Hr 2- Pierre McGuire Joins the Show

Tim Benz in for Mark, Pierre McGuire makes his weekly appearance on the show.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Brought to us by eighty four lumber Dynasty partner of
the Pittsburgh Steelers, Tim Ben's in for Mark the PG.
But first I did want to follow up on what
Phil Bork had to say about If Getting Malkin, because
he expressed a lot of the push pull, yin and
yang feeling that I think a lot of people have

(00:24):
about where Malkin is in his life, in his career,
and where the Penguins are in their arc of coming
out of this Cup run and needing to rebuild, and
how these things aren't necessarily lining up. And at this
point we've heard every reason why the Penguins should let
If Getting Malkin retire this summer or walk away as
an unrestricted free agent to play somewhere else next year.

(00:47):
Malkin will turn forty on July thirty. First power play
goals in each of the last two years. His presence
on the Power Play blocks either Igor Chitakov or Ben Kindle.
He cost six point one million laps next year, and
whatever he costs next year will be better allocated elsewhere,
and bigger picture, it's simply time to move on and

(01:08):
admit there isn't another Stanley Cup in this core of
Penguins that is now down to Malkin, Crosby, Lttang, and Rust.
I agree with almost all those sentiments. Anybody who wants
to advance that side of the argument, I completely agree
that said. We are also just as familiar with the
arguments to keep of getting Malkin still fifth on the

(01:30):
team and goals develop good chemistry with Schinikov can still
place center when Crosby's out, Crosby, Latang the rest of
the locker room they want him to stay. Crosby is
up for a contract extension, and maybe bitter if Malkin
winds up elsewhere. Many of the fans want Malkin to stay.
The incoming ownership, the Hoffman family likely doesn't want one

(01:51):
of its first moves to be ushering an all time
legend out the door. Not to mention the visceral discontent
the fan base would feel if Malkin returned to PPG
paints Serena in a different jersey, as Mark is posited
from time to time, maybe even.

Speaker 2 (02:07):
A flyer jersey.

Speaker 1 (02:09):
All or eight three to three four one two WXDX.
Which camp do you fall in and which argument makes
the more sense to keep Geno or to let Gino go.

Speaker 2 (02:22):
Now.

Speaker 1 (02:22):
My opinion also is that I think Kyle Dubis is
leading the way of moving away from Malkin. That's my
hunch based on things that he has said about how
the team needs to get younger, how he wants him
to be a competitor for the long term and not
just a get into the playoffs and get dusted team,
which is.

Speaker 2 (02:41):
Basically what they were this season.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Keeping Malkin speaks to playing to that level of satisfaction.
I don't think Sydney Crosby feels that way. I don't
think Pat Bosson feels that way. But it's Dubis's opinion
that matter is more than yours or mine, And my
feeling is that Dubas is in that first camp. My

(03:04):
gut tells me he sees more good in turning the
page and getting this team younger while Crosby is still
under contract. Dubas's true conviction is the key variable here, though,
his willingness to be honest with himself and to be
honest with Dan Muse so we don't run into that
situation we occasionally had with Mike Sullivan and Jim Rutherford

(03:27):
after the Cups were won, where FaZe like Atchari and
Manta and Shay and Hayes and Skinner and Deer and Clifton,
all those guys. Then what's he going to do with
that additional cap space? And that's where Dubas's conviction really
gets tested here. Is he going to spend it in

(03:48):
a thin unrestricted free agent market? Is he gonna submit
an offer sheet on a restricted free agent or two
if one doesn't work out, maybe be willing to part
with compensatory draft picks that he cuts has spent so
much time acquiring, to say nothing of.

Speaker 2 (04:03):
The cost of what that might be.

Speaker 1 (04:05):
Is he really going to be willing to trade some
of the young prospects he's built up in the system
and future picks to get established players in their mid
twenties late twenties to come to Pittsburgh and help the
team next year while still getting a lee lineup spot.

Speaker 2 (04:22):
How is he backfilling?

Speaker 1 (04:24):
Because if the hope is to get younger and plug
those UFA roster slots with let's see it, we all
thought that was the plan.

Speaker 2 (04:35):
That was the.

Speaker 1 (04:35):
Alleged goal, right, flood the Penguins big club with a
wave of younger, cheaper, homegrown talent. As we move away
from the aging Stanley Cup teams of the previous decade
and the extraneous veterans who jumped on board at the
end of that era, like Raquel and Carlson and so forth.
But then Dubis and Muse both have to give all

(04:57):
those young players an extended runway and live up to
their pledge of dealing with youthful mistakes on a nightly
basis next year. It's not just those guys that have
to deal with it. Crosby has to deal with it.
Latang has to deal with it, Carlson has to deal
with it. So to their agents and yeah, so do
you the fans.

Speaker 3 (05:20):
Now.

