You are viewing the chat in desktop mode. Click here to switch to mobile view.
X
Matt Vensel's Penguins chat: 09.25.20
powered byJotCast
Matt Vensel
1:05
Hey, Pens fans. Sorry for the delay. Let's get today's chat started.
Marnie
1:05
Really don't get the latest GMJR trade for an under-performing defenseman with an albatross of a contract.  Especially another left-handed one.  Sullivan likes L-R defensive pairs.  Seems the head coach and GM aren't on the same page with this one.  What am I missing?
Matt Vensel
1:07
Marnie, my initial take on the Patric Hornqvist trade is that the Penguins have essentially swapped one bad contract for another and now have a logjam at left defense instead of at right wing. Right now, it kind of just looks like shuffling of deck chairs. But I believe we should hold off on our judgment of this offseason until we see the finished product.
James
1:07
Matt, do you think think the trade for Matheson is a possible precursor for Letang to be moved?  Thanks.
Matt Vensel
1:08
James, I do not think the trade has anything to do with Kris Letang. They essentially play different positions. The Penguins have too many left-shot defenseman and not enough on the right side. Moving Letang, their top righty, probably isn't going to help them in that regard.
Sarah
1:09
You'll get this a lot I'm sure, but what are the options for the LD logjam, ranked in order of what you think is most likely to happen to least likely?
Matt Vensel
1:11
Sarah, something has to give there. While Mike Matheson did play a decent number of minutes on the right side last season in Florida, ideally he's on his strong side, the left. Jack Johnson has a hard enough time on his strong side, so moving him to the right is obviously not the answer. Brian Dumoulin and Marcus Pettersson are the top two lefties. So you have to figure the Penguins will look to move somebody with Juuso Riikola also coming back and prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph possibly ready to contribute at some point this season. Logically, finding a way to move on from Johnson's contract makes the most sense. That doesn't necessarily mean that's the way GMJR is going to go, though.
Sarah
1:12
Any sense of why the team resigned Riikola when it seems Sully is adamant about not playing him?
Matt Vensel
1:13
Excellent follow-up, Sarah. Don't have a good answer for you. The coach hasn't shown much trust in him the past two years. So it was surprising to see the Pens bring him back. Could still be a trade candidate.
burt reynolds
1:15
While I like Hornqvist a lot, he has not been able to stay in the lineup due to injury and was even taken off the #1 PP in the playoffs for a bit. Might have just been time to go another direction.

Speaking of the PP, do you see Matheson being slotted in for some PP time? Looks like he didn't play on the PP in FL. Also I think a bit much is being made of the whole "not enough righties". It's almost getting the point where baseball is with left-handed pitchers where people jam them in just because they are left-handed and not because they are actually good pitchers. Most hockey players shoot left because that's how they teach it in Canada, Europe, and the more traditional hockey states, so most left-handed defensemen have plenty of experience playing on the right side.
Matt Vensel
1:17
Your points on Hornqvist are well taken. Taking nothing away from his awesome contributions in his six years here, but Patric turns 34 in a few months and might have been a fourth-liner for the Pens next season. He is still effective on the power play but they will probably be starting from scratch with how they put that together structurally. As for Matheson on the PP, he is definitely a candidate to play on the second unit.
Sarah
1:17
Would you take the over/under on Hornqvist playing 50% of available games for the remainder of his contract?
Matt Vensel
1:19
Health was the big worry with Hornqvist. He had five concussions in his time here and dealt with other injuries as well. Given that, his contract was probably worse than Jack Johnson's given that Hornqvist still has three more years on his deal at $5.3 million per. That said, Matheson's deal, which has six years left, isn't looking any better right now.
Scott
1:21
Please talk me off the ledge regarding the moves of GMJR.  Tell me there's a way he can package JJ with Murray to relieve the logjam & save some money.  Otherwise i've lost faith
Matt Vensel
1:23
As I said earlier, I'm going to reserve judgment on this offseason shakeup until it's completed. But I, too, have had a tough time following the logic of these moves in real time. It almost feels like whack-a-mole. I thought they gave up too much for Kaspari Kapanen, a middle-six winger. They then had to move Hornqvist, but took on a third-pairing defenseman who makes nearly $5 million a season when they already have Jack Johnson. Surely, more moves are in the works. Maybe GMJR can find a way to attach Johnson's contract in a trade involving Matt Murray. If that happens, everything will start making a little bit more sense.
Jeff Z. South Side
1:25
Hey Matt! To me. Horny was far from the problem. And so now they will be right to having nobody for the net front presence. I get the pricetag was high for soon to be 34 yr old winger with concussion history. But Jimbo has the reverse midas touch and he will be fired within the next 18 months. IMHO
Matt Vensel
1:28
Agreed that Hornqvist wasn't a problem. He's on the decline and was never a strong skater in the first place. So it did make sense to trade him if the Pens are insistent on still trying to win with speed. But the reality is that this trade probably won't move the meter much. They dealt their eighth- or ninth-best forward for a third-pairing defenseman.
