Penguins Head Coaching Search Coming to an End

Penguins Head Coaching Search Coming to an End

All right. Can you give me a sound check real quick? Sure thing. Check one. Check two. Twitter is not working for me. This is great. I’m ready. All right. Uh we’ll let we’ll get this started here in three, two, [Music] one. Hello everybody and welcome back to the tip of the iceberg. I almost said welcome to, but you know what it is? Welcome back to the tip of the iceberg, your home for Pittsburgh Penguins News and analysis. You can find us on YouTube at tip of the iceberg or you can catch us anywhere you get your podcast from. And our first episode in over six weeks, we are trying to get it out before the new head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins is named. And it feels like that might be just on the horizon for Kyle Dubis in company. and so too could be a new second line center coming right behind him. We’ll talk about both of those two things to kick off this episode and then we’ll close things out talking a little bit about Kyle Dubis as he continues to generate exciting prospect news week in and week out. Let’s get things kicking on the tip of the iceberg. And this is our first episode back in six weeks, which is kind of crazy to think that since we started this back in 2019, Horwat, this is the longest we have gone without recording an episode of tip of the iceberg. So, welcome back to not only the listeners, but welcome back to you as well. What have you been doing over the past six weeks? Twiddling your thumbs, waiting to come back on tip of the iceberg. Far far from it, my friend, of twiddling my thumbs. Um, I’ve been grinding it out on Breakaway on SI. still trying to, you know, keep the mojo going on writing. Keep trying to continuing to keep up with the hockey world. Continuing to do all of that. I moved uh which is, as you can see, around me. It’s a different space. Uh I don’t know if it sounds great. I haven’t put the foam board up yet. It is sitting right here. For those watching, I’m holding a piece. Um so hopefully it sounds okay. Next next week, I’ll try and figure out my lighting situation as well. It’s a work in progress. whole discussion we had beforehand. Um, and then I also I I got back into stage AE. So, uh, I’m working concerts again, but it’s a it’s a different level this time. So, uh, excited to be working on all ends of everything. I’m excited to be back here behind a microphone and well, I’m excited to kind of talk about the Penguins. Let’s see what happens with uh, this whole everything that’s going on. This team could be a disaster or it could be a ton of fun. And regardless one way or the other, it will be entertaining. Yeah, I won’t get into the nitty-gritty details of everything I’ve been doing the past six weeks cuz there’s a lot of it. I moved as well back up in the Pittsburgh area, started a new job. Shout out to Sportsnet Pittsburgh. A lot of exciting things to come down the pike with that. But also, when we last were on this show, I said, you know, with some of the off time, maybe I’ll get some golfing in. I’m not going to lie, I did not do that. Today was actually the first time I got to a golf course in this entire break. And quick shout out to my wife Caleb Bellski who one year ago today started golfing and today we went out and golfed at Cedarbrook down here in Ross Draber. First ever par on a hole. Absolutely tremendous job. So shout out to Kayla and wanted to get that in before we started uh going back over some Pittsburgh Penguins news because a lot has happened or what since we last discussed on this podcast. Mike Sullivan is no longer the head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. David Quinn, as of right now, is not an associate coach with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Mike Veluchcci is a member of, I believe, the Chicago Blackhawks organization at this point in time. Sydney Crosby went to and then didn’t meddle at the World Championships alongside of Mark Andre Flurry. So, a lot has happened, but let’s get to the most important news surrounding the Penguins, starting with that head coaching search because it feels like it’s coming to an end. Kyle Dubis said that whenever he parted ways with Mike Sullivan that he would like to have had a head coach in place by June 1st. Well, as of this recording, it’s June 1st. Whenever you’re listening to it, it’s probably June 2nd when the episode comes out. Maybe it’s June 3rd. I would have to imagine we get some news on this in the next couple of days. It’s got to be this week. If if he said June 1st, uh we’re coming up like it’s literally the day we’re sitting here talking about it. Uh we’ve seen the uh the I almost said the nominees, the candidates. We’ve seen the names that have been thrown around. Um some good, some bad, and some interesting. And I think it’s got to happen this week. You would assume, you would generally assume that’s happening this week. We get that Kyle’s been busy. you know, he’s he was also over with team Canada doing uh the doing the world championship and also not meddling and also was was on was on the stream for was on the live chat for the draft lottery. Yeah, I almost forgot about that. As I said a couple of times with the Penguins, first of all, almost won it came down to the last ball. That would have been fun. Uh but then also they I think it was John Buch said multiple times that Kyle Dubis was in Europe for that stream. So, he was well ahead of everyone hour-wise. So, if Kyle Dubis has a job, we know he’s doing it completely. If it’s Team Canada, we saw it at the Four Nations. He was there in person. We saw it at prospect camps for for the Penguins his first few first few years. He’s there in person uh this time around for hiring a new coach. He’s, yeah, he’s going to be there in person obviously, but also taking it very seriously and taking it step by step and making sure he’s finding the right guy for his plan for his plan. And I think some of the names that we’ll