Penguins' Greatest Games in the Last 25 Years: Installment Four

Sorry for being on the bench the last few days. Let's get back to my list of the Penguins greatest games in the last 25 years.

Penguins 10-7 win in Game 5 of the 1989 Eastern Conference Semifinal against Philadelphia

This game was one for the ages. Tied 2-2 in the series going into the game, the Penguins rolled to a win of extreme proportions on their home ice. Mario Lemieux tied several playoff records with five (5) goals and eight (8) points, including one of the most memorable goals he has ever scored, in my opinion (more later this summer on that list).

Who could forget #66 hovering behind and to the near side of the goal behind Flyers netminder Ron Hextall when the puck got dumped around the boards from the opposite end. Hextall, not knowing Lemieux was there, went around the other side of the net to try and cut off the puck along the boards behind the goal. In one motion, Le Manifique lifted Hextall's stick and with his long reach, wrapped the puck around the other side of the net into the vacant cage.

That game was one of those nights that Lemieux was just unstoppable. No matter what the Flyers did, he was going to lead the Penguins to victory. It didn't matter if Philadelphia was able to send 12 guys out on the ice.

Of course, this game was also infamous for Hextall chasing Rob Brown after #44 took Lemieux's perfect pass at the side of the goal and buried the Penguins' 9th tally of the game. Hextall obviously didn't like Brown's celebration. I wasn't sure the officials were going to be able to restrain him.

I still can't figure out why Hextall remained in the game that long. The Penguins were putting a woodshed beating on the Flyers. You don't just leave your starting netminder in for that abuse. That's the kind of thing that led Patrick Roy out of Montreal about 7 years later.

Unfortunately, the Penguins didn't win again in the series, bowing out to the Flyers in 7, thanks to the work of unexpected game 7 Flyers starter, backup and later-Penguin Ken Wregget. A lot of people -- me among them -- thought that the Flyers comeback late in game 5, as fruitless as it was then, stabilized them and give them a chance in the remainder of the series. Even though the Penguins won game 5 by the 10-7 score, they led it 10-3. The Flyers scored 4 third period goals and dominated play. That gave them the momentum to come out in game 6 at home and roll, which they did winning 6-2. Wregget did the rest in game 7 and the Penguins first appearance in the playoffs with Lemieux ended on a sour note.

Until the next installment ......

Penguins' Greatest Games in the Last 25 Years: Installment III

For the third installment in my list of the Penguins' greatest games in the last 25 years, we stick with the playoff theme, and return to the scene of the Stanley Cup Finals, this time in 1992 against the Chicago Blackhawks.

The game that makes my list is not the cup-winning game, however. Even though that game was the Penguins NHL record-tying 11th straight playoff win and brought the franchise its first back-to-back Stanley Cup championships, the game that is on my list of those greatest in franchise history is the first game of that series.

Game #1 of the 1992 Stanley Cup Final Against the Chicago Blackhawks

As many recall, that game was won by the Penguins with just 12 seconds left when Mario Lemieux just about lifted the roof off the venerable Igloo with his game-winner. His goal gave the Penguins a 5-4 victory and culminated a comeback from being down 4-1 in the third period.

I'll get to Lemieux's goal in a minute, but one other goal in the game also is a fixed part of Penguins' lore.

Who could forget baby-faced Jaromir Jagr's tying goal? You know ... the one where he corraled the puck along the left wing boards, got around one guy along the wall, then quickly deked past a 2nd fast-approaching Blackhawks player, only to burst towards the slot, use a forehand/backhand move to get around a third Blackhawk and finally whip a backhander through a screen past a stunned Blackhawks netminder Ed Belfour.

That goal is one of the greatest in Penguins' history.

But only Lemieux could find a way to top it.

And Lemieux didn't top it for artistry. He topped it for timing and circumstance, as he almost always did for the Penguins when the stakes were at the their highest.

Once they came back just to tie the game at 4-4 after being down 3 goals, momentum was clearly on the Penguins' side. Not long after Jagr's goal, however, the Penguins were forced to kill a penalty. This was late in the 3rd period, and they did so successfully.

As he often did, Lemeiux knew that, after his team's penalty kill, the zebras might be inclined to call the next penalty on the Blackhawks. So, once the penalty was over, #66 looked to have someone spring him for a late-game scoring chance. Sure enough, he got that chance, breaking in to the Blackhawks end and drawing a penalty with about 15 seconds left.

I remember, after the game, then-Blackhawks coach Mike Keenan was fuming at the call on Lemieux. He felt Lemieux dove to get the penalty.

(By the way, I have no doubt that Lemieux, knowing he wasn't going to get the good scoring chance he wanted, looked to purposely draw the penalty. He was the best at it.)

After the penalty, the Penguins set up for the face-off. They had a set play for this draw. And it worked exactly -- and I mean EXACTLY -- the way it was drawn up. I'll never forget it.

