Locked On Penguins - Daily Podcast On The Pittsburgh Penguins

In a special edition of Locked On Penguins, Patrick Damp speaks with USA Today's Kenny Jacoby about the impact venture capital is having on youth hockey, specifically in Pittsburgh. In this episode, Patrick welcomes Kenny Jacoby to the program for the first time to discuss his investigation, "Lord of the Rinks. Meet the hockey CEO cashing in on your kids team" and how one company has been buying u...

Despite battling injuries late in the season, Blake Lizotte turned in another solid season with the Penguins, leading to a contract extension. Hunter and Patrick continue their season-in-review series by discussing Blake Lizotte and everything he brought to the Penguins’ fourth line throughout the season. Despite a late injury, Lizotte’s value throughout the season was about more than just offensi...

Most people overlooked the Penguins' acquisition of Elmer Soderblom, but after 20 games, he has proven he can be a valuable young piece for the team! Patrick and Hunter continue their season in review series today by taking a look at the 6’8” Swede who showed he can blend size and skill like few other players. (1:30) So, where does Soderblom fit going forward? Can he build off a strong start to hi...

After being acquired from Colorado, Sam Girard had a mostly unimpressive tenure with the Penguins, but is this just a blip on the radar? Hunter and Patrick continue the season-in-review series with defenseman Samuel Girard. He was acquired from the Avalanche along with a draft pick for Brett Kulak, but in 20 regular-season games and six playoff games, his time in Pittsburgh was inconsistent. Despi...

It was another solid season for Penguins' forward Rickard Rakell, but as the Penguins continue to retool, will he remain a Penguin? Patrick and Hunter continue their season-in-review series, looking at the season that was for Rakell. While he once again put up solid numbers, the most impressive part of his season was the versatility, having to switch from center to wing on multiple occasions. Howe...

Justin Brazeau started the season on fire, but trailed off as it continued, and now he needs to find some consistency. The Locked On Penguins season in review series continues on Wednesday as Hunter and Patrick look back at the season for forward Justin Brazeau. (1:22) His season started off great, but as it continued, he found himself searching for consistency. So, what does that mean for the las...

It's done! The Penguins announced they have re-signed Evgeni Malkin to a one-year contract extension. Patrick and Hunter begin the Tuesday edition of Locked On Penguins by discussing the breaking news that the Penguins and Evgeni Malkin have agreed to a one-year, $5.5 million contract to keep him in Pittsburgh for at least one more season. For the Penguins, this contract hits all the right notes:...

It was another point-per-game season for the Penguins’ captain as he once again proved to be the model of consistency. Hunter and Patrick continue the Locked On Penguins Season in Review series on this Monday by taking a look at the season for Sidney Crosby. (1:30) The captain once again scored at a point-per-game pace and looked like his usual self, but a slowdown could be looming. Then, it’s tim...

At the time, the price to acquire Egor Chinakhov seemed steep, but after half a season in Pittsburgh, it looks like a steal. Patrick Damp is flying solo today on the Friday edition of Locked On Penguins, and it begins with continuing the season in review series, looking at forward Egor Chinakhov. In 43 games with Pittsburgh, Chinakhov looked like a star, scoring 18 goals and 36 points. Along with...

It was another career year for Penguins forward Bryan Rust, but the question now is, how much longer can he keep it up? Patrick and Hunter continue the Locked On Penguins Season In Review series on Thursday, discussing the play of forward Bryan Rust. Once again, Rust recorded a career-high in points and set a career-high in assists. At 34, he continues to be a consistent presence for the Penguins,...

Despite being maybe the best defenseman in franchise history, Kris Letang’s up-and-down season leaves the team in an awkward position. Hunter and Patrick begin the show with the season in review for Kris Letang. (1:30) While Letang has enjoyed a remarkable career with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the last couple of years appear that Father Time has caught up to him. This begs the question, what should...

The Penguins returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2022, and a big reason was the play of Erik Karlsson. Patrick and Hunter continue their season in review series by looking at the best season defenseman Erik Karlsson has had in a Penguins jersey since he was acquired in 2023. Thanks to a stable partner in Parker Wotherspoon and a new coach in Dan Muse, Karlsson was able to be the team...

