DK’s Daily Shot of Penguins: Self-inflicted

45 comments

1. Dejane, i'm sorry but it is ridiculous to blame last night on Skinner.. both active goalies have been more than adequate in at least the previous two games (MTL and TOR), the Penguins' blue liners are to blame for idiotic mistakes and giving away too much space to the opponent. the forward group is also not talented enough (apart from the first line) and painfully misses Malkin and Lizzote. So when the first line is out of sorts the rest of the forward group cannot cover their part of production. Last night was particularly hard to watch because the 2nd and 3rd lines were really good in the O-zone, but were constantly let down by the D corps, first two pairings (Karlsson-Wotherspoon and Letang-Kulak), to be precise.

2. Jarry stunk. We had to get rid of him when he was worth his highest return. Well, we did it. No more contract. We're now free after this year to use Blomqvist and Murashov in tandem until one takes the net. And we now have 5 million dollars to spend anywhere else the team needs help. It was a smart move. 1 for 1 of the same goalie but Skinner's contract is up after this year. And we got a left side defensemen for Pouillin, who did nothing for us.

3. If it matters so much to them then why don't they bother playing like they're in an NHL game against other pro players, instead of the flippant, low effort stuff?

4. 100% with you on Jarry. Didn't understand the trade. It made NO sense when the Penguins were weathering the storm with those injuries and Jarry playing well. The bottom line is Jarry was the goaltender who gave them the best chance to win games. Dubas' message was clear when trading him: he's not interested in winning games in 2025-2026.

   I have liked a lot of what Dubas has done as GM, but man, this was a major headscratcher for me. The argument I keep seeing is about future cap space (getting out of Jarry's future years) and that they're worried Jarry will turn back into a pumpkin because he has struggled in the 2nd half of seasons. I would have rolled the dice because he's always had tons of potential, and maybe this year was the one he put it together for a full season.

5. Agree with you on Jarry, Dubas and Muse. They not going anywhere with bad goaltending.

6. Skinner let in two bad goals, but was absolutely left out to dry. Id bet anything Jarry loses that game too. I'm sure Silovs would have.

   It only makes sense to trade Jarry if you are now ready to hand the reigns to Murashov. Until he is up here full time it makes no sense since they aren't spending to the cap.

   This is currently the worst defensive corps we may have ever seen though, even worse than Gen X. Absolutely egregiously bad in every metric.

   Kulak and Letang are horrific every game. Karlsson had his worst game of the season.

   Give aways galore by the likes of Hayes, and Letang resulting directly in goals. Why is Hayes getting ANY ice time? I do not get Dubas plan at all.

   Are they trying to compete hence why they have vets like Hayes? Are they trying to rebuild hence why they traded Jarry? They need to pick a lane and go all in with it. The vets getting ice time is the team's biggest issue. Not changing the d corps ever is the biggest issues. Our goalies both need to be waived as well if you're going to try to compete. I don't get the point.

7. "If " dubas is throwing away the season then there is no reason to have players like k. Hayes, hienen, kulak, accari, in the line up. The team should be loaded with kids trying to figure it out for a full season. We are still stuck in the middle trying to build value for vets to trade them, while letting players like broz, a. Hayes, pickering, etc. over marinate in the ahl, not to mentioned what ever they are doing with brunicke. It seems the plan is for next season to be the "big change", but this season just seems like a lot of hold on and wait. Not sure it has to be this way.

8. What bothers me the most is how spoiled and unprofessional this team seems to act/play after one of their buddies gets traded. After that pathetic display following the Guentzal trade, you can’t convince me that isn’t a problem now as well. If so, that is a very, VERY bad reflection on the quality of their leadership.

9. At 100% agree. Neither Edmondson player will bring back anything worthwhile. If they get a fifth round pick, it will be a miracle. I would not blame Sidney Crosby one bit if he demanded a trade at the end of this year. And for the first time ever, I fully support him leaving this shit show.

10. I can see why they want to dump him if they don’t have faith in him for the future. That being said,$5m isn’t a lot for a goalie that’s playing well. Now the Penguins don’t have a starter and were a defender or two away from a playoff team.

11. In addition to DK, I also watch Steve Dangle LFR (Leafs Fan Reaction), because Steve is just too damn funny. Lately, his coverage has been epic funeral dirge level stuff, because the Leafs cannot beat anyone…except the Pens, apparently. I'm talking him going on about how the team is checked out, playing to get its coach fired, everyone's a husk of themselves. But when they play the Pens, gosh darn it, things get healthy in a hurry. THAT, my friends, should give you an idea of the true current state of the Penguins. They had a nice start, failed to build on it, and are now…whatever this is.

