SUNRISE, Fla. -- Brian Burke's reputation for being blunt precedes him, to put it mildly, and it was built well before his arrival in Pittsburgh.
The downside is that, occasionally, sensitivities will be offended. But the upside is that, when the man speaks, it tends to be seen as the cold truth.
So here's that truth, right from the Penguins' president of hockey operations, fortified by a good talk we had this week on the team's trip through Florida: No serious pursuit of goaltending ever occurred this summer, principally because of faith in both Tristan Jarry and Casey DeSmith. Particularly the former, since he's the starter.
"We won the division," Burke said, applying an incredulous tone and referring to the surprising-to-most finish atop the loaded East Division in the 2020-21 season. "He won the division. And he's won going all the way back to the WHL."
This also is truth. Jarry, 26, was the Edmonton Oil Kings' starting goaltender all through their 2014 championship, and in those playoffs -- since playoffs are the issue now -- he went 16-5 with a 2.19 goals-against average and .925 save percentage. Burke was working in Alberta at the time, as well, as the Flames' president of hockey operations.
Jarry's background, plus his mostly strong 2020-21 regular season in which he went played in 39 of the Penguins' 56 games and went 25-9-3 with a 2.75 goals-against average and .909 save percentage, plus his previous season that saw him finish in the NHL's top 10 in most categories, hugely superseded management's disappointment in how he struggled against the Islanders this past May.
There were three other variables, as well:
• Neither Jarry nor anyone else had a preseason before 2020-21, leading to a poor opening in Philadelphia and a blah first month. Jarry acknowledged on this trip that having a preseason this time "was huge for me, having those games" before he beat the Stanley Cup champion Lightning across the state Tuesday night.
• There was a clear dissatisfaction with Jarry's instruction, as the team fired Mike Buckley as goaltending coach and replaced him with Andy Chiodo.
• There's a long history in the NHL -- in Pittsburgh, too -- of goaltenders struggling with their first real experience in the playoffs. Jarry had one playoff game to his name before facing the Islanders, and that was an elimination game against the Canadiens the previous summer. (In which he played very well.)
Burke, Ron Hextall, Mike Sullivan and the Penguins' entire brass weighed all of the above shortly after the playoff loss to the Islanders, in addition to considering the team's terribly restrictive cap situation and which goaltenders might've been available who'd be better, and concluded their best bet was status quo. Jarry and DeSmith were both warned they'd hear outside noise about this or that, but both knew early in the offseason they'd be back.
And true to that, no outside overture was made for any goaltender who wound up with a top-two spot on any other NHL team. No, not Marc-Andre Fleury, either.
Does this mean they'll be right?
Only time will tell, obviously. But this should dispel any notion that any alternatives were ever in the equation.
MORE PENGUINS
• People inside the organization are absolutely delighted to have Burke on board. I hadn't been sure how that'd go, but it's easy to see he's been embraced in every way. Assists to Mario Lemieux and David Morehouse on this one. -- DK
• I don't get the sense this will morph into anything major, but more than a few folks with the Penguins didn't appreciate Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper's remark after the Tuesday game, "We had nothing all night. We could have played Pittsburgh's farm team tonight, and we might have seen the same result." There are ways to express disgust with one's own team that doesn't involve disparaging the opponent. Especially after being obscenely outperformed in all facets, as the Lightning were. It was classless and senseless. -- DK
• One thing the Penguins love about Mark Friedman but can't speak out loud: He can be a real jerk ... on the ice. Say what one will about that, especially when it crosses the line as Friedman did with his preseason Oct. 9 spear of the Blue Jackets' Sean Kuraly, but every team needs his type. Know what Kuraly had done just before the spear? He knocked over Jarry. -- DK
• Anthony Angello's return to the AHL this week -- he opened the trip with the team but was sent back -- doesn't bode well, considering he's 6-foot-5 and 25 years old on a team that's seeking both size and youth. What's more, Sam Lafferty appears to have leapfrogged back in front of him in management's eyes, and he rewarded that with a solid showing and slick assist in Tampa. What's missing from Angello's game is simple: He needs to be ... well, a little more like Friedman. I'm told Sullivan's pressed hard for Angello to add more bite to his game. Not at the risk of doing the right things on the rink, but more in the spirit of being "hard to play against," to borrow one of Sullivan's favorite phrases. Angello did willfully run up hit counts in the preseason, but there's a difference between hitting and making an impact. -- DK
• Neat to see Sidney Crosby and Ron Hainsey hanging out in the press box the other night in Tampa. Easy to forget now how huge a role Hainsey played in the 2017 Cup, but it's clear the captain, who made Hainsey his first Cup handoff that night in Nashville, hasn't. -- DK
STEELERS
