TAMPA, Fla. \u2014 It occurred to me, while flying to Tampa on April Fool\u2019s Day, that I forgot to write a mailbag in March. What a fool I am.<\/p>\n
So, here\u2019s an impromptu mailbag because we have a lot to discuss.<\/p>\n
Away we go.<\/p>\n
How does the Penguins\u2019 success this season change the outlook for next season\u2019s free agency moves? \u2014 @cgibson724<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a great question and one of the first that GM\/president Kyle Dubas will be asked when the Penguins\u2019 season eventually ends.<\/p>\n
Dubas is a stay-the-course type. I don\u2019t think what happened this season will change his plans. I\u2019ve long believed that a big swing is coming in the summer of 2026, and I still believe it. The Penguins have loads of money and draft picks, plus prospects and tradeable NHL players.<\/p>\n
This summer is the best opportunity to expedite the rebuild process by landing big-time, young talent. I don\u2019t think that has changed just because Dubas\u2019 remarkable 18 months have the Penguins on the verge of a playoff berth.<\/p>\n
Remember when Evgeni Malkin was suspended right before the trade deadline? Dubas gave a great answer when asked whether it changed his thinking. He said that he reacted emotionally to it at first \u2014 he wasn\u2019t happy with Malkin and implied that his impulse was to add a player \u2014 but then said that, as a manager, he can\u2019t make emotional decisions. I think his mindset is pretty steady. This is a guy with a vision.<\/p>\n
I love the season we are having but \u2026 I mean, there has to be a little concern that we might Washington Capital it next season, right? Brazeau, Mantha, Novak, Wotherspoon \u2026 is it possible they are all just having career years at the same time? \u2014 @ToddNY25<\/p>\n
The Capitals are better than you think. They\u2019ve been a little unlucky this season and still actually have a chance to make the playoffs. I bet they\u2019ll be better next season because they have a lot of young talent.<\/p>\n
But sure, I hear what you\u2019re saying. The Penguins may take a step back next season, but it wouldn\u2019t be a search for short-term gratification that would badly impact them. That\u2019s what counts.<\/p>\n
Josh, seems as though the debate whether to re-sign Mantha is leaning against it. I don\u2019t see it that way. I don\u2019t see anyone at WBS threatening as a top-six forward anytime soon. Thoughts? \u2014 @TheConfluence\u00a0<\/p>\n
I suspect this is going to be a very big topic this summer, and rightfully so. Anthony Mantha was projected to become an impact player for a decade. It finally happened at age 31 in Pittsburgh. Now, he\u2019s an unrestricted free agent in a very weak market. Talk about leverage.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re the Penguins, you don\u2019t want to lose him, clearly. He\u2019s been so important. You also don\u2019t want to pay an outrageous amount of money to a guy who will be 32 next season. The Penguins are trying to get away from that sort of thing.<\/p>\n
I do think they\u2019ll try to bring him back, but I don\u2019t think they\u2019ll get into a bidding war. The contract length is more of an issue than the money. I could envision Dubas giving him a large raise, but I\u2019d be surprised if he were to offer him a deal longer than three years. Maybe four, though I\u2019m not so sure about that. But I can\u2019t see the Penguins going five years or longer. Another team probably would give him five years or longer, and that\u2019s the problem for the Penguins.<\/p>\n
Of all the surprises the team has offered this season, what surprises you the most? \u2014 @jenny2hearts<\/p>\n
Too many to mention, honestly, but probably the depth scoring. The Penguins have 12 players with 10 or more goals and probably would have 13 if Blake Lizotte were healthy. They have nine or more players with 15 goals.<\/p>\n
Depth scoring has been a problem for many years. Now, it is not.<\/p>\n
Who comes out of the lineup when Lizotte is back healthy? S\u00f6derblom has been awesome, seemingly can\u2019t bench Dewar or Acciari. Good problem to have, but in a perfect world with everyone healthy, who sits? \u2014 @ByJoshCarney<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve quickly come around on Elmer S\u00f6derblom, who I thought I was especially good on Tuesday against Detroit. What a performance that was.<\/p>\n
I had assumed he\u2019d be the odd man out and they\u2019d head back to this lineup:<\/p>\n
Rickard Rakell-Sidney Crosby-Bryan Rust
Egor Chinakhov-Tommy Novak-Evgeni Malkin
Justin Brazeau-Ben Kindel-Anthony Mantha
Connor Dewar-Blake Lizotte-Noel Acciari<\/p>\n
