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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 12.06.24
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Matt Vensel
10:48
Happy Friday, Penguins fans. Looking forward to chatting with you today. We will begin at noon. You can submit questions at any time.
12:00
Let's get started. I hope to go for 30-40 minutes. But I will need more questions for that to happen. So if something's on your mind...
jwheaney
12:01
Do you think that the Penguins third period woes are due to poor physical conditioning? Thanks!!!
Matt Vensel
12:04
No. Generally, the collapses have largely been a combination of poor decision-making in the pursuit of more goals and a lack of mental toughness from the team. In regards to the latest one, which came against the defending champs, I just think the Penguins were simply outplayed all game and it wasn't until the third period that the Panthers broke through. And I agree with Kris Letang's assessment that the Panthers had to work for those goals. The Penguins didn't just give away that lead. Anyway, the blown leads have been the story of the team's season so far. But it has nothing to do with whether guys are in shape.
Joe
12:05
When will the coach start playing Jesse P. whose analytics are much better than nearly every fourth line player playing right now? Jesse in the lineup in place of Nieto seems like a no brained to me
Matt Vensel
12:09
I'm putting a one-month moratorium on Jesse Puljujarvi questions. Should he be playing over Matt Nieto? Probably, though I would put Cody Glass back in ahead of Puljujarvi. But is it a criminal offense that Puljujarvi is not playing every game? No. He's just OK.
Guest
12:10
How come the goal tending is so pathetic and basic fundamentals aren't even being demonstrated by these supposedly "professionals"?
Matt Vensel
12:10
Picked the wrong weak to criticize the goaltending. Both Tristan Jarry and Alex Nedeljkovic have been solid during this winning streak.
Benson DuBois
12:11
Has Jarry improved to the point where he has trade value?   Will the Pens keep him anyway?
Matt Vensel
12:14
We are talking about only a few good games here... Tristan Jarry has a long, long way to go for his contract to become a positive trade asset. But let's give him some credit. He was more or less demoted, he didn't pout, played great in the AHL and has been improving ever since he came back to Pittsburgh. Many around here were writing his epitaph a month ago, but Jarry has had an encouraging response.
Kris Peterinelli
12:14
Do you think that playing Nieto, Accari, et al is for showcasing for future potential trades?
Matt Vensel
12:17
Hey, Kris. I don't think so. It's Mike Sullivan who picks the lineup and he clearly wants a straight-ahead, low-event fourth line to deploy in a checking role. As I noted earlier, I would play others over Nieto. I am fine with Acciari staying in the lineup. What puzzles me there is that the Penguins have said they want to play Acciari on the wing, and there is no question that he has been more impactful when they do play him on the wing. And yet they keep putting him back at center when they have alternatives. I don't get that, but I digress.
Ryan
12:17
What about the play Of Bryan rust it was nice to see him win the game on Tuesday
Matt Vensel
12:18
You don't have to sell me on Bryan Rust. I have been a big fan of him, both as a player and a person, over my time on the beat. I know the defensive metrics for him this season have been poor. But he has often provided a spark for the Penguins when they really needed it.
Leonard
12:19
Would you agree that MP28 is definitely going to get traded at some point this season. He should generate a very nice return. Can the defense survive losing their best defenseman.
Matt Vensel
12:22
Leonard, I do expect Marcus Pettersson to be traded this season as long as the Penguins remain out of playoff position. He may still get dealt regardless, but I believe he will be definitely be traded if they are out of it. I would say, though, that some Penguins fans have unrealistic expectations about what the team would get in return for Pettersson, who is a pending free agent. I think most NHL teams view him as a second-pair type, not the shutdown defender he can be made out to be. I don't say that to take a shot at Marcus. I have a lot of respect for him as a player and you need defensive-oriented blue-liners to win the Cup. But I just don't see him as the caliber of player who will bring back a first-round pick or a top prospect. I guess we'll see...