discuss could be the right people for that plan. Now, last week it was reported by Elliot Freriedman on 32 thoughts the podcast that the candidates were brought to the city of Pittsburgh last week for in-person interviews. The second and presumably final stage of this interview process for a lot of these names. Mitch Love has been the favorite assistant coach currently of the Washington Capitals. I think he’s been the favorite pretty much since the get-go for this, but DJ Smith is also a name that has been placed out there. He is currently, I believe, with the LA Kings organization. Prior was a head coach of the Ottawa Senators. Jay Woodcraftoft, former head coach of the Edmonton Oilers is a name that we have heard. David Quinn is still a name that has been floated around there after what he was able to do with the Penguins power play last year. No surprise that he’s getting at least a general look for this opportunity. And Jay Leech is the other name that is mentioned to have been heading towards the city of Pittsburgh for a potential in-person interview. So, of those five names and any that I might have missed that has been put out there, but those are the five that Elliot Freeman mentioned. Of those names, who’s your favorite for this job? Maybe not the one that you think is going to get it, but the one that you would like to see get this opportunity. Um, I don’t know if Well, before I get into it, digging into a favorite, I’d like to I would like to say I think Quinn should stay on the staff one way or the other. If he gets his head head coaching job, uh, then obviously he’s there. But if he doesn’t, I would like to see him stay on as an assistant. if at all possible, unless the new head wants to rearrange that sort of thing. I just think because of what he did with the power play last year, like you said, it’s a step in the right direction. It’s going to be we’re already losing Mike Valuchcci. So, the Penguins are already down him. So, do you want to lose another assistant for depending on the guys on the team who’ve been here through all of it for the sec third straight year? You’re going from Rearen to losing Valuchcci and Quinn to somebody new. It’s again, it’s an assistant job and it’s not necessarily the same, but it’s working on those little things that for guys like Brian Rust maybe or Ricard Raquel. Like that’s just a lot of overchange um in a short period of time and especially with a new head coach coming in as well. It’s some it’s something in my head that I think I would like to see him stick around. At least that’s just me. Yeah. And it’s interesting too with his situation because during that press conference following the dismissal of Mike Sullivan, the mutual parting of ways, whatever you want to call it, Kyle Dubis did say I I think something along the lines, and I’m paraphrasing here, of it it’s going to be a fresh start behind the bench. It’s going to be a clean slate. And that’s why I was a little confused whenever David Quinn’s name came up. And I understand he deserves it with the job that he did on the power play last year. But let’s not forget what else was he in charge of? It was the defense. And the Penguins were one of the worst defensive teams in hockey. Now, part of that is personnel. You don’t expect much from Eric Carlson. You don’t expect much from Chris Latang at this stage of his career. But whenever Kyle Dubis on one day says, “We’re looking for a clean slate behind the bench.” And the next day saying, “David Quinn is interviewing for the head coaching job.” It doesn’t make all the sense in the world to me. And because of that, I think that if he doesn’t get the head coaching job, it’s probably another fresh face behind the bench. Not only that, I think if you’re hiring a head coach, whether it be Mitch Love or DJ Smith, you need them to be able to pick their guys. You need them to be able to build out their coaching staff. And you don’t want to stick them with somebody simply because, well, it worked last year. I think if you’re looking for a new regime, you’re looking for a new regime. Don’t sit there and try to to nitpick what worked and what didn’t. Just try to get a fresh start behind the bench. For sure. Yeah, I get that, too. I also remember part of Kyle Dubis speaking after or at least saying after the dismissal of Mike Sullivan, it was the rest of the assistants that are under contract are allowed to stay if they’d like or if they want to go explore other opportunities much in the way Mike Belushi they are allowed they are able to do whatever they please. If they want to stay, we’ll figure it out. If they want to go, they’re allowed to go. So, um I guess it was very much in the air of what happens next. Uh as for who I think just out of purely who I want to see, um screw it. Jay Jay Woodcraftoft. It’s a name a lot of us know. Uh it’s a name that has dealt with I mean not you’re not you’re dealing with him, but that has I mean you’re dealing with them. Yeah. But that has coached superstars before. Um I get that you know Sydney Crosby is 10 years older than Conor McDavid. if Genny Malin is 10 years older than uh Leon Dryidle, but as someone who understands how to coach superstars and understands the kind of I mean there’s not a ton of media pressure when it comes to the Pittsburgh market, but there’s a ton of that national, hey, you have to win with these guys sort of pressure. I mean, he coached for the Edmonton Oilers. Mhm. I get a lot of people get on the Toronto Maple Leafs, get on the Edmonton Oilers for whatever it may be, collapses or just not winning that he won’t have that issue here, but he’ll have the issue of that same media begging Sydney Crosby to get out of Pittsburgh. And you know, Jay Woodcraft again sort of he he only got one full season in Edmonton out of his part of three years. Yeah. He came in one year, had his full season, and was fired the next. So, but again, he knows how to and knows what to do with coaching superstars and when media wants them to do very very