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Speaker 1: Somebody said to me at the airport when I landed yesterday, boy, that song you play at the top of the hour, it sure provides you a lot of time when you don't talk. And I said, yeah, that's right. Like putty. Number to call 833-412-WXDX. Tom and I were talking about these new hometown remix jerseys, why they're called hometown remix. I do not know. the Penguins are like this funky kind of blue, very electric. I like it. I like these jerseys. Penguin fans call in now, 833-412-WXDX. What are your favorite Penguin jerseys ever? As I've said, um, many times in just a bit ago, again, uh, mid seventies, dark blue, black and white trim. No question. Should have been our colors, uh, forever blue, white, and black. Any shade of blue should have been our colors forever. Um, The Penguins don't live in Novage. The defense will get caught up from Wilks. But he's probably not going to play. Okay, so why call him up? Geno is out. Geno's been great. Arguably the Penguins' best player so far. But he's going to miss games. This will be his second game this year, sidelined, out of 15. He missed 26 games last year. And I'm not saying Geno is brittle or... you know, jaking or anything derogatory, but you can't rely on alt. What else do I got? Oh, okay. Got to tell you what happened this past trip. Hooray for Hollywood, to be sure. I saw two epic shows with Aerosmith. Every act was amazing. Doing Aerosmith covers mostly Hearts, Black Crows, Guns N' Roses. And the headliners should not quit. If I get a vote, Aerosmith should keep freaking going. Tyler's voice is all the way back from that bum larynx. And like Tyler said, when the world ends, all that's left is going to be cockroaches, Aerosmith, and maybe Bill Burr. Bill was the emcee for the event. He said before the first night it was Aerosmith's last two shows. Maybe now that's not the case. They are truly America's greatest rock and roll band ever. And I was in the second row Thursday in the front row, dead center on Sunday. When they did Come Together, the Beatles song, which they covered years ago, Tyler did the thing where he sticks the mic out over the crowd. Come together. Right now. And then sticks the mic out. Well, it literally was, literally was the mic over me. It was so much fun. Like I was a kid again, even one of the cool kids, which is what rock music makes you feel like, even if you're not, especially when you're not just shock and awe. And stuff like that, that's what's important to me now. If Aerosmith play again, I ain't going to be here. I'm going to be in the front row no matter what it costs. Every cent, absolutely worth it. From here on out, it's me, the cockroaches, and Aerosmith. And Bill Burr, if he can make it. I love Bill. I went to a great restaurant with my friends Matt and Madeline, Musso and Frank. This old Hollywood Boulevard Steakhouse restaurant. Saw the Scientology Center. Hollywood Boulevard is a trip. Hollywood Boulevard on Halloween night is even trippier. And here's something that was great. It meant so much to me, almost as much as the Aerosmith shows. I paid my first visit ever to the Rainbow Bar and Grill on Sunset Boulevard. Right down the street from the Whiskey, saw that too. The Roxy, saw that too. But I went into the Rainbow. Had a bunch of beers. It's an all-time rock hangout. I saw the Zeppelin tables. These two half-moon tables where Zeppelin always sat. The Hollywood Vampires attic that never really closed. The Lemmy statue. And I sat in the Lemmy seat, the bar stool, because Lemmy hung out there in the later stages of his life from Motorhead. Vegas, then Liverpool, and then Aerosmith. Let's do it again. We've got a bunch of calls on hold. We'll get to you right after the break. 105.12. And now the super genius, Mark Madden. Double M, big fan, big fan. Well, no, I just said, I don't know what I said. I don't know what you said.
00:04:51
Speaker 2: Double M. Yeah?
00:04:54
Speaker 3: DX at 105.9.
00:04:56
Speaker 1: Penguins hosting Vegas tonight at PPG. Joining me now. You see him on Sportsnet Pittsburgh. It's former NHL defenseman, Mount Lebanon's own Matt Bartkoski. Bart, let's start off with a silly question. They got these hometown remix jerseys for all the teams. You've seen the Penguins, no doubt. What's the favorite jersey that you ever wore in an NHL game? Best jersey.
00:05:19
Speaker 3: Best jersey I wore was the one I liked the most in Vancouver. We wore the old school, that black, red, and they had a name for it in the yellow. that retro one that was like from the 90s.
00:05:30
Speaker 1: Oh, like the one that had like the Vs?
00:05:34
Speaker 2: Yeah, the fly. No, it didn't have the Vs. That one was older. This one was the one that had Vancouver on it.
00:05:39
Speaker 3: And it looked like it was a remake of the Flying V, I think the one you're talking about.