Ron Francis lined up in the far face-off circle to the left of Belfour. His plan was to draw the puck back to Larry Murphy, who was behind him. The Blackhaws were in a traditional defensive alignment, with 3 guys along the circle, one player to the far right of the circle assigned to the Penguins' other point man, and one defenseman below the circle. To have the play work, Francis had to win the puck clean, because everything was based on timing.

The puck was dropped and, although Francis tried to win it cleanly, he didn't. Murphy already took a step forward based on the premise that #10 would draw it back to him for a quick one-timer. When Francis didn't when the draw cleanly, Murhpy hesitated a second after stepping forward.

Now, even though Francis didn't when the puck cleanly, it did trickle behind him. After a half of a second, he was able to turn around and push it to Murphy for the shot. At this point, Murphy was under pressure because the Blackhawks' centerman had pushed hard past Francis in the course of trying to battle him for the puck. Since Murphy had stepped up to the top of the circle, he had Francis and several other players just about in his face.

Meanwhile, the Penguins' other point man, had the same M.O. as Murphy. Wait for the clean face-off win, then break to the net. Like Murphy, he had to hesitate becasue the win wasn't clean. As he was hesitating however, he skated a backwards stride or two, hoping the Blackhawks player skating out to him would lose track of him.

He did.

And it was fatal.

Murphy got off his shot -- right to the net and at Belfour's right pad.

Just as planned, he promptly kicked it out right onto the waiting right-handed stick of the other point man -- Lemieux -- who had gone behind and past the Blackhawks' forward into the clear at just about the near hash.

Everyone knows what happened next.

The world stood still for a second, then Lemieux buried it upstairs past a surprised, sprawling Beflour, and Mike Lange, the Penguins' legendary TV play-by-play man, lost his mind along with Penguin fans everywhere.

Penguins, 5 - Blackhawks, 4

True to my description, here are 2 clips of the goal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P9STr-jICqQ

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EvS0iwrJELQ

If Murphy somehow didn't get that puck to the net and Chicago was able to chip or otherwise get the puck past him, the Blackhawks would have had a virtual 2-0 going the other way to try and win it with 10 seconds left in the game.

As it was, the Penguins completed their comeback.

They didn't lose in that final, continuing the momentum they kept in game 1, and sweeping the Blackhawks.

Undoubtedly one of the greatest games in Penguins' history.

Penguins Re-Sign Michel Therrein

I promise I'll get back to posting about the Penguins' greatest games as soon as they stop making news. I assure everyone -- I was not going to interrupt the discussion to report that the Penguins traded the rights to Tim Brent to the Chicago Blackhawks for the rights to defenseman Danny Richmond. I'm all about the team and news, but couldn't get excited about that deal enough to post. Sorry. All dealing Brent did was eliminate one of the 9 borderline NHL forwards the Penguins were going to have compete for 1 or 2 remaining forward spots in camp.

But news about the coach re-signing?? That's certainly post-worthy.

Michel Therrein got a new 3 year contract today. I'm not aware that terms were announced, but the deal replaces the one he currently had with one year left on it, and increased his salary. Basically, in addition to more money, Therrein got a 2 year extension.

I'll say this: 3 years is a long time for a coach to be around in the NHL, a league that goes through coaches about as often as I wanted to look at Katie Price (a.k.a. Jordan) about 5 years ago when she graced the cover of Playboy. Can you say, OH MY ........?????? :

Anyway, back to Therrein.

(Do I have to?)

Okay.

Overall, it's hard to complain about what Therrein has done the last few years. There always are things to nitpick about, but there probably are about every coach. Most imporantly, he wins games, and that's really all you want from a coach. The fact that the guy said to have the most dislike for Therrein -- defenseman Brooks Orpik -- re-signed with the team says it all. Orpik knows that Therrien has helped make him a better player.

I've noticed Therrein grow a lot in the last few years, particularly in the way he handles goaltenders. Back when he coached in Wilkes-Barre, he was pretty tough on Marc Andre Fleury, Andy Chiodo, and others. If one of them played a single sub-par game in the playoffs, he was on the pine. That's certainly not a way to build a goaltender's confidence. But he's gotten better with that over the years and, even though he still rotates lines too much, he's also installed a sound 1-2-2 system for the team that plays to the strength of the team and lets them succeed when they play it.

Of course, only time will tell if Therrein is around at the end of his new deal. After all, expectations are high around town now that the Penguins advanced to the Cup Finals. If they go through a mediocre stretch or are eliminated in the first two rounds of the playoffs, there will be calls to fire him.

Those calls probably will be unjustified. Just as they have been thusfar ....

Another Greatest Games Interlude: 2008/2009 NHL Schedule Released

I'm sorry for (again) interrupting the discussion I've been running about the Penguins greatest games. I'll try to pick that up once more tomorrow. But I just wanted to put out a short post on next year's schedule, which was fully released today.

