Chapter 1: What recent performance boosts the Penguins' playoff hopes?
Even as we speak, I see the Penguins game up here on Sportsnet Pittsburgh, watching it from last night. So watching it for the second time. And as we open the show today, it feels like a hopeful time right now. Suddenly, after the dark ages, sort of, of modern Pittsburgh sports, there's hope almost everywhere you look.
And specifically with the Penguins now, where Kyle Dubas is doing an incredible job. He really is. And here to talk about that, the trade deadline, the game last night, is Paul Steigerwald. You know him from decades of Steigie being around the Penguins in various roles. He's on the Sullivan Super Service fan hotline, Pittsburgh's trusted plumbing and HVAC provider. for over 50 years.
Stoggy, you can never tell how a team's going to come out of a lengthy break like that. But man, certainly by the third period, and for a lot of the night really, but certainly by the third, the Penguins looked like they did before the break. They just turned it up a couple notches and overwhelmed the Devils, didn't they?
Absolutely. And I thought early in the game, they actually looked pretty good. I had a feeling it would be the opposite because the Devils had played the night before, and I thought they were in a game mode whereas the Penguins were still maybe in a bit of a practice mode before they could get their game legs together.
And then by the final analysis, I think the Devils, having played the night before, maybe were a little shy on conditioning for playing a back-to-back. So it's funny how that goes, but the Penguins certainly did get stronger as the game went on. In any case, they got big saves from Archer Shelaw. He made a lot of key saves. The Devils have really struggled lately to score goals.
I think they have now scored only one goal in 21 games. And it's been a real struggle for them to put the puck in the net. So they actually had some glorious scoring opportunities. And Archer Shelaw has made great saves starting with that. And then, of course, the Penguins did get back to play in that kind of game. They can play. They move the puck really well. They defend well when they can.
And their special teams are really good. Like they went into the game last night ranked fourth on the power play. I think they're second now after going one for three. And they went into the game ranked fourth in penalty killing, and they killed all five. So they probably moved up in that category, too.
So goaltending, special teams, star power, it's all there for the Penguins right now, even with sit-out.
Stigie, you mentioned Shelovs, and maybe that's a story that not enough people are talking about. He's on a pretty good run here, and I think he's been pretty good overall. And it was notable that he played last night, right?
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Chapter 2: How is Stuart Skinner's future affecting the Penguins' strategy?
It's a different category, if you will, than playing in regular regulation time. So as far as I'm concerned, he's just gotten stronger and stronger as the season's gone on. And I felt even before the break that the Penguins were quite obviously putting him in positions to succeed.
I think they really wanted to push him to see what he could bring in hopes that he would fulfill their trust in him and their faith in him. And I think he's done that. And so last night, to start him in the first game coming out of the break,
they automatically were committing themselves to him playing two of the next three because he's not going to play Saturday and Sunday, and he probably will play on Sunday, and Stuart Skinner will play Saturday. So that'll mean that Shelaws would have played two of the first three games, which tells me that they're really leaning towards him right now.
Well, then how about the future of Skinner at the trade deadline, a guy who's going to be an unrestricted free agent who's been pretty good, although he's struggled lately. The overall number's not great, but they like him. What are they going to do with him?
Well, it's really hard not to like him, Joe. He's an awesome guy. He has an immediate presence in the locker room when he came. He's a solid, calm goaltender. He's been experienced, too, with going to the finals a couple times with the Oilers. I know he had his ups and downs, but in a lot of ways, that's a positive. His ability to bounce back from bad performances.
He's not as athletic as Shilov's side to side, but he's got some real qualities to him that are nice. But on the other hand, because he does have those qualities, I wouldn't be surprised if Kyle Dubas gets some phone calls on him before the trade deadline. And then depending on what Kyle has offered, he might have to make a decision there because
He's got depth in goal, and I know everybody wants to see Mershaw, but Blomquist has played well down there, too, and they could conceivably bring him up as the backup and let Mershaw continue to play and then maybe spot him every now and then or the rest of the way.
Also, when you make a deal like that where you trade a goalie, sometimes you go looking for another veteran goalie just for depth purposes, which they might try to do if they were to move Skinner. I'm not saying they're going to do it, but I do think the possibility exists, but only if Kyle Dubas gets some offer that blows him away.
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Chapter 3: What do the Penguins need to secure a playoff spot?
Well, you know, in other years, 96 would be a pretty good number. I don't know if it's going to come in lower or higher this year based on the competition because the Atlantic Division is very strong.
And those two teams in the wild card position could very well end up being Atlantic Division teams, which means the Penguins are going to be in a dogfight for a playoff spot if they don't get into the top three in the Metropolitan Divisions.