Speaker 1 (05:20):
The other option here is Dubas can swallow hard and
actually use some of those prospects and draft picks he's
loaded up in the summer of twenty twenty seven and beyond.
Remember they're down to five picks this summer. He can
use the picks in the future. Though, to wu opposing
general managers into parting with players who can upgrade their roster.
Now the world's at once for the last few years.

(05:42):
The present day is going to have to benefit from
some future investments or the team is just gonna have
to call this what it should have been a once.
Dubis and Muse either need to lean hard in that direction,
regardless of the flack that they might take from the
remaining vets, or they need to churn and burn some

(06:02):
of these future assets and get upgrades for this team. Which, yeah,
it improved eighteen points, it made the playoffs, but it
finished with more losses forty five then wins forty three.
That's if you count the playoffs and disregard the overtime
shootout loser designations. If Dubis doesn't fully believe in himself

(06:27):
to go in either of those two directions, then just keep.

Speaker 2 (06:29):
Malkling and play it out.

Speaker 1 (06:31):
I mean, you gotta be honest with yourself here is
what I'm saying, because if you replace him with just
another version of Mantha or That's not a conclusion I
want to draw, but it's one I fear that Dubis
may get to on his own, and that's what really
worries me.

Speaker 2 (06:49):
So what would you do with Malkin?

Speaker 1 (06:51):
Keep them let them go eight three to three four
one two wxdx or four one two, three, three three nine. Now,
if you missed it earlier. Jerry dou Lac of the
PG here's what he said today. The Steelers have displayed
quote Saint agree with that approach, but that patients could

(07:12):
be starting to wear thin after watching two of their
expected deadlines come and go and giving them a decision
by the start of organized team activities on May the eighteenth,
their latest deadline, their patients will start to wear thin
and turn into frustration and maybe something more. That's what

(07:32):
Jerry reported today. Now my response to that is, I
don't know what something more than frustration is.

Speaker 2 (07:41):
I don't know what that means.

Speaker 1 (07:42):
So they have more than frustration, what do they do
yank the UFA tender, not bring him back officially, say
go ahead and go somewhere else, sign somewhere else, we'll
work out a trade so we can honor this tender
or whatever. What does the frustration turned into something more mean?

(08:02):
I don't know what the more is that the Steelers
are putting out there into the ether, because obviously this
came from someone within the organization to Jerry. So what's
the more? Just gonna walk away? Because there's a theory
out there. Florio put this out a couple of days ago,
that the Steelers put that tag on Rogers to sort

(08:25):
of rattle his cage and make him sign, and this
would kind of linging and.

Speaker 2 (08:29):
Knowing that's probably not gonna go over.

Speaker 1 (08:31):
Well, maybe push Rogers away because they're happy with what
they have an Allur and what they have in Howard
and they think they can work with it now.

Speaker 2 (08:38):
That would be as we wrap up here to open
up the four o'clock hour.

Speaker 1 (08:41):
There's two questions that I want to ask, and I
got a ton of people that have responded online that
I'm gonna get to to this poll, but I put
a poll out that's simply asked, in the wake of
what Jerry reported, who do you want the Steelers to
be the quarterback to start at quarterback in twenty twenty six?

Speaker 2 (08:54):
Who do you want?

Speaker 1 (08:56):
Not who are you predicting, not what you think the
Steelers will or should do, but who do you just want?
And so far, thirty three percent of people say it's
Will Howard, twenty nine say Aler, nineteen say Rogers, and
seventeen say Rudolph. And I get the Howard and Aller arguments.
It's just like, what do you like in your coffee

(09:17):
cream or sugar pick? With Rogers, I want to know
why four one, two, three, three three ninety nine thirty nine.
What is it that's making you say stick with Rogers,
or in particular, stick with Mason.

Speaker 2 (09:31):
I get more the argument about Rogers.

Speaker 1 (09:34):
The argument about Rogers is it was everybody else's fault
last year. I don't subscribe to that theory, but a
lot of people do. It was Tomlin's fault, it was
Arthur Smith's fault, it was the fault of the core
around Rogers not being good enough.

Speaker 2 (09:47):
McCarthy's better.

Speaker 1 (09:48):
The scheme is better unless you're saying you think Rudolph
can just be good enough to guide you to keeping
the streak alive and that'll give Howard an Alur time
to develop, and then you start with those guys next
year and they're ready to hit the ground.

Speaker 2 (10:00):
I don't know what the.

Speaker 1 (10:01):
Rudolph argument is, and I don't even know if I
buy that, But you tell me. At Tim Ben's pgh
or eight three three four went on one oh.

Speaker 3 (10:09):
Five nine The X from the one oh five nine
The X Traffic Center.

Speaker 2 (10:16):
This report is sponsored by Progressive Insurance.

Speaker 4 (10:18):
I wont you over buddy beheading Dusty Road the American Dream,
So be it baby The X at one oh five nine.

Speaker 1 (10:34):
Now speaking of the at getting Malkins situation. As we
were before the top of the hour. A lot of
people have tried to connect the dots between Malkin going
out the door and how he might be embittered towards
the franchise if you were to leave via free agency
in a similar way to Andrew McCutcheon with the Pirates.