00:05:43
Speaker 2: But it was like the black and the red and the yellow and everything.
00:05:46
Speaker 3: I thought that one was pretty cool. But yeah, other than that, I mean, in general, I'm not the biggest fan of all those I mean, I get why they do it, but I'm not the biggest fan of all those jerseys, to be honest.
00:06:02
Speaker 1: Well, let's talk about the Penguins. Let's hope we can find a reason to be bigger fans of them coming up. But Sid Carlson played great at Montreal, and the Penguins still lost 5-4. Whatever that tells you, Bart, it's not good.
00:06:14
Speaker 2: Is it? No, it's not. Any way you really look at it, you're right, though. I mean, Sid.
00:06:21
Speaker 3: call it his breakout game for the year, whatever you want to call it. Um, that's about as, that's as good as he looked all season for sure. Um, but also a little bit, not surprising. It seems like Montreal, he plays there, he gets an extra gear. Um, good to see him get going. Uh, and then Carl, I mean, yeah, I, I expect him to just keep plotting along and be at a point of game or maybe a little over he's got, He's got more motivation
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than just winning games this year. He's in a contract year. So, you know, that's generally, I mean, you look at anybody in the league, if they're up for a contract, they're going to have a bigger year. So, yeah, the flip side of that, like you said, was there wasn't much else going on, which is definitely concerning. I mean, we want these young guys to start coming along right and start to chip in especially in those games where they're you know it ended up being a one goal game so you want somebody to step up and uh show that they're the next wave it's just they've showed it uh just inconsistently.
00:07:27
Speaker 2: This year so it's um you know it's.
00:07:30
Speaker 3: It's starting to get to that point where one of these guys kind of gotta kind of gotta get going and be more consistent at being big in those bigger moments Well.
00:07:39
Speaker 1: What's most wrong with the Penguins defensively, Bart? I think that's the primary weakness. Is it personnel, structure, or execution? I think it's got to be.
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Speaker 3: I mean, we could put personnel and execution into the same category, I think. But I think it's got to be a little bit of that and just the general structure. I mean, I've seen countless times this year where we have D getting above the dots and chasing out. to the above the top of the circle, which pretty much in every system, unless you're man on man as a Cardinal sin, like you just, unless you're going to get them by the hash mark or the top of the circle as a D you.
00:08:17
Speaker 2: Don't, you don't go. If you're going to get them, get them.
00:08:20
Speaker 3: If you don't, you retreat back towards the middle, towards the net and just pass them off to the winger or the center.
00:08:25
Speaker 2: But I've seen, I mean, we saw it.
00:08:27
Speaker 3: Again in that, in the Canadians game, I believe it was Carlisle again, who just went all the way up and around and, ended up giving a goal on it. So that part of it is, I, I would honestly, I bet you that's more execution.
00:08:42
Speaker 2: Cause I doubt that the pens are coaching.
00:08:46
Speaker 3: The coaching staff is coaching them into going up that high because it just, it throws the forwards into a blender. But at the same time, it's happening enough repeatedly that it's like, Hey coaches, we gotta, you know, you need to get a handle on this and either, you know, sit a guy, get them out, get them out of the lineup, let them watch from upstairs and get them back in or get a hold on it. Cause I've seen multiple of the guys do that specific play this year. Um, as far as the other stuff, I, I, I want to air more on the.
00:09:16
Speaker 2: Side of execution, I guess. Um, just from what we saw.
00:09:21
Speaker 3: Last year, I thought they were vastly, uh, more responsible, uh, as opposed to Sully's and, you know, Sully lost the room and, and, uh, you know, his voice wasn't being heard anymore. I think Mews and them coming in, Stuthers and coming in, I think they did a good job of having a basic structure in place where we saw them being more responsible and keeping teams to the outside. It's just this year I've seen more of just like that play I'm talking about or missed assignments off face-offs, just like general stuff that is almost hockey 101, that it goes more on the side of personnel and execution.
00:09:59
Speaker 1: Now, show us. isn't gold tonight against Vegas, but Morozov has been disappointing. I think that's fair to say. What's gone bad for him? Because he has not only bad numbers, but bad optics too.
00:10:11
Speaker 2: Yeah, bad, bad, bad in both. You're right.
