Penguins Goaltender Near Top of NHL’s Trade Market

Penguins Goaltender Near Top of NHL’s Trade Market

[Music] hello everybody and welcome to the tip of the iceberg your home for Pittsburgh Penguins news and Analysis I’m your host Nick bsky joined as always by my co-host Nick horwat we have a great show for you guys today but first if you missed our little video yesterday there are a couple of changes coming to tip of the iceberg on YouTube and first and foremost that’s what it is instead of inside the Penguins you can now find us on YouTube or anywhere you get your podcast from by searching tip of the iceberg and also new episodes will come out Tuesday and Thursday with a free or yeah free everything’s free we don’t have a pay wall a free live stream on Wednesdays at 4M but let’s get into today’s action because we have a loaded show for you guys within two weeks of the opening of NHL free agency rumors are starting to pop left and right we’re going to start things off by taking a look at the gold tending trade market because there is a handful of names according to Frank saravali that could be on the move within the next couple of weeks or if not within the next couple of months as the NHL offseason starts to heat up also going to talk about a blockbuster trade piece that feels eily familiar in my eyes and we’ll close things out talking about a couple of struggling forwards looking for a fresh start that the Pittsburgh Penguins have recent be recently been linked to but with that being said let’s get this started and it started off with Frank saravali of daily Faceoff releasing his trade targets list with five count them five horwat five time five time five time as Booker T likes to say five goenda on this list you have lenus olar as number two on the trade targets list yuss Soros of the Nashville Predators at number six former Penguins Prospect Philip gustofson at number eight Jacob markstrom of the Calgary Flames at 10 Elvis Mars Lincoln at number 16 there’s a good mix here of team and player being the one that wants to change the question that I have for you horwat is where does Tristan jari fit in this mix obviously we’ve heard the reports that the penguins are not actively shopping but they are listening to offers on Tristan jar if he’s indeed on the trade market where does he fit among these five uh he’d probably fit behind all of them in terms of uh likely likeliness to move the likelihood that he gets traded away I think that’s sort of what’s held him off of these lists before is that it’s never really been certain if Kyle DUIs and the Penguins want to trade him or even take it back to the Ron hexall era it’s never been certain if they even wanted to deal him away um I could see him if he was if it was if he was a real consideration to be traded he’d definitely be above M Lincoln uh just by skill I don’t know how much more you need from that one he’d probably be below Soros do so within that three to four range of those quote unquote top five uh goalies that could be moved this off season uh but again just because there’s so much uncertainty around the future of jari it wouldn’t shock me if he left it wouldn’t shock me if he stayed I think that’s what keeps him sort of out of this list off of this list uh but if it was certain that there was some word out there he’s being shopped he’s definitely moving he’d be up above a couple of names here I think talent-wise he’s probably fourth on this list I’d probably throw allmark Soros and markstrom All Above Tristan jari as far as just pure talent but situation wise I’d put him directly behind lenus allmar because allmark is on the last year of his deal $5 million salary cap hit and it seems as if I mean they tried to trade him Sarah wrote it in this piece they tried to trade him at the deadline to the Los Angeles Kings and he mixed it with his no trade clause but at the same time if they’re wanting to move on from him and they have to sign Jeremy Swan probably to a long-term deal this offseason if they want to trade him they’re going to trade him so you know that mixed with the fact that he’s a vzna caliber guy a guy that has had a vzna trophy in the last couple of Seasons I think that puts him at number one but honestly you know you have contract control with Tristan jari the asking price might not be too steep depending on how eager the penguins are to move on from Tristan jar if they’re trying to clear up the cap space if they’re trying to do a Allah Steelers quarterback situation uh burn it down to the ground and start from scratch they might not be asking too much for Tristan jar and they might be asking for less than certainly the Nashville Predators are with UC Soros and and certainly what the Calgary Flames are asking for with Jacob markstrom so I would put him as far as you know where does he fit in this mix as far as you know the most attractive options skill matched with situation i’ put him right behind Lena alark yeah I could see that too if it’s skill for sure uh in the situation against depends on if they want to move him uh we know jari has the skill he’s proven it before it is what’s lack what he’s lacking in skill at least now that he’s becoming a more veteran player becoming getting closer to his prime he’s lacking that uh punch of just clutch that that punch sorry that clutch punch he’s missing that being able to win in big games I mean he lost the net in the last 13 games of the Season including the meaningless game on Long Island and there’s an issue there if the team doesn’t believe you can do it in those situations that’s huge the Penguins understand he’s a good goalie he can get you wins uh he definitely didn’t