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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 11.15.24
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Matt Vensel
11:14
Happy Friday, Penguins fans. Lots to talk about today. I will get started at noon. You can submit questions beforehand if you'd like.
12:07
Sorry to keep you all waiting a few minutes. Let's get started.
Tom
12:07
I'm shocked that Sullivan is still the coach. Do you see anything he has done to alter his style or lineup to improve the teams in the last few years? Mind boggling to me how consistently bad we are but literally chooses the same veterans to play the same unsuccessful system day in and day out.
Matt Vensel
12:11
Tom, I am not shocked that he is still the coach given FSG's fondness for him and his close relationship with the team's star players. But I understand your point. Most coaches would have been replaced by now. I will say that this week was the first time that people in and around the organization started to wonder if Sullivan would be let go. The loss to the Stars was that bad. I think your criticism about Sullivan's unwillingness to significantly change the team's style of play is fair. I don't agree with your point about Sullivan only playing veterans. I don't need to go on another rant about that, but the Penguins during my seven years covering the team haven't had more than a few young players worth playing, and none of them were future top-of-the-line types. That is going to change this year, and we will see how Sullivan proceeds assuming he remains behind the bench.
Tom
12:12
So the Pens had a bunch of injuries late last season and Sully was forced to play a bunch of young guys which led to winning like 11 games in a row. This year we send all the guys back down and take on more 30 year old players and consistently get blown out. Hmmmm?
Matt Vensel
12:14
Tom is really beating this drum. Who were those young players again? Last I checked none of them were under the age of 24.
Tunnel traffic
12:14
I didn't like the Yager trade at the time and now believe it is even worse. Reasoning was McGroarty was closer to NHL ready. Yet he is still a pouting, slow plodding, winger who isn't scoring down in the minors. Maybe could have seen Yager get a call up with Eller gone now. What a waste of a potential top line Center,  am I wrong?
Matt Vensel
12:18
Can we practice a little patience here? He is only 20. And Rutger is a smart, driven kid who is going to find a way to become a player in the league. As for the trade itself, I was one of the few local reporters who didn't rush to declare it a big win for the Penguins. That was partly because I really liked Brayden Yager as a prospect (by the way, he wouldn't have been eligible for a call-up because he is still playing junior hockey) and also because with two players so young it is impossible to know who will go on to have the better NHL career. Anyway, give Rutger a break. Not many players go straight from the NCAA ranks to a top-six spot in the NHL.
Dan N
12:18
All the talk of trading Petterrson after watching the Baby Pens on TV a couple of times I’m not sure they have a replacement…Pickering is definitely not ready…as a matter of fact the kids as a whole seem…meh !
Matt Vensel
12:19
I do expect Marcus Pettersson to be traded if the Penguins' struggles continue. But it wouldn't be because the team thinks it has a better option in the minor leagues. They would be trading a pending free agent for future assets. That should be obvious here.
Arnold S. From Turtle Creek
12:21
Do you see the strategy of drafting a bunch of 3rd, 4th, and 5th, rounders in '25-'27 really panning out for a great team in 2030? Oh and you traded your top Center away for a winger  who will likely pout his way out of Pittsburgh after a few losing season in '25 and '26.
Matt Vensel
12:23
Lot of frustrated fans in today's chat! This comment puzzles me. For so long, there have been complaints about how the Penguins trade away all their picks and prospects and have no young players in the system. And now Dubas is stockpiling picks and it's seen as a bad thing? I mean, sure, it would be great if the Capitals traded three first-round picks for a 35-year-old center in Lars Eller. But let's be realistic here when looking at their trade pieces. All that said, I think Pettersson is one player who might be able to fetch them a first-round pick.
Syl Apps
12:24
I played in front of crowds of ~ 6000 fans at the Civic Arena.  Where do you think attendance bottoms as the team does the same?
Matt Vensel
12:27
Hey, Syl. Thanks for joining the chat from the afterlife. I do not expect the attendance to fall anywhere close to that. Obviously, ticket sales are a concern for the Penguins, who had a sellout streak of 14 years up until COVID hit. That said, they still have been at 90.5% capacity this season. Nowhere close to San Jose, Columbus, Buffalo, Utah, etc.
Guest
12:28
When Dubas wrote, "This was a very selfless move by Crosby to resign knowing we are going to have some tough days ahead". Do you think Crosby knew he'd be dealing roster players for 2027 draft picks? I think it was the right play by Dubas and the Pens. But is Crosby really 'that' selfless to resign for multiple years knowing they are rebuilding? Because let's not kid ourselves, this is not a 'retool'. It's a full-on rebuild.
Matt Vensel
12:28
I think none of us have a right to tell Sidney Crosby what to do.
Phil
12:28
Pittsburgh has been most of his life. I can’t see 87 rotting away on a team without realistic playoff aspirations. (They seem about cooked).
too much of a winner and gamer. Seems crazy but would he ever ask out?
Matt Vensel
12:31
Sid is a bright, cerebral guy who processes every piece of information on and off the ice. Sure, there might be some stubbornness there in thinking he might be able to still lead this Penguins team back to the playoffs. But I am certain he at least recognized this was a possibility. He just re-signed two months ago, so he isn't about to ask out anytime soon. But if these dark days continue for a couple more years, no one would fault him if he decided he wanted to go elsewhere for another shot or two at the Stanley Cup. Sid has earned the right to call his shot.