12. WHITHER KARLSSON? You're mancrush basically handed the game to the Leafs on a silver platter. Own it. Easier to talk about goalies than admit that.

13. @DKPS_penguins my goodness let it go. Your reporting is great and I love the show…you’re upset because trading Jarry said “we don’t want to win now” (because you think he was the best goalie for that). The penguins went in on the “here and now” with Jim Rutherford for years, and it started to fail after the two cup runs because the team is old. The game now is foundation building for the future which is rooted in proper asset management. Jarry’s entire body of work sucks (we’ll disagree). Getting two assets that will be flipped at the deadline is good asset management when you have the next goalies up in Wilkes.
    The team stinks now, and Jarry wouldn’t make them not stink. To think he’d be stealing every game for us right now is a pipe dream. The trade had to happen because Jarry is what he is, an inconsistent injury prone (injured again, which you should note) untested goalie in the playoffs. And, he’s not a team player because he never takes responsibility for the team losing and any interview that he does.
    It’s not about winning now at all costs, it’s about winning now ONLY if it doesn’t come at the cost of development and future building, two things the Jarry trade will give us.

14. I agree that Jarry has been really good, even going back to last season. The trade wasn't great. Kulak sucks. Silovs is not good and Skinner hasn't been good, so far. But, the defense in front of these guys has been horrendous. Not sure that even Jarry could have made too much of a difference.
    Merry Christmas DK and DKPS family.

15. So you watched the game last night and felt that the goalie situation was the biggest issue to address in today's Shot? That's a wild take. Damn, the defensemen of this organization are really carefree. They can make as many mistakes as they want and still don't get called out.

16. Hey DK you left out a crucial point about skinner and kulak within that Jarry trade. Both of them are UFAs at the end of the season. That’s 5.5 million or so that they’re gonna have in free cap space, should atleast tell the whole story, not just make it look bad cause you like Jarry. Love watching your show, but hate to tell you but you’re wrong. Murashov will be up soon enough and then you’ll be like “oh good thing they got rid of jarry cause this guy is really good.”

17. You're putting those goals on Skinner? Did you watch the game?

18. Letang and Karleson need benched immediately, let’s be real no goalie can save the Penguins when there defense is that bad. I missed maybe a handful of games in 25 years, I seriously can’t watch this team anymore, the aggravation ain’t worth it.

19. Timing on the trade was bad. They should have kept jarry until at least the deadline just to see what the season could bring. The issue is with 2 more years of his contract is that you will have to juggle that with the young goalies coming up. If dubas feels good about murashov and Blomquist then I get why he did it. But again the timing is terrible.

    If he doesn't spend that extra money on some players either at the deadline or free agency then it is a complete failure of a trade.

20. I don't have the knowledge to debate thecrelative merits of Jarry and Skinner but I do have the life experience to say that the timing of the trade stank. This was supposed to be a group.of players "competing for their spots in the lineup" so Dubas trades the guy who had pulled his socks up and was putting in game saving performances. Yeah, that sends a great message (along with calling players up and sending them back down after one game, not giving them any time to adjust). Way to kill morale, loyalty and any reputation for being a good team to land in.

21. I didn't understand the trade then and there has been nothing to change my mind.

22. The way the defense is playing, it doesn't matter who is in goal.

23. Merry Christmas DK!

    4 points out of a playoff spot with this roster and all the injuries and kids playing. Sounds like an accomplishment for a team who hasn't seen the playoffs in a few years. He was clear on letting this roster play it out early and then reevaluate. Time to go spend some of that draft capital to bolster the roster… for the right price!! No JR deal like 1st and a top goalie prospect for a rental 3C I won't name 😢

24. It seems to me to have been a trade to find someone better with no takers, and then we can't stop the snowball rolling down the hill. It shows the one person that's always on the ice needs to be a quarterback, not just the 6th guy. If it's not Skinner, better find another moose.

25. Dubas should pay Crosby 13 million out of his own pocket

26. Patrick Roy in his prime couldn't play behind this D core. The tank is on and Karlsson and Letang are the tank commanders!!!!! That being said that trade is looking bad. Both things can b true. I don't care about this season but it didn't need to be this bad.

27. The problem is confidence and leadership not goaltending. Skinner has been serviceable. Only thing that could save this team is Malkins return. I've always believed he's the real leader of this team.

28. The gain from the Jarry trade was to clear the books of that ridiculous contract, was it not?

29. You can't go anywhere without a Defense which includes a good goaltender…2 would be best. That seems to be an accurate expression of the fact. Skinner got the Oilers real close to the Cup. Jarry after a decade of various injuries and inconsistencies was injured during Pens quest for the Cup and has a 2-6 record in the playoffs. . Kulak has a linemate..the D consists of pairs…the Pens D is horrible. he's played 3 games w. the Pens and is being thrown under the bus.

