STOCKHOLM \u2014 Greetings from across the pond, where I\u2019m enjoying all that Scandinavia has to offer without forgetting the most important things in life, like mailbags.<\/p>\n
The questions this month were especially good. I appreciate it, as always.<\/p>\n
Away we go.<\/p>\n
Are you a believer in this team right now as it is? Do we have a chance at the postseason or will we eventually fall in Gavin McKenna\u2019s lap? \u2014 @joanne87781<\/p>\n
Well, I\u2019ll say this: I don\u2019t think Gavin McKenna is coming to Pittsburgh. While anything is possible, the Penguins are pretty clearly better than we expected. I can\u2019t imagine them plummeting low enough in the standings to where they would have a reasonable chance to get McKenna, though I suppose anything can happen.<\/p>\n
Am I a believer? As in, do I think they can make the playoffs?<\/p>\n
I probably still wouldn\u2019t bet on it, but I am coming around on this team for a few reasons:<\/p>\n
\u2022 The goaltending, which has been the single biggest issue with this team in recent seasons, is clearly better.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The new-coach energy we\u2019ve seen a few times in Penguins history is happening once again.<\/p>\n
\u2022 That new coach, Dan Muse, knows what he\u2019s doing.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Defenseman Erik Karlsson is a different player this season.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are on a mission.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Forward Ben Kindel is the real deal, and fellow forward Rutger McGroarty should be around at some point. The Penguins have a real youth infusion.<\/p>\n
\u2022 GM Kyle Dubas made the Penguins better with quality additions such as forwards Anthony Mantha and Justin Brazeau, defenseman Parker Wotherspoon and goaltender Art\u016brs \u0160ilovs.<\/p>\n
\u2022 When the Penguns left for Sweden, only one team (Utah) had played more than Pittsburgh\u2019s 10 road games. Lots of home cookin\u2019 is on the way.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Eastern Conference isn\u2019t very good.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The Metro Division really isn\u2019t very good.<\/p>\n
So, yeah, there are 10 pretty legitimate reasons to think the Penguins actually could make the playoffs. It\u2019s in play.<\/p>\n
Some concerns: Malkin faded after a strong start last season. Defenseman Kris Letang isn\u2019t playing as well as the Penguins need him to play. Goaltender Tristan Jarry could come back to reality at any moment. And playing so many young players, while exciting, isn\u2019t necessarily a recipe for immediate success.<\/p>\n
So, I\u2019m not a believer yet. But I will be if they have a good December, because their December schedule is absolutely nasty.<\/p>\n
Where do you feel the season goes from here? Do you have the slightest pulse with the sample size we\u2019ve gotten? \u2014 @i_amkoryb<\/p>\n
See above, particularly what I said about December. I don\u2019t know what to think about this team just yet, although they\u2019re clearly better than I anticipated. Just look at the schedule<\/a>. How they handle the December stretch \u2014 it includes home games against heavyweights along with games at Philadelphia, at Tampa Bay, at Dallas, at Ottawa, at Montreal, at Toronto and at Chicago \u2014 is probably going to tell the tale of the season.<\/p>\n Survive December, in health and in the standings, and I bet they make the playoffs. If Crosby can smell the playoffs in the second half of the season, I believe he\u2019ll guide them there.<\/p>\n With Muse seemingly using four lines and giving younger legs a chance to prove themselves, in the long run, does this help Sid, Geno, Letang with a bit more stamina for the long haul of 82 games? Or does it cause friction where the Big 3 feels they need to be out on the ice seemingly every big shift? \u2014 @Stevebyrnelive<\/p>\n This is a magnificent question (from one of the world\u2019s great comedians, I might add).<\/p>\n Muse is rolling four lines and it is helping. Crosby, for one, has never liked playing 27 minutes a night. He prefers to be around 20. Malkin and Letang don\u2019t appear to be complaining about their minutes.<\/p>\n I think the Big Three understand that less might be more at this late stage of their careers, especially Malkin and Letang. Best I can tell, they\u2019re on board with what Muse is preaching.<\/p>\n How good would the Penguins have to be for Dubas to buy? I mean if they are the best team in the league in March that\u2019s got to warrant something right? \u2014 @gopens_fthecaps<\/p>\n If they have the best record in the NHL at the trade deadline in March, sure, they\u2019ll buy. Ha. But let\u2019s be realistic here.<\/p>\n A more reasonable scenario has them in the last wild-card spot in March. And who are we kidding? Fans would sign up for that in a heartbeat. If that happens, I just don\u2019t see Dubas buying. I also don\u2019t see him selling. Given the ridiculous amount of draft picks and salary-cap space<\/a> the Penguins have, could I see him trading a third-round pick for a nice rental? Sure. It\u2019s not like you\u2019d be giving up that much, and it would at least make the players feel like their boss is on board with their pursuits. But I can\u2019t imagine much beyond that.<\/p>\n What is your Mt Rushmore of best Pittsburgh player \/ coach press conferences you\u2019ve attended? i.e Therrien\u2019s banger about his \u201csoff\u201d defensemen trying to be the worst in the league (not so subtle dig at Whitney) \u2014 @ParkingChair_<\/p>\n Unfortunately, I wasn\u2019t at the Therrien news conference, or it would have made the list.<\/p>\n \u2022 I\u2019d have put the Dr. Michael Collins news conference \u2014 when he called Crosby a Ferrari<\/a> \u2014 on my personal Mt. Rushmore. That was a profoundly strange moment.