When the Penguins took Ben Kindel 11th overall, there weren’t many expectations on him, but he exceeded all of them! Hunter and Patrick continue the Locked On Penguins season in review series today with a look back at Ben Kindel’s sensational rookie season. (1:30) They discuss how he surprised everyone and remained with the team for a full season, what his ceiling is, and how he can have an even b...

All Connor Dewar needed was a change of scenery, and in the past year, he got just that in Pittsburgh, becoming a big part of the bottom six. Patrick and Hunter continue their season in review series, this time taking a look at Connor Dewar, another in a long list of Penguins who had a career year and got rewarded with a new contract just last week. They go over his season as a whole, how he'll fi...

It was another career year for another Penguins’ defenseman, but is it worth bringing him back? Hunter and Patrick continue their season in review series, this time looking at defenseman Ryan Shea. (1:00) The 29-year-old D-man had his best season in the NHL, but does that mean he’s due for a big payday, and should the Penguins be the ones to pay it? After a 2-0 series lead, the Penguins’ ECHL affi...

As we focused on Kyle Dubas's press conference on Tuesday, we missed that he wasn't named among the finalists for GM of the Year. Patrick and Hunter begin the show discussing whether or not Dubas was snubbed by the voters for the General Manager of the Year Award. They lay out the case for why Dubas should have been a nominee, including the hiring of Dan Muse, his offseason acquisitions, and the u...

Pittsburgh Penguins general manager/president Kyle Dubas spoke about the end of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday, and Hunter and Patrick are here to give their big takeaways. They start by discussing what Dubas had to say about Evgeni Malkin and his plan to bring him back for one more season. (1:30) After that, they dive into comments about how the Penguins are "not even close" to...

Today, we begin our season in review series, and we start with forward Tommy Novak. Did he do enough this season with an elevated role? Patrick and Hunter kick off the season in review series, and this year, they're going by games played. The only skater to play in all 82 was Tommy Novak. He showed plenty of chemistry with Evgeni Malkin, and remained in the top six for most of the year, but did he...

The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins are heading to the third round of the Calder Cup Playoffs. To start the show, Hunter and Patrick recap the win for WBS and discuss which prospects had themselves a good game. (1:10) They discuss Tanner Howe and his play before moving on to Harrison Brunicke's overall performance. After that, they dive into how well Sergei Murashov played and why he is building si...

The Penguins got two of their UFAs locked up on Thursday, keeping their depth options open. Patrick and Hunter begin the show discussing the re-signings of Connor Dewar and Ilya Solovyov. (1:15) For Kyle Dubas, it’s a good bet on both players, as Dewar had a career year, and Solovyov provides a solid bottom-pair defensive option. Then, another Penguins’ first-round pick is heading to Wilkes-Barre...

The NHL's salary cap is officially set at $104 million, so what does this mean for the Penguins' offseason plans? Hunter and Patrick begin the show by discussing the news that the NHL has officially set the salary cap for the 2026-27 season, and it will give the Penguins more than $45 million in space to deal with. So, who should they bring back, who should they target, and how much should they sp...

The Penguins have 20 free agents this summer between UFAs and RFAs, so who stays and who goes? Patrick and Hunter start the Tuesday edition of Locked On Penguins discussing the five restricted free agents the Penguins will have this summer, including two big ones in forward Egor Chinakhov and goaltender Arturs Silovs. Should Kyle Dubas and the Penguins offer both bridge deals, or should he look to...

Before the start of the 2025-26 season, we made some bold predictions for the year, so which of them came true? Hunter and Patrick start the Monday show by looking back at their preseason bold predictions, and while they didn't get a single thing correct, that actually might be for the better because it was a season that nobody saw coming! (1:00) Then, they check in on the Wheeling Nailers and Wil...

Evgeni Malkin made it clear, again, at locker cleanout day that he wants to return to the Penguins, but do the Penguins want him back? Patrick and Hunter begin the Friday show talking about locker cleanout day for the Penguins, specifically Evgeni Malkin's comments that he wants to return for a 21st season, but will it be with the Penguins? They also touch on Ben Kindel's comments and Arturs Silov...

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ season came to an end in heartbreaking fashion, a 1-0 loss in overtime to the Philadelphia Flyers. (1:00) Hunter and Patrick recap the game and how the Penguins, despite their best effort of the series, were unable to find the game-winner to bring the series back to Pittsburgh for game seven. Then, they give goaltender Arturs Silovs all of the flowers for his game six perf...