give you enough this year and he GNA need to give you more if he sticks around but it’s and you and you like to say he has when it comes to the postseason success he doesn’t have it because he hasn’t been given the chance he’s got to get them there now that’s another part of it is that he hasn’t been able to get them there injuries plagued him in 2223 and then NAD delovic stole it from him last year so he has to get them there he’s got to earn that right to become a playoff performer or else he’ll just be a very good goalie That Couldn’t shine when the lights were the brightest yeah and when I look at just jari it’s not just this past season where he didn’t do enough he hasn’t done enough for a couple years now right the the year prior yes he was dealing with that hip injury and missed two months of the Season came back late in the year and well everybody and their mother was saying yeah no it’s not injury related his inconsistencies you would kind of hope that it was because if it wasn’t then that’s it’s alarming it’s more alarming if he was healthy playing the way he did down the stretch of the 2223 season but at the end of the day you know you look at this situation the penguins have a lot of moves to make and restructuring your goal tending room is going to be a tough thing to put on top of you know figuring out what you’re going to do it Forward seeing if you can make any changes on defense you know adding to to that to being you know trading away a goenda in a number one goenda dubis in one offseason and that’s why I think you also see jari being left off a lot of these top trade targets list because they have been non-committal on whether or not they’d move them I mean we talked about allmark potentially going to the Kings and the Kings being interested the Kings would be an interesting name if they want Tristan jar I mean that could be potentially a landing spot but at the end of the day I think it all comes down to how do the Penguins view jari going into the next season do they want to give him another shot because it seems like they’re handing out Second Chances left and right right now and I feel like Jar’s gonna end up on that list of players that get Second Chances and I don’t hate that I don’t hate that as a situation because you know he is good and he probably you know he should want to prove himself to be that clutch goalie to be a successful goalie um you get him in with that mindset of he needs to be better he needs to really push himself and maybe you have depending on the backup if it’s Joel blanquis there he has to push or this young kid’s gonna take his spot or if you bring in the veteran backup okay I have to push or I’m GNA lose my job to someone on the back nine of their career or if you bring in a stud like they did with Alex andelkovic last year or at least who turned into a stud okay I need to push or I’m just straight up going to lose my job because they have another really good goalie behind me MH they need he should be getting pushed no matter the situation this year uh and that’s genuin that should be good for him the team believes in him he believes in himself I think a lot of other people outside of the organization believe he can be a good goalie he just has to finally hit that um useful in the right moments part of his career because he needs to get them there and he just needs to prove it now let’s go into hypothetical land here say the Pittsburgh Penguins move on from Tristan jar by hooker by crook however they do it Tristan jar is out the door and they are in the market for another number one goal tender if the Penguins were looking for that number one goalie of these five who do you think is the best fit for the Pittsburgh Penguins oh those five uh I i’ I’ve enjoyed the uco’s name quite a lot um he’s just provided a lot for the predator and you know he’s he’s got vzna caliber skill he might be a little bit more affordable in terms of what these other guys could make Jacob markson could probably make a lot on the market if he rebounds and has a good year somewhere um lenus Omar I mean he won the vzna a couple years ago he can ride that still I mean won the vzna with a lot of help from San he did win the vzna right I’m not just kind of speaking into the either he did he won the vzna yeah won the with a lot of help from San which is that’s why I was confused by it whenever I said it uh but he can ride that into a huge contract and I don’t I don’t I just don’t know if his skill and his prowess can last um M lein just doesn’t bring it to me and and down to just UC Soros being just a solid option just a great great face to fill into that into that role the problem I see with Soros and Sarah mentioned this in his piece is the asking price is going to be astronomical from Barry trotz because he doesn’t have to trade UC Soros he doesn’t because he does have yaroslav askarov who had another Stellar season at the American Hockey League but at the same time I mean we saw these trade rumors about Soros last year we’re seeing him again this year at what point does the boy who cries wolf actually see the wolf coming up to his stable right and at one point does yuss SOS actually become a player that is available because if he does it’s going to be it’s going to be expensive so I think that that rules him out in my eyes uh but eventually he’s going to be on the Move uh but I just think that you know as of right now the pressure as sahali writes as well the pressure is not on trotz to move UC Soros because he is a Bonafide number one right there is no question marks about UC Soros but I I think when looking at the rest of this list you have a couple by low candidates