Yeah

... and, and his commitment to the game.

And, um, you know, you almost feel like sometimes you repeat yourself, uh, but you wanna come up with something unique and interesting when you're answering this question multiple times.

But it's, it's just something to just embrace and marvel and, and of course take it for granted.

There's no way we take it for granted, 'cause it is so unique.

And we find ourselves, you know, just continuing to watch him go about his business.

And it's not a front.

Yeah

Yeah.

Yeah.

Guys that are kind of knocking on that door, are they going to be able to to, you know, not knock and start kicking and kick the door open? Because, you know, do contracts play a role into this? Yeah, probably.

You hope it isn't that way.

I don't think Dan Muse and Kyle Dubas have leaned into that as much as maybe some other GMs, coaches, and other organizations.

As we've seen, they're not afraid.

If a guy's not ready to rock and roll, Josh, they're not afraid to send a guy down on a one-way contract, send him to Wilks and have him find his fastball.

How do you think Dan Muse should approach this year with this team? Because is it the same messaging? Is it slightly altered? I mean, I would assume many predictions might be similar in the sense that a lot of people probably won't think the Penguins will make the playoffs coming into this year.

Uh, this is, this is the opportunity of a lifetime for me to, to live out a dream"?

[lips smack] Well, as you know, Jan- Dan, I, a- and Josh, you, you've heard my story before and it's, [chuckles] it's just, it's just who I am, man.

I, I don't do anything the easy way.

I'm, I'm kind of like the Penguins, right? Um, and that makes you appreciate it a lot more.

Um, you know, as a kid growing up outside of Boston, alls I wanted to do was play pro hockey.

That's all I wanted.

And you think about back in the '80s, I don't even know if 10% of the league was American-born players.

What's it been like to, to see the man evolve, and what was your first impression of this kid when he, when he joined the Penguins fray?

Yeah

... had the option to not sign the, the offer sheet from Philadelphia, but he signed it.

Now, to, where, where I want this conversation to go is why didn't Carlsson, if he really, if he really wants to be an Anaheim Duck, go back to Pat Verbeek and the Anaheim Ducks and say, "Okay, I got this offer sheet here.

I'm, I'm guaranteed to make this money.

Either you're gonna pay me or Philly's gonna pay me.

Somebody's gotta pay me seven times 18," right? That's where we're at with this right now, right? The crossroads or a fork in the road's coming.

And so would you, if you really wanted to be with Anaheim, Larry, would you not go back to Anaheim and say, "Okay, listen, I know 18, that's a, that's a lot.

Didn't they buy the house in Squirrel Hill?

He goes, "Gino will be back." Well, how does it make them feel?

No, you're right.

I read it the same way you did.

I was standing right next to you when Ricard was, was talking and, um, you know, he was asked that tough question, "Do you think Gino's gonna be back?" And he d- you're right, he didn't hesitate.

Uh, and I don't think he knew anything at that point.

I don't know if anybody really knew for sure if it was, you know, signed, sealed, and delivered behind closed doors that he would be back.

But there was a confidence that he was going to be back.

It is

and do something similar.

If it's Enola Chari that's not here, if it's Anthony Mantha that's not here, you need players that can come in and in some way, shape, or form kind of play that type of role.

And again, I've said this before, that if players want to come here and play on the wing with Sidney Crosby and score 30 or 35 goals and then go get a big paycheck somewhere else, That's okay.

That's going to happen.

Hopefully they want to stay here, but if it's just here where they're going to get their career turned around, then by all means, let's welcome those guys in the fold.

The other part, Tim, that I don't hear a lot of people talking about, maybe I should bite my tongue a little bit, but watching these playoffs, you just feel like, are the Penguins really built for the playoffs? Are they tough enough? And I'm not saying it's hard to find a thumper, right? It's hard to find a guy that jumps over the boards and the other team is just fearful of.

But I just feel like that level of toughness when you get into the playoffs, and toughness comes in all different forms now in 2026, right? There's mental toughness, there's physical toughness, there's intimidation, right? There's size, there's strength, there's...

how many more could Chinnikov get if he was on the top power play?