TSN's Darren Dreger: Lack Of Confidence In Vokoun Is Unfair
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) -- TSN Hockey insider Darren Dreger joined Andrew Fillipponi, Colin Dunlap, and Eric Hagman on The Fan Morning Show Monday to give his take on a number of the key issues surrounding the Penguins as they prepare to take on the Bruins in the Eastern Conference Finals.
As the playoffs roll on, Pascal Dupuis' impending free agency looms large on the horizon, and Dreger thinks that Dupuis is inevitably going to get a big raise.
"I think we can all safely agree that he loves to win," Dreger said. "The concern that I would have from a business perspective, if I were Dupuis or his representatives, is the reality that he has been horrendously underpaid... for what you get from Pascal Dupuis, that's not a hometown discount, that's 'put the money in the bag.'"
Dreger thinks that James Neal could make a big difference in the conference finals because of his physicality.
"James Neal does have game-breaking qualities," Dreger said. "Because of his size, he can get himself in scoring areas that traditionally are very difficult to stay in and to get to. I look in this Boston series at Neal potentially being a very impactful player for Pittsburgh."
Dreger feels that people should show more faith in Tomas Vokoun, given what the veteran goaltender has done for the Penguins during this postseason run.
"Everybody's sitting there expecting something bad to happen to this guy," Dreger said. "I'm not sure that's fair to him. He was very good in the regular season, he's been very good for the Penguins in the postseason in relief, so he's hit his stride. I suppose maybe it speaks to, you know, we just don't know a lot about him this time of year, inexperience, particularly in goal, can hurt you, but I like to measure the body of the work and what I see in Tomas Vokoun. I don't think there should be a great deal of overall concern."
The interview can be heard here:
