We’re gettin’ closer to doing that hockey. It won’t be long until Pittsburgh Penguins players are showing up for informal group workouts at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex.
That also means summer is moving way too fast.
To bridge the gap until the unofficial return of hockey, here’s the rarest of treats: a mailbag from yours truly.
Thanks for the questions. They were good. Let’s not waste any more words on this introduction.
Update us on the 87 contract! Should we be nervous? What’s going on? — @6_lombardis
What is up with the Crosby contract? — @joefierle1700
Sid’s contract status? — @jmadden34
One thing about Penguins fans on social media: They don’t mince words.
The most pressing issue facing this franchise is captain Sidney Crosby’s status. That’s been true the previous 19 seasons, and it probably won’t change until he retires.
As reported in early July, all signals point to Crosby finishing his career in the same place he’s played for the entirety of it. Per the report, the Penguins and Crosby’s representatives were closing in on a framework for a multi-year contract, and everything was expected to come together soon.
Soon is a subjective term, but that’s the one used by multiple sources from both sides.
I made a few calls to follow up, and the only real news — perhaps another subjective term — is that all parties (Crosby and his agent, Pat Brisson, and Penguins GM Kyle Dubas) were comfortable enough with where the contract negotiations stood that everybody felt comfortable going about summer plans such as taking holidays and enjoying a bit of downtime.
Nobody from the Penguins’ hockey side is worried about Crosby eventually putting ink to paper. This is not to suggest some folks who deal with season-ticket holders/corporate partners aren’t sweating until he does.
Indeed, Crosby has never waited anywhere near this long in an offseason to re-up with the Penguins. It’s also true that he has a birthday approaching and he has a history of attaching importance to the day he was born; he wears No. 87 and has played on an $8.7 million cap hit because his birth date was Aug. 7, 1987.
Read into that last sentence what you will.
Everybody who would know continues to say the Crosby contract is close. That said, for a lot of reasons, not least the Penguins needing to excite revenue-generators amid a hum-drum offseason, until the announcement happens, the situation is understandably a cause for discomfort for fans and sponsors.
Unsolicited advice: Don’t fret until the season opener passes without an announcement that Crosby has re-upped.
What do you feel is the most underrated (or least discussed) trait of Kyle Dubas’ personality/job acuity? — @ToddNY25
Dubas is as polarizing as any GM in my two decades covering the Penguins. There appears to be no public middle ground regarding his job performances, either with the Toronto Maple Leafs or since joining the Penguins. This is perhaps the result of helming two high-profile franchises and being young by traditional hockey boss standards.
His tenure with the Penguins is still early given the length of his contract, which has five seasons remaining after this one. That means the answer to this question is likely to change given the challenges he inherited and some of the problems he created.
One thing about Dubas that might not live up to the billing is his reputation as a so-called analytics manager. In my view, he’s at least as much a traditional GM, prioritizing scouting and talent evaluation, than one that prioritizes metrics.
Does he value analytics? Absolutely. Is it his be-all/end-all? Hardly.
Is this the last season the big 3 / big 4 stay together as a group ? Adding Karlsson to the mix ??? — @Krad1967
Let’s agree to put an end to this “Big Four” framing. Whereas Erik Karlsson is a star and likely will score an invitation to the Hockey Hall of Fame whenever he is first eligible, he is not and never will be viewed in Pittsburgh with the reverence held for Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang. They are the “Big Three” — then, now and forever. And though I waffle on whether Letang should eventually have his No. 58 retired along with Crosby’s No. 87 and Malkin’s No. 71, he’s attached to those players in a way that history acknowledges them being the longest-tenured trio of teammates in the history of North American professional sports.
Deep breath.
Malkin’s contract has two seasons remaining. When it expires, the guess here is he’ll head to Magnitogorsk, Russia, and play at least one season with his hometown club. Not by coincidence, at the same time, Letang’s contract’s clause shifts from a full to partial no-movement.
And if you look closely at what Dubas has done this offseason by not adding players with lengthy term, the writing is on the wall: The Big Three is down to two more seasons.
What is Ajax Keef’s favorite toy? — @YinzerSpice
Ajax Keef is the darling baby boy kitten I adopted on my birthday in May. He’s changed my life for the better in so many ways. He’s a therapy pet, and I can attest he’s helped with my diagnosed ADHD (inattentive), anxiety and functional neurological disorders (FND).
I adore him.
I also have spoiled him, to the point there is a box of unopened toys hidden in a closet because he has so many that there is an obvious excess despite a few — a miniature felt heart and a crinkle pizza — having gone missing, much to my disbelief.
More than anything, Ajax loves a rainbow-patterned three-way tunnel with a circular hole at its confluence. He darts into that hole and out one of the tunnels on his own but also flips the entire thing when we’re playing hunting games with a wand.
Usually, I end up laughing at the sight of him pushing the thing into a wall, another room, and one time into a water fountain in the kitchen. He loves that tunnel contraption, and on the rare occasion I entertain visitors, they’re advised that wherever it is to treat it like his furniture and avoid unless he invites them to play.
Dubas opened his last media session saying I didn’t strike him as a cat person. I didn’t consider myself one until meeting Ajax.
I’m a cat person now.
Know what makes a bummer couple of days easier to move past? This dude…#AjaxKeef 🐈⬛#Kitty 🐱#PetTherapy 💚 pic.twitter.com/Gwh9DxrcfQ
— Rob Rossi (@Real_RobRossi) July 29, 2024
At what point (if any) does Sullivan start to feel the heat if the Pens start slow? Or is he fireproof? — @PetroniusArbit
Reasonable people can disagree about coach Mike Sullivan’s job performance in recent seasons. Let’s keep this to facts:
- He is in the first of a three-season extension and is one of the NHL’s highest-paid coaches.
- He has been retained by Dubas, who has full autonomy in all hockey decisions.
- He and Crosby have been and remain on the same page, and Crosby’s opinion carries more weight than anybody in the organization (even if he rarely chooses to throw it around).
- He didn’t want to change his coaching staff, but the replacement for former associate coach Todd Reirden was David Quinn, one of Sullivan’s close friends.
All coaches are hired to be fired. Sullivan is as flame-resistant as any coach in the NHL.
If you had to pick one player that’s likely to be moved before opening day, who would you say is the likeliest? — @JoshsFoodnStuff
The Penguins tried moving Lars Eller before the trade deadline and found no takers — surprising given he had a strong first season in Pittsburgh. There exists an excess within the organization of veterans who can play center, and Eller seems somewhat of a luxury on what remains the NHL roster with the oldest average age.
He’s still a good player. He surely could help a Stanley Cup contender.
A trade of Eller before or during training camp would not surprise in the slightest.
Best guess on Graves — @mwags23
Probably that he regrets slashing Mario Lemieux’s hand in Game 2 of the 1992 Patrick Division final.
Oh, did you mean Ryan Graves and not former New York Rangers forward Adam Graves?
Uh, umm, well … he can’t possibly be as ineffective and unimpressive as last season.
Perhaps a new positional coach (Quinn) will help Graves to be something closer to what Dubas envisioned upon signing him to a lengthy free-agent contract last offseason. That’s the hope.
It isn’t uncommon for defensemen to need a full season to settle into a new team. Sergei Gonchar and Paul Martin are recent examples of defensemen who joined the Penguins and were better in year two.
But Graves has nowhere near the upside of Martin, let alone Gonchar (put that man in the Hall of Fame!) — and if Graves can’t become a top-four staple on the back end, his contract is a killer for the Penguins.
What is your favorite NHL City (Eastern and Western Conference) to travel to and why? — @Squizz612
My tag-team partner Josh Yohe recently released his annual road trip guide in three parts. They’re a fun beach read for those of you who beach. I’d trust him on this topic more than myself.
Denver and Calgary are tied atop my list of Western Conference spots. Each is unpredictable in terms of weather, but both are good walking cities, and I’m a sucker for settings that mix urban and western themes.
New York City in the Eastern Conference, and there isn’t a close second. Everything about New York that turns off outsiders (the smells, the congestion, the hurriedness, etc.) is akin to oxygen for me. And Madison Square Garden lives up to its billing.
Which Penguins player outside the Crosby and Lemieux eras would make for the most fascinating biography? — @Apomov
Pierre Larouche, and the audiobook would sell like Potato Patch fries at Kennywood.
What is your opinion on the NHL putting the red line back in play & if they did how detrimental would it be to the current game and taking out the trapezoid and allowing the goalie’s to play the puck anywhere — @Patrick00029
Cheap plug for a story about this topic from last fall. Read it here.
To reinstate the red line without making changes to the goal trapezoid — and distance of goal line from the end boards — probably doesn’t make a lot of sense. One would have to go with the others.
Overall, I’m all for restoring the red line. Naysayers argue it would slow down the game, but that isn’t happening; the game is faster than it was 30 years ago because players are superior skaters and athletes. The game would still be fast with the red line.
The red line would force players to make decisions in the neutral zone and likely bring back some of the skill in that part of the ice that wanes compared to other eras. To each their own, but I don’t love the puck chasing that has become prevalent in the current game. Give me more decision-making by defensemen who are carrying the puck. Show me how some of the current skilled forwards would do when having to consider the red line as anything more than a decoration. And, please, make a three-goal lead something that can reasonably be protected.
That said, the red line as anything other than ornamental is a non-starter for the NHL. And who’s to say I’m right in wanting it back? Like, I’m cool with ties and don’t love the shootout.
(Photo of Sidney Crosby: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
