Madden Monday on Penguins: ‘There will be one token big trade. I still think it will be Jake Guentzel.’

In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden takes a deeper look at some of the comments Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke made on his 105.9 The X radio show.

The statements from Burke included a ton of faith in head coach Mike Sullivan, goaltender Tristan Jarry and even the aging “core three” of Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.

So, is anything going to change with the team despite three straight playoff exits in the first round?

“I think things will remain, maybe not 100% the same. But I bet pretty darn close. I think there will be one token big trade. I still think it will be Jake Guentzel (in exchange) for somebody. And I think they will just go from there,” Madden said.

As a result, Madden expects the end of the 2022 season to be similar to what we just saw in 2021.

“I think things will be roughly the same. Almost totally the same roster, and they’ll be a borderline playoff team. Or they will miss. Or they’ll lose in the first round. But I don’t think their championship window will be reopened by more or less standing pat,” Madden continued.

As Madden points out, the notion of moving a young, popular player such as Guentzel won’t go over well with the fan base.

“If you could trade Jake Guentzel for Tom Wilson (Washington Capitals), you’d do it,” Madden said. “We think that Guentzel for Wilson would be a bad trade. Or Jake Guentzel for Josh Anderson (Montreal Canadiens) or a Tkachuk brother (Matthew with the Ottawa Senators, Brady with the Calgary Flames). Those would all be great trades for the Penguins the way the league is trending. The problem is the teams with Josh Anderson, a Tkachuk brother, or Washington with Wilson, wouldn’t make that trade. Because they get it. The Penguins get it. Local hockey fans don’t get it.”

Not only would players such as those candidates add size, skill and toughness, Madden suggests that Guentzel wouldn’t be missed in Pittsburgh as much as we may fear at first.

“If Jake Guentzel were to go to a middling team like Montreal — they are having a decent playoff, but they aren’t a great team with any superstars to play with — Guentzel would be hard-pressed to hit 20 goals in Montreal,” Madden said. “He is not 100% a Crosby creation but a big part of him is.”

If it’s not Guentzel who is traded, maybe it is Bryan Rust.

“Bryan Rust is a third liner who got lucky with who he got to play with,” Madden said. “We badly overrate these guys. If you look at the role Bryan Rust had back in the Cup years, that is closer to the real Bryan Rust. Guentzel is a really skilled player. He just got lucky he got drafted by Pittsburgh.”

On other topics in the podcast, Mark and I dive into the Mark Scheifele suspension, the Julio Jones trade, changes in the Steelers radio booth and why the Motley Crue concert at PNC Park really got postponed.

Listen: Tim Benz and Mark Madden discuss possible Penguins’ offseason moves