and gustofson and Mur Lincoln the acquisition cost might still be a little higher because it’s just what happens when you’re trying to buy a younger goenda like Ms Lincoln those guys have had some some rough seasons on some questionable teams uh I mean guston’s on a better team in Minnesota but that’s why I come back to Lena alark this is a guy that I’ve I’ve mentioned a couple of times this offseason already that it it really seems like the writing is on the wall for him to be on his way out of Boston and if that’s the case what is the the price going to be because everybody knows that you’re trying to trade them everybody now knows that you had a trade in place at the NHL trade deadline for him so that to me see makes it seem like the lus allmark trade price is going to go down and the other question then becomes you know what do you do on the back end of this he has one year at $5 million so even if it doesn’t work out you’re buying yourself a little bit of wiggle room as to what the future of that position could be because what is Yol BL longfist we don’t know how far away is Sergey mishev we don’t know it gives you a year to try to figure some of the answers to these questions out and I also think it does that in a way that shows you that you have a goenda is a different animal it’s always a different animal but the past two seasons the Penguins haven’t made it to the playoffs so getting there in the first place it’s going to go a long way if you can bring in a goendale of lenus alar yeah that’s they’ll need the caliber they’ll need someone who has that vesma quality to them that’s why sark’s a good choice and you’re right that the the cost might go down a little bit because of previous uh previous trade options but I think that’s also what makes Soros at least in my as another great option like sure he’s always been talked about when will he eventually actually get traded if he ever does um but he brings that VZ in quality he can steal your games and uh he’s not a big goalie but he knows how to play the position pretty well so I think that’s sort of another big Mark into his uh in his Direction I was going to mention one of the two other goenda or Ms Lincoln if you wanted to go in a different direction if you wanted to say hey we have jari we’re going to bring in one of these guys that need a fresh start and let them battle it out as a true 1A 1B kind of prove it type of player a higher level of Alex nidel kovich basically but M Lincoln’s contract is too much gustafson’s contract is too much M Linc is making I believe over 5 million guston’s making 3.75 so unless you’re getting a lot of retention those options are out the window so I mean to me you’re only pulling one of these five names off if you’re moving out from Tristan jari Soros Soros is the peak answer like that’s the best goenda all Mark so I I think either of those two goal tenders would provide an upgrade over what you’ve gotten past five years out of the goal tending position to be completely honest and I I think that it’s worth it if you look at what the Penguins need I’m not going to go as far to say as hey look at the Stanley Cup Final right now Sergey bosski $10 million the the art of paying a lot of money for a goal tender his back it’s not but you need more than what you have had in the past four years and you’re going to have to pay a little bit for it I don’t think it’s going to be8 n mill1 million but I think you’re going to have to pay an acquisition cost that’s pretty high to get one of these guys and I think that if you’re the Penguins and the team you have constructed right now that is not great defensively but hoping to be a little bit better you’re going to need a steady goal tender that has been able to be consistent throughout a season over the last couple years Tristan jari hasn’t been that whereas some of these other guys Soros allar I’ll throw markstrom in there but it seems like it’s predetermined that he’s going to New Jersey but you know those three have proven to be able to at the very least be consistent throughout a regular season which would help the Penguins get back into a playoff spot and from there who knows yeah it’s I think even trist and jar if he can come in and be a good option and succeed and turn his game around even he could be a good option too we’ll have to wait and see on that one I don’t know how much faith I have in Tristan jar turning it around there’s been too many different instances where he’s fallen short for me to have a complete and utter faith in Tristan jar going into the next season but obviously with two weeks go until the opening of free agency with the the start of these rumors we’re going to hear a lot more going over the next handful of days let’s move over and talk a little bit about another top trade Target this one being made available last week where we released the reports coming out that he’s available last week Patrick l could be available for trade according to Pierre LeBron of the athletic here’s what he had to say in his piece when talking about Line quote my understanding is that the Columbus Blue Jackets intend to work with Patrick line A’s Camp led by agent Andy Scott of octagon to find the star Winger a fresh start with a new team line a remains in the NHL and nhlpa player assistance program having sought the help in January he also recently had a minor shoulder cleanup procedure but that’s not expected to be an issue the expectation is that he’ll be ready to go for next season now horwat you wrote a little piece on on line A’s availability and the one thing that I thought of right after reading your piece right after reading what Pierre LeBron