Can Sidney Crosby’s Penguins WIN the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes?

Can Sidney Crosby’s Penguins WIN the Gavin McKenna sweepstakes?

The Flyers, Penguins, Blue Jackets, and Islanders are battling to improve this year in the Metro. We’ll talk about which team has the best chances to make it and why. All that and a lot more on our special season preview edition on the Locked On NHL podcast. This is the Locked On Network’s 2025 NHL season preview, your team every day. I’m Gil Martin from Locked On Islanders. Welcome to this special Metro Division Playoff Hopeful season preview. Uh we are part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. I want to thank everyone who made this season preview your first listen every day. Don’t forget to subscribe on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcast so you never miss an episode of your favorite team’s show. with me today. Jay Foster from Locked on Blue Jackets, Russ Cohen from Locked On Flyers, and Hunter Hodes from Locked On Penguins as these four teams here kind of fighting to get back into playoff contention. And uh guys, Jay, let let’s start with you. Uh as far as this upcoming season is concerned, what reasons are there for optimism for the Columbus Blue Jackets? I mean, where do you start? Right. Like, am I biased? Maybe a little bit. Yeah. But the future for the Blue Jackets is so bright. Like, they spent the entire month of March finding every possible way to just not score a goal at all and still only missed the playoffs by two points. Now, partially that was because they went on that insane six-game winning streak at the end of the season to kind of fix the fact that the month of March was such a disaster, but like you look at the roster, like all of their key pieces, like Zacharinsky, I think, is the oldest key piece on this team and he’s 28. You know, Adam Fantelli turns 21 next month, Ken Johnson’s 22, Cole Cinger’s 22. Um, you know, Dent Matechuk’s 20, Kromachenko, who had 31 goals last season and is getting paid basically nothing to for the privilege, um, is 25 years old. Like, all of these key pieces are still so so young. That there’s really no reason to to look at this team and think they will they be better than than last year, maybe. But I don’t think there’s any reason to look at this team and say this team is going to be worse than last year. Russ, how about you with the Flyers? reasons for optimism as we head into the season. Yeah, they picked up uh Dan Vadar to kind of help their backup goalie issue because they definitely hemorrhaged some points uh for that. You know, Matt Bay Mitchkov in another year presumably will not have a uh sophomore jinx. Uh Tyson Forester now to start the season healthy where there was worries that he wouldn’t because he had this weird thing going on. So, so he’s okay. Uh maybe Jet Lenko makes the team, maybe he doesn’t. maybe gets sent to juniors, maybe he doesn’t, but people are at least excited. He didn’t play in rookie camp, so now everybody’s kind of like, well, when are we going to see Jet Luchenko? But there’s still reason for optimism there. Uh they picked up Christian D’vorak. That’s another good center that he could win faceoffs for them, and that’s a big deal. Uh they also got guys like Noah Jules, Dennis Gilbert to kind of go around the edges. And then Trevor Ziggress, you know, they hope for him to be a 2C. Either way, he’s going to add offense. So, in that regard, they should be better than last year and and the power play has to be better. It really can’t be worse. Hunter, how about you? What What are the reasons for optimism in Pittsburgh right now? Well, mainly the core players like they’re they’re still here, which is always good. Cindy Crosby has three straight 90 plus point seasons. He’s going to be 38 this year. Um, I know you see all those rumors about his future and all that. I don’t believe that garbage. I still think he’s going to retire here. Um, it’s his call, but I he’s never shown any in inclination, excuse me, that he wants to leave. So, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Fenny Malin, this might be his last season in the NHL. He’s going to want to try to go out with as big of a bang as he wants. Chris Tang is still here. They didn’t trade Eric Carlson, at least not yet, though that might happen at the trade deadline. And then some of the younger pieces, you know, Rucker McGroy had a nice little uh stint to end last season. That was his second stint in the NHL. Looked like a completely different player compared to what we saw at the beginning of