00:10:14
Speaker 3: To start off the season, I mean, those first couple games, he looked good. I mean, I know he doesn't really have any wins but I don't I'm not that's the last of my concerns or worries I could care less if he got to win the whole year I'm just more looking at save percentage and goals that he's letting in like like a week even if he runs a 9-15 one game if he lets in a weak one when is he letting it in how does he rebound for it kind of in the uh in that Blackhawks game that one goal that he let in from the left hash mark and and you know obviously he should have saved it but How does he rebound from that? That's more of what I'm looking for from him. And it's steadily declining. Now, a lot of that might be, you know, between the last game he played in the previous, I think it was 12 days off in between games. So that's another thing that I'm kind of scratching my head at is why, you know, if this kid's not only is he struggling, but we're also letting him sit there.
00:11:12
Speaker 2: So I don't, You know, it's a tricky situation.
00:11:15
Speaker 1: In that vein, Bart, I mean, would he benefit from a trip to Wilks? And maybe you bring Blomquist up, although he's not played real well in Wilks.
00:11:24
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think it's better if he's playing.
00:11:28
Speaker 3: I mean, I know he's shown, and even Blomquist, he's shown in stretches that he can be good in Wilks. But Mershaw has shown, especially last season, that he can pretty much dominate that league. So if it is a confidence thing at this point, send him down and let him get some reps and pitch a shutout or whatever you want to do to let them get hit with the puck and then bring.
00:11:51
Speaker 2: It back up.
00:11:52
Speaker 3: Now, if there's something else going on, then that's in the goalie coach's hands to handle and the coaching staff. But honestly, at this point, it looks more like.
00:12:03
Speaker 2: A confidence thing.
00:12:04
Speaker 3: Now, he's not letting in those really bad goals that we saw like in the Blackhawks game. It's just he's not making– The saves that are in, and you know, they have all those above average stats and all that junk, but just the eye test, he's not making those saves that you would expect the next franchise goalie to make.
00:12:24
Speaker 1: Now, like we said, Sid played good in Montreal, but
where's he been lacking in general? Because that gets him not even close yet to a point per game on the year, and that's kind of his benchmark.
00:12:38
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, a lot of it's, well, start with the power play.
00:12:42
Speaker 3: You know, after the first two games, I think what it took six or seven games to get another goal. So that not being hot, you're just, you know, the high point getters, those guys get.
00:12:54
Speaker 2: Points on the power play.
00:12:56
Speaker 3: And then guys being in and out of the lineup getting hurt, them trying to figure out who to play with them because, you know, he's going to have input on who he wants to play with and they're going to have their opinion of who they want him to play with based on what they want that night and who they want to be the next wave in the organization. So I think that stretch there, especially over the Western trip with Utah and Vegas and started in Chicago, we could see him visibly frustrated. And I know towards the end of it, I mean, the lines were getting switched around and, you know, I'm not too sure they were taking.
00:13:35
Speaker 2: his.
00:13:36
Speaker 3: Point of view or his opinion of who he wanted to play with. And historically we know he doesn't really like that. So some of that might've been it. And then the other part is, you know, Hey, he's, he's 39 now. So he's probably working through a little bit of situations. He just doesn't have that extra step or have that extra gear. So that can be a hard thing to overcome just mentally going through the game. You're, you know, you're going for a puck and, Even if you get there first, you might not have that extra half step to get away in the corner or play the way that he's played for the last, you know, better part of 21 years.
00:14:14
Speaker 2: So I think it's just a combination of a lot. And at the end of the day, you know, he still might be the most competitive guy in the league. So.
00:14:22
Speaker 3: I'm sure being on this team right now and just with the inconsistencies they have, that's.
00:14:26
Speaker 2: Got to take a toll on them, too.
00:14:28
Speaker 1: We're talking to Matt Bartkowski of Sportsnet Pittsburgh here on the home of the Penguins, 105.9 EX. What's your take on Koivunen lately? He got that big contract, and I'm not sure about his long-term upside. I see him playing a bit better, though.
00:14:44
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean, it's another thing that's inconsistent.
00:14:47
Speaker 2: I mean, that.
00:14:49
Speaker 3: Contract came out of nowhere this summer and kind of, blind side of all of us, but he's here now. It's a, it's another thing that it's the inconsistencies. That's the problem with me. I mean, we see him get an overtime goal and then the next game be invisible. So it's, it's, he's in that group of guys that those younger majority, you know, when Hayes comes, whoever you want to put in that group of, Hey, you guys got to do this every single night. It's not a once in a blue moon type of deal. You know, the big knock on Koivun is his skating is not there.
00:15:25
Speaker 2: Visibly, yeah, he looks.
00:15:26
Speaker 3: Stronger than he did last year and handling himself a little bit better. But the skating is the real drawback. So, you know, in the faster games, he's just a half step behind.
