Rust's injury would lead to a Jack Johnson deal falling apart. Maybe I'm missing some tie-in. Anyway, for what it's worth, Jim Rutherford came out and strongly denied the report earlier this week that Jack would be deal before the season opener. That was surprising to me because I've never seen Rutherford do that before.
pozone
12:06
Matt with 9 defenseman is there a trade coming soon?
Matt Vensel
12:07
Rutherford has made no secret of the fact that he wants to and will likely have to make some sort of trade to break up the logjam on the blue line and free up the cap space for when Rust returns in a few weeks. They aren't going to carry nine defensemen all season. With Marino, he isn't subject to waivers, so they can send him down whenever. We may see him bouncing back and forth here.
Buckaroo Banzai
12:08
The Pens signed Riikola last year, Larmi and Palve this year, and have drafted several Finns lately.  Are they running an underground railroad out of Finland?
Matt Vensel
12:09
Because of that whole Atlantic Ocean thing, I doubt they have an underground railroad. Perhaps they're smuggling them in on boats. But, yes, the Penguins have found some intriguing players over there. To be honest, though, I didn't see much from Palve in camp.
Guest
12:10
What’s the purpose of 9 defensemen? Marino won’t benefit from sitting in the box eating nachos.
Matt Vensel
12:11
My wife would probably say the same thing about my in-game eating habits. Anyway, I definitely see your point. You'd think they would prefer he play big minutes in WBS. But they obviously think there's a benefit to him being around the NHL club. He'll get bigger paychecks here, too. They did the same thing with Riikola last season.
Man, we're already running out of questions here. C'mon, people!
Guest
12:13
I assume rust broke his hand ? Any word on how long he will be out ?  He was playing so well
Matt Vensel
12:14
Given what happened and his longer timetable, that certainly is a possibility. But don't discount the cap savings the Penguins get while he is on LTIR. If, say, his hand isn't broken and he was supposed to miss a couple of weeks, maybe they tell him to take his time?
Ross
12:14
How surprising was it to see  Casey get sent down over Jarry? Was it primarily salary based?
Matt Vensel
12:16
Yes, this was a financial decision. And yes, it was surprising, because there were other ways around it without the Penguins having to risk losing Casey, who Rutherford on Tuesday called the "perfect" No. 2 because of his attitude and ability to play well after longer layoffs. But the gamble paid off and Casey is still in the organization, though I'm sure he's not thrilled about everything that happened.
Buckaroo Banzai
12:17
If you were a betting man, who would you see as the first call-up at forward?
Matt Vensel
12:17
Adam Johnson, Sam Lafferty or Kasper Bjorkqvist. Would depend on what the Penguins need and who's playing well for WBS.
Alan in Nashville
12:18
On a personal note, this whole core just seems stale to me. Even the monotonous tone from Sid. Is it possible that some of these newer guys breathe some life into this team? If we have to hear Sid say “We have to play with desperation” or Geno suggest that he needs to get his confidence back, I might throw my shoe through the screen! Just kidding, BTW!
Matt Vensel
12:18
You're right, Alan. They should definitely trade Crosby while they can still get something decent for him.
burt reynolds
12:18
Is Mike Sullivan's view on having lefty/righty d-pairs common in the NHL? There are more righties in the NHL than in the past, but I would think that in Sullivan's day, most teams only had 1 or maybe 2 (or even 0) righties. There used to be an old joke about how they didn't sell right handed sticks in Russia. Yet it seems like Sullivan talks about the need to have a lot of righties.
Matt Vensel
12:20
Yes. Right-handed defensemen remain a valuable commodity. I have wondered if the lefty-righty pairing thing is a little exaggerated. It probably just depends on the individual players. Jack Johnson really struggled last year on the right side after Justin Schultz went down. But I'm guessing Kris Letang would still be damn good on the left.
Guest
12:20
Can Casey stay here or does he have to physically go down to wb?  That must be so demoralizing for him
Matt Vensel
12:21
He has to physically go there, yeah, though I'm sure some teams try to skirt that rule with some of those "paper transactions."
SZ in AZ
12:21
Ha. Early days for chats, too, I guess.

OK. I'll bite. If you were suddenly made GM, how would you resolve the glut on defense, assuming there was no trade for JJ in the offing?
Matt Vensel
12:25
Given the cap issues now and the bigger ones that loom next summer, I would have tried to get Jack's deal off the books by throwing in a mid-round pick or a prospect. I just think that's a lot of money for your sixth defenseman. But, OK, say Jack is still on the team. If you really think Marino is ready now, you could look to move another righty, such as Gudbranson. But I don't think they need to do something drastic just because they have nine here now. Marino can go back to WBS. If you don't want to play Jack, play Riikola instead. And Ruhwedel is your "break-glass-in-case-of-emergency" guy. We'll see if Jack looks different tonight, but moving him, if possible, remains the smartest move for cap reasons.
HB
12:26
Why do you think Edmonton didn’t pick up Sprong or Ho-Sang off waivers both have more potential than the janitors they have on the wings of Mcdavid.
Matt Vensel
12:26
I have no idea, but I'm pretty sure 29 other teams felt the same way.
Guest
12:26
How are the new guys fitting in the locker room ?  Who do they have them sitting next to ?
Matt Vensel
12:27
Galchenyuk sits next to Malkin, which is definitely noteworthy. Kahun and Tanev are somewhere in there between Geno and Sid. I don't think there is anything noteworthy about their locker locations.
PM
12:27
Random idea, but while Rust is out and we have a little bit of extra cap, why not sign someone like Marleau/Boyle to come help out. You’ll make a trade regardless at some point. I know the Pens probably want to prioritize the young players, but man would it be cool to see Marleau in a Pens sweater.
Matt Vensel
12:28
I'm guessing they would prefer to give one of their young guys from WBS a chance over a veteran in the twilight of his career. Besides, we might only be talking about a dozen or so games without Rust.
All I knowis
12:28
Over/under on first bad drop pass at the blue line by Geno?
Matt Vensel
12:30
Give the guy a chance. Yes, Geno has those moments that make you shake your head. But he has been one of the top 10 centers in the NHL over the past decade-plus, won three Stanley Cups, took home an MVP award and a scoring title, etc. Does he need to play smarter, especially as his physical tools erode? Yes. But they probably aren't winning a Stanley Cup this year without him. He's still one of their two most important players. We'll see if he bounces back.
Ross
12:31
With the new rule changes, do the players or coaches see any advantages or disadvantages in how it could affect the game?
Matt Vensel
12:32
It will be interesting to see if the rule regarding the location of some offensive faceoffs will make much of an impact. I think the new rule that will penalize teams for failed coaching challenges will result in far less challenges. Not sure if that's a good thing or a bad thing. But, hey, at least we'll all get home from the arena a little earlier!
burt reynolds
12:32
What do you see being the #1 pp configuration tonight, assuming Galchenyuk plays (if that matters)? If Galchenyuk doesn't play, do the Penguins dress 11 forwards and 7 D, or do they take an extra D and have them play forward?
Matt Vensel
12:33
Based on the morning skate, the five we will see on the first power play tonight are Crosby, Malkin, Guenzel, Hornqvist and Letang. We all know where Hornqvist and Letang will be. I'm curious to see where those other three are. Been a lot of tinkering the past few weeks. Oh, and Galchenyuk is playing. Don't worry.
Andy
12:34
Showcase Jack Johnson?  He has been in the league over a decade, teams aren't going to learn anything new at this point.
Matt Vensel
12:35
You're right, so I don't think that's what's happening here.
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