Speaker 2 (10:54):
I don't know if you saw this yesterday.

Speaker 1 (10:56):
But McCutcheon made an unbelievable catch and right field for
Texas to a diving catch, and this is all over
Twitter now as a result. This is from a site
called right on the Rangers, and they tried to tell
us this man was a defensive liability. Andrew McCutcheon was
one of the best catches.

Speaker 2 (11:13):
You'll see this year.

Speaker 1 (11:14):
Okay, easy. He made one great catch, one great catch.
He's also hitting, let me look it up here, two
h five with one home run and his ops is
a robust five sixty eight and he's a minus war
player at zero point two and forty four bats.

Speaker 2 (11:33):
All right, Well, was that great in the outfield? Keeputtinghim
out there then.

Speaker 1 (11:36):
And the reason I'm bringing this up in terms of
McCutcheon and Malkin the connection there is, Like you saw
how mad he was when the Pirates came through Texas,
and how he was grumpy with reporters and very terse
in his answers and didn't make it seem like he
was gonna be happy to go back to Pittsburgh and
be ingratiated by Pirates fans anytime soon, and maybe they

(11:58):
will carry over to his retirement. Was all the talking
point for about a week after Andrew sort of pouted
and stomped his feet for all Pittsburgh reporters to see
and bring back here for us to ruminate about.

Speaker 2 (12:09):
Right, let me tell you something, when.

Speaker 1 (12:13):
Andrew McCutcheon eventually retires from baseball, he's gonna want to
be wanted, just like if Guinea Malkin. Andrew McCutcheon doesn't
know what it's like to not feel important somewhere, particularly
in Pittsburgh. The Yankees gonna make him feel important, or
that won't be the Penguins. And if people are worried
about Geno being embittered long term for the Pens, it

(12:36):
might last a couple of years. It did with Troy,
and Troy's back under the tent. You know, James Harrison
was persona non grata in Pittsburgh. He was like public
enemy number one in Pittsburgh. And now he comes out
and does the terrible towel twirl and he's the first
face you see on the jumbo tron when they do
the hype video to get the game started. Like this

(12:58):
stuff blows over. It'll blow over for Cutching Pittsburgh. It'll
blow over for Gino in Pittsburgh too. Let's go to
Scott in Beaver County. Scott, you're on one O five,
none the X.

Speaker 5 (13:09):
Hey, Kim, I just wanted to comment on Kyle do
this in the job he's done. I think given the
situation that he walked into and the disaster that Hextall
left his team, I think he's done a phenomenal job.
And I think, you know, at the end of the day,
with Malcolm, he's still a productive player. You got to

(13:31):
look at who else is out there, and if you
can get Malcolm at a haircut, why not.

Speaker 2 (13:37):
Well Scott.

Speaker 1 (13:38):
As far as adjudicating the job that Dubus has done,
I don't disagree. I think largely he's done a very
good job. You know, maybe a trade or an acquiring
player here or there, like, I'm not wild about the
Gerard trade, but I don't want to split hairs with you.

Speaker 2 (13:51):
I largely believe you are right in your assessment.

Speaker 1 (13:54):
But along with that, he hasn't done the hardest part yet,
which is getting out of the Stanley Cup team era
and setting the team up to still be good for
Sid's last couple of years while figuring out a way
to get around the other forty.

Speaker 2 (14:10):
Year olds who aren't as good.

Speaker 1 (14:12):
Like what I guess what I'm saying is the hard
part is still the now. And he's done a wonderful
job of trying to live in two worlds at once.
I give him all the credit in the world for
doing that. But now the tough part about that is
you got to keep doing it because you're probably not
gonna keep Mantha. You're not gonna keep a chari probably
Like see, these are some of the guys that he
acquired to live in those two worlds at once, And like,

(14:34):
you know, you got one spot to fill in the
blue line now because of some other guys you brought in,
like Watherspoon, Like who are you keeping there? Where are
you gonna open it up for Brudick to get in
this is the tough part. The tough part is the now,
which is why I was talking about the conviction that
he needs to show to that dedication of getting the
team younger while Sid is still here.

Speaker 5 (14:53):
Yeah, I agree. I hated the Gerard trade myself. I
thought Kulac played incredibly well and what Tang played Bets,
he played all season.

Speaker 1 (15:02):
Yeah, and now it's more feels like, you know, le
Tang has to look out for Gerard, which maybe is
what they're looking for next year, but that will be
a problem for next year.

Speaker 2 (15:10):
Thanks the call.

Speaker 1 (15:11):
Dave wants to talk about the Steelers and the quarterback situation.

Speaker 2 (15:14):
Dave, you're on one to five nine the X.

Speaker 6 (15:17):
Hey, Tim, Yeah, I was just contemplating. I don't think
there's a large percentage of Steeler fans that actually do
don't want Rogers to play. I think that'll last about
as long as you know, one fifteen pm on you know,
September thirteenth, week one of the season, when the team's
offense stinks and you know, the outlook of a crummy

(15:42):
offensive season comes into you know, into full view. I
kind of compare it to you know, people wanted Ben
gone because Ben.

