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The Penguins In Review: The 2012-13 Regular Season

April 30, 2013 1 Comment

It’s tough to believe that the regular season is over already. The most ridiculous lockout since the last hockey lockout robbed us of 34 Penguins games this year and although that already seems like quite a bit of missed hockey, it’s even more devastating when you break it down to the number of absent regulation periods (102) and missing minutes (2,040). And not to put salt in the wound, but if Sidney Crosby hadn’t missed any games during the season and averaged his regular 21:06 of ice time per game, that means we also missed out on nearly 12 hours of watching the greatest player in the world do his thing.

But let’s focus on what we did get to watch.

TEAM IN REVIEW

To put it simply, the Pittsburgh Penguins were quite an amazing team to watch. They went 36-12-0 and acquired 72 points in route to capturing their first Atlantic Division title since 2008 and their first regular season conference crown in two decades, when they were captained by Mario Lemieux, backstopped by Tom Barrasso, and competed in the Prince of Wales Conference with the likes of the Quebec Nordiques and the Hartford Whalers.

Like that team from 1993, these Penguins looked unstoppable in the regular season and are considered amongst the favorites to win the Stanley Cup. The 1992-93 Pens finished with 56 wins and 119 points. This year’s team was on pace for 61 wins and 122 points. That would have made them the winningest team in franchise history and given them the second most wins in NHL history, behind only the 1996 Detroit Red Wings who finished with 62.

They never lost more than two games in a row and they became the first team in NHL history to win every game in the month of March (and at the same time becoming the first franchise to record a 10-game win streak in each of three consecutive seasons). That was during a streak in which the Pens won 15 in a row, tying the 1981-82 New York Islanders for the second longest win-streak in NHL history.

Although this Pittsburgh team was relatively sound in most facets of the game, it was their offense that drove their success. Despite the shortened season, they still put a heck of a lot of pucks into the nets. They were first in the NHL in goals, with 162, which put them on pace to score 276 in 82 games. Much of their success came on the power play, which netted 42 goals and clicked at 24.7 percent, good enough for second best in the league.

Defensively, the Pens weren’t firing on all cylinders for the duration of the season but they eventually found their way. Once they worked out some early season troubles leading to too much up and down hockey (that were exemplified by a disheartening 6-5 loss to the Flyers on February 20th and a 7-6 overtime win in Montreal on March 2), they really found the winning combination of scoring and defense. Through the first half of games, the Penguins gave up four or more goals eight times. Through the second half, they chiseled that number down to five games. It still wasn’t elite defense, but it got the job done by helping to win 20 of their last 24 games.

Over the course of the season, Pittsburgh averaged 2.48 goals against per game (12^th in the NHL) and their goalie tandem of Marc-Andre Fleury (23-8 in 31 starts) and Tomas Vokoun (13-4 in 17 starts) combined for a .917 save percentage and 2.42 goals against. They might not be Vezina-type numbers, but they were good enough to help rack up the second-best record in the NHL and the best one-goal game win percentage in the league.

But as good as Pittsburgh was in most areas of the game, they were pretty awful when it came to the penalty kill. They finished 25^th in the league with a PK percentage of 79.6. Comparatively, the best PK team in the league, the Ottawa Senators, killed penalties at 88 percent. What’s most disconcerting about the Penguins penalty killing woes is that they’re one the worst teams in the league at it on the road. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, the ability to excel on the road is critical for deep Cup runs. The Pens killed only 75.5 percent of penalties on the road and allowed 24 power play goals. The only team that allowed more was the Colorado Avalanche, a.k.a. the worst team in the Western Conference.

PLAYERS IN REVIEW

Now it’s time to fire through the whole Penguins roster of 2012-13 and conduct a quick review of their bodies of work.

Craig Adams- Adams was one of the six iron men on the team this season, playing in all 48 games. That’s somewhat surprising considering his playing style. He was third on the team in hits (107) and eighth on the team in blocked shots (37). He may not have much offensive savvy (three goals and six assists), but he’s a valuable penalty killer and a fearless defender. He’ll be one of the first guys penciled into coach Dan Bylsma’s everyday playoff lineup once the team becomes completely healthy because he’s such a solid shorthanded asset.

Marc-Andre Fleury

As I mentioned before, MAF won’t win the Vezina this year, but if he ends the season hoisting the Stanley Cup, nothing else matters. He didn’t have elite statistics this season. He was 19th in save percentage (.916) and 17th in goals against average (2.39). But he did finish tied for second in wins (23) and the only reason that number wasn’t higher is because the Penguins actually had a backup they could trust to give Fleury some rest. In the end, the Flower was consistent and always gave the team a chance to win. He has a Stanley Cup pedigree and no one wants to avenge last season’s early playoff exit more than he does. I expect the same form from the Cup year to return this week and so does Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter Rob Rossi.