had written was this feels familiar it’s a little bit of deja vu for me because Lia being available at this stage of his career the player that he is it feels similar to that of Phil kessle back in 2015 if you look at the two’s careers before kessle was traded to Pittsburgh and where L is right now kessle was a top five draft pick at that point he had played through two organizations Boston and Toronto he was a five time 30 goal scorer a seven time 50o scorer and he was going into his age 28 season if you look at L first two things remain true top five draft pick from the Winnipeg Jets went through two organizations Winnipeg and Columbus he’s a three-time 30 goal scorer even eclipsing with the 40 goal Mark once or twice and a six-time 50 point scorer the only difference is and the biggest difference here is he’s going into his age 26 Season so he’s a little bit younger he has that pedigree it’s not an Apples to Apples comparison they’re not the identical players but right shot guys with a lot of scoring prows I feel like there’s a lot of similarities in the two situations yeah there is there’s a lot of similarities and you know I think what makes the kind of difference too is is tesle was coming from the Boston Bruins who at least on the surface looked like a well structured organization um to the Leafs who again aren’t the at least then were probably bit of a better run ship than they are now um this time around I mean Patrick Lon is coming from a disaster locker room in Winnipeg I mean who knows what uh was going on back at that point but we know since he’s go since he’s left it’s kind of continued to go downhill the Stars want to leave except for the fact that they signed eight-year deals who knows um and then to the col blue Jack who are notoriously one of the worst run organizations in the NHL right now you give L the sort of push from a successful organization both in the front office and on the ice maybe it wakes up that pedigree that he had in Winnipeg the the 30 to 40 goal score the elite shot that he can bring that he just hasn’t been able to bring in Columbus because of one reason or another um you stick a guy like Lon on Crosby’s Wing to finish off uh some of Crosby’s playmaking ability that’s a phenomenal jump it’s as long as those two can work together and make magic uh that’s your gel replacement if you really needed it or let’s say you have to put him on malin’s Wing well Malin in is shown he’s good at playing with young skilled players Patrick l fits that bill even if he hasn’t necessarily shown it over the last few years he’s an interest he’s an enigma of a player um it’s really interesting to see kind of how his career has you don’t want to say you know completely fallen short of of expectations because he still has so much time left ahead of him but he’s also already proven he can do it those first few seasons with Winnipeg were outstanding it’s a matter of finding that game again he got them to the he helped to get them to the Western Conference Finals I think in uh Vegas’s first yearh yeah yeah back in 2018 that would been they went to the Western Conference Final and L let’s not get it twisted when he came out it was him and Austin Matthews that these guys were going to be battling for Rocket Richards for years to come obviously Austin Matthews has been able to maintain that and even more almost scoring 70 goals this past season but Lona has run into a couple injuries and again that’s that that’s why I’m like this is not an Apples to Apples comparison with Phil kessle because kessle was the the picture of I don’t want to say health but he was the picture of availability right he he did not miss games uh whereas L has you know obviously gone into the nhlpa player assistance program but also has dealt with some injuries over the past couple of Seasons that has affected his availabilities but as you know LeBron said in that that shouldn’t be an issue at least the shoulder shouldn’t be an issue and you would have to imagine that obviously we’ve seen players most recently um who am I trying to think of uh he didn’t go into the player assistance program actually but um Sam Pand taking a step away from the game of hockey as well uh coming back and having that love for the game again you just hope that that’s what you’re getting out of Patrick l now as far as the the player and the money is concerned two years at $8.7 million that’s your big swing if you’re taking it but here’s the thing and again this is this hearkens back to the similarities between the Linea situation now and the Phil kessle situation in 2015 the penguins have not had somebody to score the quote unquote easy goals since kessle departed Pittsburgh somebody that can just come down unleash his shot and more often than not it’s going to be a high danger scoring chance no matter where he’s shooting the puck from they haven’t had that type of scoring threat in a long long time the question then becomes how much are you willing to pay for it because one move is not going to fix all the Penguins problems going out and getting you know Phil kessle at that time was seen as this is the piece that’s going to change the trajectory of the organization this is the piece that’s going to get them back to being a cup Contender this season and lo and behold they won two cups in the first two years years I don’t think L is that piece for the Penguins but I do see the similarities in needing that high upside 40 goal potential sniper that is just going to become a easy goal scorer quote unquote somebody that is GNA come in and if you give him an iota of time he’s gonna make the other team pay and he’s gonna put it in the