well. Uh, he can handle that sort of thing. And I think that’s just uh I get it’s a name that’s been there before and a lot of people want something fresh. A lot of people outside Pittsburgh want just want new coaches in the league and I don’t blame them. But I think for this one at least, um, it doesn’t have to be a long-term fix. Screw it. I like Jay Woodcraftoft as my as my personal favorite. As for what might be best, probably Mitch Love. What was the biggest storyline around Jay Woodraftoft when he was initially hired as the head coach of the Edmonton Oilers? Oh, I don’t remember. He coached Conor McDavid in Erie. So, he has experience with younger players and that’s exactly the direction the Penguins are heading is they’re trying to get younger very quickly. I mean, we saw that quote out of Josh Yoe’s article of The Athletic earlier this week that, hey, you know, we’re not sure how good we’re going to be or how bad we’re going to be, but it’s going to be up to our kids because we’re going young in 2025. And I absolutely love that. So, I like what you’re saying with Jay Woodcraftoft. I think I’d probably put him third on the list, but I think I have to tend to agree with the vast majority of the population when it is Mitch Love. Yeah. And say that that’s the guy I want to see get the job. I mean, like you mentioned, I I’m aligned with everybody that says they want to see new blood behind the bench. They don’t want to see somebody who’s getting the second, third, fourth opportunity. I want to see somebody who is getting their first opportunity as a head coach. Somebody who’s going to bring in new ideas, somebody who, yeah, maybe uh, you know, maybe needs to learn on the job a little bit. There might be some kind of bumps and bruises associated with a firsttime head coach, but you’re looking to kind of start from the bottom here when it comes to the Penguins because they finished with the 11th overall pick, but realistically they had the ninth overall pick whenever the season ended because they were the ninth worst team in the National Hockey League. And if it wasn’t for a run over the last two or three weeks of the season, they were probably fourth, fifth, sixth worst team in the National Hockey League. So starting from the bottom, I think you need to start fresh with a new face in Mitch Love. And not only that, this guy was boots on the ground in Washington DC over the last couple of seasons. And that is exactly what Kyle Dubis is trying to emulate, which is the Washington Capitals version of a quick rebuild because there’s a couple ways you can go about a rebuild. And honestly, there’s there’s variations that might extend into the hundreds, but we’ve seen overall a rebuild on shaky ground on the New York Rangers. And where has that gotten them? It’s gotten them into a rough spot. And then you see a rebuild like the Capitals where you look at it and you’re saying, man, a lot of these young players are becoming the players that they are relying upon. The Conor Mcichels, guys like I mean, Jacob Checker came in and he’s a little bit older, but he’s not he’s not very old. So, you’re looking at Logan Thompson’s guys that haven’t really, you know, had a long exposure to the National Hockey League before going to Washington. that’s built on a much sturdier foundation. And yes, it’s going to stink when Alex Ovetchkin leaves and they’re going to take a step back, but it’s not like they were beating everybody because Alex Avetkin was just scoring at an unbelievable pace. They were beating teams because they were good defensively, they were big, they were imposing, and they had stellar stellar goalending. That’s what the Penguins want to be able to do is a quick rebuild with a sturdy foundation. And if you bring in a guy that saw it firsthand in Mitch Love, I personally really like that. And then the other name that I haven’t mentioned that it feels like might be fairly close based on what we’ve seen, DJ Smith. Initially when I saw his name, I said, “Why would we even knock on that door?” As I’ve looked more into it and as I’ve kind of heard more about him and looked at his story, I don’t actually hate it. He wasn’t great in Ottawa, but that wasn’t an easy situation. There’s going young and then there’s as young as Ottawa ended up going. And you look at that team now, they just made the playoffs. There’s a lot of stellar pieces on that team and a lot of that can be attributed to DJ Smith. He was part of a growing up process for a lot of those good young players for Ottawa. So, if the Penguins are going to go young, I don’t hate DJ Smith, but like I mentioned, Mitch Love to me is the best option for the Penguins. And as of right now, they’re pretty much the only team looking for a head coach. So, that is the best option and it’s probably the only team there. You’re not fighting with anybody else for them. So, I I think you should go out and hire Mitch Love. Yeah, Mitch Love’s a good option and especially when it comes to the DJ Smith of it all. I mean, you’re right about the Yeah, that was a really young team. They grew into something. I know they he was there recently. They really grew into something um really good. I genuinely thought they could beat the Leafs in the first round. Um I also just didn’t think the Leafs could win around. I saw the way they played against the Penguins, but I really thought the, you know, the Ottawa Sers could have it. But also, you have to figure the way DJ Smith started in the Ottawa system still under Eugene Melnik. So, it was a disaster of a team from the get-go for him and he was able to coach through that into a couple of growing seasons like you said. Um DJ Smith isn’t an awful option. And I like the Mitch Love option too for um he’s witnessing, like you said, he’s witnessing a lot of what Washington is doing. He saw a lot of that proper rebuild that the Penguins are trying to emulate the keeping the superstar around, your main piece superstar at least. You might lose a couple along the way, i.e. have Genny