And the Penguins' record in the Metropolitan Division, and I don't have it in front of me, I hope I can remember it, but I think it's 11-1-3, something like that. It's tremendous. It's the best record I can remember them having in the division in a long time. And so if they can continue to beat teams in their division and keep that record going, that'll help.
And maybe give them a better chance of finishing in that top three. So it's not just the point total. To me, it's where they finish because that wild card,
situation could become very competitive I know it's I don't think it's ever happened where one of the two wildcard teams finishes with more points than any of the teams in the top three but this might be one year where it could happen and I just hope the Penguins can just keep doing what they're doing they're kind of having a really good one game at a time focus right now I really believe they think they're good enough and nothing's going to shake their belief in themselves
Nothing. And the loss of Sid certainly hasn't. If anything, it's kind of a rallying point for them to kind of prove they could win without him and, you know, try to win it for him, that kind of thing. So I have a lot of confidence in the fact that they're going to rack up at least that many points the rest of the year.
All right. So the trade deadline right around the corner. And we're talking to Paul Steigerwald here on Very Rarely Pumpin' Joe. Steigie. I'm reading headlines like this from the bottom end. Vancouver Canucks stakes at the trade deadline have never been higher. They're unloading people. The Buffalo Sabres. Elliott Friedman says the Sabres are, quote, going for it at the trade deadline.
Words I never thought I would see. The Penguins are obviously somewhere in between there, but I hope leaning a little toward Buffalo or where are they? What are they going to do with the trade deadline? What can they do? What should they do?
I think Kyle Dubas will continue to do what he's done, which is look for players who can help the team now and in the future and also get picks that he can use as further capital to maybe make other trades or to use those selections to get players. I don't think he's going to deviate from what he's done.
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Chapter 4: How might Vincent Trocheck impact the Penguins' lineup?
What if they ate some of it, though, Stoggy? What if they ate a couple million to get it down to $5 million?
Hey, I don't know. I'd have to look at his contract to see how many years he has left on it and that kind of thing. I'll tell you right now while you talk. I love to see Vince Trocek in a Penguin uniform. I've wanted to see him in a Penguin uniform for a long time. He's a tremendous candidate for second or third line center for the Penguins. No question about that.
You know, I thought going into looking at last night's game, I thought maybe Kendall Avery Hayes and Brian Rust isn't the best option that maybe it would be better to put. I'm sorry, Raquel Hayes. Russ and Avery Hayes isn't a good option. Maybe Kendall would look better in that first-line slot, at least for now while Sid's out. And then, you know, what do you do after that?
Well, you know, Tommy Novak's been really good. I have no complaints about what the Penguins are doing in the middle. I mean, Blake Lizotte is a great fourth-line center, so I'm happy with that. But depth is an issue. And I don't know if he ended up with a throw check, if that's really almost too much. considering the fact that those other guys are playing pretty well.
I just think you need another center iceman who can spell one of these guys that are in there now if they should go down for a few games.
Well, his contract, he's got three cap hits of 5.625 million left. 26, 27, 27, 28, 28, 29. Then he becomes a UFA. So nothing outrageous. I mean, you still might be able to get them to eat a little bit of that, but I bet you'd have to give up a first round pick.
I think so. And I think the Rangers like him a lot. And that's the other thing. Like the Rangers can't just abandon ship at this point, you know, They'd love to. I'm sure they'd like to shake that JT Miller contract because that's a big one. But Trochek, he's a different bird. I mean, he's a really important guy for them.
What they really need to do is get a centerman who can play ahead of Trochek so that they can maximize the value they get from him because they're not that strong in the middle. And they need a center iceman who can really kind of take them to another level. And where they're hard to find, You know, they got Lafreniere in the draft. They got Capocacco in the draft.
And they struck out, I think, on both of those players going all the way to the bottom to get them. And so that can happen, too. Everybody wants you to tank, you know, finish in the top five. And then you make a couple of picks that don't pan out. That can be disastrous.
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Chapter 5: What are the implications of Anthony Mantha's expiring contract?
Paul Steigerwald on the Sullivan Super Service fan hotline. I'm trying to think what else the Penguins could go out and get. Where else could they shore up their team and who else is out there? I guess maybe one of the questions, too, is will Kyle Dubas keep his other pending unrestricted guys? Noel Achari comes to mind. People like that. How do you think that plays out?
Well, I think, again, it has to do with, you know, what he gets in return. And I don't think you could expect a whole lot in return for a Nolichari. He might be better off just keeping him. You know, Anthony Manta. I kind of look at Anthony Manta as like a long-term rental this year.