The good news for Penguin fans is that they'll get the opportunity to boo Red Wings RW Marion Hossa mercilessly when Detroit visits the Mellon Arena next year.

The bad news is that they'll have to wait until February of 2009 to do it.

The Red Wings are one of 3 Western Conference teams, with the Columbus Blue Jackets and San Jose Sharks being the others, that the Penguins will match up twice against, once each at home and once each on the road. Otherwise, they will see every team in the West once, thanks to the NHL's new scheduling format, which kicks in for the first time. It will be nice to see a regular dose of teams like the Chicago Blackhawks and the Saint Louis Blues, which the Penguins haven't seen in recent years. Of course, they'll see teams like the Los Angeles Kings, Colorado Avalanche, Minnesota Wild, Dallas Stars, etc. too., and even though the Penguins have seen those teams once in the last two seasons, it will be nice to see them every year from now on.

Back in the east, the Penguins will face every team in their Division six times, and every other team in their conference 4 times.

Of course, they start the season in a back-to-back set against the Ottawa Senators in Stockholm, Sweden on October 4 and 5. After that they play their next 4 games at the Mellon Arena. The season is filled with the usual home games on the night before and Saturday after Thanksgiving. The Penguins also play on New Year's day. The 2009 portion of their slate is full of weekend afternoon games for NBC's benefit, and contains a handful of Monday and Tuesday evening games for Versus, too. The Penguins' final home game will be against the New York Islanders, and they will conclude their season on the next-to-the-last day of the season on the road against the Montreal Candadiens.

Time to plan a road trip or two ....

Greatest Games Interrupted: Penguins Sign Thomas, Beech and Stone

Stepping back from the continued discussion of the Penguins greatest games, the Boys of Winter announced yesterday that they signed former Phoenix Coyote and Pittsburgh native RW Bill Thomas, and re-signed forwards Kris Beech and Ryan Stone. All received one-year, two-way contracts.

The Thomas signing is the most interesting, not just because he's from the area, but because he is a player with some potential. He mostly played in the AHL last season, but has put up nearly a half a point per game in 40 career NHL games over the last few years (17 total points, including 9 goals, with 14 of those points in 26 games in 2006/2007.

Thomas, 25, has been a bit of a late bloomer. He averaged over a point per game during his two years at the University of Nebraska, Omaha in the 2004 and 2005 seasons before getting his first crack at NHL action. He's got size and some skill and it will be interesting to see what he can do in Pittsburgh. I'm still not sure why Phoenix did not re-sign him. By most reports, they viewed him as a decent prospect.

In Re-signing Beech and Stone, the Penguins added to their depth up-front -- something they needed to maintain -- following the losses of half of their forwards this offseason. Although the Penguins aren't ready to write Stone off, I'm beginning to wonder if he's ever going to be a meaningful contributor at the NHL level. Stone was a 2nd round draft pick and, although I don't think anyone expected him to be able to play on the top 2 lines, I haven't seen enough from him so far to suggest he's ready for regular 4th line duty either. This is his 4th year with the organization. If he's going to stick, he has to do it now.

Beech is the better depth player of the two, and still flashes the ability to contribute from time to time. He popped 6 goals in 25 games last year in stints with Columbus and Washington, and that actually averages out to just under 20 a season. I'm not sure he'll make the club in camp but, if not, will probably be one of the most useful guys the Penguins have in the organization to step in if someone is injured. He could be this year's Jeff Taffe -- a guy who stepped into various forward positions when needed and even exceeded expectations a little.

Taffe, by the way, has an outstanding one-year, two-way offer from the Penguins to return, but hasn't signed it yet. He's reportedly talking with some other teams as well.

I'll continue the Penguins greatest games installment with my next post, barring any other news.

Penguins' Greatest Games in the Last 25 Years: Installment Two

Today, the second game on my list of the Penguins' greatest in the last 25 years.

Penguins 3 OT, 4-3 Victory over Detroit in game #5 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Final

There's no discussion of playoff overtime games in Penguins' history -- or of the Penguins' greatest games -- without mention of the Penguins triple overtime thriller against the Red Wings in the Finals about six weeks ago.

I blogged in detail about this game in its aftermath, so I won't revisit everything again here. Suffice it to say, however, this game will go down as legendary in Penguins history, not only for what happened, but because of what was on the line. When you think about it, there just aren't many situations where there is more at stake. Triple overtime in game 6 of the Finals? Okay. Overtime of any kind in game 7 of the Finals? Certainly. But that's about it. Petr Sykora saved the Penguins season with his power play goal just a little more than half way through the 3rd overtime after telling NBC bench reporter that he was going to score the winner, and his effort culminated a night of memories for the Penguins and their fans in the game, including:

- Marc Andre Fleury's 55 saves, including his other-worldly toe save on Red Wings forward Mikael Samuelsoon, which simply is now known around town as "The Save, II"

- Ryan Malone coming back to play after his second broken nose of the finals

- Max Talbot joining the ice as 6th attacker with Fleury pulled and promptly scoring to tie the game with 30 seconds left before the Penguins were to hit the golf course

- Sergei Gonchar leaving the game in the 3rd period with back spasms after hitting the boards hard following his hustle to help break up a 2-on-1 Detroit rush, only to return for the first time about 3+ periods later in the 3rd overtime on the power play and assisting on Sykora's game winner.