Joe
12:23
Is Dubas’ trading of the vets on hold because the Pens have won 4 games? It seems like the infusion of youth actually helped win those games, I.e. Pickering and Tomasino. Despite what Sullivan wants, why doesn’t Dubas start waiving or trading older vets like Acciari and Nieto and start forcing Sullivan to play Poulin and others from WBS? Anyone can learn to PK, a trade the coach elevates like nothing else. It’s not a skill
Matt Vensel
12:24
No, the GM doesn't operate game-to-game. He takes the long view.
Kris Peterinelli
12:24
Funny how a couple of wins in a row changes things.  Now we are suddenly "only 1 point out of playoffs".  Yet we are still only 4 points away from being worst team in the conference still.  So why do folks want to run to both extremes so much??
Matt Vensel
12:27
I know some people prefer hot takes. I'm not the guy for that. When the Penguins got off to that poor start, I didn't picture them finishing with a bottom-five record. They aren't an awful team. And now that they finally are getting traction, I'm not going to declare that they are a playoff team. Obviously, they are somewhere in the middle, maybe the ninth or 10th best team in the East. Over the course of 82 games, they will settle in to where they should be in the standings.
Tim
12:28
I keep forgetting Graves is on the team. I'm assuming a buyout is in his future next year. A lot of money wasted there.
Matt Vensel
12:32
I would not be so sure of that, Tim. For one, Kyle Dubas is on the record as saying that he is very much against buyouts because they can have long-term cap ramifications. Second, there would not be that much of a benefit cap-wise to buying him out. The Penguins would save about $2.1 million in salary cap money that first year, according to CapWages.com. But after the first year, it would be essentially a wash, and it would leave money on the books until 2033. I also don't think it makes sense, with where the Penguins are in the rebuilding process, to give up a quality future asset to incentivize a team to take his contract. So Pittsburgh just has to hope that Graves plays better.
Tom
12:34
Matt, I realize talent or lack of talented players plays a bigger role in the success of any coaches strategy & scheme.  From my perspective / observation Sullivan hasn’t emphasized the defensive side of the game for a handful of years. When you’re fast you can out skate your opponents. But when the speed diminishes you need to be more physical in your play. Sullivan has never appreciated his team playing a more physical brand of hockey. Your thoughts please. Thanks.
Matt Vensel
12:38
Playing good defense and playing "a more physical brand of hockey" are not necessarily the same thing. The last time they made the playoffs, the Penguins actually fared better in defensive metrics than on offense. They ranked top five in goals against. But obviously, this team has slipped across the board in the last two-plus seasons.
Guest
12:38
Is a Marcus Peterson for Nils Hoglander straight up trade a possibility.
Matt Vensel
12:41
I don't know that anything is imminent there. But is it possible we see a trade involving those two players before the end of the season? Absolutely. Jim Rutherford and the Canucks have coveted Pettersson for years now. I have heard Pettersson would have went to Vancouver in the J.T. Miller blockbuster that the two teams seriously discussed at Ron Hextall's last trade deadline, and the Canucks need a LHD. And Hoglander fits with what Dubas has been looking for in recent months. He is a young player with some pedigree. So, yeah, stay tuned.
Jeff
12:42
I thought Graves was their best defender early in the season. They’ve won four in a row without him, but could that just be coincidence? Think he’s being unfairly scapegoated here.
Matt Vensel
12:47
I wouldn't call Graves their best defender early but no question he got off to a solid start. I wrote a story on Nov. 1 about how he had steadied himself after his rocky first year here. But he struggled over the next couple of weeks and came out of the lineup for Owen Pickering. Pickering has not given the Penguins a reason to take him out. So Graves has gotten squeezed a bit. I suspect one factor there is that they don't want to play Graves on the right side. That gives one edge to Matt Grzelcyk and Ryan Shea, who are better skaters and puck movers and thus more equipped to play on their off side. Of course, that's not the only factor in the decision to make Graves a healthy scratch. And it's hard to argue with how the team is playing right now, even if their success is not directly tied to him being in the press box.
12:48
That will do it for today's chat. Thanks to everyone who submitted questions. We'll do it again next Friday. Have a great weekend!
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