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Penguins Q&A: Lots of Interest in Jarry, Draft, and Summer Trades

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1 month ago

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Pittsburgh Penguins, Tristan Jarry. Trade value

Much has changed for the Pittsburgh Penguins since the trades began nearly two months ago, and Marcus Pettersson and Drew O’Connor were on their way to Vancouver.

Much has changed, and much has stayed the same.

The top of the Penguins roster remains intact, and fans waiting for the blockbuster or clean sweep were disappointed. To everyone’s surprise, newly acquired Connor Dewar is the player most seizing his Penguins chance and putting some pucks in the net.

Dewar has three goals in his last two games and has generally formed a crash-and-bang line with Blake Lizotte and Noel Acciari that’s adding offense. No one saw the last part coming, but they are a lot of fun to watch. Even coach Mike Sullivan just opened the vault and had genuine praise for the trio.

“When you play with structure, and you’re predictable for one another, you can work collectively as a group on both sides of the puck, and it makes the game a little bit easier for you,” said Sullivan. “And they have (structure), and they’re competitive guys … They’re willing to go to the net and do a lot of the little things that I think add up to success.”

Count me as surprised at how many Penguins fans are simply enjoying the four-game winning streak. I would have put my last chips on the table, betting that most of you would be angry.

Fans even seem to be less grouchy toward goalie Tristan Jarry after the netminder submitted another gem Saturday, upping his win streak to four.

As a matter of housekeeping, the Pittsburgh Hockey Now travel staff completed travel arrangements for the remainder of the NHL regular season. After some doubt, we’re going to do all 82, THEN we’ll be in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. I may also try to sneak up there for a day or two in the meantime.

I’m going to ask for your help in that endeavor. We’ll announce the subscription sale and you’ll see some other ways to help out coming soon.

I also want to give a little love to my favorite little spot on the North Side: Leo. A Public House. Owner Michael Barnhouse is moving abroad with his new wife and has sold to his right-hand man, Jason McCarty. Jason is creating a chill, kick-ass little spot in Leo’s place on Allegheny Avenue, rebranded The Lion, re-opening in April.

Michael’s menu was always understated but perfect (he worked with Wolfgang Puck). He and Jason drew the most interesting people to that little spot. There’s also a check from Henry Hill (the real-life mobster played by Ray Liotta in Good Fellas) that will remain on the wall. Jason is a pretty fierce mixologist—you tell him what you like, point to the specialty infusion you want, and get something special. Or, just sit with a Miller High-Life. After Jason and his highly-sought interior designer/fiancee Hayley Watters are done remodeling, The Lion will be a must-hang. April 12, 2025.

There will also be a secret late-night menu item inspired by my constant needling/jokes for cereal at midnight.

It was a hideaway when the world attacked. We laughed so hard at drinking birds. They became friends as the others drifted away. They became family when I needed one. Godspeed, Mike.

Pittsburgh Penguins Q&A

 

I suppose I’ve been on record pointing at the possibility since Kyle Dubas took the Penguins’ job, and let’s be honest, Dubas has used the Penguins’ job to acquire a handful of players he wanted  (but couldn’t have) or liked in Toronto. Now that we’ve come this far, here’s what the Marner or other big-name free agent talk will depend upon: How far and how fast Dubas thinks he can hit rock bottom and start the upward trajectory.

If he can have a bang-up June and flip picks for young players and feels pretty good about the direction, then it should absolutely be on the table. However, that’s a tall order.

I do not think Dubas will be able to sell his picks as quickly or easily as he might hope. The rising cap also works against him in this case. This summer, more teams will have cap space, so selling space or getting free-agent bargains will be more difficult.

Absolutely. I can almost guarantee it.

JJ Peterka is a prime target.

However, before we go big-game shopping, realize that an RFA offer sheet is essentially trading away a draft pick or picks in exchange for offering a young player a big contract. And Dubas will have one, maybe two shots at this, but he won’t be able to go big-game hunting because the Penguins 2026 first-rounder could be quite valuable.

Look for those mid-range players, much like St. Louis did by signing Dylan Holloway and Philip Broberg. The 2025 compensation levels aren’t yet set, but last summer, the range to give up a second-round pick was $2.29 million-$4.58 million. Above that, and it would cost a first-rounder or more. So, consider about $5 million as the max the Penguins can offer. The NHL should release the compensation levels in late May.