back of the net yeah and 8.7 million doesn’t even strike you as uh in overpay because it’s pretty well known that the jackets are trying to move him now what do that mean they’re going to have to likely retain some of it so you take that 8.7 maybe it’s a seven you maybe you’re getting lineing for 7 million who knows how much they are willing to retain who knows what kind of trade happens here um or if you take the full 8.7 maybe you find a way to get a problem contract off of your roster too I mean who knows where the jacket are trying to go this upcoming season just fired their head coach yesterday yeah uh so may maybe they are in one more year of rebuild or two more years of rebuild maybe they are trying to build something right now if they’re trying to build something right now maybe they’re okay with taking a Riley Smith in return the veteran presence who can add to their depth um and maybe bang and crash a couple of goals where they need it whereas if they’re committing to another year of a rebuild maybe they take the Ryan Graves contract some part retained maybe go from there again I’m spitballing I truthfully know nothing of what the jack are trying to do or what they’re trying to get in return for a guy like L it’s I mean it’s a disaster of an organization that needs to get it you know trained back on the tracks and if it takes another just awful year they may have to sit through it but um moving Lon seems to be that start of the commitment and who knows what kind of package they’re looking for but those are just two names I’m throwing out because pen fans keep wanting to see them traded and Riley Smith seems pretty likely to be dealt yeah there’s a chance Riley Smith is dealt before we finish recording this Ryan Graves on the other hand uh I think there’s a little bit of false hope for people that want to see him get traded but again we’ve talked about that at nauseum but I think that when you look at the situation you’re not getting Patrick l for cheap especially if you want salary retained because he has that extra year as well it might cost you a first round pick it might not but if it doesn’t it’s going to cost you a pretty solid Prospect of which the Penguins now have a couple uh but at the same time you know Kyle dubis has mentioned time and time again what does he want he wants picks he wants prospects he wants young players that are getting closer at the NHL level he’s gonna have to give up a couple of those if he wants to go get Patrick l and not to mention the fact that this is a l that while yeah the upside is very very high the upside is 40 goals potentially you know 70 to 80 points maybe even more if he’s playing on a line with Crosby but it is a Gamble and it is going to be a costly Gamble and if it doesn’t work out it’s something that does I’m not going to say sets your organization back years but is something that does set your organization back if you bring in a player like that under that cap hit with the acquisition cost so it’s going to be interesting to see where he lands um I would think that he ends up getting traded but at the same time again you mentioned it Don woodell is in there and he is changing things hopefully for the better I mean that organization has been poorly run like you mentioned for a while wadell is you know known now has a track record of of building a very consistent ship down in Carolina can he do that in Columbus and is line a part of that that Vision I don’t know uh so we’ll have to wait and see what happens with that but I I do think there are some similarities between 2015 kessle and 2024 Patrick l especially if he ends up coming to the Pittsburgh Penguins I think the fit would be very similar as well you know power play specialist top six guy uh pure sniper the only thing that also is different as well the only thing I’ve said like three things but the other difference as well is when Phil kessle came to Pittsburgh the one thing he showed off that he didn’t really see as much in Toronto was his playmaking ability was his facilitation of other players was his assist numbers going up and up and up I’m not sure Patrick l has that in his game but again he’s played for the Jets and the last couple of Seasons he’s played for an organization where you know I forget Johnny Dro was that good of a hockey player until I saw him at World Championships that’s that’s what Columbus does and that’s what they’ve done the last couple years I hate to I hate to do that to him but that’s that’s the the stigma around the Columbus Blue Jackets so we’ll have to obviously monitor that situation I wouldn’t say it’s likely for the Penguins I would just say that there are some similarities and of course Kyle DUIs said last year when we were talking about the Eric Carlson rumors he said if there’s a player of that caliber I would not be doing my job correctly if I didn’t at least reach out so you know that tells me that he’s at the very least going to reach out and see what the price is for Patrick l let yeah sorry go ahead here guys he’s at least gonna give that call yeah and I was going to tack on to the little bit of the playmaking ability who knows because he’s because in Winnipeg he was there to be a goal scorer that’s what he was drafted for that’s what he was there for and then we got nothing out of Columbus like we mentioned so maybe there is a playmaking ability there that we just don’t know about like we had with f kessle and also maybe that’s just the team structure if he was to come in and have that sort of prowess with the penguins does that add to it now we may continue sorry there’s a little lag in my phone now let’s move over and talk a little