The Penguins showed incredible heart and desire in a game they had to win. Even though they went on to lose the next game at home -- and therefore the chance to carry the Stanley Cup -- their game against the Red Wings in game 5 is unquestionably one of the best ever in the history of the franchise.

Any chance they can re-do that set of the Penguins' 10 greatest games?

In my next post, I'll keep the Stanley Cup Final theme going and talk about a 3rd game to be put on my list. Here's a hint: It won't be a Cup Clincher.




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Penguins' Greatest Games in the Last 25 Years: Installment One

Well, with mainstream free agency grinding to a near-halt and the Penguins reportedly still trying to work out a contract extension for head coach Michel Therrein and trying to put the finishing touches on a deal for free agent former Coyote and Pittsburgh native RW Bill Thomas (I'll post on both when and if either are finalized), the dog days of the NHL summer are upon us.

Without much in the way of Penguin news, I couldn't think of a better time for a series of posts discussing the Penguins' greatest games in the last 25 years.

Sure, the franchise dates back further than that, and there certainly were some memorable games in the team's history before then, but since I began my following of the Boys of Winter in about 1982, that's about my only time of reference. And we all know there have been plenty (more) memories since that time.

So over the next week to ten days, I'll discuss in no particular order what I feel are the Penguins greatest games in the last 25 years, and then post a poll to vote on them.

Without further adieu then, the first game I HAVE to talk about is ...........


Penguins 4 OT, 3-2 Victory over Washington in game #4 of the 1996 Eastern Conference Quarterfinal


The Penguins have been involved in some amazing playoff overtime games over the years -- and some of the longest in NHL playoff history. This game goes down not only as one of the longest (at the time, it was the 3rd longest game ever), but also one of the best for its storylines.

Ended by Petr Nedved on a power play goal (drawn by Jaromir Jagr driving to the net, forcing former Penguin and then-Capitals' defenseman Jim Johnson to take him down) with less than a minute to go in the 4th overtime, this game may be remembered as much for what happened during the game as Nedved's winner.

First, Mario Lemieux was ejected from the game in the 2nd period by Referee Dan Marouelli for jumping on top of Capitals forward Todd Krygier and trying to give him the business. The worst part about the ejection was that Lemieux didn't even really do a whole lot before a wave of players entered the fray. I couldn't believe that Marouelli concluded that Lemieux actually "instigated" something that hardly was a fight and had the nerve to toss him in a playoff game because of it. This clearly was one of the worst games I have ever seen officiated in the NHL. And to think Marouelli was just getting started.

In the second overtime, he put his blindfold back on and actually called a penalty shot for Washington after ruling that Penguins' defenseman Chris Tamer purposefully dislodged the net to keep the puck from going in. I don't know that I've ever seen a more awful call and have thought the same thing every time I've seen the replay since. It shows Tamer desperately lunging behind Penguins goaltender Ken Wregget (who didn't start the contest but entered the game in regulation after Tom Barrasso had to leave because of injury) with his stick to keep a puck that had squirted through him from crossing the goal line, and then dislodging the net with the momentum of his body after he knocked the puck away. Marouelli was in the background and couldn't see what Tamer was doing, which made his call worse. I'm not even sure he saw the puck! I suspect he saw the net become dislodged and drew his own conclusions without even considering Tamer's clear effort, body language, etc. He's lucky I wasn't there in person or I might have had to come down from the stands.

It was the first playoff overtime penalty shot in the history of the game. Since the Capitals' most lethal scorer, Petr Bondra, was on the bench and not on the ice when the "penalty" occurred, Captials coach Jim Schoenfeld chose Joe Juneau to take the shot. Juneau was never a great goal-scorer in his career. As it turned out, he wasn't a good puck handler either, because as he broke down on Wregget right down the middle of the ice, the puck bounced over his stick, causing him to get only a very weak shot off, which Wregget stopped easily.

After all that and everything else that occurred in the game, I'll never forget Mike Lange's call or the ensuing celebration after Nedved's winner.

Here's a link from an article in the Washington Post on the game, a link to the box score, and a link to a great compilation of highlights from the game, including everything mentioned above:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/sports/capitals/longterm/1998/stanleycup/articles/pens96a.htm

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/scores96/96115/96115391.htm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rlEohAy9F5g

Of course, the Penguins game back to win that series, after losing the first 2 at home.

Then again, what else would happen? They were playing the Capitals.

A hint for the next game: Another playoff contest, but a more recent one.