Malin, Nicholas Backstrom, uh maybe Chris Latang, who knows, John, not John Carlson, uh TJ Oshi. Again, apples and oranges comparisons, but it’s kind of the same path almost that the Penguins are trying to follow. We saw how good the Capitals were all season long till the playoffs. Um I also did not realize the Capitals only made it past the second round once in Ovetkin’s career. That’s kind of crazy. Mhm. But yeah, it’s that is something that the Penguins are trying to do. And like I said, they’re keeping the superstar around, the main superstar. The other ones might leave through unfortunate circumstances for Washington, retirement or trade for the Penguins. We’ll see. Um, but if Mitch Love is seeing that through in Washington and emulating it here in one way, in the way that he knows that he can, it’s another great option. I I don’t think there’s a bad option out there to be honest for the Penguins because it’s such a weird mode that the Penguins are in. They could even go with uh Quinn and say you’re going to be here just a couple years while we really get the ball rolling and maybe it’s someone else’s turn in two years. I know you don’t want a ton of turnover at the head coaching position, especially considering we’re the Penguins are getting out of a decade long relationship with Mike Sullivan, but if it’s a brief phase, I don’t think that’s the worst thing in the world either. If it is Mitch Love, then the Penguins under Sydney Crosby’s era would have gone Ed Olion, Dan Bilesma, Mike Johnston, Mike Sullivan, Mitch Love. A lot of M’s in that mix. We’ll have to wait and see if that actually is who ends up becoming the Penguins head coach. Probably as you’re listening to this episode, you probably already heard that news. I’d have to imagine it’s going to happen at some point this week. Let’s shift off of head coaches and talk a little bit about players on the ice because the Penguins have been linked to a very very impressive center that could be up for grabs over the next couple of weeks and that is Marco Rossi of the Minnesota Wild. Currently a restricted free agent that is 23 years old. When you’re looking at a kid like Marco Rossi, not only does he bring two-time 20 goal scorer pedigree, but he also finished with 60 points last season in his age 22 year or sorry, age 23 year, and he’s not half bad at the 200 foot game. So, you look at Marco Rossi, a guy who right now it doesn’t seem like he’s going to head back to the Minnesota Wild. It feels like the contract might be the biggest dispute between Bill Garren and Rossy’s camp. If you’re the Penguins, you look around, according to James Murphy, uh Murphy, excuse me, of rg.org, it’s the Sabres, the Crack, and the Blackhawks who also reportedly have interest. What are your thoughts on the Penguins reported interest in Marco Rossi? It’s a big name to attach yourself to. Um I’m into it. It is part of that sort of hey, we’re looking for castoffs from teams that Kyle Dubis has been preaching. We’re looking for the castoffs, but also the underappreciated players. And this is a this fits the mold of what Kyle Dubis has been looking for. Plus, right? It feels like the upper level. Uh the way Kyle Dubis was looking was grabbing players before, I think we would all think, yeah, those are solid additions. They’re solid little helpers or solid surrounding pieces. whereas Marco Rossi feels more of a more of an A level than what the rest of them have been. Uh it’s that’s a big piece and a big fish to attach yourself to and I’m into it a lot. Um the Penguins need that sort of young boost. Again, he’s he’s not prospect age, but again, he’s played so little that it he feels like almost a prospect still. Uh, and this whole trade rumor thing around him’s been on going on since last season. So, it’s unfortunate that he had to play through a whole year of that almost, but he put out a career year, which makes it all that more important. Helps helps him a lot, too. Helps his camp. Yeah. Um, I’m into I’m into this one as well. I’m into the Penguins wanting to be in on a player like this. Anytime you hear a name that is possibly available for most of them, I would hope to hear the Penguins are involved or interested in interested in them just because of how much change that Kyle Dubs is trying to bring. And M and Marco Rossi is another perfect example of that. He’s young, he has the skill, and has a ton of room to even add to a 60point season. I think Marco Rossi is exactly what is needed for the Penguins. The problem with this is there are other teams that are going to be interested and the Minnesota Wild are going to try as much as they can to drive the price up for Marco Rossi. Now, we did hear the Philadelphia Flyers name as a reported team that was interested, but according to Anthony DeMarco of Daily Faceoff, the Minnesota Wild wanted a firstround pick or standout forward Tyson Forester and that was just too rich for the blood of the Philadelphia Flyers. Not only that, but the contract demands were high as well. When I look at Marco Rossi, I think he’s a perfect fit in Pittsburgh. And honestly, the Penguins are currently in a position to be able to do that. If the acquisition cost is a first round pick or a top prospect, guess what? The Penguins are going to have two first round picks either this year or next year. Say, you know, that Rangers pick, it is all yours for Marco Rossi because the Flyers first round pick that they were interested in was a later first. You could give them the Rangers first and it’d be 13 this year. And I’d be a-ok okay with that for Marco Rossi. Because at the end of the day, if you say, “Well, you traded away a first round pick. We want to have as many picks. We want to get younger.” He’s 23 years old. And if you walk away from the dra draft at the end of this month and you say, “What did you get for the two firsts hypothetically that you had on June 1st and you say, “Oh, we got Marco Rossi and Jake O’Brien. We got Marco Rossi, Rossi and Kon Akerson. We got Marco Rossi and Victor