• Jay Glazer caused some waves last weekend when he reported on the FOX pregame show that Mike Tomlin told him he'd rather have a veteran quarterback taking over for Ben Roethlisberger in the future rather than starting over with a rookie. That shouldn't come as a surprise. There's probably not a coach in the NFL who wouldn't rather have an established veteran over a rookie, unless that rookie happens to be Andrew Luck or some other young generational talent. And quite frankly, from what I'm hearing regarding the 2023 rookie quarterback class, there isn't one of those available. Just last weekend, Spencer Rattler, who was tops on some draft sites, for example, was benched at Oklahoma. And many of the other draft-eligible quarterbacks haven't exactly been great this season, as well, as we hit the midway point in the college football season. I'm hearing the Steelers haven't been enamored with anyone who might be available just yet. That doesn't mean that can't change. But they also have a roster that is set up for a veteran quarterback to come in and win right away -- which could make them an attractive landing spot. They also have cap space available. -- Dale Lolley on the South Side
• Given the above information, the Aaron Rodgers rumors don't sound all that crazy. But here's another situation on which to keep an eye -- Seattle. Russell Wilson was rumored to want out of Seattle last offseason. And the Seahawks are really struggling right now, even with him. The Seahawks also don't have a first-round draft pick next year, having made the questionable decision to send it to the Jets in the Jamal Adams deal. Wilson turns 33 in late November, and given the state of things in that division, the Seahawks might be out of the playoff race by the time he returns from the finger injury that will sideline him for Sunday's game. Head coach Pete Carroll also just turned 70, and it wouldn't be surprising if he called it quits or the Seahawks decide to part ways with him if they have a down season. Would Wilson want to start over with a new head coach in Seattle, or would he look at jumping into a ready-made situation? Wilson reportedly gave the OK to four trade locations last season before cooler heads prevailed -- Dallas, Chicago, Las Vegas and New Orleans. Two of those teams have their quarterbacks of the future. And Jon Gruden is out in Las Vegas, perhaps making that a less attractive destination. If Wilson were to adjust his list, Pittsburgh could be high on it. -- Lolley
• Much of the focus on the players returning from injured reserve has been on right tackle Zach Banner and defensive lineman Stephon Tuitt. But don't underestimate what a healthy Anthony McFarland could mean to the offense. The Steelers had an obvious plan for McFarland before he was injured. He spent a lot of time on the field at the same time as Najee Harris in training camp with one of the two split out wide. Then, there was this little nugget from Roethlisberger when talking about replacing JuJu Smith-Schuster earlier this week, "I think you’ll see probably some more utilization of the tight ends and running backs in there and different guys," Roethlisberger said when asked if Chase Claypool could be the slot guy. Claypool will see some time in the slot, but Harris or McFarland in the slot with the other in the backfield also has some potential. The Steelers have utilized some of the jet sweep stuff that offensive coordinator Matt Canada wants to use. But nobody on the team gives them the speed factor in that role quite the way McFarland does. And Harris has only scratched the surface of his talents as a receiver. -- Lolley
• James Pierre has allowed a pair of long touchdown catches in his time in the lineup and Keith Butler has identified why. "He looks back a little bit too quick sometimes at the quarterback," Butler said. "When you’re looking back at the quarterback, looking back, and trying to see the ball come, physically, you have to slow down. We always tell our guys, 'When they make breaks on you and stuff like that, don’t look back at the quarterback. Run him down first because when he looks back, he’s got to slow down a little bit.' We try to catch him during that period of time. Sometimes, we tend to look at the quarterback too much." That's a bad habit, but it's fixable. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• There is some good news and some bad news in regards to how Cole Tucker finished the season. The good is his bat speed was up in the final month of the season, which combined with some mechanical tweaks in his foundation helped him hit .306 with a .912 OPS over his final 15 games played. The bad is I’m told it was right in line with what he did as a minor-leaguer, where he was only an OK hitter. Tucker should be given another chance with the Pirates next spring in what’s shaping up to be a make-or-break year. -- Alex Stumpf
• Being a third base coach can be a thankless job. People are far more likely to remember the outs at home rather than the aggressive sends that paid off. That said, the Pirates did make the most outs at home plate in three of Joey Cora's five years as third base coach before being dismissed this week. He inherited that mantle from Rick Sofield, who in his four years as third base coach from 2013-2016, averaged 21.5 outs at home. Cora averaged just 19.2 outs at home over a 162-game season, but then again, the Pirates never led the league in outs at home under Sofield’s watch. The game has evolved into being more home run centric, and the Pirates wanted to try to push the envelope on base running to steal extra runs, but their 36 percent extra-base taken percentage was well below league average. -- Stumpf
• Prospects don’t need to be added to the roster until Nov. 19 to protect them from the Rule 5 draft, so there’s still a long ways to go and plenty of conversations to be had until any final decisions are made. One guy to keep an eye on -- both for the roster crunch or Rule 5 draft if he is not added -- is Hunter Stratton. The right-handed reliever recorded a 1.42 ERA with Class AA and then a 3.42 with Class AAA Indianapolis this year, and has a good combination of a mid-90s fastball and high spin secondary offerings. There are control and delivery concerns, but the 24-year-old could potentially play out of a major league bullpen in 2022. The question is do the Pirates potentially leave a higher-level prospect off of the roster for one that addresses a need better. -- Stumpf