It's Official: Penguins Sign Pesonen

Finnish LW Janne Pesonen formally signed his one-year deal with the Penguins yesterday, further bolstering Pittsburgh's scoring punch on the wing following Marion Hossa's departure.

As I believe I have said before, I really like this signing by Ray Shero. Only time will tell what type of impact Pesonen will have -- and whether it's in Pittsburgh or Wilkes-Barre -- but it's a low-risk, high-reward signing because it's a two-way deal.

Pesonen has the skills to play on the top line if he is willing to get his nose dirty. Last time I checked, the Penguins could use a LW there. I don't doubt that, in a best case scenario, Pittsburgh would love to see him play there. If he doesn't stick in that spot, he could see 3rd line duty, either next to Jordan Staal if they keep him at center, or perhaps even Mad Max Talbot. Either way, I'm definitely anxious to see him in camp, which is only about 2 months away.

At this point, I don't expect the Penguins to make any additional moves of note in free agency. They continue to sign players to add depth to their minor league system -- as they did yesterday when inking defenseman T.J. Kemp and forward Adam Henrick -- but that's been a staple of Shero's MO since arriving.

Even though hockey fans are getting into the dog days of summer, there's still plenty to talk about, so over the next month or so, I hope to periodically hit on a handful of subjects here, including burning questions for the team going into next season, how the rest of the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference positioned themselves -- for better or worse -- to compete with the Penguins, and a lot more.

Fleury and The New Guys: Satan, Fedotenko and Cooke All Join Penguins

I knew the 4th of July holiday was going to get right in the way of NHL free agency.

Please forgive my silence since late last week. Although I was able to keep up with the Penguin comings and goings, posting wasn't possible. So, with that, let's review, shall we?

Last Thursday, after learning that Marion Hossa stabbed them in the back and learning that Marcus Naslund was signing with the Rangers, the Penguins acted quickly to fill some of the scoring punch they lost since July 1 by signing RW Miroslav Satan and LW Ruslan Fedotenko to one-year deals, for 3.5 million and 2.5 million respectively. Both had 16 goals last season for the New York Islanders and, although not game breakers, could end up being productive complementary players for the Penguins.

Satan can take long stretches off and his game has suffered the last few years as a result of it. However he's the most likely candidate to play on Crosby's right side on the number one line, so hopefully he can put that dangerous shot to use. I ticket him as a 25 goal guy with upside to score 35 if he clicks with Sid. At the very least, he won't torture the Penguins as a member of the Islanders any longer.

I'm probably more pleased with the Fedotenko signing. He is likely to be a good fit on the left wing on Malkin's line. Fedotenko doesn't have great natural goal-scoring ability, but knows how to go to the net and capitalize when playing with skilled linemates. Most NHL observers still haven't forgotten all the goals he put up during the Lightning's run to the Stanley Cup a few years ago. I ticket him for 20 and perhaps even 25+ if he gets power play time.

In addition to those two guys, the Penguins also signed former Vancouver Canuck and Washington Capital agitator Matt Cooke to a 2 year contract at 1.2 million per season. I love Cooke. He plays a rough, in-your-face game a lot like the guy who he's primarily replacing, former Vancouver teammate Jarkko Ruutu. The difference is that Cooke checks more, is faster, and has a little better offensive skill 5-on-5. He's exactly the type of player Pittsburgh needs after losing the physicality Roberts, Hall, Laraque and Malone (and Ruutu as well) took with them to other teams.

I also think it's notable that Cooke took a pay cut to come play with the Penguins. Obviously, he wanted to be in Pittsburgh, and that's a good sign. Satan was the same way. He called Shero and expressed his interest in joining the team, saying he watched the Penguins dismatle the Rangers in the playoffs and said to himself, "I have to play there".

The Penguins also are said to be close to signing Janne Pesonen, a 26 -year old, 5' 11" left wing who led the Finnish Elite League in scoring last year with 34 goals and 44 assists in 56 games. If signed, the deal will be a one-year, two-way contract, so it's a low-risk, high-reward signing if Shero can pull it off. Personally, I hope he does. In all honesty, I hadn't heard about the guy before news started to circulate about the potential signing, but from all accounts, he's a skilled guy with good hands and good offensive instincts. One scout has even said that he thinks Pesonen is better than Fabian Brunnstrom, last season's leading scorer in the Swedish Elite League who recently signed with Dallas after announcing that he wanted to play in the NHL and was courted by about 10 teams. Pesonen hasn't gotten as much attention because he didn't broadcast his intentions, but he could be as good. Of course, the culture barrier and getting used to the smaller rinks and the more physical play in the NHL could be an issue, but if he pans out, he could be a boon for the Penguins on the left side -- perhaps even playing with Crosby.

If the Penguins manage to sign Pesonen, he'll rocket to the top of my most-watched guys in training camp this year, right next to Luca Caputi.