Speaker 3 (15:49):
Wasn't what he was used to what he used to be.

Speaker 6 (15:52):
And then you know, pick it comes in and the
team scores four less points per game. They went from
twenty one to sixteen or whatever that was, and you know,
it's kind of one of those you don't know what
you got told's gone.

Speaker 1 (16:04):
You know, great irony, the great irony is part of
you know, the willingness to say goodbye to Ben was
Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers were available the next year,
and they just they.

Speaker 2 (16:15):
Didn't do it. Then they waded through and then.

Speaker 1 (16:18):
They got those guys both on the back end of
the careers when they weren't nearly as good, and it
couldn't help the team as much, but at least they
were cheaper. They didn't cost millions and millions of dollars.
They're having other people pay for him to some degree
or another. But you know, look as far as the
team stinking offensively next year, if Rogers isn't here.

Speaker 2 (16:37):
I hear that.

Speaker 1 (16:38):
I don't know how much better they'll truly be this year.
I understand the premise of McCarthy's a better coach, they
have better weapons, but I just want to know how
much of that is further offset by the aging of Rogers, Like,
does he come back one year older obviously to the
naked eye and whatever pixie dust could be sprinkled on
his head from McCarthy or by having better weapons around.

(16:59):
Is it sort of negated and it's still a ten
and eight kind of offense.

Speaker 6 (17:04):
I think that's valid, and I think it's a valid concern.
But you know, just thinking back to last year, I think,
you know, people are starting to get restless with Rogers,
and then the Chicago game happened and we saw Mason
and then we were like, oh, maybe Rogers. Wasn't it
so bad?

Speaker 1 (17:19):
You know, I just know I hear wonder you're right,
You're you're right about that, and thank you for the call.
Four one two three three three ninety nine thirty nine.
It's a good point eight three three four one two wxdx.
But like the difference between wanting Rogers and wanting Rudolph
and Aler is people who want Alur or Howard to

(17:42):
be the quarterback, they're not so much banking on well,
these guys are going to get us to the super Bowl.

Speaker 2 (17:50):
It's just do we have something here or not?

Speaker 1 (17:53):
And if we don't, then okay, we gave it a shot,
and now we're four and thirteen, we can actually draft
the real one.

Speaker 2 (18:00):
You know.

Speaker 1 (18:01):
The one thing that they've muddied the waters with here
is if they give it a go with Howard first,
and it's so so and it's worthy of a look
till you know, week eleven of the regular season, and
then you decide to put them on the bench. And
now you want to look at Al or have you
really given Aler a shot? And do you just kick
both to the curb, which I guess is okay. Then

(18:22):
you're just burning a sixth round pick. What's the big
deal there? And you keep Aler on hold? If you
go out and get somebody else and see who wins
it next season. You know, this is the old take
as many bites of the Apple routine.

Speaker 2 (18:37):
But the big thing is actually.

Speaker 1 (18:38):
To a point where you could draft the wheel a
real one if you're four and thirteen. But if you
have Rogers here, those two guys are just sitting on
their hands, like, when's Howard gonna actually throw a pass?
And anger, especially if Rudolph stays in the team and
is the number two four point two, three, three, three
ninety nine thirty nine or eight three three four one
two WXDX. Lots of responses online. I'll get to those

(18:59):
when we come back at Tim Ben's PGH. A couple
more pirates thoughts as well. This is one O five
nine the X.

Speaker 4 (19:06):
It's the Footy Show weekday mornings at six oh I
like it on one oh five nine The.

Speaker 2 (19:12):
X from the one oh five nine the ex Weather Center.
This report is spuny is Mark Maddenbrginia.

Speaker 6 (19:20):
Yeah, Mark, welcome.

Speaker 4 (19:21):
Shoot, well, if I won you over Bundy Betating, Dusty
Road American Dream, so be it baby the X at
one oh five nine.

Speaker 7 (19:29):
All right.

Speaker 1 (19:30):
A couple of responses to our webpole that we got
up there for the Steelers quarterback situation. One guy says
Ohio state bias in this poll for Will Howard, but
I just can't prove it. Well, obviously there's Ohio state
bias with all the people who loved me when I
was on the air in Columbus twenty years ago. Obviously
there are people that are still following me online that

(19:51):
will listen to anything I say and back me in
anything I do. So obviously I've got a huge Ohio
state fan base that still follows me, and that's.

Speaker 2 (19:59):
Where it's coming from this guy.

Speaker 1 (20:01):
keV says, we are the only organization that's afraid of
finding their next quarterback. Broncos started bownext text and started Stroud.
Multiple organizations have started their newly drafted qbs and it
worked for them. Steelers and Steelers fans the only ones
afraid of making that leap. I do think that those
two franchises had more invested and more clearly aligned in

(20:21):
those quarterbacks where they were taken as opposed to Howard
and Aller. But yeah, there are some people who are
desperately afraid of going with a backup because or excuse me,
a young player who has not started, like Howard or Aler,
because that could lead to a losing season.

