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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 10.11.19
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Matt Vensel
11:12
Happy Friday, Penguins fans. I'm chatting from beautiful, sunny Minneapolis, where it's supposed to freaking snow tomorrow. Anyway, let's talk Pens. Please send your questions in now.
ALB
11:13
Odds that Malkin is still a Pen at the end of the season?
Matt Vensel
11:18
Coming in hot today, I see. I'd set the odds at higher than 90 percent. Say that Malkin is out a long while and struggles when he returns or continues to be hobbled, it's hard to imagine another team giving up much for him given his contract, right? And if he returns and plays like the Geno of old, the Penguins would want to keep that guy and hope he can stay healthy going forward. I'd never say never to a trade happening, but I wonder if it's more likely that Malkin decides to finish his career back home in the KHL than it is that the Penguins trade him to another team. If anyone, Kris Letang is the one to watch.
Jimmie
11:18
In what circumstances would the Pens keep Schultz and trade #58?
Matt Vensel
11:20
Jimmie, I'm not saying this is what the Penguins will do, but if they traded Letang, they would presumably get a pretty decent return. And then they'd have the cap space available to keep Schultz, who at this point is probably priced out of their budget. Again, not saying that's what they will do or should do. But that's a scenario for you.
Guest
11:21
It seems to me that 82 games is too many .  How many do you think makes sense ?  And do you think players would prefer a shorter season ?
Matt Vensel
11:22
I can't say that I've asked any of the players about it. But are they still getting paid the same amount if the NHL goes to, say, 70 games? I'd doubt it. So it's hard to see the players going for that, even though I'm sure it would be better for their bodies and the NHL in general.
Guest
11:24
Why bother dressing players to only play 1.30 minutes like Johnson and aggozoni did last night .  That taxes the other 10 too much so early in the season .
Matt Vensel
11:27
That's a question for the coach, not me, but I'm guessing Mike Sullivan went with guys he felt he could trust in what was a pretty important early-season game. Plus, in that brief amount of time those two were on the ice, the Ducks scored their only goal. That was likely a factor. But, yeah, that's not a sustainable thing going forward.
Guest
11:28
You think they might call up poulin or Legare ?
Matt Vensel
11:28
They were sent back to their junior teams after camp.
Guest
11:29
Alright ,what is it with the "Shallow Hal" love for #12? He had an OK game list night with an assisis,but have you or any of you Comrades ever seen a player  with lees production receive more opportunities than Dominik Simon? Even Craig Adams played 4th line minutes.  PP,Winger with Crosby,etc., yes now the situation is different, but the effusive words by Sullivan and some Blog owners,this isn't a young Wayne Gretzky. Not even Wayne World. I don't get it.
Matt Vensel
11:31
Crosby has had four points at 5-on-5 and a plus-3 rating the past three games with Simon on the top line. I understand the frustration with the lack of box-score production from Simon, but I don't think now's the time to grumble about him being on the top line, not with the line as a whole playing pretty well the last three games.
Cherry, D
11:31
Worse deal, Jack Johnson or Chris Archer? Could they be combined for worse two moves by a major league city?
Matt Vensel
11:33
I honestly don't see them as comparable. One was a win-now move, the Pirates trading a couple of prospects who popped with their new team. The Jack Johnson signing was a bad one, for sure, given the term. But it's not like his $3.25 million salary is crippling in itself. It's that signing along with other questionable financial decisions that have put the Penguins in this precarious cap situation.
11:34
OK, I'm calling timeout to grab another cup of coffee. I'll be back in a couple of minutes. Keep sending questions if you've got them!
Mattingly
11:38
Hi Matt, always good to meet another Matt.  While it's very early, have you seen much to like about Dominik Kahun, and do you feel he's a good fit?