the season. Billy Quinn in the same thing. He looked like he was NHL ready, almost a point per game at the end of the season when he came up with McGroy. And you know, we’re going to try to see if Harrison Brunick makes this team out of camp, but I think with the log jam on the right side, it’s probably going to be back to juniors unless the NHL and the CHL can agree on the AHL rule. But it looks like that’s probably not going to happen over the next few weeks just because the CHL is they’re being babies about it. They don’t want to try to adapt to the whole situation here. So, you know, those are, I guess, some reasons. They signed Parker Weatherspoon over the offseason to try to fill a void on the left side. You bring in Connor Clifton, Matt Dumbo, those are just players that you can flip. I do like the Anthony Mantha signing though. That’s kind of the Bavilier replacement where if you get 15, 20 plus goals, you can maybe get a second round pick from at the deadline like they did for Anthony Bavilier. But, you know, though outside of that, I wouldn’t say there’s that much optimism. Though I will say there is a new brand new coaching staff in place, you know, so fresh ideas, fresh innovation. That’s also something I’m looking forward to for this season. And you know, for the Islanders, I mean, you got to start with Matthew Schaefer, first overall pick. Whether he’ll spend more than nine games in the NHL this year or not remains to be seen. We got to see how he looks in preseason, in camp, and in those first nine games. And then, you know, number two, I think you still have Ilia Serro and a top goalie. That should keep the Islanders in many games. And you got to hope from an Islanders perspective that the injury luck is even a little bit better than last year where Matthew Barzal only played 30 games. You had three left shot defenseman out of your lineup at the same time. uh if the Islanders can be healthier, uh they certainly should be better than they were last year. And then obviously I think the change from Lu Lamarello to Matthew Darsh just giving the overall franchise a greater sense of optimism for the future. They had three first round picks this year. You add some guys like Jonathan Duan and Amil Heinaman. Hopefully this team can be more competitive in 2025 2026 than they were a year ago. Wanted to take a look uh or discuss some of our uh odds here from FanDuel team by team. Jay, let’s start with you. Uh the overunder on points for the Blue Jackets 84.5. How do you feel about that? Is that fair? And where do you think the Jackets will be with regard to that? I mean, I’m I’m taking the over on that. Um, they finished with 89 points this season. Um, I think that the roster has improved. Um, not as much as the roster of the teams around them have improved. Like, I think Montreal got a lot better. I think Ottawa is going to continue to be pretty good. Detroit’s kind of a wild card if they can figure out how to do anything. Um, but like bringing in a goalie, like I think that that that that’s a team that’s improved, right? Columbus improved, but not as much as any of those teams, I don’t think. But I think it’s it’s fair to say that 84 and a half feels low to me. I’m kind of looking at them to be about a a 90 point team. I would love for them to hit 45 wins. I think that feels very doable. Um, a lot of a lot of question marks with this team goalending. Their offense was probably unsustainably good last season. They were one of the best five on five scoring teams in in the NHL, though. So, you know, there’s there’s reason to think that this team is going to be just as good as they were last year, maybe a little bit better. Um, I don’t know that 90 points gets them into the playoffs, but I do think that 84 and a half feels feels low, especially when you look at, and no offense, and we’re going to talk about it in a minute, but you look at, you know, teams like Philly are sitting at only a couple of expected points below that. And you know, we we’ll get into to Phillies overunders in in a second here, but Columbus feels more than three standing point standings points better than the Flyers this season. Russ, you mentioned the Flyers. Let’s segue into that. It’s at 81 and a half points for them. Do you think that’s fair? And do you think we’re looking at over or under that number? It’s fair. I mean, they have a new coach in Rick Tocket. They’ve lost Rocky Thompson off the power play. Sorry, Gil. Uh, which is a positive. Uh, good luck in Bridgeport. Um, and so, yeah, Bridgeport needs a lot. I mean, he couldn’t be worse. No, I