Speaker 2 (20:37):
And we wouldn't know what to do and how to
handle that.

Speaker 1 (20:40):
Of Course, the last time it happened, though, that's when
the Steelers got good again because they got Roethlisberger. Sicksburg says,
I would rather start with Mason and see how it goes,
and if one of the two, preferably Aler, can win
the job.

Speaker 2 (20:54):
But you know how it's gonna go with Mason.

Speaker 1 (20:56):
You know it's gonna be nine to eight at best,
and probably not that good. Especially going up against a
first play schedule. It was lightning in a bottle for
those three games that got them into the playoffs.

Speaker 2 (21:08):
It was a great run.

Speaker 1 (21:10):
Rudolph was fantastic in how he performed in those games.
I just don't think you can look at that from
twenty twenty three and transpose it to think I was
gonna go for a seventeen game season in twenty twenty six.
This guy says, I've never seen a fan base so
delusionable at wanting qbs who have never taken an NFL

(21:32):
snap over a four time MVP and Super Bowl winner
and Will Howard and Drew Aller. Those guys are not
the answer. They might not be, but the question is
how do you get better than ten and eight? And
I don't think Aaron Rodgers is the answer there either.
Let's go to Bill wants to talk about the running backs. Bill,

(21:53):
You're on one, O, five to nine the X.

Speaker 8 (21:55):
Hey Dan, how are you doing?

Speaker 3 (21:56):
Man?

Speaker 2 (21:57):
Good?

Speaker 4 (21:58):
Hey?

Speaker 9 (21:58):
I was just curious, what's your opinion on you know,
like Jalen Warren, Rico Dowd, Caleb Johnson and the new kid.

Speaker 8 (22:10):
From Mount Lebotten and Heinrich.

Speaker 1 (22:12):
I think Eli's gonna be a slot receiver if he's
going to be anything. That's the vibe that I've gotten
because he was such a good pass catching back and
because of what you just said, there's three people in
front of him anyway, and if they were to use him,
say along with that Wedgend kid, the kid that they
got from Iowa, is another return guy, they would want
him to do something and that would probably be more
of a pass catching role than anything.

Speaker 2 (22:33):
So I think this probably yes.

Speaker 1 (22:36):
Yes, and he was drafted as a running back, but
I bet you he's more slotty than he is anything
else with the Steelers. Now the other guys, you know,
Like one thing that I'm a little disappointed by is
I feel like they are going to try to carve
out this thunder and lightning thing with Dowbell and Warren,
where I would prefer that they're just kind of one
one a to be honest with you.

Speaker 2 (22:56):
But the impression that I've gotten the more I've.

Speaker 1 (22:59):
Heard about dow is he's willing to block and pick
up blitzers. He's just not good at it, and he's
not close to the receiver that Warren is, so it
might have to be more of a.

Speaker 2 (23:11):
First down, third down kind of thing.

Speaker 1 (23:15):
And I guess that's not the worst thing in the
world in so far as like, Okay, you have Dawbdell
on first down, you give him the ball, and then
you bring in Warren, who could be a second and
third down guy as opposed to what they were doing
last year was more like Warren and then gain Well,
and I think he minimized what Warren does best. I

(23:35):
think at least this clarifies the roles between the two
a little bit more. What it does for Johnson, I
don't know, And I don't know that they have any
faith in Johnson on the news staff. I haven't gotten
any indication that they do. That could just be a
big swing and a miss on Tomlin's last way out
for his final draft.

Speaker 8 (23:54):
Man, it sounds good, hey, just my opinion. If we
already have questions that we have questions at running back,
we have questions on wide receiver because we only see
DK Metcalf last year. Weren't not as close as we
think we are.

Speaker 1 (24:12):
No, and I don't know who really thinks. Thanks Bill
for anybody who's out there listening. I don't know how
you could think that they're all that close to begin with.
I mean they won at ten and seven because a
non playoff team missed a field goal. That's why they
won that division. And then they went to a home
game against a wild card team and got their doors
blown off in the second half. And that's been the

(24:32):
process every year since twenty sixteen. So no, they're not close.
Four one, two, three, three three ninety nine thirty nine,
Peer McGuire. Next, we'll get back to hockey talk here
in your home for the Pens one O five nine
the X this playoff season, power up your taste buds
with the Pineapple power Play for Love. Peer McGuire's brought
to us by Always Say Flagging and Traffic Control. Pierre

(24:55):
has been on with Mark Madden throughout the course of
the hockey season. Hockey still going on, even though the
Penguins have lost unfortunately. We'll wrap up the Penguin series
against the Flyers, look more at the Stanley Cup playoffs
as we proceed along. Pierre is joining us from Sweden today. Pierre,
what are you doing in Sweden.