Ecklund. I think everybody would be ecstatic because that first rounder that you picked at 11th overall is a piece for the future, a young player that you can now develop and have ready here in the next couple of years and your second line center. What is the hardest part of aging superstars replacing them? I’m not saying Marco Rossi is the next Evenny Malcin, but on the depth chart, he could be. He is a solid second line center. The Penguins need a replacement at second line center for Evetty Malin when he is done. Honestly, they might need a second line center replacement for Agy Malin right now. You bring in Rossy, plant him at second line center, play Evetty Malin his final season the entire time next to Crosby and Rust. Who would be upset with that? I don’t think anybody would. Now, if his legs start to fall off, then he can drop him with Rossy and let him kind of allow Rossy to be that 200 foot facilitator and let Maul can go off on the wing. I think that this is a move that while the Penguins might not go for the fences and swing for the fences this off season, this is a move that serves two masters. It serves the side that wants to bring the best potential team to the ice for Sydney Crosby and of Gy Malin and Chris Latang. And it serves the future. It serves the rebuild cuz again, how many times have I said it? The kid is 23 years old. You have no centers in the pipeline because you traded Braden Jagger for Rucker McGordy. This gives you an option at second line center. I just don’t think that there is a downside to this unless the price becomes ridiculous. Not the payment for the contract, the payment for the trade. And that’s what I’m looking at. the Sabres, the Kraken, and the Blackhawks and hoping that they just fall out of the race and the Penguins can say, “Let’s start with the Rangers first because we have so many draft picks.” And if we can walk away with Marco Rossy for one of our first and still have one this year, one next year, I think you’d say that’s a-ok. Okay. Yeah, absolutely. And you don’t I’m not worried about a contract with Marco Rossi. Um, the Penguins have over $20 million in cap space right now. That and the salary cap is going up drastically. So, the cap number won’t matter. Again, it it can’t be egregious. It he can’t be looking for Mitch Martner money, but within reason, a contract for Marco Rossi is nothing to worry about. He’s he’s not coming off of a year where he’s where he needs a show me deal. Like, he’s going to make decent money. Yeah. Um but it’s one that you can afford. It’s one that the Penguins can definitely get under their cap with all the with all the savings that they have and especially if let’s say they the Penguins are really committed to this. Lock them up longer term. Screw it. I mean, if if that gets the number down, too. I mean, again, that’s that is a long commitment. I don’t know if Kyle Dubis is into super long commitments at the moment. For a bonafide second line center that’s 23 years old, I think he’d make an exception. Exactly. And there are points where you look at this player and go, you know what, this might especially because the longer the term, the num, the lower the number you can get salary wise. So maybe that is even a better payoff. There there are there aren’t there aren’t too many downsides to Marco Rossi in this situation. Again, maybe the trade cost. Screw the trade cost. The Penguins are building for the future and this is a piece for the future. If you’re sacrificing a draft pick, so be it. Let’s just be honest with ourselves. Uh the draft pick that the Penguins keep might not even work out. Let’s just be blunt. It could be a bust of a draft pick. We don’t know. Yeah. So, the Penguins walk away with Marco Rossi in a bust. Huh. Well, you know what? Guess what? They got Marco Rossi for possibly second your second line center. Yeah. So, you know, water under the bridge. I guess it’s there’s no downsides here. Yeah. Now, I I feel horrible. I cannot remember where I saw this. It was on Twitter, but somebody floated out there that the ask for Rossy’s camp might be seven over seven or seven time 7. Perfectly fine with 7* 7 for your second line center. Balkan’s going to fall off the books at the end of next year reportedly. Let’s put that in air crows reportedly. So his six plus million is coming off the books. You replace that with a second line center making $7 million with the salary cap going up as it is, you’re in a better position than you were with Malin as a second line center at that point. I mean, 40-year-old Malcolin, not Malin in his prime. We all know that’s a Hall of Famer, but you don’t want to talk bad about him. But no, I think that if the Penguins can shoehorn their way into being the favorites and then being the team that comes away with Marco Rossi, I think that would be very good for not just the present, but the future of the organization. And this is something that honestly, if you would have asked me a couple years back, I would have been like, “Yeah, it doesn’t make any sense. The Penguins, they just they don’t get that young player. They don’t take that big swing like that. They don’t give away the assets like that because they just they can’t afford to. They don’t have enough. But last year, seeing them trade away Braden Jagger for Rucker McGory, that to me opens opens the door for something like this to become a possibility. Not only that, to make a lot of sense as something that Kyle Dubis would want to do. So, we’ll have to keep our eyes on this situation because Marco Rossi becoming one of the bigger names to follow throughout the month of June. Another name to follow is JJ Purka. I think those two are the two names that if you’re the Penguins, you’re hoping Kyle Dubis is calling day in and day out to see, hey, can we get this guy before it reaches the point where everybody in their mother is going to offer sheet him and the price just gets unbearable. Eric Carlson, get ready to learn Buffalo, buddy. Ah, I don’t know about that. Aren’t