Clark from Virginia
12:31
Do you believe that the Lars Eller trade is the start of a Penguins sell off?
Matt Vensel
12:32
Clark, I anticipate there will be more trades should the losing continue.
Kris Peterinelli
12:32
Friday already??  So in your opinion, who is actually tradeable from this team?
Matt Vensel
12:38
I know there was a report that said everyone but Crosby is available. I think that is a bit of a stretch. Evgeni Malkin just said the other day that he doesn't want to go anywhere, and I don't believe the Penguins have a desire to trade him. He has a no-trade clause, too, as do Kris Letang, Bryan Rust and Erik Karlsson. So their situations are complicated. In the case of Letang, I think there are interested teams and he has a burning desire to win, but I don't know if he could walk away from Sid and Geno. The three of them all committed to the Penguins together. I think it is more realistic that we see pending free agents such as Pettersson and Drew O'Connor get dealt. Rickard Rakell and Noel Acciari have more term on their contracts but they would be ones to watch, too, if the Penguins don't pull out of this. Kyle Dubas may wait a bit to make another trade after firing the Eller warning shot.
Jeff
12:39
I feel like I need to ask this again, just a week later. This team is going to lose a lot of games, why not lose trying to develop more young players?
Matt Vensel
12:39
Jeff here must have missed Sam Poulin, Vasily Ponomarev and Owen Pickering all getting called up within the last few days...
Jim (Cosmo) K in Jax
12:41
Although Dumas was rightfully given credit for shedding contracts when acquiring Karlsson, hasn't that been a failure in hindsight? I thought EK was supposed to help put the power play in elite territory which would have definitely helped win more than a handful of games to allow the team to qualify for the playoffs.

Instead of three bad contracts he has been left with one which is a major albatross... I remember the buzz after the trade, I was all in favor of it. In theory it should have worked and still possibly can...
Matt Vensel
12:44
Yes, the Karlsson trade is shaping up to be more disastrous than any move that Ron Hextall made. I wrote at the time that I liked rolling the dice on Karlsson and felt it was a worthwhile gamble given that Kyle Dubas had committed to trying to compete in 2023-24, but I also noted that I felt the Penguins gave up too much (a first and a second) to make all the money work. We now have the gift of hindsight. And not only did the Penguins give up two premium picks for a talented player but not a winning player, they also hit the snooze button on this rebuild. We will see if Dubas can unload Karlsson at some point and get decent value back. I am skeptical of that without serious retention on Karlsson's contract. But we shall see.
Mike
12:45
Ok now that Pickering has been called up who’s next out the door?
Matt Vensel
12:48
Mike, I don't know how long Pickering will stick around. Mike Sullivan just said Letang is sick, which is why he's out tonight and Pickering was called up. From what I have seen from Pickering, he is a ways away from being an NHL player. But I admittedly have not watched any WBS games this year, and by all accounts he has been pretty good. I know there is clamoring for every young, exciting player to get called to Pittsburgh immediately. But in the case of Pickering in particular, he is one they really shouldn't rush. His development is the priority.
Jim (Cosmo) K in Jax
12:48
I can't imagine he thinks this way, but should Crosby have taken a lower value contract in order to enhance his trade ability to a true cup contender? I'd love to see him finish up with Tampa, CO, Tor, or even EDM; but teams who are Cup contenders don't have the cap space for even his modest contract.

He'll never leave, will he? Even to chase another Cup? Penguins fans have been so fortunate - I'm 62 and am very grateful for the success of the team starting with Mario. I live through some lean years for sure.
Matt Vensel
12:50
Let me stress that this is the mother of all ifs... But if the Penguins and Crosby were to mutually agree to move him to another team, that feels like something that would happen during the offseason, not midseason. That's just my hunch. But let me clarify that I still think it is more likely than not that Crosby finishes his career with the Penguins. The man just spent all summer mulling this. For more context, please refer to some of my previous answers about Crosby's future.
Commissioner
12:51
Do you believe the Pens can make the playoffs as they are currently constructed or do they need to make some trades or signings to make that possible?
J D
12:51
Matt, what will it take for the Pens to turnaround their season?   (A hot streak, trade, promoting their youth, praying, or something else)
Matt Vensel
12:53
This questions are along the same lines. I do not think the Penguins as currently constructed will make the playoffs. There are too many defensive breakdowns, blown leads, slow starts, mental mistakes, etc. The only hope, IMO, is that the Penguins start to bring up some young players and they perform better than expected and give the team a real spark. Oh, and Tristan Jarry rediscovers his All-Star form. (He's starting tonight, BTW.) I would say all of that is pretty unlikely. But to paraphrase Lloyd Christmas, I'm telling you there's a chance.
12:57
My sincere apologies to those who did not have their questions answered but I have to call an end to this chat. I think we might have set a record for questions today. Love the passion, even I was a bit snarky today. We will do another one of these next week. But in the meantime, you can email me at mvensel@post-gazette.com and I will take the time to answer you there. Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend. Hey, at least the Steelers will be worth watching!
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