mean, Bridgeport could not be worse. That’s true. No, there’s no question about that. Uh, I actually think I would take the over, but it would only be by a half a half a point. I think 82 might be their number. I think unfortunately uh what’s going to happen is I think there’s going to be so much parody in the metro that I think Jay’s right in in the over for Columbus, but I don’t think it’s much over. And I think we’ll find out from Hunter, but I think the bottom could be worse than the bottom that um FanDuel has set up. And if that’s the case, then there’s a few other points to go around. Hunter FanDuel has the Penguins at 74 and a half. That’s the lowest here. uh your thoughts on that number. Is it fair? And where do you think the Penguins will be in relation to it? I do think it’s fair. I’d go a little bit over right now just because like all the three players that were involved in trade rumors over the summer, you know, Raquel, Rustin, and Carlson, they were not traded. Camp starts in literally 4 days. I don’t think that’s going to change by the time camp starts. I don’t think any of those three are going to be traded before the start of the season. Now, during the season, that can change. If one or two of them get traded by the trade deadline, then okay, we might have a discussion about them potentially finishing bottom five. But right now, I’d go a little bit over. They finished with 80 points last season. It’s kind of where I see them right now anyway. Like, you know, kind of like 75 80. But if I had to pick over or under, I’d go over a little bit right now just because those three players still on the roster. Sydney Crosby is still very, very good. I think you’re going to get a little bit of a better version of A of Mulin this year with better linemates. TBD on Chris Leang, the goalending is not going to be good. Everyone knows that. The defense is not going to be very good. Um, their best defensive player on the left side is Parker Weatherspoon. He’s a third pairing defenseman on on a contending team. He’s probably going to have to get top pairing minutes with Eric Carlson this year just because they’re not trying to win. But I think 70 74.5 to 80 is totally fair, but I’d go a little over right now just because they haven’t made any big moves yet. All right, my Islanders FanDuel has us at 82 and a half. I think that’s a fair number as well. Again, health is going to have a lot to do with it. The Islanders still have a lot of 30 plus players, guys on the wrong side of 30. That usually does mean more injuries and a little longer to recover from them when they do happen. Uh, you know, for the Islanders, I think it’s it’s a question of health and then it’s a question of they have a lot of guys who are on the wrong side of 30. They have a lot of guys who are on the younger side. Not a lot of guys in that prime middle of their career. Maybe, you know, three, maybe four guys who sort of fit that description on the whole roster. Bo Horvat, Matthew Barzal, uh, not a lot. So, uh, to me, I’m looking at over 82 and a half, but not by necessarily a lot. You know, Gil, if I could add one thing, I like Ciplov a lot. I think there is an upside for him. I don’t know about Shabbanov. He is kind of small. Like I don’t know what he’s going to do. But Siplov, I do think uh with a year under his belt could really add some offense. I hope so. I mean, he had 10 goals last year. I I mentioned on lockdown Islanders, I think he’s capable of 20. Whether or not that happens this year or not remains to be seen. We’ve got a lot more to discuss on this show. We’ll talk about each team’s biggest addition. We’ve got that and more coming up on this special Metro preview next. Today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Most people can’t name all their financial accounts or even what they’re worth, whether it’s 401ks, properties, or investments. And when you don’t have the full picture, you could end up leaving money on the table. That’s why there’s Monarch Money. It’s an all-in-one personal finance tool that brings your entire financial life together in one clean, easy to use interface on your laptop or your phone. Monarch is built for people with busy lives. If you’ve put off organizing your finances, Monarch is for you. Monarch does the heavy lifting for you. You can link all your accounts in minutes, see clear data visuals, get smart categorization of your spending, and finally feel in control of your money without ever touching a spreadsheet. And if you and your significant other share expenses, this is a great way to stay on the