they already trying to ship out like eight defensemen? Yeah, they are. Who? Hey, hey, and the the right trade comes along if Come on. Let’s learn Pittsburgh now. I wouldn’t hate Bowen Berm either. Don’t not going to lie. But I also would like JJ Purka and or Marco Rossi if you’re going to make a big swing. Yeah. And there are plenty of teams looking to make big swings this this summer. I mean, Buffalo Sabres, the Pittsburgh Penguins, possibly the Minnesota Wild, possibly some other teams that are out there that I’m thinking of. Toronto is going to be interesting. Toronto is going to be so interesting. It’s going to be interesting this summer. Uh I was going to say, yeah, Toronto’s won. Who knows where Calgary views themselves. They were right on the doorstep. They might want to add. I don’t know too many teams looking to sell right now because there were so many good teams last year. Um, at what point does Carolina have an identity crisis? It should be right now. Yeah, absolutely should be right now. But also, they tried. The issue is that they might be gunshy after the uh the what’s his name incident. How could I forget his name? Oh, because he didn’t score in the last 20 games of the playoffs. M. me. Oh, Miko Ranson. They might be a little gunshy after the Miko Ranson and debacle. I mean, they ended up with Logan Stank open, but I I don’t know it. Either way, the offseason is wild and it’s just begun. And the Penguins hopefully can continue to make some waves with some impressive names. Guys like Marco Rossi, guys like JJ Purka, and we’ll see what happens with their head coaching situation as well. But maybe that gives a little bit of a a hat tip to what could be coming next. What’s coming next for us is a discussion on a prospect for the Penguins that is officially under contract with the organization. That is 2023 fifthround pick Michael Illen. The 20-year-old Russian absolutely tore it up in his age 19 season in the KHL putting up seven goals and 30 points. And according to the Penguins press release of his ELC signing, one of only eight players to score 30 points in his age 19 season in KHL history. Now, this is not a player that is coming over this year. This is a player that more than likely is going to play this year in the KHL over in Russia and will probably make the transfer over in the transition over next off season. But on still a 20-year-old, another player that is very intriguing, another player that is very talented, and another young player that could be headed over to either Wilsburg or Pittsburgh in the next calendar year. Good young players. That’s what the Penguins need right now. Good young players. He’s 20. He still has that room to develop. He still has that room to grow within the system if slash when he comes over. Uh and I’ll tell you what, this is a puck mover right here. Oh, yeah. Those numbers are crazy. He had a career-high 30 points this past year. Yeah. Seven goals, 23 assists. Yeah. So, think about KHL numbers. Always take them with a bit of a grain of salt. They’re going to be lower. It’s a different game over there. Yeah. I mean, that’s why I like that stat. one of only eight players in KHL history to score 30 points at age 19. Yep, that’s the one. 30 points. And and you’ll take 23 assists on this team. Like the Penguins have had Sydney Crosby be the perennial playmaker for the last two decades. Uh they’re not this is a team that’s not afraid to add more playmakers, especially if you still have goal scorers like Genny Malin back in the day, Brian Russell, Ricard Raquel if he’s having a good year. Mhm. Uh and who knows what these other prospects can bring. Marco Rossi could be a goal scorer. Hey, how about that one? Yeah. I mean, back-to-back 20 goal seasons. Exactly. So, it’s there’s definitely potential for another good puck moving forward on this team to again down the line a bit, but really break out and serve as another good young face in this organization. Like I said, that this Pengu that this Penguins team is looking to continue gr to continue adding to continue grinding for and he’ll grind for an NHL spot. I would absolutely expect to see him in the NHL lineups one day. I won’t say when, but definitely an NHL potential player. Who knows if this is it for Evy Malin this season. Maybe it’s rushing out, rushing in next off seasonason. Mining out, Illion in. Uh, and the one thing I do like about Michael Illen and his situation right now is he’s playing in the KHL. Let’s not forget who was one of the most impressive young players the Penguins had in the organization last year that was playing in North America. Billy Koven. And why was he able to come over and to immediately adapt to professional hockey? Oh, cuz he was playing professional hockey in Europe. He was playing against men in Europe. Same thing goes for Michael Illen playing against men in the KHL. He’s not going to have to come over, adapt to North American ice, and adapt to playing professional hockey. He’ll already have one of those boxes checked. And that is always, always an advantage for these young prospects. The one thing I will say, I’m seeking clarity, Horwat, and I talked to you about this briefly before the episode, so you might know where I’m going with this. every site, hockey reference, Puckedia, Hockey DB, Michael Illen, Elite Prospects, Michael Illen is slated at 6 foot, but on the Penguins press release, he is 6’3. That is a very glaring difference. And I need to know, is this kid 6’3, which means is he bigger than Rucker McGory, or is he 6′ tall, which likens him more to a Billy Koen? Because if he is 6’3 at 19 years old, that’s a big Russian boy. That is a big Russian boy. 6 foot at 19 is nice. Mike Groa 61, 62, who knows? We’ll see. But if he is 63 right now, that makes me five times more excited for Michael Illan because the Penguins historically their forward prospects are a little on the undersized level of things. Give me a 6-3 Russian. That’s what I want for sure. Uh, do you does he have do you have the weight on