Matt Vensel
11:40
Hello, fellow Matt. Not really, but I say that acknowledging that he's been practicing with the team for literally four weeks today. Kahun had a very quiet camp and hasn't really popped in games. He seems to be having a hard time settling in with the Penguins shifting him all over the place. Some guys don't mind it. It's challenging for others. But he's going to get good opportunities with half of the team on IR, so we'll see if he can get comfortable and get going here.
Guest
11:40
I don’t understand the Simon hate .  He was a big factor in the second goal last night and if Crosby likes him and he helps 87/59 score goals then that’s good enough for me.  He doesn’t need to score
Matt Vensel
11:42
Exactly. He's very cheap, too. If you can plug Dominik on the top line with Crosby and Guentzel and the line keeps trucking, that's a win. Because it means that the talent, at least when the team is relatively healthy, is better distributed throughout the forward lines.
Guest
11:42
You think Marino is staying in the line up ?  And does he strictly play the right side ?
Any rumblings of a trade coming ?  Read yesterday that Gudbranson’s name is being floated out there .
Matt Vensel
11:46
These two separate questions are tied together, so I'll address them all at once. This is a tricky one. They really like Marino and his biggest strength might be navigating the forecheck and getting the Penguins going the other way. But, unless something's changed, they like what Gudbranson brings to the table, too. He's a big, physical guy who has been decent since coming over at the trade deadline. Plus, he can fight. And they like to have someone in the lineup just in case. Heck, they had Garrett Wilson on the team most of last season for that reason. But they're both righties. And the Pens aren't sitting Letang or Schultz. So even though Gudbranson and Marino are both among their top six defensemen, one will have to sit unless they teach Marino how to play left-handed over the next couple of days (I kid). So, yeah, it's not surprising to hear Gudbranson's name resurface in trade rumors. The team has been open to moving him since July, though, and have not found a deal that works for him. So we'll see.
11:47
I don't think there will be much demand for Gudbranson,but Jim Rutherford has a way of getting deals done.
Any more questions, folks? Or do we want to call it a day?
joeco
11:49
how can HCMS manage Crosby time on back to back games?   he cant do 25/night can he?
Matt Vensel
11:50
It's a tightrope, for sure. I know they closely monitor minutes and Sid surely has some input. But Sullivan will have to be careful not to get too wrapped up in individual games and think big picture when he considers sending Sid out for another double shift. It's kind of like Letang. Sullivan in the previous two seasons talked about wanting to limit Letang's minutes. But it never really happened.
RPK
11:51
We hear from GMJR and the media about ZAR playing a heavy game.  I have yet to see it.  Am I missing something?
Matt Vensel
11:53
Yeah, I think that might be a cliched mischaracterization (is that a word?) of Zach Aston-Reese's game. Or maybe that's the game they would like to see him play. But that's not really him. He is a gritty player and tough, and he isn't afraid to take a hit to make a play or go to the net. But he's not really a big hitter. He'll land a good one here and there. But he's not a Milan Lucic or anything like that.
GPT
11:53
ZAR doesn't really bring much to the table.  I had hopes for him as a Hornqvist-lite, but I don't see anything noticeable from him.  Time to swap him out for Adam Johnson or Lafferty once the team is close to full strength?
Matt Vensel
11:55
I hear ya. Injuries have been a factor. Sullivan has talked about how there have been times where ZAR seemed to be settling in, then he got hurt and had to start over again. I do think he has done some good things in the first few games. He definitely had some chemistry with Teddy Blueger. Let's see what ZAR does with the opportunity in front of him. But the other guys you mentioned should be getting opportunities, too. ZAR better make the most of his.
11:56
Alright, folks. That was fun. Thanks for hopping in and sending over some good questions, especially on short notice. We should be back to our regular day, Thursday, next week. I flew into Minnesota early yesterday, thus the change. Have a great weekend.
Guest
11:56
wow no Jack Johnson questions ... has the sky fallen ??
Matt Vensel
11:57
Haha. Dang. I almost made it through a chat without reading Jack's name! We'll try again next week.
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