same page. So don’t let financial opportunity slip through the cracks. Use code locked on NHL at monarchmoney.com in your browser for half off your first year. That’s 50% off your first year at monarchmoney.com with code locked on NHL. All right, guys. Let’s go team by team. We’ll talk about the single biggest offseason edition. Let’s do it in reverse order this time. So Hunter, we’ll start with you. See, I’ve been going back and forth on this. I’d probably go Anthony Mantha though for forwards just because, you know, he’s going to get a lot of time in the top nine this year. I think they’re going to alternate him on the third line, second line with Afghani Malin. He’s coming off ACL surgery, but he has said he’s going to be ready for training camp this week. Before that, he had a 23 goal season during the 23 24 season. I’m not saying he’s going to hit that with the Penguins, but again, if he can give them 15, 20 goals, potentially get them a solid return to the trade deadline, I think that’s a pretty good success. I really like that signing during free agent frenzy. If I wanted to add another one, I’d go Parker Weatherspoon just because he he is an upgrade over some of the options they had last year on the left side. He’s going to get a lot of NHL minutes this year. Again, I think they have no choice but to put him on the top herring on the left side. He’s good defensively, good skater. some a lot of that loss of they didn’t have on the left side on their top pairing especially last year he’s gonna have they’re gonna have no choice but to play him with Eric Carlson. So um but Anthony Manth is probably the biggest one so far in an offseason where they weren’t that aggressive. They made some moves but again it’s obvious they’re not trying to win this year as they continue to rebuild as quickly as possible. Russ, how about over in Philly? Biggest offseason acquisition and how do they help the team? Yeah, it’s Trevor Zegress. I mean, 24, he’s a couple years removed from all those highlight goals, and he used to be a guy that scored in the 60s. Last year, he was in the 30s, but he’ll bring offense to this team. I don’t know exactly who he’s going to play with. Will he play with Matt Bay Mitchkov? I’m not sure. Uh, you know, on the power play, sure, he’s he’s certainly going to help that. I mean, I could see him getting 50 55 points. Uh, the key is whether he gets him at center or on the wing. He’ll he’ll probably start off at center. So that’s that’s a big deal for Philly because they need um the Flyers need help up the middle and he would provide a lot of that. Dan Ldar would be the other one because as a competent backup. Uh that’s a big deal for Flyers because they just kept rotating backups last year and it just nobody really ever caught fire or even had you know consistency going for him. So Vdar will give him that. He’s still a guy that you’re still not sure what he can do. So there’s still upside with him. Fair enough. Uh Jay, how about you? the Blue Jackets biggest offseason acquisition and where do they fit in and how do they help? Man, I considered cheating with this because I do think that the kind of the beauty of the Blue Jackets off season was that they mostly kept the pieces that they needed to keep, right? Like the the Well, we don’t need to get into that proof of contract. Don’t worry about it. Um, but like ressigning Dante Fabro to me was essential for this team because that’s the first consistent defense partner that Zacharinsky’s had since Seth Jones left in 2021, which sounds insane when you look at it that way. But they brought in Charlie Coyle, uh, who I like a lot. Uh, they needed they wanted a right-handed center. They wanted, uh, some depth to kind of shore up the bottom six. You know, sometimes you need to add an adult to the mix. Blue Jackets’s very young. I don’t love the return for Coyle. I don’t love that they had to bring Miles Wood in. I don’t love that they lost Gavin Brindley, who was one of my favorite Blue Jackets prospects. But I like in a vacuum, I like the addition of Charlie Coyle. I think again, I think he’ll solidify the bottom six. Um I think he’ll be good on the penalty kill. I think he will be good at faceoffs because right now we have Shawn Monahan that takes faceoffs and everyone else is just kind of there because all of our centers are 5 minutes old. Um, so I I like the addition of Coyle. I don’t I don’t love the trade, but I really liked the the actual addition in a vacuum. I I always like Charlie Coyle. He’s one of those guys that I don’t think uh fans appreciate until they see