00:15:40
Speaker 2: So, yeah.
00:15:41
Speaker 3: He's got to figure out how can I be effective and how can I use, you know, he's clearly got a good brain for the game.
00:15:47
Speaker 2: He clearly has skill.
00:15:48
Speaker 3: How can I use that to my advantage to still make an impact in those games? I mean, tonight's going to be interesting too, again, to see playing a bigger Vegas team. Generally the pens just, you know, they're not going to play good against those bigger teams. We saw them against Washington earlier in the year, but these bigger teams are a problem for them. So, Being a smaller guy, he's got to go into this thinking, how can I still make an impact, even though I'm not as big as them, I'm definitely not as fast as them, but I still have my assets.
00:16:21
Speaker 2: It's just something that younger guys have to figure out.
00:16:24
Speaker 1: Bart, when should Dubas start making deals? When do you kind of figure, okay, we don't got a playoff berth in our sights this year? I know it's just 14 games, but I know what I see. I know New Jersey got Hellebuck. I know Carolina's uncatchable. It just seems like it can get real late, real early for the Penguins.
00:16:45
Speaker 2: Two years ago? Is that too soon? No, no.
00:16:49
Speaker 1: I agree with you totally, but what's done is done.
00:16:52
Speaker 2: Yeah, I know. It's not the way it works.
00:16:54
Speaker 3: But no, I mean, I'm sure he's shopping guys around now. And if he's not, he better be. Now, timing of it is the other thing. Deer normally in high demand at the deadlines. So let's take a Carlson, for example. do you want to shop them now? And then at the deadline, you see another D go for more than Carlson when he was the best option.
00:17:17
Speaker 2: And then you get yelled at.
00:17:18
Speaker 3: It's like Dan, if you do Dan, if you don't, you know, it's a, that one's a tricky one, but I would definitely start shopping them around now. I mean, there's, I mean, this team, if they make playoffs or not, they're, they're, they just, they're, they're not going to go very far. So I don't know why you wouldn't add more assets to, going into that especially because you're not going to sign a Carlson Raquel too I mean he's starting to score a little bit now uh the beginning of the season might have hurt his equity a little bit but I would definitely be shopping him um it's just I'm sure that side of the the business side of being a GM is no fun because it's like when do you pick your spot of when to pull the trigger I'm sure they're going to get something for those guys it's just what are they going to get.
00:18:03
Speaker 1: Well, at what point
do they just stick Hayes and McGrory in their period? I have my doubts about their long-term future, but I have no doubt about Kuzmenko and LaPierre. They're empty jerseys. At what point do you switch over to younger guys just to find out?
00:18:19
Speaker 3: Yeah, I would do it right now. I mean, I almost would have done it at the beginning of the season. I mean, the last time we spoke, I kind of got into that. It's difficult to see what the path or the vision was of how we're going to construct towards the future.
00:18:32
Speaker 2: I wouldn't have went out and got a Cosmanco.
00:18:34
Speaker 3: Maybe a Lapierre because he's younger and just taking a chance, but no, I would get these Gordy, I think Lubinovich just got called up, you.
00:18:44
Speaker 2: Know, whatever D you want to call it.
00:18:46
Speaker 1: Yeah, but they called him up, but it looks like he's not going to play. What sense does that make?
00:18:52
Speaker 2: It doesn't to me.
00:18:55
Speaker 4: I'm sure there's a business aspect of it, like, hey, we still got to put fans in the stands, but I would be playing these young guys.
00:19:01
Speaker 2: I would be trying to find out at the NHL what I have.
00:19:05
Speaker 4: I mean, Brunick, you go to Atlas Pickering, you can throw Levinovic in there, whoever you want. Regardless of whether or not you play them all at once, I'd be calling them up for a.
00:19:16
Speaker 2: Week, playing them, setting them down, and just being like.
00:19:19
Speaker 3: You know, hey, listen, guys, you're going to come up, you're going to play. And then here's the date you're going down. So then it's not even in the back of their head, like, oh, I got to play well this first game or I'm not going to play. It's just like, hey, we're going to pull you up. You're going to play your three games and you're going to go back down and just start a rotation. That way you can really find out. You won't have guys having nerves, anything like that. They know like, hey, I'm coming up, going down. If they end up playing well and you keep them around, great. If guys get hurt and you need to keep them for longer, well, that opens another spot for another young guy to come up. But yeah, I mean, especially if we look at Kuzmenko. I mean, he's clearly a step slow, hasn't really chipped in offensively. Like, you know, the first year he had 39 goals. So I would start sitting that guy and pulling up those guys that you mentioned.