30. The team is old, that's where the problems start 🙂

31. Can we just trade them all – beg santa to bring us a better team…. this is too painful to watch

32. You can’t dismiss Jarry being injured – particularly with an injury history as a factor in a trade.

    Yes his injury history matters and yes he’s injured now and yes he will probably be injured again and miss more time this year.

33. From one moron to another: I thought they wouldn't trade Jarry, as he was performing like one of the best goaltenders in the league. I was thinking they finally had all cylinders running smoothly. They still needed to improve on defense, but that cap space could have gone a long way to improve that. But what do I know? I'm just a moron who doesn't have an analytically minded brain.

34. You're impressively obtuse.

35. This is terrible timing for you to talk about the goaltending! Did you watch that team play D yesterday ? Atrocious!!

36. DK, when will you address the giant Erik Karlsson room pachyderm!? It’s getting out of hand. Is this guy into mafia types for a large sum of money? Seems as though he’s the opposing teams MVP far too often on any given night. Last night he inexplicably falls down, not once, but TWICE, both times gifting Toronto a turnover. Then later with our goalie pulled, he inexplicably can’t remember where the Toronto net is, and gifts them with another turnover that leads to a Toronto goal. Think I’m joking? I’m not. We need an FBI investigation into Erik Karlsson. If only the FBI wasn’t corrupt and useless as well! 🤷🏻‍♂

37. 👍

38. Thank you DK. I didn't understand the benefit of the trade, then or now. For me it was untimely as you pointed out. Big bad move. Great show DK. Marry Christmas everyone !

39. I think part of what motivated Dubas to make the trade was he thought that getting Kulak, a veteran, lefty, stay-at-home defenseman to bolster the blue line was the vig.

    That has definitely not worked out because Kulak has been absolutely terrible, especially yesterday in Toronto.

40. Hey DK, I thought after the shootout victory that the ship was righted. Lol. I thought Letang and Karlsson would ease up on the turnovers, and Kullack would be a Norris candidate, and Rust could make a play without Sid spoon feeding him, or that someone new would step up…..oh I also thought Skinner would stop every defensive turnover and shut out every team. When Santa asked what I wanted for Xmas, my list was just way too long. On a positive note they can’t win every game, lol, 1-9 proves that!! Merry Xmas DK

41. For more picks in the year they have a top 10 pick, duh. Embrace the tank dude! Kulak will probably grab a third at the TDL. If Sid doesnt like it all he needs to do is ask for a trade.

    Funny also how everything was fine over the summer but now you have a problem with unused cap space.

    The seasons havent matter since 2022 either my dude. Time to realize that

42. I disagree. With where the Pens are at right now they need to find their next captain more than a few games of round 1 playoff experience.

    Just bite the bullet this year… they will go into next year with a fresh top 5 prospect, all the dead weight contracts gone, some real young talent pushing for spots, a stockpile of futures, and still have some real NHL players.

    Jarry was stealing too many games and setting the plan back

43. Dk, you're delusional. Nothing Jarry has done this year is any different than what has happened any other season he's done well. It always falls off.. it's not different this year, please stop pretending. Everyone on your staff has disagreed with this point as seen in the double shot. You're talking about Jarry as a starter, and ignoring completely his time in the AHL last year. That's not starter, or backup.. its not even in the league. Every single point you brought up to refute about Jarry I can find clips of you saying yourself. "Don't you remember Jarry made us mad 5 years ago" Try less than 5 months ago you stated he NEEDED to be traded. This is why I fall off of your content. You've been borderline disrespectful to Silovs discounting him immediately, and been glazing Jarry as if he's even remotely close to a top goalie in the league.

44. The jarry bias is sickening. Pens never got anywhere with him. Mrashov was in when thye blew a lead. And so was jarry in tampa. Skinner had to stop a 2 on 0 over a defense laspe. Then made 3 saves on a breakway with no pens around and toronto still scores. Ffs

45. Hey DK, what’s the chance Dubas wants free of the Crosby era? Is he deliberately doing things so Sid requests a trade and therefore has no blood on his hands? Every move he’s made hasn’t panned out, he traded Jake off for Bunting who is gone, but brought in several others than dumps or demotes them, Dumba, Tomosaro, etc. He made promises to Sid and the fanbase, this was not a rebuild…..maybe so but it’s a self destruct. He built a weak minded team in Toronto that had no heart or soul and I am yet to see anything he’s done for Pittsburgh that makes them immediately better. Most overrated hockey mind in the business.