Beau Bennett– The rookie winger from California might have entered the NHL as a skinny greenhorn, but he’s left a tremendous impression on anyone that’s seen his work this season. We could see him grow up before our eyes, learning to see the ice better and better each game. He developed great chemistry with his line mates whether he was playing on the second line or the fourth. He has a slick touch to his puck handling and he’s certainly not afraid to run guys into the boards and grind the puck out from behind the net. I really hope Bylsma finds a spot on his playoff roster for this youngster because he will make the most out of any ice time he receives.

Robert Bortuzzo– Borts, as he’s affectionately referred to by teammates, may have trouble cracking the playoff roster. But that’s not an indictment of his play during the season. He scored his first two NHL goals, but any offensive production he brings is frankly a bonus. Where this big-bodied D-man plays his best is in his own zone, tying up bodies around the net. In 15 games, he blocked 14 shots and registered 18 hits. He’s also developing a reputation as a tough guy, dropping the gloves three times. Bortuzzo is yet another example of the quality defensive depth the Penguins organization still has, even after trading away some quality defensive prospects this season.

Matt Cooke– This will be remembered by most as the season that Matt Cooke sliced Erik Karlsson’s Achilles tendon, drawing ridiculous accusations from the Ottawa Senators brass, boorish comments from ex-goon analysts and insulting comparisons from loose-lipped announcers. But in actuality, the dirty Matt Cooke is long gone. The new Matt Cooke has struck a balance of grit and skill and when he’s playing on the edge (without going over it) Cooke is a dynamic penalty killer and a scoring threat to boot. His offensive production was down slightly this season, but it was wrong to expect the same level of production this season as he had last year, when he spent time on lines with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. He did, however, have his worst plus/minus (-2) as a Penguin this year so hopefully the postseason will change his fortune in that regard.

Sidney Crosby

I think I’ve spent more time writing about injuries to Sidney Crosby than anything else on this blog. And I can’t tell you what it is (Bad luck? Unintended voodoo?), but I’ve been in attendance for the two most serious afflictions he’s suffered. I was at the Winter Classic in Pittsburgh when David Steckel concussed him and I was at the Consol Energy Center when Brooks Orpik’s errant shot broke his jaw and gave him a hockey smile. But had that puck missed him, he would be collecting an Art Ross Trophy at the end of the season in addition to a possible Hart Trophy. But there’s no use hashing out hypotheticals. What we know for sure is that Crosby is still the best player in the world and once he returns to action, we all expect him to resume his torrid scoring pace.

Simon Despres– Despres has progressed well in his young career and this season he certainly showed us glimpses of his true value as a skilled defensive player. There are still some rough patches to iron out, including some panicky play where he’ll sling the puck into dangerous areas, but it’s all on pace and in due time. Bylsma needs to learn to trust Despres to play against more “physical” teams because it looks like that shouldn’t be an issue for him. He may not see time in the playoffs, but if Brooks Orpik remains out with a lower body injury, Despres’ puck moving ability and skill could be an asset against the young and speedy Islanders. It’s not likely that he’ll get the nod ahead of Deryk Engelland, though.

Pascal Dupuis

NHL players usually hit their primes around their mid-20s. By 30 they’re typically on the downswing of their careers and by their mid-30s, it’s not uncommon for them to trade in their hockey sticks for golf clubs. But not Pascal Dupuis. At the age of 34, this Canadian winger has been downright prolific this season, leading the NHL with a plus-31 and tying for third with 17 even strength goals. He finished third amongst Penguins with 31 points and led the club with 140 shots. He became a quality point man on the power play and continued to be one of the best penalty killers in Pittsburgh. He can switch between playing wing and center and in his younger days he even played some defense. This man can do everything and he’s hilarious, too. What’s not to like?

Mark Eaton– Mark Eaton doesn’t have point this season. He has only eight shots on goal and his shot blocks and hit totals don’t rank anywhere prominently in the NHL. Mark Eaton doesn’t get noticed and that’s been the best part about his play. He quietly executes on the blue line every night and he doesn’t make mistakes. He’s brought a calming veteran presence to this Penguins club and the proof is in its record since he arrived. In the 23 games he’s played with the Pens this year, they’ve lost three times. Call it a coincidence if you like, but he may be the most overlooked defensive piece that the Penguins have had all year.

Deryk Engelland– Engelland had a decent season overall, but it was nothing to email home about. He certainly has progressed since the days in which his sole purpose in hockey was to cave in the face of the other team’s tough guy, but he isn’t at the level of a top-six defenseman (and I doubt he’ll ever reach that level). His physical style is welcomed in front of the Penguins net, but he can get out of position at times and he isn’t a great skater. His usefulness can plummet in the playoffs, where fights are few and far between, but as long as Bylsma doubts Simon Despres’ physicality, Engl will be the sixth defenseman until Orpik is ready.