bit about a couple of forwards that horat you sent me this yesterday were linked to the Pittsburgh Penguins you know this is the season of trade rumors this is the season of starting to get interest in certain free agents because we’re under two weeks away from July 1 according to the fourth period there are a pair of struggling forwards looking for a fresh start that have been linked to to the Pittsburgh Penguins let’s start with the one that is coming from in the division Oliver walstrom of the New York Islanders he is a restricted free agent this season so it would be acquiring his rights to then potentially sign him according to the fourth period this is what they had to say about Oliver walstrom quote the Islanders are willing to move walstrom but it is unclear as to the manner in which they could trade him do they package him in a deal for an upgrade elsewhere or add him as a sweetener to take on a bigger contract the first part of that tells me Riley Smith second part of that is not pertaining to the Pittsburgh Penguins so when you look at Oliver walstrom only 67 games played in the last two seasons lost most of his 20 22 23 due to a knee injury and because of that he got off to a slow start this past season and he just couldn’t hold down a lineup spot even when it was you know Lambert first and then Patrick W he just could not stay in the lineup what do you think about the penguins being connected to a guy like Oliver walstrom I like it he fits that Mike Sullivan type of he’s not going to score you a bunch of goals he’s going to be a bottom six uh defensive option the way I think I said it on here before people don’t want to you know discuss it and don’t want to recognize it but the way Mike Sullivan coaches his bottom six is a lot like the Islanders period it’s that defensive mindset it is that grinding you down you’re not going to score a bunch but you’re going to you know shut everyone else down and that’s what all Oliver walstrom could bring to a penguin’s bottom six it’s that sort of matching Styles between the Islanders as a whole and the Penguins bottom six just in general yeah here’s the thing that I don’t like about that I feel like he’s had to adjust that because of the teams that he’s been handed over the last couple years there hasn’t been a lot of offensive talent in the bottom six and even last year Kyle dubis outwardly said bottom six is for defense right we’re hoping they score but the bottom six is for defense so that’s going to lean into how Mike Sullivan is deploying these guys but you go back to 2016 2017 when he had bottom sixes that were more inclined to at least scoring more Phil kessle was in the bottom six um who else am I trying to think of Carl Haggin uh was in the bottom six these guys are defensively responsible but he was coaching them to be able to have four scoring lines four lines that could always be dangerous when on the ice Matt Cullen was able to be kind of that best of Both Worlds situation walstroms offensive numbers haven’t quite been there but he is a big body he is somebody that I feel like if the Penguins acquired he’s going to be put in a very similar situation to what he was in New York now that might include more opportunity right because as we’ve seen with Jansen Harkins last season if you’re good defensively and if you play the way that Mike Sullivan wants you to play even if you’re not scoring offensively you have a chance to play every single night walstrom comes over to the Penguins in a year where they’re hoping a lot of young guys take that step I think this is exactly what I’ve mentioned a couple times on the show is they want Insurance in case those guys aren’t ready walstrom is Insurance in case those guys aren’t ready he’s only 24 years old so maybe that change of pace change of scenery just reinvigorates somebody like that I mean he was a former first round pick but also this is a guy that has never played a game at the American Hockey League level so I think that’s where you see him being connected to Penguins is if the Penguins don’t have guys that are ready then walstrom will get in the lineup if they are ready I see walstrom being a 13th forward and that’s where you know it’s interesting because if the Penguins can kind of kill two birds with one stone bring in another piece to compete in the bottom six while also getting rid of O’Reilly Smith who may fit better in New York than he did in Pittsburgh but again all of his connections on the fourth period are West Coast and South uh if you can kill two birds with one stone I don’t hate it but at the same time I think there are better options to bring in as competition especially if you end up having to trade something other than you know all our bad players for all your good players which as we know just doesn’t happen very often so uh I don’t hate the fact that they were tied to them I see where the tie is I see what the role would be but I don’t know if I like Oliver walstrom as a name for the Pittsburg Penguins going into next season I think there are better names and better situations that you could bring in to compete with some of these young guys in the bottom six does it feel like he would kind of be an Oliver bstrm 2.0 em yeah Emil bstrm 2.0 yeah it just bringing him in he’s gonna do this specific thing for you and if he gets taken out of the lineup for someone else of course he is he wasn’t supposed to bring a bunch of quality to the lineup uh just as you were speaking there that’s kind of the comparison that clicked in my head it’s just the Emil bemstrom uh with with a whole year to work with rather than a deadline acquisition and In fairness to walstrom I think