Ln
1:29
Hi Matt , don’t really get this trade.  Why do you think Hornqvist agreed to waive his ntc?
Matt Vensel
1:29
Patric Hornqvist is supposed to talk later today. We'll see what he says.
Where’s my Clark Bar?
1:29
Do you feel JR has a plan? His last few years of moves seems more of a throw crap at a wall and see what sticks.
Matt Vensel
1:30
Jim definitely has a plan. It's just a question of whether it's a good one.
Guest
1:30
Could one make a case that JR had been the NHL’s worst GM since the last Cup win , and definitely if u take out the Marino steal?
Matt Vensel
1:31
No. And how would it be fair to remove the John Marino trade, one of the best moves any GM made last year, from that evaluation?
Lisa
1:31
there are other teams beside the pens that did not do well in this bubble playoffs and I do question if the team even wanted to be in the bubble .  With that said, I don’t see other teams panicking and making crazy trades like this .  Doesn’t this seem like an over reaction ?  This is 2 trades now where National perspective is the pens were the losers .
Matt Vensel
1:33
Lisa, I'm not of the belief that their early exit had much to do with the long layoff or being stuck in the bubble. This team started to fall apart in January or February and looking back the warning signs were there. Last month, Rutherford was reluctant to use that as an excuse.
Sarah
1:33
Can you clarify the Pens position on spending for the upcoming season? I've heard mixed messages ranging from wanting to limit spending to no more than $70M to business as usual maxing out the cap. If they start the season on the lower end, do you think they will stick to that all season or pony up more money to bring in 1-2 more high-end guys if the team does well?
Matt Vensel
1:35
I know there were a couple of reports a few weeks ago that said the Penguins planned to spend around $75 million in 2020-21. But everything GMJR has said publicly and with his moves suggests they will be relatively close to the cap ceiling to start the year. Having a little wiggle room for once might actually be a good thing in that it would give GMJR and Mike Sullivan more flexibility during the long season.
Sarah
1:36
Likelihood of any young guys who have not made it to the NHL thus far sticking on the roster this season? Who has the best shot at doing it?
PS - have conference calls from 1-3 so getting all my questions in now, thanks for doing this chat!!
Matt Vensel
1:36
No problem, Sarah. Some great questions today. To answer this last one, the most likely candidates to contribute are forwards Samuel Poulin and Drew O'Connor and blue liner Pierre-Olivier Joseph.
Jeff Z. South Side
1:37
Do you think they will go after Chris Tanev? With the surplus of Defensemen i just don't see it
Matt Vensel
1:38
Brandon Tanev's brother, a right-shot defensive defenseman who played for Vancouver last season, makes a ton of sense on paper. Problem is the Pens can't afford him unless they move out a bigger contract or if Tanev gets much less money than expected in free agency.
Guest
1:38
Please tell me at least Simon is gone ?  There doesn’t appear to be a role on this team now right ?
Matt Vensel
1:39
Very curious to see what happens with Dom, a restricted free agent.
Guest
1:39
Honestly as a fan I am ready for a full blown rebuild. Moves like the ones the last two years just extends the era of mediocrity that all semi dynasties incur. We are well on the path to suffering what Detroit fans already are , an extended period of irrelevance.
Matt Vensel
1:41
That seems destined to happen one way or another. You're saying, "Why delay the inevitable?" The Pens are saying, "Let's try to squeeze one more Cup out of this golden era while we can." It's fascinating to see how split the fan base is on this topic. As an unbiased observer, I think the Pens are taking the right approach. Sidney Crosby is only 33 and still one of the best centers in the league. They should keep trying to win.
GPT
1:41
I've had a chance to take a few deep breaths since the trade was announced.  Horny had negative contract value, so a bad contract in return was expected.  Matheson is an excellent skater and is good at zone entries, something the Pens D had trouble with.  Maybe he's Schultz 2.0 with better usage and a better franchise around him?  Or GMJR's has officially gone mad.   One of the two.
Matt Vensel
1:42
Hey, both could be true! Don't rule out that possibility! I kid, I kid...
Southside Jimmy
1:42
Just wondering how Mike Lange is doing health wise.  I would hope he is feeling well to continue his legendary play by play calling.  What a treasure he has been for this city. I don’t know if he has received the appreciation he deserves.
Matt Vensel
1:43
The last I heard was that he's doing just fine health-wise and was expected to be calling games whenever the pandemic allows it. As for him being appreciated, I think he gets plenty of love, maybe as much as any play-by-play guy in this country, and it's definitely deserved.
Load More Messages
Connecting…