Speaker 3 (25:13):
I'm doing a lot of hockey work, Tim, Really nice
to talk to you. I'm actually in Stockholm right now
and doing some TV work here and then I'll be
doing some work with the NHL Players Association and also
a company called the Lead Prospects, both in Stockholm and
in angle Home, which is on the west coast of Sweden.
I'll be here for three weeks and then head down

(25:34):
to Zurich for the World Hockey Championships the last week there.
So looking forward to it, and I'm watching all the
NHL playoff games. The only problem is my nights don't
end until four o'clock in the morning. But all that
is pretty good and I'm really really happy to be
here on behalf of the league.

Speaker 1 (25:50):
Prospects okay, aside from hockey. Pierre sell me on Sweden
or Scandinavia. What do you think about Sweden? Scanning like,
if I wanted to take a vacation, can you give
me like a chamber of commerce?

Speaker 2 (26:01):
Hitch on Scandinavia.

Speaker 3 (26:03):
Absolutely. This is probably my thirty fifth or fortieth time
into this part of the world. I've been coming here
since nineteen eighty eight. What I can tell you is
the country is amazingly civilized. It's amazingly clean, the food
is outstanding, the hospitality is overwhelming. The people are so
polite and guyd Mass transit is very apparent and very

(26:25):
very safe and clean to take the it's called the
Arlanda Express. From the airport to downtown Stockholm is just
an amazing experience. It's eighteen minutes on a high speed train,
which you would think you were sitting in your living
room as you're going past all this beautiful countryside from
our land which is International Airport in Stockholm, down to downtown.

(26:45):
Once you get to downtown, it's just so walkable, the
beautiful islands around the city. It's a real water ocean
type city and there's just so many things to see.
It never gets boring. You walk through.

Speaker 7 (26:59):
Old Ackholm and you're blown away.

Speaker 3 (27:01):
By just the history and the relevance of their society.
So yeah, now that's beautiful. I've been in the Norway,
I've been to Denmark, I've been to Sweden. I've been
to Helsinki a lot, Finland a lot. I love it here.
I think the people are amazing. I always look forward
to coming back.

Speaker 2 (27:17):
All the Scandinavian influence. Being the draft this.

Speaker 3 (27:20):
Year actually good. They might have one of the first
picks in the draft in Stnmark, so we'll see. You know,
they just won the World junior and they just won
the World under eighteen. It's pretty amazing the depth of
hockey and Sweden right now. And they've become this let's
put it this way, and they've become this country that's

(27:41):
produced a lot like Penn State used to produce linebackers.
They produce amazing defensemen here in Sweden. Unbelievable defenseman Sweden.

Speaker 1 (27:49):
Pierre Maguire with US Okay Pierre. The season ends for
the Penguins. Now the tough part begins in the off season.
What would you do with I Guinny Malkin. If you're
Kyle Dubis.

Speaker 3 (28:00):
Have to have a long talk with him. I'd like
to see exactly where his head is right now, whereas
he is physically, and then I would offer him if
I liked his answers, I'd offer no more than a
one year contract. And that's just how it has to be.
And if he's not happy with that, then I probably
am not bringing him back.

Speaker 2 (28:19):
I tend to agree on the one year contract part.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
I would imagine that the number that he would play
for would be somewhere around what he made this year
at six point one. But you know the answers, like
you just talked about Pierre. I'm sure Gino would say
what Kyle wants to hear. It's just a matter of
does he believe him, and I don't know. I can't
see a scenario where Gino isn't on the first power
play and he wasn't that good on the power play

(28:44):
this year, just four power play goals. And at this point,
isn't he blocking Chinakov or kindall?

Speaker 3 (28:50):
He is? And he is, yes, so we agree on
all those fronts. That would be part of my discussion,
and I'm going to try to bring our listeners in
tim to some of those meetings, because I've been privy
to those meetings earlier in my career. You got to
be fourthright, as uncomfortable as it may be, and you've
got to eyeball the person and tell them exactly what

(29:11):
your plan is and your mission is for the player.
And if they can't accept that, then ye say, we
respect you and admire everything you've done with your career
in our town. You are a legacy player here, but
if you can't see what our vision is for the
team going forward and for you, it's probably better if
you move along. It's not a mean, nasty discussion, but

(29:37):
you have to be fourthright about it. If you see
him not being able to produce in the power play
or taking time away from younger players that have a
chance to really evolve, and he doesn't see it that way,
then you may just have to move along. I know
it sounds terrible and mean, but it's the reality of
the business. I personally like to see him finish his
career in Pittsburgh, and I think he has another year.

Speaker 2 (29:58):
To give them if Malkin goes.

Speaker 1 (30:01):
How do you think that affects the potential extension of
Sidney Crosby's contract.

