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Mike DeFabo's Penguins chat: 04.29.22
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Grumpy Bear
1:03
During the season, the Pens [Jarry in particular] gave me some hope this team could make a run deep into the playoffs. Not so much anymore. Beyond poor defensive discipline and power play, what else do you see that ails this team? Any hope would be greatly appreciated.
Mike DeFabo
1:07
Hey Grumpy Bear, the Penguins are obviously not playing well right now. Actually, you could argue they've played their worst hockey over the last month. I look at two areas: depth scoring and transition defense. ... Early in the year, they had guys like Evan Rodrigues coming out of nowhere to score 15 goals in hist first 33 games. He's got just three in his last 48. I'm not picking on him. But he's the perfect case study of what's going on with this team. Recently, it feels like if the top line and power play aren't producing, the Penguins aren't going to score enough goals
1:08
Defensively, they've been one of the best teams in the league this year, consistently in the top five. They're still really good at limiting shots from the slot, high-danger chances and just chances in general. The one area they've struggled is odd-man rushes. They're in the bottom third in the league in that category. I felt like early this year, Jarry was there to bail them out with the big save. But especially against teams like NYR and FLA with elite transition attacks, that's a big concern for me heading into the postseason
John
1:09
Hi Mike. Is there any news on Zucker?
Mike DeFabo
1:09
No update from Sullivan today. He just said Zucker is continuing to be evaluated, which doesn't sound great. Zucker is a warrior. He played through a core muscle injury earlier this year and a significant ankle injury last year. So if there's anyway for him to be on the ice, I bet he'll do it.
Scorekeeper
1:09
If Zucker is out for the first round or even longer, is there a chance for the Penguins to call up Drew O'Connor?  With their lack of depth scoring, it has been a bit perplexing as to why he was not recalled, especially since he was tearing it up in Wilkes. Is there a reason why the Pens have not recalled him?
Mike DeFabo
1:10
The salary cap is the main reason you haven't seen O'Connor. But once the postseason starts, that doesn't matter anymore. I think he'd be a prime candidate to get recalled. Then it would be a matter of if the Penguins want to play him over, say, Boyle, Kapanen, Heinen, etc
Joe
1:11
Who cares about the final game of the season. Why isn’t Sullivan resting Sid, Geno, Carter, Letang for the last game, and maybe De Smith? I know Hextall didn’t do right by the cap space at the end of the season, but they should just play with three forward lines and let the old guys rest
Mike DeFabo
1:12
Rest vs. rust is the classic debate. I guess if one of those guys goes down with injury tonight, we'll all be second-guessing the decision. But I say play them. The Penguins have not played well lately. They were very bad in Philadelphia against a Flyers team that had nothing to play for and then completely out-classed against the Edmonton Oilers at home. The Penguins need some semblance of positive momentum heading into the playoffs. A big win over a bad CBJ team might give them at least some small jolt
1:13
Also, you really can't rest guys in the NHL. With the salary cap, the Penguins have no room to call someone up. So if you rest the four guys you mentioned, you're going to play with like 9 forwards. That doesn't work.
John
1:13
Is Jarry out of that boot yet?
Mike DeFabo
1:14
I haven't seen Jarry in a while. Last I saw him, he was on a scooter with a boot. I have been told he's got a broken bone in his foot. Idk if he can be a warrior and play through that or somehow immobilize it. Maybe. But odds are, if the Penguins are going to make it through the first round, Casey DeSmith will have a lot to say about it
Jason
1:14
Hi Mike. Do you think the Penguins made a mistake not picking up another goalie? I don’t think anyone was okay with starting DeSmith in the playoffs and if that was the case why didn’t they make something happen with either a trade or what they have left of their draft capitol? Seems like this entire year could go down in flames when there was a fire smoldering after last years collapse.
Mike DeFabo
1:18
I wrote about this shortly after Jarry went down. Let's just look at the trade deadline. The Penguins entered that time with VERY limited cap space. Just to bring on Rakell, they needed to shed salary (ZAR/ Simon) and also add more assets than they would have liked in order to get Anaheim to retain salary. Right now, they have $11,000 in cap space. That's nothing. So basically they had room to make one single move. I strongly feel a goal scorer was more critical than a goalie
1:20
But even if you want to say the Penguins should have gone with a goalie instead, the options were extremely limited. yes, Marc-Andre Fleury got dealt. But no chance was he coming here. His $7 cap hit made it an impossibility. Plus, Jarry was an All-Star. You're not adding Fleury to be a backup.
1:21
Beyond Fleury, I didn't see a reasonable upgrade. Dallas held onto Holtby in an effort to make a playoff push. Vancouver's Jaroslav Halak, who felt like a possible target given GMJR's out in Vancouver now, fell apart right before the deadline. The list goes on. Other goalie-needy teams like the Caps, Leafs, etc. also didn't find a goalie. So I think that says a lot about the market
Guest
1:24
Hello, In your opinion, who would be the better match up for the pens? Rangers or panthers? A lot of people call me crazy but I'd rather play the panthers. I feel like their goaltending is "weak". By me saying this, their goaltending is a lot weaker than Igor. Feel like the rangers have owned us recently and we normally play the panthers pretty close.