And maybe they will. But I don\u2019t like Novak\u2019s game right now, and he\u2019d be my first choice to exit the lineup. Look at the players on those third and fourth lines. Who comes out? Brazeau is the only guy who hadn\u2019t been playing well, but he rebounded. Novak is the only player who makes sense. Granted, the coaches really like him, so it may not happen. But if I were the coach, I\u2019d consider it.<\/p>\n
Would you do a goalie rotation in the playoffs? It\u2019s unconventional for sure. Skinner has been the better goalie, and I\u2019d go with him, but he seems not to mind the rotation. Keeping him fresh for the playoffs. \u2014 @AKAFloyd<\/p>\n
The way Art\u016brs \u0160ilovs has played recently should eliminate him from consideration. To me, the net belongs to Stuart Skinner.<\/p>\n
There seems to be a lot of dumping on Kris Letang lately. Can you name three things that he still consistently does well? \u2014 @EricWall283961<\/p>\n
He\u2019s still extremely strong and physical, as we\u2019ve seen lately. He remains an above-average skater, even if he doesn\u2019t blow away the competition like he once did. He also works the puck to forwards better than most defensemen around the league.<\/p>\n
So, there are three things. I\u2019ll also add that he\u2019s played very well in the past couple of games. Hopefully, for the Penguins\u2019 sake, that\u2019s a sign of things to come.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ll note that I didn\u2019t include decision-making with the puck as one of the things he still does well. That\u2019s been a major problem all season, along with his decision-making without the puck.<\/p>\n
If Auston Matthews were to want out of Toronto after this season, would the Pens look into it? How realistic would it be, and would Toronto even consider trading its franchise player to a team run by Kyle Dubas? \u2014 @Pensfan1977<\/p>\n
There\u2019s the question I\u2019ve been waiting for.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t know what\u2019s going to happen in Toronto, nor do I have a relationship with Matthews, so I don\u2019t know whether he\u2019ll want out. If he becomes available, I\u2019d be stunned if Dubas didn\u2019t make a call. The Penguins have the cap space and trade pieces to make a deal like that.<\/p>\n
Two problems: Toronto would surely want Ben Kindel, and I don\u2019t know that Dubas would trade him. As you noted, I also don\u2019t know how eager the Leafs would be to trade their superstar to Dubas, who has been on the rise over the past year, as the Penguins climb and the Leafs fall.<\/p>\n
Still, Pittsburgh makes a ton of sense if Matthews wants to play elsewhere next season.<\/p>\n
Is there room for Will Horcoff after the Frozen Four? \u2014 @skiminer36<\/p>\n
I doubt it. The Penguins love him, and he has enjoyed a breakout season at the University of Michigan. His future is bright. But I don\u2019t think he\u2019s NHL-ready.<\/p>\n
In your opinion, is the 1989 Penguins highlight film \u201cThere\u2019s a Team In The Building<\/a>\u201d the greatest retrospective of any local sports club? \u2014 @DavidWhipkey5<\/p>\n I still give the nod to \u201cOne From The Heart<\/a>\u201d simply because of the \u201cdance of champions\u201d line regarding the famous five-minute major penalty kill in Game 4 of the 1991 Stanley Cup Final in Minnesota. Phil Bourque took a magnificent dive to end that power play a minute early, I might add.<\/p>\n But \u201cThere\u2019s a Team in the Building\u201d is pure cinema, no question. The name alone makes me smile.<\/p>\n How will the NHL adjust the Pens\u2019 playoff schedule around the NFL draft? \u2014 @ejonesoh1<\/p>\n A Penguins official told me the other day that the NHL isn\u2019t planning on making any changes if the Penguins have home playoff games during the NFL Draft.<\/p>\n Reminder: The Stanley Cup playoffs are set to begin April 18<\/a>. The NFL Draft is April 23-25.<\/p>\n What a disaster this could be. The situation will be much better if the Penguins get home-ice advantage in the first round. In that scenario, they\u2019d be out of town for Games 3 and 4, which are likely to take place during the draft.<\/p>\n If the Penguins are home during Games 3 and 4, all hell might break loose. How will people get to the game? The gridlock will be like nothing we\u2019ve ever seen in Pittsburgh. Street closures have already begun<\/a> and will increase. Where will the visiting teams stay? Hotel rooms are scarce. (If a couple of Blue Jackets or Islanders would like to stay at my home, I\u2019m happy to work out financial arrangements.)<\/p>\n NYI fan here. How helpful to Crosby and Malkin\u2019s careers do you think it was to make the playoffs so early on, but losing to Ottawa in 2007? I ask because if the Isles and Schaefer make it in and fall out early \u2026 I wonder how valuable that experience could be for Schaefer. Thank you. \u2014 @IslesDen<\/p>\n