Speaker 3 (30:06):
Well, I don't think. I don't think they're mutually tied together.
I really don't. I think sid will see what the
organization is trying to do. I think he respects GINO
a lot, but I don't and I haven't spoken to
Sydney about this ever, so don't. I personally don't think
it wouldn't be involved in any decisions he may make.
I think he wants to see what's going on with
the young players in their development. I think he cherished

(30:29):
the fact that most people thought he would have finished
this season in Colorado or maybe Montreal or Hart sun No,
and they didn't think he'd finished the season in Pittsburgh
because most people thought the season was going to be
a disaster. Everything that people thought was wrong. The season
was great, he didn't finish it somewhere else, and they
actually made the playoffs. So I think Sid sees, you know,

(30:49):
a lot of positive things after missing the playoffs three
straight years for them to have gone into this series
and you know, I think did relatively well considering what
they had a fight there to get to you force
a game six. Yeah, I have a lot of respect
for Sid, and I make sure it'll do the right
things when it comes to him and for the Pittsburgh
Penguin franchise.

Speaker 1 (31:09):
Peerre do you expect pat person to sort of saber
rattle and you know position as he did in September
of last year after some moves were made to make
it public that he wants to see more talent around Sid,
not just have it be a rebuilding project while he's
here at the end of his career.

Speaker 3 (31:30):
That's a fair question. It's a fair point too. That
was that probably was the most animated I've seen you know,
Patty Bristow ever, and the only other time I'd ever
seen in at demonstra that I was doing the World
Junior in two thousand and five in Grand Forks, North Dakota,
and he actually called one of the reporters on the
team bus and I happen to be sitting there because

(31:51):
a reporter had reported something about sid that wasn't accurate,
and Patty gave it to him pretty good, and the
reporter to apologize. But I would say this is that
Patch got a responsibility to take care of Sidney Crosby's
hockey related and other related businesses, and I think he's
done a magnificent job of that. And if he thinks

(32:14):
he has got to do something to make sure the
Penguins continue to evolve and get better, it's a good thing,
not a bad thing. But I don't think it'll have
to go to that point. I really don't. I think
Kyle do this, and Sid and Taddy all kind of
understand where they want the team to go and how
they envisioned Sid being a big part of it going forward.

Speaker 1 (32:32):
This is hypothetical again. Peter MacGuire joining us here on
the Mark Maddin Show. Tim Ben's in for Mark. But
if we don't see malkin back, okay, that opens up
six point one million in cap space that they didn't
have last year, and Kindall is probably then elevated to
the second line center role. Does he play with Cheetahkov?

(32:53):
And how do they sort of backfill for not having Malkin?
How do they use that money or is it with
the prospect that they've got Pierre that get elevated in
some high leverage roles.

Speaker 3 (33:04):
Or there's some trades that are made which we really
can't speak to because we don't know which players would
be made available for trades.

Speaker 7 (33:11):
But here's one thing I would tell you if Jason
Robertson and I'm not involved with the team, so I
can speak about players on any team in the league,
but if Jason Robertson becomes available in USA terms and
you sign him through a pretty substantial deal, I think,
not only does that invigorate Sydney Crosby, that invigorates your
entire franchise.

Speaker 3 (33:31):
You're talking about one of the marquee scoring players in
the league. And I can tell you right now I'm
been a member of the Pittsburgh Penguins organization. He is
a player that Penguin fans would love. They love offensive
catalyst type players who play with consistency, and that's what
Jason Robertson is. I would think that if they could
ever spend a little money and get him, of all,

(33:52):
I think they're forty five million, then they can spend
the summer. I'm not saying they're going to do it,
but I think they have forty five and nine they
can spend upwards of that.

Speaker 1 (34:01):
Yeah, because he would be an acquisition who's for the
now and for the future at the same time.

Speaker 2 (34:05):
So I hear that stimulate.

Speaker 3 (34:07):
It would stimulate the fan base.

Speaker 1 (34:08):
I just don't know how he becomes available, how they
swing it, because you know, if he's an RFA at
the tender, that he would get to be like four
first round picks, right yeah. Yeah, So I mean, like
that's a tough pot. But I mean he was on
my radar. I think Pierre we talked about him when
those rumors first came up before the Olympics. I would
love for that to be the case, but you know,

(34:30):
I've got wishful thinking, and it was going to be
a real difficult dance for Kyle Dubis to kind of
keep living in two worlds at once. Here get him younger,
get him better, but at the same time keep him
competitive for the now the blue line, there's a lot
of guys who are already on the books coming back.
I don't know how much flexibility there is on the
blue line to move parts around. Maybe one spot for

(34:51):
Brunick to get him in, but if not him, I'm
not sure what they do with it.

Speaker 3 (34:57):
They've got some They must have a big a group
of people going down to watch Wisbury because obviously you
got one Pickering there too, you got Brunick there. I
thought it would have been an amazing opportunity for Brunick
to go play there, and especially in the playoffs, which
is getting a chance to do now. They I think

(35:17):
that's one of the areas they need to look at
long term they've got. I think the left side's pretty good.
You know, you look at Parker Wadersmon. I think Ryan
Chase is the most improved player they got. I know,
Sammy Gerard's there right now. I think he could be
bumped deeper in the lineup as they go forward. So
the right side maybe needs a little bit more attention.
Latang's not getting any younger, Carlson's not getting any younger,

(35:40):
so the right side could use an attention but I
still think long term, the Penguins are kind of set
up to continue to evolve on defense, which is a
good thing, not a bad thing, because of some of
the guys they have done on Wilkesbury, namely you know
Brunick and Pickering.