him every day. And when he’s on your team and you’re watching him every game, you realize how valuable he can be. He’s a younger Brock Nelson, but not much younger. He’s probably the same age. Who knows? Yeah. Yeah, he’s 32, 33, Nelson’s, I think, a little older. So, so he is younger. But like you’re bringing Charlie in to be a difference maker, right? You’re bringing him in to get what 30 points and to play on the penalty kill and to win face off. So, you know, if if that’s what he does, then I am I am more than okay with it. I I think Fant is going to get at least 35 goals. He might get more. He might. We’re hoping 40, but we’ll see. Yeah, I’m knocking on wood. We’ll see. We’ll see. You know, for the Islanders, there’s two possibilities. I I I could go with Matthew Schaefer, but I’m still not sure whether he’s going to stay for the entire season, but what he adds, certainly hope for the future more than anything else. The Islanders have not really had an elite defenseman. I mean, you want to say Mark Strit was elite. He was probably a level below elite. uh you know, one of the very good but not elite type players. You got to go back a long way for the Islanders. You know, Dennis Potman, the last defenseman they drafted with the first overall pick. So, you know, I think Schaefer adds that sense of optimism, that sense of hope, but I don’t know how much he’ll contribute this year where even if he makes the team, he’s probably a third pair defenseman and a second power play guy initially, and then we see where, you know, how quickly he makes the adjustment. I could add this for Schaefer because I ran into him at the rookie showcase. Yeah, I did ask him about the lineup. Would he does he care where he plays in the lineup as long as he plays and he’s willing to work up from the bottom. So, if he’s on your third pair, you know, that’s fine. I mean, if he makes it, that’s probably what they should do with him. Yeah, I agree. I do have a hot take about Schaefer, which is that they absolutely should send him back to the OHL. Um because I look at Erin Eggblad, who was absolutely rushed to the NHL. Ainad could have been a fantastic, maybe not Kale Mar level defenseman, but Erin Ablad could have been so so good and they rushed an 18-year-old onto a very bad Florida Panthers team and I think it stunted his development. And I think that if they’re not careful, you’ll see the same thing with Schaefer in New York. So, if you ask me, send him back to Erie and keep him there. I don’t think that’s a hot take. Like, I’m all for sending a guy back, but like but like Gil said, give him the nine games you you drafted him where you drafted him. That’s fine. Yeah. And then the other alternative if we’re not going Matthew Schaefer would be Jonathan Druan who they got in the Brock Nelson trade. No, excuse me, who they signed as a free agent. And you know, it’s a lowrisk 2-year, $8 million total deal. Uh if he’s healthy, he certainly can contribute. Has he stayed healthy throughout his career? Absolutely not. So, uh, you know, if they can get 70 games plus out of Jonathan Druan, uh, he has the speed and to help out on the power play to maybe keep up with somebody like Matthew Barzal if they team him with him. He has probably good chemistry with Bo Horvat. So, I I’m interested in seeing what he will bring to the table. Again, the key is how many games do they get out of him over the course of the season. I mean, I think just having Barzel is going to help their power play. Like, I feel like Noah Adoptson suffered when Barzel was out and fans were just kind of like, ah, no Dobson’s not as good anymore, but it’s like a lot of players suffered with Matt Barzell out, right? I mean, yeah. I mean, Matt Barzal was the guy who carried the puck up ice on the power play, even though he was a forward, right? And I I think Noah Dobson’s vision on the power play is average. It’s not terrible, but it’s not as good as you would like it to be for a top power play quarterback. And without Barzy, yeah, he definitely struggled a lot more. So, be interesting to see how that plays out. Now, it’s gonna be Tony D’Angelo on the on the top power play probably to start the season. Be fine. It’ll be fine. Don’t worry about it. I don’t I’ve heard of the guy. That’s all I could say. Yeah, I know. I mean, with D’Angelo, sticking to on ice, the thing about D’Angelo that worries me more is defense. His his offensive ability is not very much in question. No, I mean he could skate. He’s still going to score some points. Will he get along with the Russians? We’ll see. That’s another