There's a lot of talk going around about the Penguins being linked to other players -- Todd Bertuzzi for one (although he's since signed in Calgary), Jason Williams for another. Even Brendan Shanahan has supposedly expressed an interest in playing with Pittsburgh, although the interest doesn't seem to be mutual. Despite all of this talk, and the continuing occasional rumor that Pittsburgh might trade a defenseman (Sydor -- who the Penguins should be dealing), or Whitney or Scuderi -- who the Penguins shouldn't be), it doesn't appear that anything is imminent.

All things considered, Shero has done a competent job trying to deal with his free agent losses. And he's also done a good job in house too, with Orpik re-signing and Malkin finally signing his deal. Add those contracts to the 7-year, $35 million dollar committment Shero made to Marc Andre Fleury late last week (a nice payday for the kid now, and potentially a bargain in the future for the team), and the Penguins are well positioned to be contenders again in 2008/2009, even if their roster isn't the same now as it was just one month ago. There are a lot of teams that would trade their talent for that on the Penguins roster.

I'll post again when there's more FA news. If there is none, I'll get some other talk going.

Until then ........

Orpik Stays In-House. More on Hossa and What's To Come

Before I spew venom on Hossa abandoning the Penguins, kudos to defenseman Brooks Orpik for agreeing to re-up with the squad for 6 years. The 22 million he got for that period averages to be about 3.6, which is a fair amount less than he reportedly could have received from the New York Rangers (4.25 million per) or San Jose (4 million per). According to Orpik, it was the term of the deal that was most significant to him. It seems as if the contracts being offered by the Rangers and Sharks were only for 4 years.

Contract term also was an issue for Jarkko Ruutu, who signed with Ottawa for 3 seasons as opposed to 2 the Penguins offered. The Senators are going to fork over a relatively reasonable 1.3 million per season to Ruutu during that time. On one hand, it's hard to wonder why, at that salary, the Penguins would not have signed him for an extra season. On the other hand, most players of Ruutu's type and value throughout the league usually don't get that type of security. 3 years is a long deal for that type of player.

As far as #18 goes, where can I possibly begin with him? His signing with the Detroit Red Wings yesterday represented one of the more unusual situations I've ever seen in free agency. First, Hossa turned down a fair amount of money, which is something free agents almost never do. The Edmonton Oilers had reportedly offered him a 81 million dollar contract for 9 seasons. The Minnesota Wild and Montreal Canadiens also supposedly made offers for Hossa in the 8 million dollar range for unspecified terms. It seems as if the last offer the Penguins put on the table was 7 years at between 50 and 52 million.

All of that was rejected for a 1-year, 7.4 million dollar deal with the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

One thing is for sure. Hossa was true to his word -- expressed after the season -- that he would take less money to play for a contender. But his quotes to the Detroit media after the season represented a kick in the you-know-what for the Penguins. Hossa said he wanted to go to a team that had the best chance to win the Cup. He said there were 2 teams in that mix. The Penguins were one of them. He signed with the team that beat the Penguins.

It's one thing for a free agent to pick between 2 teams he feels are the top cup contenders and sign there if he wants to. But that scenario usually doesn't happen when the free agent was last playing with one of them, especially when that team offered you more money, more security in a longer term deal (don't blow out that knee Marion!), and a chance to play with the 2 finest centers in the game for at least the next 5 years. In essence, Hossa feels Detroit is better than Pittsburgh and true or false, that's a tough pill for me and a lot of other Penguin fans to swallow.

Gulp.

Hossa is an incredible player that will fit in well with Detroit, and make them a tougher out in the playoffs next year. Let's hope the Penguins show him in next year's Stanley Cup Final that he picked the wrong team.

At this point, Penguins GM Ray Shero is said to be chasing Marcus Naslund to try and replace Hossa. Reports are that he offered Naslund a 2 year, 7.5 million dollar deal. Pittsburgh apparently isn't the front runner for Naslund, though -- who could decide where he goes today. Minnesota seems to be leading that pack, supposedly having offered Naslund more than 4 million a year. Maybe the Penguins will come through and find a way to bring back the former-Penguin. He potted 25 last year and would still make an impact playing with #87 or #71.

The Penguins also were reported to have made a 1-year, 2.5 million dollar offer to Todd Bertuzzi, before backing out of those talks. Let's hope they stay out of them. Bertuzzi is a past-his-prime player who isn't going to contribute much. The same is true of Miroslav Satan. I don't know of the Penguins having interest in him, but he supposedly has interest in Pittsburgh. I hope the Penguins stay away from him, too.

Kristian Huselius, who signed last night in Columbus for 4+ million a season, was also another player the Penguins were supposedly targeting. Personally, I'm glad Huselius didn't become a Penguin. I don't like him as a player either. He has put up a decent amount of points the last 2 years in Calgary after several average years in Florida, but I still believe he's too inconsistent and doesn't go into the high-traffic areas to score.