Speaker 1 (35:56):
Do you extend Carlson or do you just let it
play out? Last Boorky this when he was in the
what do you do? He said, let it play? He
said let it play out? He said, don't extend and.

Speaker 3 (36:06):
Let the same team. Okay, we're on the same team. Yeah,
I'd let it play out. And that's not a knock
on hurt. I felt the very locked down like him,
very much of the gun. But I would, I would.
I would let that one play out.

Speaker 1 (36:20):
I tend to agree because even though he really flourished
under muse as opposed to how it went under Sullivan,
if things don't go great as a team next year,
I don't know how he's still if he still has
that same opinion after eighty two games next year.

Speaker 2 (36:33):
If you foullow my.

Speaker 3 (36:33):
Drift, I do know you call your drift one hundred percent.
And I don't think they're wronged him. But here's the
one thing that's reely. I know Penguins fans were disappointed,
you know that the team washing in a very tough
game six and overtime. I look at the positives like
I look at the Montreal to Beans right now. They
want a series. Last year they went into Washington, they
got crushed in five games, and they didn't just get

(36:56):
beat they got beat up. They really did. Those kids
learned so much, and I think the same thing's going
to hold true for Pittsburgh. A lot of those guys
they haven't been in the playoffs in three years. They
learned so much this year in that show down with Philadelphia,
especially with the exposure that it got, I think it
only helps the team long term. I'm really excited for
the group going forward. I really am.

Speaker 1 (37:17):
Since you brought them up. How weird of a day
was that yesterday? The dichotomy between the Canadians winning with
nine shots and the Avalanche winning nine to six over Minnesota.

Speaker 3 (37:28):
Oh, it was really wackle, you know. And like you said,
I'm over in Sweden right now. That's a pretty late
night and to early morning. When I went to sleep
last night, the sun was coming up. I'm not kidding you.
I was doing the postgame shows in Montreal, and I
can tell you, yeah, that was really strange. I have
never seen the Canadians not in my lifetime. I've been
following the Montreal Canadians since nineteen sixty five. My first

(37:50):
game was at Old Madison Square Garden. My grandfather drove
me from Montreal to or to New York to go
watch the Rangers play the Canadians, and I was fucked.
A not New Madison Square Garden, Old Madison Square Garden,
and I was fucked. I had never seen the Canes
in my lifetime, whether it was coaching against them, broadcasting
their games, or just being a fan. I've never seen

(38:12):
them not have a shot on goal in a period.
And that happened last night in the Game seven of
the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Had no shots on goal in
the second period and they still won the game. I
couldn't believe it. I was like, WHOA, this is crazy.

Speaker 1 (38:27):
Can they upset the Sabers? And what happens in Carolina
versus Philly.

Speaker 3 (38:32):
I think Philly's in too deep. I don't think Philly
can beat Caroline. I didn't think so before the series started,
and then I saw Game one. I was like, oh, boy,
they're they're not ready for that. That's okay. They may
have ended up winning the series. I don't know whether
they will at all, but I personally don't think they will.
Caroline has become very professional in a short period of time,
and they got tested. Even though they swept Ottawa, they

(38:53):
got tested in that series. A lot of those games
are way tighter than what the series record says, so
that was really good training for them in Carolina. So
I don't think Philadelphia will beat them. In terms of Montreal,
I do think they can beat Buffalo. They're gonna have
to have a presence on Tates Thompson. They're gonna have
to have a presidence on Alex Tuck, and they got
to really be hard and they did a good job

(39:14):
with it being hard on Ryan mcdunn and the Tampa series.
They're gonna have to be really hard on Rasmalstlen, who's
had such an amazing year on defense for Buffalo. I
think Montreal's way undervalue team right now. I don't think
people realize a skill level. If you haven't watched Montreal
all season a lot, you just don't realize how good
their young players are and how much skill they have.

(39:35):
They really do have a lot of it.

Speaker 2 (39:37):
Pierre, thanks a bunch.

Speaker 1 (39:38):
Enjoyce Sweden and we appreciate you checking in from over there.

Speaker 3 (39:42):
Oh my gosh, Tim, any time for you and Mark
and I can't thank Tom enough. This is just for
the people that Tom works for, the excellent producer. This
guy is a home run hitter. I can't believe he
is able to find me and I will always come
on this show and Tom's a big reason why. I
so thank you everybody there. I appreciate everything.

Speaker 2 (40:01):
Thanks Pierre, enjoy it and we'll talk again soon.

Speaker 3 (40:04):
Okay, you can't wait. Tim, thanks a lot, per Bat