Welcome to Paul Zeise’s weekly mailbag, where the Post-Gazette columnist and 93.7 The Fan radio host answers your questions about sports, life and everything in between. You can also chat about all sports on Thursdays with Paul. If you want to ask a question, tweet him @PaulZeise or email him at pzeise@post-gazette.com.
Let’s get started:
Bill: Given how deep they say the draft is — and some say it goes as many as 60 or 70 quality players deep — why don’t the Steelers trade down from both No. 17 and No. 31 and acquire at least four or five choices for the two they are giving up? No. 31, which will occur on Saturday after most teams see who they really like next, may bring a greater haul and allow Omar Khan to generate talent at OL, DB, DT, ILB and WR. Just saying?
Zeise: Here is the short answer: The Steelers should consider every scenario. They should be willing to trade up or trade back or stay put. The most important thing is that they maximize their draft choices and leave the draft weekend a better team than they were when it started. I don’t think there is a magical formula. I think teams should keep an open mind. If something comes down the pike that makes sense, they should absolutely do it.
Ryan: Has Mike Sullivan hit his expiration date here? He doesn't seem to have any answers for the Penguins woes and says the same thing after every loss.
Zeise: Hockey coaches seem to hit an expiration date, but I don’t know if we are there yet with Sullivan. The Penguins are probably overachieving this year, to be honest. The Penguins have a problem — they don’t have enough good players and they don’t have a great goalie situation. That is their biggest problem. Sullivan has coached them hard and probably helped keep them in the playoff hunt.
Vince: I have always liked Mike Sullivan. Heck, the whole town seems to like him. But I think he has given up hope on the current version of the Pens. After a horrible game against the Kings, all he could muster was, “The game kind of got away from us.” After the fiasco in New Jersey, he said, “For the majority of the night, our team was terrific.” So terrific they gave up a two-goal lead — TWICE. When talking about how the team is less successful than earlier, he said, “We’ve just gotten away from a lot of (good playing). We haven’t been as good. We have to be better.” I think Mike looks out at the ice and sees a team that will probably make the playoffs, then pack their bags after an early exit. Do you think the current team is the result of the age of the team catching up with them, a faulty couching performance, bad goalkeeping, all of the above or something else?
Zeise: Again, the stars are old. While they have played well, they are not what they were five or six years ago. As a result, the team is built around an old, aging core, and they are facing a lot of teams that are younger, faster, bigger, etc. The Penguins bottom six is bad — actually, terrible. Jeff Carter is done. Kasperi Kapanen has been bad. The defensive parings have been inconsistent and the Penguins probably are two defensemen away from being able to be competitive. And the goalie room is not good enough, either. All of these things are far bigger problems than Mike Sullivan, who is one of the best coaches in the NHL.
Amy: The NHL trade deadline is Friday. A lot of teams will be making moves to make themselves better. Some will trade their free-agents-to-be. The Penguins, however, can’t make many moves because their salary cap is so tight. I know the Penguins won’t be able to do much at the trade deadline, but will their salary cap prohibit them from also doing anything in the offseason to get better for next year and beyond?
Zeise: The Penguins will have some flexibility in the offseason to make moves. They can improve their bottom six some and perhaps even go get a goalie. The real question is what can Ron Hextall do about it? And what will he do about it? I am of the opinion he is not the right general manager for what the Penguins need. They need someone who is bold, a visionary, a go-getter — someone who will take chances. Hextall’s ultraconservative approach is just not going to get the Penguins to where they want to be.
Engstock: Do you think the Pirates really want to extend Bryan Reynolds? Or are they just making offers they hope people will think are reasonable but they're sure he won't accept? He's 28, and I always read 29 is the age where a hitter begins to decline. If they do even a "short" long-term deal — say, five years — for 60% of the deal, they'll be paying what they consider big bucks to someone who projects to be not quite as good this year as he was last year. That doesn't look like how they do business. And at this point, does a long-term deal for Reynolds even make sense? They control him for three more seasons. Why not just pay him from year to year, maybe needing to go arbitration, avoid a long-term commitment and trade him if the right deal comes along? Yes, his trade value will drop with time, but they'll always get something for him. He's not Gregory Polanco. You could argue he'll become disgruntled, maybe become a clubhouse problem, but I think that’s unlikely because none of that will help him get the best deal he can when he does become a free agent.
Zeise: The Reynolds discussion is an interesting one for the reasons you laid out. I think the Pirates should do nothing at all. They should let him play this year and then offer him a four-year, $80 million deal. That would buy out his last two years of control and give him two additional years. That is a good compromise. He would make his $20 million per year and he would be in a place then at age 33 to go get one more good deal. It also would not hamstring the Pirates by having an aging star on a bad contract. If he doesn’t want to sign the deal, you trade him and move on.
Marty: What are your thoughts on the PIAA rules about reclassifying as eighth-graders? Is it really necessary to have these rules?
Zeise: I think it is a classic example of the PIAA trying to solve a “problem” that doesn’t actually exist. I would be willing to bet the percentage of athletes who have been “redshirted” in eighth grade is so minuscule that it is silly they even made this rule. It is really ridiculous, to be honest. And the unfair advantage they think some player somewhere is getting is way overstated. Also, if parents want to do this, they can do it now in seventh grade instead of eighth grade. It is yet another example of the PIAA creating a set of rules under this misguided and nonsensical cover of “fairness.” Life isn’t fair. Get over it.
Chad: What former NFL head coach are you surprised isn't currently on an NFL team as a head coach? The two that spring to mind for me would be Jim Caldwell and Jeff Fisher.
Zeise: Jim Caldwell is the one. I thought he would get another job by now. Fisher’s problem was his teams were always just sort of mediocre. He had a long stretch and just never showed he is a difference maker as a coach. Caldwell is a really good coach and I think should get another shot to prove it. The other guy is Brian Flores, but there is obviously some baggage there and he turned down a job this year.
Paul Zeise: pzeise@post-gazette.com or Twitter: @paulzeise
First Published: February 23, 2023, 6:45 p.m.