The Penguins also have inquired into whether Jaromir Jagr is available and interested in returning to Pittsburgh. Some outlets even report that the Penguins offered him a contract, although Shero denied that yesterday. It's hard to get a read on whether things with Jagr may go anywhere. I do not believe he's a good fit in our locker room, but feel he can make an impact on the ice for another season or two. Depending on what's left in free agency, the Penguins may need to go there because they have been pillaged more than just about any other club (Hossa, Ruutu, Hall, Malone, Roberts & Laraque all are already gone or won't be back). That's six (half!) of the team's forwards that need to be replaced. Jeff Taffe will probably be asked to fill one of those spots next season. Beyond that, it depends on who Shero signs.

One guy I'm hoping the Penguins target among those that are left in the free agent crop is rugged LW Matt Cooke -- formerly of Washington and Vancouver. He had 10 goals and 13 assists last year and is an agitator. He would replace a lot of what Ruutu brought to the table.

The other guy I like is C Jason Williams -- formerly of the Blackhawks. Like Cooke, Williams has fallen under-the-radar a bit in free agency, probably because he missed the first half of last season with an injury. When he returned, however, he posted 36 points in 43 games for Chicago. He could be a productive pick up at a good price.

Rumors continue to persist that defenseman Ryan Whitney might be moved to fill one of those spots up front, too. A lot of teams have asked about Whitney the last 3 weeks. Although nothing concrete seems imminent, it's an option for Shero. At Shero's press conference yesterday to announce the Orpik signing, he praised #44 for being able to mesh well with our skilled defensemen, mentioning Gonchar, Letang and Goligoski, but not Whitney. And moving Staal to the wing next season also is something that may happen. Shero said yesterday that Staal was "in line" to replace most of Malone's missing minutes on the power play and otherwise.

More after we get into day 3. Fleury's signing may also be announced soon ....

Hossa To Sign With Detroit

By the account of someone I consider to be more reliable than most in the biz, Dave Molinari of the PPG is reporting that the Penguins were informed this morning that Marion Hossa will not re-sign and instead will be going to the Detroit Red Wings. Here's a link to his short piece on the subject:

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08184/894245-100.stm

Reaction ... ANGRY reaction, to be specific .... to come once more details are released.

Start of Free Agency, Day 2: Hossa, Orpik Still Out There

Okay. I admit it. I failed to post an update after the Penguins made a 3rd signing yesterday.

My apologies to Eric Godard.

The Penguins signed the unrestricted free agent enforcer -- all 6' 4" of him -- to a 3 year deal averaging around 550K per season. The winger played in 74 games last year for the Calgary Flames scoring a whopping 2 points to go with his 170+ penalty minutes.

Clearly, in signing Godard, the Penguins said goodbye to Big George Laraque. BGL will be missed, both in the locker room and on the ice, where he was generally recognized as the fiercest fighter in the game. Godard is big and willing in that department, but obviously not as accomplished.

The reality is Laraque was a salary cap victim. He'll probably get 1.5 million or so on the market from another team -- about 1 million more per season than the Penguins are now paying Godard. The most important thing, I think, is that the team have at least SOME deterrent out there. In Godard they do.

Now what about this Hossa guy??

The league dynamic changes with Hossa on the hour, it seems. As of last night when the Bruins announced the signing of free agent and former Canadien Michael Ryder to a deal paying him 4 million a season for 3 years, it seemed the Bruins were out of the chase for Hossa. This morning, the Boston Globe is reporting that the Bruins are close to a deal which would send Glen Murray and P.J. Axelsson to Ottawa, sheding about 6 million more in salary (depening on the return), so maybe they're in the mix again despite what their GM says (no).

Meanwhile, much of the focus surrounding Hossa has been on the Edmonton Oilers who, by all accounts, have put an offer of approximately 9 million a season on the table for him, as rumored before free agency. In fact, Hossa's agent, Rich Winter was apparently in Edmonton last night meeting with new Oilers owner Lewis Katz and Edmonton GM Kevin Lowe to discuss the potential deal. Word is that Winter wants Hossa to take that deal.

Montreal also reportedly has an offer for Hossa around 7.8 million a season, while Detroit also has put one out there, albeit for a measley 6.7 million per, which seems to be too low for Marion's liking. I think Montreal remains in the mix, although they reportedly are still chasing Mats Sundin too. Because I don't expect Sundin to decide soon, I think Hossa will be considering Montreal's proposal in making his decision.

Vancouver also reportedly has been in the hunt, but they have a standing 10 million a season offer for Sundin, so I think Hossa is a secondary option for them. Realistically, Pittsburgh, Edmonton and Montreal seem to be the leading contenders for #18 at this point.

I've also heard the Penguins have a 1 year, 2.5 million dollar offer on the table for past-your-prime winger Todd Bertuzzi. I really hope Bertuzzi looks elsewhere. I just don't think he brings much to the table anymore.