<\/p>\n \u2022 I was in attendance at Bill Cowher\u2019s retirement news conference<\/a>. That was a biggie. Larger than life presence.<\/p>\n \u2022 I\u2019d probably put Kyle Dubas\u2019 introductory news conference<\/a> on the list. The pomp and circumstance from the Penguins that day was amazing, as was Dubas\u2019 performance. He has a way with words and he was feeling it that day.<\/p>\n \u2022 The most memorable of all was when I covered the news conference at Mercy Hospital on the day of Ben Roethlisberger\u2019s near-tragic motorcycle accident<\/a> in 2006. A random Steelers fan got into the news conference, took the microphone and asked a doctor if Ben\u2019s ACLs were intact. It was among the most surreal moments of my life. I was amused. The doctor and the security staff, not so much.<\/p>\n Was the \u201993 Penguins team who lost to David Volek and the Islanders the best ever assembled for Pittsburgh? Also \u2013 was that the best team in hockey history to not win a cup? \u2014 @paulloverholt82<\/p>\n Given Mario Lemieux\u2019s performance late in that regular season, and the collection of talent on that team, I\u2019d have to say the 1993 Penguins are probably the best team that never won the Cup. The 1996 Red Wings were awfully great, too.<\/p>\n I still maintain that the 1992 Cup-winning Penguins were better than the 1993 team. The 1993 team lost too many role players, but no one realized it until it was too late.<\/p>\n You\u2019ve stated before that baseball is your actual favorite sport. If The Athletic offered you your position, but for baseball (I assume you\u2019d have no interest in the Fighting Nuttings), would you take it? \u2014 @itsspelledgraig<\/p>\n They\u2019d have to double my pay to leave the Penguins and cover the Pirates, and for a lot of reasons. The Penguins have a way more passionate fan base, which is understandable. Also, covering hockey is great because you have a light summer, except for the draft and that pesky free agency day. Also, baseball is brutal to cover. You get to the ballpark at 3 p.m. and go home at midnight, if there\u2019s no rain delay. And you do it almost every single day for six months. No thanks.<\/p>\n That said, I\u2019ve thought about visiting PNC Park on occasion and writing some articles about Paul Skenes and the Pirates in general, given The Athletic doesn\u2019t have a day-to-day beat writer. Just a thought. I do indeed love baseball, but I like my day job more.<\/p>\n Why do we have so much trouble holding on to leads? Thankfully, I saw that game against NJD years ago when we were up 6-0 going into the 3rd, and still ended up winning, but it was 8-7, so I no longer trust any lead whatsoever. \u2014 @stefdin<\/p>\n Probably because all of the Penguins\u2019 best players are so, so offensive-minded. I think it might be that simple. Scoring is always on their mind. Situational hockey is not.<\/p>\n I wish I had a more complex answer, but it probably comes back to that.<\/p>\n Most overrated Thanksgiving food and most underrated Thanksgiving food? \u2014 @ScratchMoore<\/p>\n I\u2019m about to make so many people mad, but the most overrated Thanksgiving food is stuffing. You know why? Everyone says it\u2019s their favorite Thanksgiving food, and I just don\u2019t get it. I mean, it\u2019s fine. It\u2019s good. I like it. But I don\u2019t understand why it\u2019s everyone\u2019s favorite. I\u2019ll take turkey, mashed potatoes and gravy, corn casserole and green bean casserole over stuffing any day. Not to mention pumpkin pie, or whatever desserts you\u2019re willing to throw in my direction.<\/p>\n And we haven\u2019t even gotten to the Italian community yet. The Italian families I know don\u2019t mess around. They just throw in Italian dishes, which is absolutely brilliant and, again, better than stuffing.<\/p>\n Most underrated? Honestly, it\u2019s turkey. Turkey is great if cooked properly. I used to get mad every spring when my grandma would make Easter ham. Turkey is so much better than ham. I can\u2019t possibly be the only person who thinks that. (I miss my grandma terribly, and in case she\u2019s reading my mailbags from above, her ham was still very good.)<\/p>\n What is your best story about Mike Lange and what is your personal favorite saying of his? \u2014 @The_GreekHammer<\/p>\n Boy, do I miss him. What a gem of a man<\/a>.<\/p>\n I was a big \u201cMichael, Michael motorcycle<\/a>\u201d guy, for what reason, I don\u2019t know.<\/p>\n My favorite story? I have so many. My favorite was probably about an hour or two after the Penguins won the Cup in Nashville in 2017. I was on my way back up to the press box when I saw Mike just sitting there by himself, taking it all in. I don\u2019t want to intrude on a personal moment, but I asked if I could sit with him for a moment.<\/p>\n \u201cOf course, Mr. Y,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He always called me that. We just sat there and talked hockey for 10 minutes in what I think he knew was the final time he\u2019d call the Penguins winning the Cup. It was a true honor to share that moment with him.<\/p>\n I also laugh when I think about the 2022 playoffs. He was retired when the Penguins were playing the Rangers. He didn\u2019t care for Igor Shesterkin flopping as often as he did, and, after the Penguins shelled Shesterkin to go up 3-1 in the series, Lange texted me this: \u201cWe\u2019ve beaten better (expletive) goalies than this guy.\u201d<\/p>\n I think about him every day. Truly the best.<\/p>\n Is Stockholm farther away from the South Hills than Cranberry? \u2014 @MolinariPGH<\/p>\n It\u2019s not every day that the Hall of Famer chimes in on your mailbag.<\/p>\n Dave is a prince of a man, my role model in the industry and the funniest man on earth. Buy his book<\/a> for Christmas. It\u2019s fantastic.<\/p>\n Oh, and to answer the question, I think Cranberry is slightly farther, but it\u2019s close.<\/p>\n