that from the Penguins release or is it just the height? I can find it real quick. Yeah, because I will say every because every site that I see too has six foot and I would tend to give the benefit to the team in the most recent listing of it which would be from this release where it says 63 63 191 pounds whole. Okay, because hockey reference here has 6 foot 181. So, he is a whole three inches taller and possibly a whole 10 in 10 pounds heavier. Yeah. Um, it is very possible he just had a gross spurt. Uh, he’s still in in a year is crazy. To have a late one is not it’s uncommon. I mean, consider that the Drew O’ Conor, I forget when his happened, but his was also he started college hockey at five something and then by the time the Pens signed him, he was at his height and weight. It was 62, I think, or whatever it was. He had a massive one. So, it’s not totally out of the realm of possibility that he just put on 3 in and 10 lbs over the course of I mean, I’m going from what I would assume is everyone at draft time, which would have been two years ago now. Yeah. How much information are you getting out of the KHL when it comes to height and weight? Exactly. So, over the course of two years, it’s very possibly put on from the age of 18 to 19 to 20, you can still foreseeably see a couple inches. I like your thought process there. That’s making me happy cuz I want him to be 6’3. Mhm. I want him to be 6’3, 200 lb. That’s what I want him to be. That’s what I want his his his fighting weight to be at when he comes over to North America in 2026. Now, you could just add Michael Illen to the list of prospects that Dubis has brought into the fold, including guys like Rucker McGre, Tristan Bros, Sergey Muros, and Owen Pickering last year when they all made their AHL debuts for some of them and some of them their first full professional season. Harrison Brunick maybe this season. Tanner How maybe this season and then you already have a guy like Michael Illen kind of waiting in the wings for 2026. That’s three solid years of very talented entertaining players that are coming to the AHL or who knows maybe even the NHL level. So, a lot of fun there, a lot of excitement surrounding the 2023 fifth round pick. Let’s close out this episode, this welcome back episode, if you will, of the tip of the iceberg with some Stanley Cup final talk because playoffs are over. The final is ready and the stage is set in a rematch of last year’s final, Florida Panthers versus the Edmonton Oilers. Game one on Wednesday night. And the storyline around everything is Conor McDavid and whether or not he can follow the greats of the past. Wayne Gretzky lost his first appearance in the Stanley Cup final in 1983 against the Islanders. Came back against the Islanders in ‘ 84 and won his first Stanley Cup. Cydney Crosby, who a lot of Penguins fans will know, lost his first Stanley Cup final appearance in 2008, won it the following year against the same team, the Detroit Red Wings, in 2009. So now, is it Conor McDavid’s turn in 2024 and 2025 against the Florida Panthers? Horwat, what’s your prediction? I I do think it’s McDavid’s turn. I do. Um, I think I I’ve been kind of back in the Panthers uh quite a bit these last few rounds. I like the Panthers team a lot. I do. I’m sorry to people who think they are uh scumbag rats, but I they built from the trade deadline out. You cannot deny Brad Marshand. You cannot deny Matthew Kachchuck regardless of whatever he’s playing through. Um, and Sergey Babroski looks like a K Smite candidate right now. Uh, that team is incredibly deep. Only one skater, regardless of how many games they’ve played, only one skater on that team doesn’t have a point. Everyone else has at least one. So, everyone is producing on that on that team right now, regardless of line, regardless of position. I think it’s they’re a great team, but I just think there’s an angry Conor McDavid on the other end. There is an angry Leon Dryidle on the other end and there is a somehow redhot Steuart Skinner on the other end. I don’t know how that happened either. So, I just think the Oilers are just going to be a train going downhill. It’s going to be a bloodbath. I don’t think the goalies are going to be able to do much. Uh expect I would say expect high scoring. I know I just gave props to both goalies, but again, these offenses aren’t going to let up. It’s going to be a nightmare for defenses and goalending. And I just think the Oilers squeak it out finally, especially whenever you keep reading that Destiny thing, the Yeah, the Dwayne Gretzky thing, the Sydney Crosby thing, and I think there’s other tidbits that lead more for Conor McDavid being this player of destiny right now. Took 10 years, but better late than never. And I think it’s just going to be his time. I mean, listen, last year he set the NHL record for what, points in a postseason, assists in a postseason, and he was closing in on points. He was certainly on pace going into that Stanley Cup final. And you saw what happened last year. It was one of the most memorable Stanley Cup final series that we’ve had in a very long time. I mean, 3 0 to 33 to a game seven victory for the Florida Panthers. It doesn’t get much better than that. But I I think that this year will be just as good. I really do. And Horwat, you’ve now known me for almost 10 years. Yeah. At this point, we’ve been doing this podcast together for almost 6 years at this point. You know that I love nothing more than a good storyline. So, whenever I read off that storyline about Conor McDavid, you had to know that, hey, he’s leaning this way, right? Like on the other side of the screen, because he brought that up, there’s no doubt that he is leaning this way. I do think that looking at the Edmonton Oilers, it is the time. It is their year. It’s time for Canada to finally get a cup. As much as us Americans like to kind of throw it in their face that it hasn’t happened, at least in my lifetime, which is hilarious. But Edmonton is 12-2 these playoffs since falling