And I feel the same way about former Flyers and current free agent defenseman Jason Smith, who the Penguins seem to have contacted. Smith was a warrior in his heyday, but lacks the footspeed to be as effective as he used to be. Of course, many people say the same thing about Todd Gill, and he found a way to make an impact with the Penguins. Still, I don't think we need Smith and think he's maybe just a depth option if Pittsburgh isn't able to re-sign defenseman Brooks Orpik.

Speaking of Orpik, there hasn't been much talk about him. At last report, the Penguins were about 750K per season off the highest offers he seemed to be getting (around 4.25 million per). Indications are that Orpik still would like to come back, but is still considering what's been offered him.

If word of Malkin's likely contract extension mirroring Sidney Crosby's wasn't good enough, at least there was no word that the Penguins were bringing back Josef Melichar.

That alone made the day a good one. Now only if they can sign this Hossa guy ....

I'll try to post as soon as I hear news.

Free Agency Fast And Furious: Penguins Re-Sign Dupuis, Eaton; Chasing Rolston and ..... Jagr?

I have a feeling things are just getting started with free agency. In trying to keep up with all the signings, trades and rumors, it's actually been difficult to post.

First, what the Penguins have done.

They have re-signed winger Pascal Dupuis for 3 years at 1.4 million per season. I must admit, I was surprised to hear about this since I didn't hear a peep about what the Penguins might be doing with Dupuis. He's a useful role player who can contribute when called upon, but I still think he's better suited on a 3rd line than on a scoring line.

The Penguins also have re-signed defenseman Mark Eaton to a 2 year contract for 1 million per year. I think this is an excellent signing by Shero. Eaton can be very effective when healthy. He just needs to stay healthy. Having him in the fold is a good insurance policy since it looks like the Penguins may lose Brooks Orpik

Now, what the Penguins are doing. I'll start with Orpik.

I've heard Pittsburgh has offered him a 5 year, 18.5 million dollar deal, which averages over 3.5 million a season. Orpik, meanwhile, is said to be getting offers from teams like the Rangers and Buffalo which average around 4.25 a year.

How much is it worth to him?

I've heard that Edmonton, Vancouver and Chicago have made offers to Hossa. Numbers haven't been disclosed in the case of the first two teams, but the Blackhawks' bid is said to be 50 million for 6 years, which is just over 8 per. The talk earlier was the the Oilers were prepared to offer 9 million a year. They even cleared some cap room by trading defenseman Joni Pitkanen to Columbus earlier. Meanwhile, Boston was said to be prepared to offer a 12 year, 120 million dollar deal to land #18. I have no confirmation of that.

Outside of the organ-i-zation, I've heard that the Penguins have offered 2 year contracts to 3 wingers --- Marcus Naslund, Brian Rolston and --- are you ready --- Jaromir Jagr. That's right. Jagr. That offer is said to be an incentive-laden 5 million base offer for 1 season (that could rise to 7.5 million) The Rolston offer is said to be 9 million for 2, which isn't quite what Tampa Bay reportedly offered him (over 5 million a season).

The news about Jagr has to be one of the most interesting stories circulating. I just can't see him returning to Pittsburgh, especially given his comments recently that he wants to be (and plays his best when he is) "the man" on a team. Obviously, he wouldn't be that with the Penguins.

Signing any of these 3 players would almost surely rule out Hossa's return to Pittsburgh. Give Penguins GM Ray Shero credit, though. If any of this is true, he's certainly not sitting idly by watching the paint dry. He's being aggressive, and that's what you want.

I'll post more as I hear it .......

With Nearly 3 Hours To Go ....

At this point, within hours of free agency, it seems that the Penguins are still trying to get Marion Hossa to sign before noon. If they don't, the Penguins will still be in the mix, but their likelihood of inking him will go down signficiantly because they'll be competing with a handful of teams who I believe will be in a meaingful position to sign him --- Montreal, Vancouver, New Jersey and Chicago, primarily. Boston reportedly is very interested, but their cap sits at around 50 million so they'll have a hard time signing him. I've even heard rumblings about Detroit and even Edmonton interested.

If Hossa doesn't stay, I expect the Penguins to sign at least one free agent winger. If I have my say, it's Radim Vrbata, a two-way guy with upside who scored 27 playing with someone in Phoenix who wasn't Crosby or Malkin. If not him, I'd love to see Brian Rolston in a Penguin uniform, although the jury is still out on whether he's going to accept Tampa's offer before noon today.

One other bizarre (and hopefully untrue) story that’s been circulating for a few weeks now (and which has been heating up more recently) is that the Penguins have signed former Penguin defenseman Joe Melichar to come back from Europe, and that it will be announced today. If there's one move I couldn’t figure out, that would be it. He’d be no better than the #8 defenseman in the organization – and that’s being generous.

I’ll just about lose it if Shero brings him back. Shero wasn’t even here when Melichar played with us and looked bad doing it. If Hossa goes elsewhere, we don't sign a replacement, and sign Melichar, I’ll come out and declare free agency a complete disaster.

Short of that, I'll update and post as soon as I hear relevant news.