question for another day. All right, we have got more to talk about right now. We’ll talk about what’s at stake if things go south for these teams. We’ve got all that and more next on today’s lockedown NHL Metro hopeful preview. All right. So, uh, we’ve talked about some of the reasons for optimism, new additions. What happens with these teams if things do go south? Jay, let’s start with you. If things implode in Columbus, what are the consequences? I mean, this this is a weird one, right? Because the Blue Jackets overperformed last year. I think it’s I think it’s fair to say they overachieved. Um I think and we talked about this in the um last year just preview actually um I don’t know if any of you guys were actually on that one or not but we basically said um no one would blame the Blue Jackets if they just kind of packed it in last season right after what happened just before training camp started um and then they they came out and they just finished short of the playoffs right so it’s really interesting it’s going to be interesting to see is that who they are as a team do they take steps backward do they keep taking steps forward um missing the playoffs I think is is not the end of the world. And in fact, I I would argue that like this team is not a like arguably not a playoff team. Um I talked about this on on lockdown on Blue Jackets that there’s probably going to be three playoff teams from the Metro again. So the Blue Jackets are going to have to finish top three. You know, they’re going to have to beat out probably one of Washington or New Jersey um to make the playoffs or potentially the the Rangers. um you know so it’s it’s going to be it’s going to be interesting and I don’t think that missing the playoffs is a is bad. The worry is going to be if they do what frankly a lot of people expect the Blue Jackets to do which is revert to type and just go back to being a team that can’t get it done. you know, goalending falls apart. If Zacharansky is anything less than, you know, the Norris level defenseman that he was last year and if Fantelli takes a step backwards, which cuz development is not linear. Um, you know, if if they get sophomore slumps from a bunch of people, if you know, guy if guys don’t stay healthy, health is another big issue for the Blue Jackets. You know, there’s a lot of You think, do you think it would affect the tendance there? cuz I think fans were getting a little itchy with like if they if they started to fall out of the race, how would that be? I don’t know because when they the year that they drafted it would have been I believe the year they drafted Fantelli, they were selling out frequently all the way up into April. Um and like partially that’s because what else is there to do in in you know if you want to do a sport in Columbus, you know, you you’ve got the Clippers, um you’ve got the crew and you’ve got the Blue Jackets, right? I think the Blue Jackets are fair fairly. Ohio State is there. Yeah. Yeah. But usually by by April they’re not playing football, you know, right? So, um it’s it’s it’s going to be interesting. I don’t think that missing the playoffs is the end of the world. My worry is that many many things go wrong all at once because I’m a Blue Jacket fan and have been conditioned to just assume the worst at all times. Um and you know, I I don’t think they’re going to be a lottery team this year. I think a lot of things would have to go wrong for that, but I could see them taking steps backwards and I don’t know how well that would sit with the fans, with the organization. Um, you know, they they didn’t set themselves up to take huge steps forward this off season, but there’s a lot of they’re betting on themselves to, you know, okay, there was a lot of fans that were frustrated that they didn’t bring in Mitch Ma or Brock Besser or Nick or whoever you want, right? um they’re betting on themselves. They’re betting on their their young guys to get better. And so as long as the young guys continue to get better, I think that’s everything is a-ok. Okay. You know, obviously you don’t want them to be a lottery team, but missing the playoffs is not the be all and end all in my opinion. All right, Russ, how about in Philly? Yeah, Philly talked about it just a week ago in a press conference that hey, they’re trying to make steps. They want to see improvement in young players, but if they miss the playoffs, it is not the end of the world. They, you know, they they understand where they are. Uh fans are excited about Matt Bay Mitchkov, so their season ticket base is still really good. Uh could