You are correct. There will be enormous pressure on vice president of player personnel Wes Clark to come through. After Clark began heavily contributing or running the Toronto Maple Leafs drafts in 2021, they found success in the back of the first round as well as in the second round (Fraser Minten and Matthew Knies were both second-rounders), so he has a history of outperforming the mean, but it’s not a long track record.

It’s also something to keep in mind as Dubas peddles his wares ahead of the Draft. He’s not selling prime goods; he’s selling second and third-rounders.

A solid middle-six player would be a good get after the sixth pick. I’m only at the beginning stages of my draft research and starting to watch videos. It appears the line this year is No. 6. After that, the drop occurs, at least in terms of players who could arrive quickly and make an impact. Others could take a few years and make a significant impact.

My past several draft projections look pretty good in hindsight. So, Anton Frondell is probably the player you/they should be hoping to land. He’ll go by No. 6, and it sure seems like he could be ready quickly.

I think “just” a first-rounder for Rickard Rakell is selling low. If you need to keep him around until teams forget about his crater in 2023-24, then so be it. Rakell keeps the Penguins competitive on a nightly basis, even if they’re not a playoff team.

Dubas played the long game at the deadline by reportedly asking for a boatload (almost identical to what I forecasted as his value; three assets).

Vancouver was similarly straddled with Brock Boeser at the deadline and now may recoup nothing for him if he leaves via free agency. The market can be funny–three teams can chase a player and overpay, but be tepid on another, thus creating a perceived market imbalance.

It’s like your neighbors get above the asking price for their house, but you can’t get full value for your nicer house. Sometimes, it works that way.

I might surprise you, but from a personal standpoint, I think Kris Letang has been more negatively affected by the team’s downward trajectory than the other veterans. I think a new scene and situation would revitalize him. He doesn’t want to go, but he also carefully pointed out to me in our conversation that he very well understands the business side of things.

It might doubly surprise you–I’m not friends with anyone in the locker room–but I still like to see players be rewarded, whether with a goal, a contract, or simply be happy. It would sting, but I think it would help him.

I also think if the Penguins can’t get enough system-fitting talent this summer, they should design a system around Erik Karlsson and turn him loose. They’re already getting the negative effects, so they might as well unleash the fury and get the most positive contributions, too.

 

Yep. I think we first sounded the bells on Murashov last July during the rookie camp. He did little to dispel the idea that he could be special then, but he was pretty good in the rookie tournament in Buffalo, too.

Penguins assistant GM Jason Spezza, who is the GM of the WBS Penguins, said Murashov has something to clean up. However, his puck-stopping doesn’t seem to be in question.

Of course, before anyone demands he be brought up to the big show too soon, realize how quickly NHL shooters dissected and humbled Joel Blomqvist. So, it will be another minute before Murashov has a Primanti’s sammich named after him.

First, let’s be loud and clear for those who pop into hockey coverage after pounding copious amounts of football coverage–NHL contracts are guaranteed. Every dollar is locked unless the player is bought out. We received several questions–Should the Penguins keep Jarry?

Keeping him isn’t a choice. He’s under contract for three more years. He’s already kept.

Now, to the bigger–biggest?–issue. Jarry has played exceedingly well, but it’s four games. FOUR. He has looked calm and composed, even when the defensive coverage in front of him looked like unsupervised preschoolers who found the candy jar. He’s holding the fort, sometimes against gale-force winds.

Can he keep it up? Well, not this extreme level of play. No goalie can. But can he reclaim his path as a No. 1 goalie and become a steady, impactful goaltender? Yep.

He has the talent. Let’s not forget Marc-Andre Fleury’s struggles in the first decade of his career, including being re-assigned and benched in 2007-08 and being forced to fight for his job in 2008-09.

He was in danger of being exiled again in 2013 after another disastrous playoff performance. The last 10 or 12 years of Fleury’s career have been pretty, pretty good.

It’s hard to imagine a team taking a gamble on him based on the next 13 games. However, he can begin to open eyes and have teams start watching him again. If his stellar play continues into next season, then teams will begin calling and the Dubas will have options to keep him or trade him.

What happens next is mostly up to Tristan Jarry.

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