Mike DeFabo
1:24
This is an interesting debate. Let's set the stage first. If the Penguins win tonight, they play the Rangers. If they lose AND the Caps beat the Rangers, then the Penguins play Florida
1:25
It's wild that the Penguins have played so poorly against Rangers that people have talked themselves into the idea that the Penguins have a better chance against the Florida Panthers, who have won 17 of 20 and earned the President's Trophy as the league's best team
1:26
I get the argument that Sergei Bobrovsky has been poor in the postseason. In Pittsburgh, we've watched him falter first-hand on a few occasions. The problem I see is that the argument ends there. Florida is still extremely fast, physical and big. They come at you in waves
1:27
The Penguins had a stretch when they played the Rangers, Lightning, Hurricanes, Panthers, Golden Knights and then Canes again. I was told the Penguins coaching staff believed the Panthers were the best team of that stretch and I tend to agree
Joe
1:28
Mike, who, if any, are returning to the Pens next season from among Geno, Letang and Rust?
Mike DeFabo
1:29
I think it's a very real possibility at least two of these guys are gone. I asked Sid yesterday about this being a "last dance" for the core and he answered the question like he knows there's a very real chance it could happen.
1:30
If I'm making the decisions, Letang is the most irreplaceable. John Marino hasn't necessarily taken that step forward that gives you confidence he can be a top-pair righty and QB the power play. If I were calling the shots, he's the one I'd make the priority
1:31
Malkin hasn't look the same since his surgery. The skill is there and you're seeing it on the power play. But his limited 5-on-5 production, I think, is a product of him not having his wheels
And Rust, I think he's super valuable. Super versatile. But because of that, I think he could make way more elsewhere
1:32
To get deals done, I think Malkin and Letang BOTH have to take paycuts on what they currently make and sign shorter deal than they want (think in the three-year range). Both guys have said, in different ways, they're willing to take less. But how much less?
1:33
With Rust, I could see him getting six years, six mil somewhere. The Penguins won't be that team. Maybe five years, five mil gets it done. But at 30 years old, Rust needs to approach this like it's his last contract. I just don't know if the two sides can come together to make it work
Carson
1:33
If I remember correctly, Vensel used to play goalie. Any chance he gets the call from the press box?
Mike DeFabo
1:33
There's a hilarious video of him trying to stop soccer balls online. Look it up.
John
1:34
Were you at practice Mike? If so, how were the boys?
Mike DeFabo
1:34
The boys are buzzin
Joe
1:34
If Sullivan cannot get this team past another first round playoff series should he be fired? While a good coach, my problem with Sullivan is that he has a certain system he plays and he doesn’t have the horses to play that system, and yet he won’t make major alterations to it. The best coaches create a way to play based on the players that they have, and he does not have a fast team anymore
Mike DeFabo
1:37
I've always been a fan of Mike Sullivan. He's perennially in the Jack Adams Award  conversation and was slated to coach Team USA in the Olympics for a reason. He's widely considered one of the best coaches in the game. I think they'd regret moving on from him
1:39
That said, coaches get fired all the time in the NHL for almost no reason. Losing in the first round four consecutive years might be motivation for a new voice. But, really, I think the issues have to do with what's on the ice, no behind the bench. If you look at it, the Penguins are worse on paper than they were a year ago at this time. It's still a player's game to me
Tom
1:39
Is Sullivan too stubborn just to put 4 lines together and let them play? This is like 5 years in a row we don't know what the lineup will be to start the playoffs while the less talented teams are locked in and ready to play.
Mike DeFabo
1:39
I see two big issues: 1. Malkin's wingers and 2. the identity of the Blueger line
1:41
Geno has played with something like 9 or 10 different wingers since he came back from surgery. (I've lost count). Getting suspended for four games, Malkin robbed himself of critical time to build chemistry with Rakell or re-establish that chemistry he's shown in the past with Rust. I honestly don't know what you do there. I can see arguments on both sides. Either you play Rust with Sid to create the best-possible top line. Or you just play Rust with Geno and hope they re-discover what they had in 2019-20.
1:43
Then with Blueger, it's wild. For like 2.5 years, his line had such a clear identity. Every day at practice, I'd just type in ZAR - Blueger - Tanev. Then when McGinn came, they just plugged him back in. But now, with McGinn moving up the lineup and ZAR in Anaheim, I feel like that line isn't the same shut-down force we know and expect. Trying to recreate it with Boyle or others has been a challenge. I don't know if Boyle is fast enough to play against opponents' top lines, something that was such a big part of the Blueger line's identity
SouthHillsMike
1:44
I want to understand your issues with Malkin's wingers....they have tried everyone with him.  He as terrible the other night with Rakell (who needs to be with 87 always....sorry, is much better there then Rust).  Malkin was terrible with Rakell the other night, Rakell was flying several times and Malkin stopped the play and kept trying to go 1 x 3
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