attendance be better? Yeah, attendance could be better in Philly. And maybe if there’s an uptick, it will be. I think with Rick Tocket at the beginning, new coach, I think there’ll be a nice uptick at the beginning for them. Uh but if not, listen, uh I don’t think they’re going to be in the McKenna sweep stakes exactly like the Penguins will be, but they could talk about that. Um but I do think that there is a chance and they didn’t really want to sell off this, you know, this trading deadline that Keith Jones doesn’t really want to do that. He talked about that. But if they’re forced with it, there’s a couple of guys that they could do that with. So yeah, they’re trying to make steps forward. I don’t think, you know, they’re necessarily a playoff team. I don’t. But they can be better. And if the young guys show improvement, that’s what the fans are really looking for because they do have a lot of young players that do have a bright future and that’s what they’re working with. Hunter, it’s a a little different in Pittsburgh because you do have veterans like Crosby and Malcin and Latang who have a great legacy and are trying to sort of go out on a high note and yet at the same time you’re retooling or rebuilding. So if the Penguins have another rough season, what does that do for the franchise? Well, obviously, you know, if they miss the playoffs, which I think is pretty likely, and they’re they’re not trying to contend this year. You know, what’s at stake? Obviously, Gavin McKenna, if they fall into a lottery position, you know, big trades. Kyle Dubis is now going to be afraid to make big trades around the trade deadline. We all know Eric Carlson is still here, Ricard Raquel, Brian Russ, but I would not expect all three of those guys to be here after the trade deadline. In fact, I would say it’s pretty unlikely that all three will be here. I think at least one of those guys, if not two, will be gone. If I had to pick one that will still be here, it’s Brian Rush because he’s a big leader on that team. He’s well respected in the locker room. When the big three, Crosby, Milk, and Latang, don’t want to talk to the media, it’s usually Brian Russ that does it just because he’s been there for so long. You know, if you want to talk even more worst case, Cindy Crosby goes to management and says, “Hey, I don’t really want to be here anymore during this time because I want to win.” Again, I don’t think that’s going to happen. I know what Papers said this week. I know what Cindy Crosby said this week, but he hasn’t gotten there yet. I think his focus right now is on helping the Penguins and retiring here. And if that changes, then they’ll have to have a discussion. There’s obviously an ownership situation here that we have to watch of FSG might be trying to get out here before the season. The Hoffman family is trying to buy the team for almost $2 billion. So, we have to see what happens on with that. But in terms of, you know, if they miss the playoffs, no one’s going to be surprised. as Kyle Dubis is probably going to say the same thing he said last off season where we know no one’s picking us but we want to see how the young players produce. We want to see how the new coaching staff gets in and you know that’s really all there is to it with the Penguins. Again, expectations are not high again this year. If maybe next year if they if they’re able to get some lottery luck even if they don’t win the McKenna sweep stakes, you know, I think Verhoff is right up there. I think he could potentially go number two in my opinion and I think I see him as a franchise type player. you know, that draft is a lot deeper than this year’s draft. Even outside of McKenna, who’s a generational talent, there’s about three to four other players who I think could be franchise players if they develop properly. So, that’s how I see it. Makes sense. And as far as the Islanders are concerned, we have a new GM. I don’t think there’s a lot of pressure to win right away. The the ownership and and the front office are still saying, “Yeah, we think this team can make the playoffs.” What are they going to say? I mean, they’re trying to sell tickets. uh if everything breaks right, if they stay very healthy, if certain guys take a step forward, could they sneak into one of the last playoff spots? Possibly. I think it’s a little bit of a long shot, but I I think what would happen to the Islanders if this team either misses the playoffs or really implodes and has a really bad season is you accelerate the retool. JG Pio is going to probably be traded by the deadline