he would be a better option than bemstrom he’d be a and they’re both I think both 24 upcoming rfas so there are pieces that there are those similarities but that’s just the easy comparison to make for people to understand the one thing that people like about Oliver walstrom he’s big he’s 6’2 I think 211 or something like that was the last time he was he was measured in big body for the bottom six a lot of people want that so if you want that maybe walstrom is a name that shoots up your list a little bit more than it’s up mine let’s talk about the other name that was rumored to be you know linked to the Pittsburgh Penguins and that is Andrew mapani of the Calgary Flames he has one year left on his current deal at $5.8 million this is what the fourth period had to say about his current situation with one more year left on his contract teams are calling the Flames about mja piani and whether they can pry him out of Calgary his goal production has dipped after scoring 35 in 2021 22 but teams still believe at his age he is capable of putting up 25 plus goals that age is 28 years old like I mentioned one year left at $5.8 million penguins have had a lot of these $5 million Wingers not work out I mean Ricard Raquel is on kind of slippery surfaces right now where is he going to go with four years left on that contract Riley Smith brought in with a $5 million deal did not work out at all what do you think about Andrew mapani of the Calgary Flames I like this one a lot more he’s a definite obvious top six choice he’s going to fill in on the wings next to Crosby or M and he’s going to supply that fill that little goal scoring hole left open by Jake gensel for what it’s worth that’s a name you’re going to hear a lot from the from Penguins people this summer and not because they’re targeting him but because they’re trying to still fill what he left MH um so without doubt mji Aon gives more of that than anyone else that they’re gonna that they might be linked to this summer he’s got that 25 goal ability he’s pushed past it before um and he’s a name that I feel like he kind of always floated around Pittsburgh just sort of in small bits just little like if he’s available that’s someone the penguin should go after he’s not the over-the-top Superstar but definitely has a skill that the Penguins could use and right now it’s goal scoring from anywhere in the lineup and he provides that he could provide that does he need a bounce back maybe a little bit and much like L give him a good organization to play in I mean Calgary’s been okay but last couple years have kind of been a bit of a t tumultuous time get him out of that situation get him into one in Pittsburgh where they’re trying to close out these years of cross Mal and matang as best as they can and he could be a big piece of it um that’s one thing that you have to look at with anything anyone the Penguins bring in is what situation are they coming from like L coming from a bad organization like mopon if he if I those guys come here coming from one organization to the other it’s a boost now I have a glass half full outlook on this and I have a glass half empty outlook on this the glass half full is you know he had that great season in 2021-22 35 goals 55 points and since then as as the fourth period mentions he has taken a dip in point production and goal production that coincides with the team dropping off of a cliff like you had alluded to there right that is coinciding with the Matthew kachuck deal where they brought in Jonathan hubero they brought in I’m trying to remember who else they brought in in that one McKenzie weager um but the team has not been the same since that deal was made and that could affect Andrew mpi’s bottom line right that affects what he was able to do on the score sheet because the team around him still not like Jonathan huberto or n codrey or or jokes by any mean but the team as a whole just has been in a little bit of dysfunction since those moves were made two years ago that you know acquiring him could change that right that’s the glass half full the glass half empty is the Penguins aren’t in that much better of a situation than the Calgary Flames both teams missed the playoffs both teams are clearly a shell of what they were at their best if you bring them over it could reinvent something it could reinvigorate something especially you know playing with Sydney Crosby Jonathan huberto is a great player but Crosby is that different level right but at the same time as an organization as a team the penguins are are stepped down from what they have been the last two decades and I think a lot of people struggle with that fact and to realize that fact that oh you bring him into the Penguins it’s going to be fixed because he’s with the Penguins and that’s that held true for a long time but right now you don’t know if that’s going to work I mean right it didn’t work with Riley Smith he came from Vegas that’s a winning organization you would think winning organization a winning organization in Pittsburgh it’s gonna work it didn’t in fact it failed miserably it failed miserably I see some revisionists going out there saying well it wasn’t that bad towards it failed miserably as you drop your phone uh all good uh but you know I think that’s my glass half empty look at this is if you bring him over to Pittsburgh could it potentially just be a similar situation to Calgary where he’s not going to get to that 25 plus goal score because the situation is also still not as great in Pittsburgh as it used to be yeah and there are also plenty of examples that you could come up with where it has also failed through the 20s I think it’s Derek