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Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 12.13.24
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Matt Vensel
10:36
Good morning, Penguins fans. Looking forward to chatting with you again today. We will get going at noon. You can submit questions at anytime. I plan to go for about a half hour today. Talk soon!
12:05
Sorry for the delay. Had to make a smoothie. Let's get this started.
Sam's dog
12:05
Should the Pens take the first shot on Jarry, just so he can make a save and have some confidence for the game? Maybe a little floater into his chest?
Matt Vensel
12:07
I know dogs have trouble watching television, so I assume you didn't watch the first goal last night, which was in no way Tristan Jarry's fault. Or that you missed him stopping 21 of the next 22 shots.
The Dude
12:07
In the midst of celebrating a great offensive show and victory over the Canadiens, has anyone looked at Montreal’s first goal? How does a veteran player like Letang make the pass across ice to set up that score? It’s all well and good the Pens got a big win but bonehead plays like that one ultimately keep them out of contention.
Matt Vensel
12:07
If you want to blame anyone for the first goal, it is Kris Letang.
Arnold Slick from TC
12:08
Is it that hard just to tell Matt Grzelcyk..."never pinch, play defense." Hech while they're at it, the coaches should remind all the defenseman that they are supposed to help on defense.
Matt Vensel
12:08
Was I dreaming last night when I thought I was watching the Penguins win 9-2? I recognize that fans shouldn't be planning a victory parade because of that, but what's with all the negativity today?
Tom
12:09
Why is Jesse Puljujarvi not in the lineup? Sure looks like he plays harder than most of the other castoffs Sullivan insists on playing.
Matt Vensel
12:10
Tom, the reasons that Mike Sullivan have given at point this season are that Puljujarvi has lacked an attention to detail defensively. It probably also works against Puljujarvi that the coaches don't trust him to play special teams. That's a tiebreaker toward another forwards.
Jason
12:10
Hey Matt! If there was no cap like the MLB do you think the Steelers and Penguins would spend like the Pirates because of the “small market” excuse?
Matt Vensel
12:11
Don't get your question, Jason. All I can tell you is that the Penguins spend to the salary cap ceiling, even after the ownership change, and they're expected to continue to do so under Fenway Sports Group.
BingBong
12:12
Good morning Matt. Do you think Sullivan will stop tweaking the top 2 lines (sans injury) as much as he was earlier in the season? Rakell/Sid/ Rusty are all thriving and Bunting/Geno/Tomasino seem to be gaining momentum. I'd imagine it's difficult to play with different guys on your line every night.
Matt Vensel
12:14
He's not touching that top line as long as it is scoring like this. As for the second line, I do think Sullivan will try to keep Malkin and Phil Tomasino together, as long as the results warrant it. But there is no clear third wheel on that line at this point. Drew O'Connor hasn't scored in 25 games now and for whatever reason Malkin and Michael Bunting haven't had the same success as they did in the spring.
Jawny
12:14
Was Drew O'Connor a Crosby merchant all along
Matt Vensel
12:15
Drew has always been streaky, for whatever reason. Obviously, expectations were higher this year, thus the disappointment. The Penguins need him to start putting the puck into the net, but to his credit he is not letting his slump drag down his overall game.
12:16
Could use a few more questions if you have something on your mind...
Jim (Cosmo) K in Jax
12:17
What's up with 71? Strong start to the season and couldn't get on the score sheet last night. I know +/- isn't the best barometer, but why is he so steaky at times? I thought being productive on a regular line with Sid would have sparked a slightly dormant 71. His even strength play is subpar too often. Enjoy the holidays Matt!
Matt Vensel
12:22
Hey, Cosmo. (I like Cosmo better!) Thanks for being a chat regular. Obviously, Malkin is 38 years old, so he is not physically dominant like he once was. That shows up in the NHL Edge stats the league releases using player tracking. He doesn't have that burst anymore. My read on Malkin as a player is that he is no longer an elite offensive player off the rush, and that he is unable or unwilling to evolve his game to find other ways to generate offense. So the production comes and goes. And then the defensive lapses will always be there. That's how he could have a minus-14 rating in their last 17 games.
Kris Peterinelli
12:23
OK Matt, time for your what-if thoughts... 26 games to go before 4-nations.  Then just 7 games between resuming play and the trade deadline.  (Caps, Rags, 2Flyers, Bruins, Leafs and Lanche)  Let's say over the next 26 we do just enough to stay within 5-6 points of final wild card spot.  Are you trading Pettersson, Rakell or anyone else of significance if this return is good?
Matt Vensel
12:26
Me? If I'm the GM, I would still look to sell. The goal is to be a real championship contender, not someone sneaking into the playoffs. As long as my owners weren't insisting I bring in a little playoff revenue, I would shop players who don't fit into my long-term plan. Do I think Kyle Dubas thinks the same way? To a degree, yes. But I am not sure where he would draw the line when it comes to how close they would need to be to a playoff spot. Last year, he gave the Penguins as much runway as he could before trading Jake Guentzel. The situation has changed, though, so maybe he will not wait as long if history repeats itself. Obviously, the trade deadline is three months away...
Billy
12:29
Based on Mackenzie Blackwood's contract and the return the Avs sent for him, would you say Jarry will be almost impossible to move? And has management indicated they would even consider it?
Matt Vensel
12:32
Billy, I am not sure what you mean with the first half of that question. Blackwood is a pending UFA with a cap hit that is $3 million less than Jarry's, so I don't think their situations are comparable. As for the second half of the question, the Penguins were open to moving Tristan this summer but obviously a deal never materialized. I think at some point, whether it is before the trade deadline or in the offseason, the Penguins will push to move either Jarry or Alex Nedeljkovic to make way for Joel Blomqvist. Jarry has been solid lately, other than those early goals, so that's a good thing for his trade value.
12:33
That will do it for today's chat. Thanks for the questions, everyone. Have a great weekend, and enjoy the holidays if we don't have another Penguins chat between then and now. Appreciate you guys.
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