down 0 and2 to the LA Kings in round number one. They are on an absolute roll. And like you mentioned, the depth for Florida is always talked about. It is lauded, but the depth for Edmonton is five times better this year. It is better. It is contributing more. And you look at guys like Conor McDavid, who’s still at the top of his game, still leading the playoffs in points. You look at Leon Dryidle, who is right behind him again. I think it is the year that the Edmonton Oilers take the cake. I think it is the year that Conor McDavid writes his name in the history books, right next to Crosby, right next to Gretzky, as he’s been doing his entire career up to this point. And I think the Edmonton Oilers get it done, but I think it’s going to take seven games. Oh, there you go. Love a good seven game series. Just make it last seven game series. Meanwhile, it’s the weirdest Stanley Cup final schedule ever seen, but yeah, let’s let it roll. Seven games. Um, I do I just think it’s time. Also, this the Panthers aren’t showing it, but they don’t seem tired, but this is their third straight trip to the final. It takes a lot out of every team. It doesn’t matter what they say, it always does. Yeah. And like I said, Matthew Kachchuck is definitely playing through something. It helps that uh guys like Seth Jones, who seem to have found and learned how to play hockey again, um Brad Marshand and whoever else they’ve added. It helps that those guys, you know, weren’t around these last two years, at least in in Seth Jones’s case, he wasn’t playing hockey. So, he’s coming in much fresher than a lot of these other defensemen. Mhm. Brad Marshian, yeah, he played for the, you know, those big bully Bruins, but he seems to be at least a little fresher than a lot of these other Panthers that have just been going through the ringer year after year. It does take a lot out of you, but I mean, the tank is not on e for the Florida Panthers. There’s at least that. It’s definitely not full, though. I mean, no teams no team’s tank is full at this point of the year, but it’s that’s why I keep saying it’s going to be good series and truly could go either way. You could convince it could be you you could convince me to take take Florida pretty quickly also because of their tank. Their depth is great. Um Sergey Babroski could just shut it down. Their defense could really turn it on. There is so much that could go either way that it’s going to be so exciting to watch this play to watch this Stanley Cup final series. Um that truly feels like a coin flip. I just think destiny is on McDavid in the Oilers side. Now, if my prediction comes to pass and it’s Oilers in seven, they would be winning the cup on home ice. Is that the biggest cup celebration in the history of the NHL if that happens? Um, it’d be up there. New York was fascinating in 94, though. New York in ’94 was big. Yeah, that’d be a tough one to That’d be a tough one to carry. Here’s the thing, though. I feel like all of I mean again I can’t speak for all of Canada but it feels like all of Canada would at the very least be like at least we got one like Jesus Christ at least at least we got one. I mean it stinks. I’m sure like Toronto I’m sure Vancouver I’m sure Calgary would be like stinks that it’s Edmonton. They got it but at least we got one and at least it’s McDavid. Like I I think all of Canada in some way shape or form would be celebrating that win. I would think so. Yeah. and then quickly turning on their own teams. Uh why can’t you do this? Yeah. I’d be like, “All right, well, you’re next. You have to you have to.” And honestly, that’s that’s a topic for a different day. We’ll get into the Leafs off off screen, maybe a little on screen here, but uh but that’ll be it for this comeback edition of the tip of the iceberg. We will be back next Monday with another episode. That’s how we’re going to kind of navigate this off season. We’re going to record on Sunday nights and you will get the episode fresh and ready to go on Monday morning. audio platforms. It should be up there real early with the YouTube video being up at 11 a.m. Eastern Standard Time. But that’s it for this episode of the tip of the iceberg. Feels good to be back or what feels great to be back. We’re back. It’s going to be a good time. I watched the sunset doing this. This is kind of fun. Yeah, typically we record at 8 in the morning and we watch the sunrise. It feels like we have a little bit more energy as the sun is setting on another weekend in southwestern Pennsylvania. But that’s going to do it for this episode of Tip of the Iceberg. We’ll see you guys next time. [Music]

The Penguins are closing in on a new head coach — and the finish line is in sight. On this episode of Tip of the Ice-Burgh, we dive into the latest on Pittsburgh’s coaching search, the frontrunners, and what direction Kyle Dubas might take behind the bench (3:23).

We also unpack the buzz around a potential trade for Wild center Marco Rossi. Could the 23-year-old be a long-term fit down the middle in Pittsburgh? (18:55) And the Pens add to their prospect pool by signing Russian forward and 2023 5th-round pick Mikhail Ilyin — we break down what fans should expect from the KHL standout. (30:42).

It’s all heating up in the ‘Burgh — coaching rumors, trade targets, and future depth moves, right here on Tip of the Ice-Burgh.

Check out our latest episodes 👉 https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLqCEXcpGhPx_ijFhVZOT1WVSRtaAsnkg5
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🎧 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/0xEz2obkC3dpVjLlns2Qgi
🎧 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tip-of-the-ice-burgh-podcast/id1497683396

Find us on Twitter: https://x.com/IceBurghPodcast
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Chapters
0:00 – Intro
3:30 – Penguins Coaching Search
18:48 – Marco Rossi on Penguins Radar
30:23 – Mikhail Ilyin Signs ELC
37:13 – Stanley Cup Final Preview
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