brard right away there’s um and I can’t think of anymore but Jason for the most part until that last season I mean injuries played a big part of that but Jason zooker for a first round pick you got one great year and the other what two and a half were kind of okay it’s not great he had covid screw up the first when he first got here when he was playing really well yeah um and then injuries I mean yeah he wasn’t producing when he was when he was on the ice but injuries screwed up a lot of things as well uh but you’re right yeah that’s another one that until that last season it didn’t look like it was going to reach its full potential mhm yeah so we’ll have to keep our eye on these two obviously any other names that get tied to Pittsburgh or linked to Pittsburgh we’ll discuss on this show but as of right now the the two that are brought up and the Really the first two that have been brought up is people that are linked to the Pittsburgh Penguins not linked to being traded from the Pittsburgh Penguins but Oliver walstrom of the New York Islanders Andrew mapani of the Calgary Flames let us know in the comments section what you think of those two players let’s close this thing off with a little quick update on a news piece that came out out over the weekend the penguins have been selected for craft hockeyville once again this will be the third time that they’re participating in the craft hockeyville game they’ll go up to Elliot Lake Ontario to take on the Ottawa Senators the two previous times they played in craft hockeyville were in the United States Johnstown Pennsylvania in the first ever United States edition of craft hockeyville and a couple years later B Vernon PA won it they ended up playing the game at UPMC Lemieux complex but third time the penguins are participating in craft hockey what are your thoughts on this preseason matchup with the Ottawa Senators uh it’s a lot of fun it’s cool that the NHL does this they send these nhlers into these local ranks it was cool seeing them at the War Memorial in Johnstown they were supposed to play at Ross draver in B like you mentioned um I forget why they couldn’t I don’t think they were able to get the up grade like the updates done in time to host two NHL teams and that many fans yeah so they held it at UPMC complex still you know if if it’s worth anything cranberry is also a good little hockey area Cranberry PA for the amount of teams that amount of Youth teams that do play in that specific facility um there’s still good connections there and I mean Western PA is really turned into a pretty good spot for this sort of situation this sort of growth of the game from the youth perspective from kids on up and you know it’s not surprising to see that uh and they do it in Canada I believe they Canada and America believe they do the one of each it’s cool that the penguins are gonna be a part of it again and this time north of the Border getting Sydney Crosby that if he participates in this one getting Sydney Crosby that sort of boost in uh that in that fun sort of atmosphere up in Canada again where he is still so beloved yeah when I think of the first one first of all obviously meant a lot to me being from johntown but second of all when I think of the first one it was Penguins versus Tampa Bay lightning in craft hockeyville that was the uh coming out party of Sergey plotnikov when we all thought he was going to be a massive piece to that team back in I think 2014 or 2015 I can’t remember the exact it was 2015 because I we were in college um so late 2015 as they were getting ready for that season we thought Sergey platov was going to be a big piece to a Stanley Cup winning team well they won the cup that year he just wasn’t part of it but uh you know i’ digress was on that point always great for fans are these craft hockey bille games and honestly the NHL doing a lot more of this for preseason games is great anyway because preseason games as you know they’re they’re fine right there’s not a lot of people in the building there’s not a lot of energy teams are trying to figure out what some of these players are going to be they’re trying to parcel out their last couple of positions send them to a new place entice the players that are the Sydney Crosby’s the get moins the Brady kachuck to want to play in these games and get these opportunities and I think that’s what you know playing a lot more of these games we saw the Nova Scotia Showdown last year between the same two teams you know I think that’s what a lot of these these games do and I think that adds a little Intrigue to what is otherwise a pretty dry preseason slate but uh obviously congratulations to Elliot Lake Ontario being named craft hockeyville and I’m excited to see that game coming down later this fall but that is going to do it for this episode of the tip of the iceberg podcast thank you guys so much for tuning in and remember you can find us on YouTube or anywhere you get your podcast from by simply searching tip of the iceberg we’ll see you guys next time [Music]

In this edition of Tip of the Ice-Burgh, Nick and Nick discuss the budding goaltending trade market and where Pittsburgh Penguins netminder Tristan Jarry potentially fits in (1:31). They also discuss the latest star forward that could be on the move this summer and why being traded to Pittsburgh would mirror a blockbuster move from nine years ago (16:06).

Nick and Nick end the episode discussing a pair of struggling forwards linked to the Penguins on the trade market (28:03) and the Penguins participating in Kraft Hockeyville against the Ottawa Senators (40:24). Tune In!

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