You know, if you were making a deal to get a guy like Anthony Manta at the trade deadline, you'd be renting him, right? So now just look at it as like he's renting him for the rest of this year. He might end up signing him to an extension. I can see that happening. So he already kind of has his guys.
You know, he made a couple of key deals before the season to get these guys, and they made that Tommy Novak deal last year. So he's already kind of acquired players who are, you know, in the case of Manta, he's on an expiring contract. I don't see him moving him. So, you know, and Ryan Shea is another one who's really developed into a nice player. You know, Kyle signed him.
on July 1st in his first summer. Nobody really talks about that, but that was a great signing for the Penguins. He's developed into a really solid defensive. He's a plus 22 after last night. And he's also on an expiring contract. So I think it's more likely that Kyle Dubas will sign Connor Dewar, Ryan Shea, maybe even Anthony Manta to an extension. And he got Malkin too.
So I think you'll probably sign him and say, Hey, I got a pretty nice team right now. I just need to add a couple of nice pieces. I got some good kids coming along and, And so why not go with that as opposed to this whole concept of tanking while Sid is still wanting to play at a high level.
Stigie, do you think Gino signs for one more year? And is that a good idea?
One or two, I think, you know, you see him last night.
Yeah.
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Chapter 6: How does the Penguins' playoff strategy change without Sid?
So then, I mean, that's a pretty big deal. That becomes a three-week minimum. How do you think this all plays out?
I really think he comes back earlier than four weeks. I mean, I think he comes back in the month of March. I just don't know when. I think a lot of times when you have a situation like Sid being hurt, You think of how all the media is going to react to that, okay? So if you say two weeks, every day Dan Mews is going to be asked, what's the status of Sidney Crosby?
Everybody's going to be wondering where he is. All right, two weeks is up. Why isn't he back? You know what I mean? If you say four weeks, you've got more runway before people start bugging you about when he's coming back. So I think there's a bigger window there that the Penguins can maneuver within, and I wouldn't be surprised at all knowing Sid that he'll come back earlier.
When you look at the playoff picture, and I'll end you with this one, Stygie, is the Penguins are sitting there in a decent position right now. They have 72 points. They have games in hand on a lot of teams. The teams on the outskirts right now, Who are the biggest threats? Because it's still very precarious. The Penguins are only, you know, four points up or maybe five on the Capitals.
And that's the ninth place team. So the Capitals, Blue Jackets, Senators, Panthers, Flyers, Leafs. Which one or two of those teams do you think will rise and really make a run and maybe threaten a team like the Penguins if we're talking about simply making the playoffs?
The Capitals have had a tendency to really bring their level of play up. I look for the Capitals to make some noise before the year is over in the Metropolitan Division. I also thought Columbus would do that. Now, they went on a really hot run right before the Olympic break with their new coach. And I think that it's possible that they will continue to be more successful.
So I look at them as a real threat also. And you don't know what they'll do with the deadline. They could make themselves even stronger. Well, they'd like to have Chinnikov right now. And then over in the Atlantic Division, Boston always scares me. If the Penguins were to meet them in the playoffs, I wouldn't like that because of the track record. And the Islanders are always a threat.
So I think the Islanders, Capitals, Columbus will all be in the hunt trying to get to one of those top three spots. And in the Atlantic, there's a lot of teams. In Buffalo, Detroit, both are really good. Boston's good. So those wild card spots are going to be tough to contend for. That's why I'd like to see the Penguins continue to stay up there in the Metropolitan Division.
Steigie, thank you for taking the time. Great stuff as always.
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Chapter 7: What trade options are available for the Penguins at the deadline?
All right. Take care, Joe. Have a good weekend.
See you, buddy. That's Paul Steigerwald. You've known him forever on Penguins broadcast and in all kinds of different roles with that team. Coming up next, one of the big stories from the combine today is Mr. Ty Simpson. First of all, he tells reporters today, I think I'm ready. I'm a franchise quarterback. Alabama prepares you most for the NFL.
The Alabama locker room is as close to an NFL locker room as you can get. Does that mean five toilets? Maybe six, actually. They probably definitely have more toilets at Alabama than they do for the Steelers. Would you agree with that? It's probably a nicer, definitely half the college locker rooms are nicer. I think we have more than five toilets here. Exactly. So he's a story.
The Steelers have formally met with him. So argue all you like that this is ludicrous that they would ever take him and zero chance and all that. I'm looking at the facts of the matter. They have formally met with him. He's a big story. The Rams reportedly have their eyes on him either at 13 or 29, I believe, are their two slots.
Chapter 8: Will Evgeni Malkin sign with the Penguins for another season?
He's a topic, period. And we're going to talk about him next with Nick Farabaugh of PennLive.com. It's very rarely Pomp and Joe.