anyway, but if things really go south, maybe you also trade Anders Lee. Maybe you trade either Ryan Pock or Adam Pel. Uh you start moving out some of those bad contracts that Lou left the Islanders with and start accelerating that retool. add more picks, add more prospects, maybe some younger NHL players, and and you know, take that next step forward. Uh I I again, I think the playoffs are less likely than uh not likely, but uh if they don’t make it, I don’t think anyone is on the hot seat. Unless Patrick Wah loses the locker room and the team just falls apart, then he may be on the hot seat. But I still think he has a little a little while to go before that happens. Well, the good news is that Patrick is famously eventempered and chill at all times. Although, listen, I he surprised me last year. I thought he would get fed up last year and he didn’t. So, I kind of think now Darch is going to, you know, give him some energy. I’m just excited for the seven minute goalie pools. Just give me more those, please. Goal score for opponents everywhere. Yeah. I will say about the Islanders is that they’re maybe the weirdest team in the metro. Oh, yeah. Because I really have no idea what’s going to happen with you can make an argument both ways for them. Yeah, you really they very well could be a playoff team or they could be the worst team in the in the division. And there’s genuinely no way to know which way it’s going to go until that’s the way it’s gone. So, I’m going to be I always say the Islanders are like cockroaches. Like every time you think they’re gone, they just come right back. So, I I just don’t really know. Like, we’ll have to see what happens. A backhanded compliment to the New York Islander by Hunter Hodies. Well, uh guys, thank you so much for for hopping on. This has been a lot of fun. I want to thank everyone here for making the Locked On Metro Hopefuls preview your first listen today. For your second listen, check out the Locked On NHL podcast. There is no offseason. We’re bringing you the daily leaguewide stories that matter most with the local coverage you love from Locked On. You can find Locked on NHL on YouTube or wherever you listen to podcasts. It’s part of the Locked On podcast network, your team every day. I’m Gil Martin on behalf of Jay Foster, Russ Cohen, and Hunter Hodies. Have a great day, everyone, and thanks so much for watching and listening to the NHL Metro hopefuls preview.

Can the New York Islanders bounce back up the standings under new front office leadership? Are the Pittsburgh Penguins nearing the end of the Sidney Crosby / Evgeni Malkin / Kris Letang era? Do the Philadelphia Flyers have enough in support of young star Matvei Michkov? And will the young Columbus Blue Jackets take a step forward? In a special Locked On NHL Metro Division Hopefuls season preview, Gil Martin (Locked On Islanders), Russ Cohen (Locked On Flyers), Jay Forster (Locked On Blue Jackets) and Hunter Hodies (Locked On Penguins) preview the upcoming NHL season for the Metro Division’s playoff hopefuls. Will the departure of Lou Lamoriello usher in a new era for the Isles? Are the Penguins destined to be one of the league’s worst teams? Can the Flyers find anything resembling strong goaltending? And are the youthful Jackets ready to break out? Plus, FanDuel over/under points projections, breakout candidates, big offseason additions, the stakes for each team, and which team is the most likely to jump into the playoff picture this season.

Support Us By Supporting Our Sponsors!
Monarch Money
Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code LOCKEDONNHL at monarchmoney.com/lockedonnhl for 50% off your first year.
FanDuel
Download the FanDuel app now by visiting FanDuel.com and win $300 in bonus bets if your first $5 bet wins.
FANDUEL DISCLAIMER: 21+ in select states. First online real money wager only. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable free bets that expires in 14 days. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG (CO, IA, MD, MI, NJ, PA, IL, VA, WV), 1-800-NEXT-STEP or text NEXTSTEP to 53342 (AZ), 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat (CT), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN), 1-800-522-4700 (WY, KS) or visit ksgamblinghelp.com (KS), 1-877-770-STOP (LA), 1-877-8-HOPENY or text HOPENY (467369) (NY), TN REDLINE 1-800-889-9789 (TN)

Follow & Subscribe on all Podcast platforms…
🎧 https://link.chtbl.com/LOPenguins?sid=YouTube

Locked On NHL League-Wide: Every Team, Fantasy, Prospects & More
🎧 https://linktr.ee/LockedOnNHL

#NHL #PittsburghPenguins #Penguins