00:20:08
Speaker 1: Bart is always great stuff. Enjoy the game tonight. Hey, text me. Get a photo of that Vancouver jersey and text me because it's going to drive me crazy, the one you're talking about. All right, I will, Mark. That's Matt Bartkowski. I'm Mark Madden. We got Pierre Maguire at the top of the hour. Up next, got an interesting soundbite from Bill Simmons of The Ringer, and he wonders aloud if Mike Tomlin has been holding the Steelers back up until this year, being replaced by McCarthy. I know what I think. Let's hear what Bill Simmons thinks next on 105.9. It's Madden on the X. I had a nutty idea to solve the Steelers' wide-out problem. Trade for George Pickens. Don't laugh, hear me out. Dallas is done-zo at 3-5. Pickens is going to be a free agent. I bet Dallas would franchise Porter before they'd franchise Pickens. His stats, Pickens' numbers, they're way down. And he seems unhappy, if you can believe, because he so often is. But he stormed off the field yesterday as soon as Atlanta kicked the field goal to beat Dallas. As soon as the ball cleared the bar, he was literally running to the exit. I'd take Pickens back as a rental. That's risk versus reward. But sadly, the Steelers can't trade back for Pickens until next year, as per NFL rules. Here's Bill Simmons of the ringer with the big question about Mike Tomlin now that Mike McCarthy has the Steelers at 6-2 and looking good.
00:22:20
Speaker 5: My big question for you with the Steelers was, was Tomlin holding them back?
00:22:24
Speaker 2: Does this become a storyline this week?
00:22:25
Speaker 4: Interesting.
00:22:26
Speaker 5: Why are they better this year when Aaron Rodgers is a year older and it's basically the same team? Why are they better? Why is their offense better? Did he not know how to coach offense at all? Should that have fallen on him? Because McCarthy has unlocked a nice little way of like pound with the run and then, you know, try to get Rodgers deep a.
00:22:46
Speaker 2: Couple of times and it's working.
00:22:49
Speaker 1: It is working. And no, Tomlin did not know how to coach offense at all. Simmons' line of questioning is provocative, but it's easy to come up with an answer. Tomlin had zero offensive acumen, and every offensive coordinator that he hired since Arians was a nitwit. So to address what Simmons said, yes, obviously, absolutely, Mike Tomlin did hold the Steelers back. What gave it away? Oh yeah, maybe zero playoff wins in nine years with talent that dictated better. I figured it out years ago, and now y'all catch it up. McCarthy is a real coach. McCarthy has a 300-pound tight end, and he's scheming him open. And that is all the people need to know. We talk a lot about the body slam by McCormick on verse 18. in that win over Cleveland Sunday. But Brisker picked up a flag for blasting Deshaun Watson. Here's what Brisker said after.
00:24:00
Speaker 6: Baby and the quarterback, he's laying there, you know, crying or whatever he's doing.
00:24:04
Speaker 2: It is what it is.
00:24:05
Speaker 6: I don't assume I'm going to get fined because if you watch it, I mean, I'm hitting him with my chest and then I'm going to the side.
00:24:13
Speaker 2: But he had his binky today, so they threw it out there. It is what it is.
00:24:19
Speaker 1: It's binky. You got to love it. Gateway High, yo. Gators represent. Curtis Gray, RIP. I love it. It's old school black and gold bully ball. You take 15 once in a while, but they pay a price too, physically and mentally. It adds up. Join me, Mark Madden, and make your downtime fun time with the BetParks app. We got hockey tonight as Pittsburgh hosts Vegas. Pittsburgh is minus 115 on the money line while Vegas is minus 104. Bedparks is the only online casino and sportsbook app that I ever recommend. I love it and you will too. New Bedparks sportsbook app customers who place a $ 25 sports bet can choose their reward and they can get a $ 50 bonus bet or a 200% profit boost on a sports bet. The Bedparks online casino and sportsbook Sportsbook app has got you covered for live betting on pro and college football, pro basketball, hockey, and much more. The whole schmear. Plus, play all your favorite classic casino games right on your phone for real money or play over 1,000 hot online slots. That's the BetParks online casino and sportsbook app where there's always another way to win. You've got to be 21 and in PA, New Jersey, Maryland, or Michigan. New users only. Terms and conditions apply. Get the details at BetParks.com. Bonus must be wagered. You've got a gambling problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER. Up next, it's the best hockey talk anywhere as I'm joined by Pierre Maguire. It's the home of the Penguins, 105.9 The X. Crash at Hazelwood Avenue.