Tanner Glass– A glance a Glass’ numbers will make it seem like he didn’t have a very good season and they’d pretty much be correct. Don’t get me wrong. He’s one of the hardest working Pens and he’s eats up time on the penalty kill, but here’s what I’m hoping is just a bad coincidence: the Penguins penalty kill is awful and its key components are largely unchanged from the past few seasons when they were among the best in the league. Glass is one of the few different components. Do I think he single-highhandedly destroyed their PK somehow? Absolutely not. Do I think he’s helping it? Not necessarily. It’s great that he adds grit and sticks up for his teammates, every team needs guys like that. But I’m just not sold on his value after this short season. Hopefully, he can flip a switch like the Arron Ashams of the world and turn into an asset in the postseason. If he doesn’t show something right off the bat, he shouldn’t dress.

Jarome Iginla

Iginla’s trade was obviously the blockbuster deal of the NHL this season. After spending his entire career in Calgary, he decided he wanted to win some hockey games and dropped his no trade clause to play with his old Olympic buddy Sidney Crosby. I attended his first game as a Penguin and the crowd was about as receptive as it possibly could have been. And now after only 13 games of service to the city of Pittsburgh, I know why Calgary was so upset to see him go. How has a howitzer of a slap shot, a pearly white smile that he displays frequently and he’s already developed serious chemistry with the rest of the team. He sold his house in Calgary so it seems like he won’t be returning there at season’s end, so the question remains: Can/will the Pens sign him to an extension for 2013-14 and beyond? Because at the right price, I wouldn’t mind seeing him do this in a Penguins uniform for a few more years.

Dustin Jeffrey– I can only imagine the frustration of Dustin Jeffrey. He’s a young, decent hockey player on one of the best teams in the NHL but there is no room at the inn. He’s been with the organization since 2007-08 and has bounced back and forth between the AHL and NHL so much that he probably forgets what jersey to put on when he arrives at the rink. But lately, he can assume that a suit and tie is the appropriate uni. He played quite a bit in March but was a scratch for all but three games in April. And unless things go terribly awry in the injury department, it’s likely that DJ has played in his last game of the season. Six points and a plus-1 in 24 games should hardly be convincing otherwise.

Jussi Jokinen- You might not have believed me if I told you that Jokinen would be the most efficient addition to the 2013 Penguins roster when Ray Shero brought him on board on deadline day, but that’s exactly what he’s been. When he shoots, it goes in. It’s that simple. The Juice has 13 shots on goal in 10 games and he’s scored on seven of them (and added four assists). That’s the best shooting percentage on the team. He’s also been the second-best Penguin in the face-off circle (57.9 percent). It should scare other teams that he might be relegated to the fourth line once the Penguins become healthy, because he has top-six talent.

Tyler Kennedy– TK had arguably his worst season as a Penguin. He finished with six goals, five assists and was a minus-6. He did manage to put 100 shots on goal, but that’s hardly an exception for him. He’s always had a shoot first (shoot always) mentality and while he has seemed to elevate his game in past seasons when players went down because of injury, that really wasn’t the case this year. He got opportunities to center the first line when Sidney Crosby went down, but he struggled to inject any flow to his game and he was quickly relegated back to the third and fourth lines. For whatever reason, Bylsma loves Kennedy. I would pick him to be a healthy scratch once the Pens are healthy again, but knowing Disco, TK will be out there blasting off-target shots as soon as the postseason begins.

Chris Kunitz

I present for your consideration, the 2012-13 statistics of one Christopher Kunitz: 22 goals, 30 assists, 52 points, plus-30, nine power play goals, five game-winning goals, 19.5 shooting percentage, 113 shots, all 48 games played. He was easily the best Penguin not named Sidney this year. For awhile, he was in the running for the Rocket Richard and Art Ross trophies. The only question remaining about Kunitz is where he’ll play once the Penguins are healthy. Crosby said that he feels more comfortable with Kunitz and Dupuis on his wings, but it shouldn’t matter where they are plugged in. Whether its on the first line with Crosby and Dupuis or on the second with Malkin and Neal, his presence can make it the best line in the NHL. Pretty good for a 33-year-old undrafted free agent.

Kris Letang– He’s the best defenseman in hockey and he should be recognized as such by being awarded the Norris Trophy. Letang tied another Norris front-runner, P.K. Subban, with 38 points and did him four better when it came to plus/minus. Letang’s odds were narrowed because he played in seven fewer games than Subban and scored six fewer goals, but he ate up two more minutes per game than Subban and was in the penalty box far less as well. Unfortunately, I don’t have a vote for the NHL awards but he deserves the hardware because he plays the game better than any other blue-liner in the league.

Steve MacIntyre– What can I say about Mac? He played in one game with the big club this year and basically served as a bodyguard for Matt Cooke. He’s a big bruiser that doesn’t do much and his type will eventually be phased out of the game someday. But for now, it’s hard not to love the big lug because of one time he defended his teammates by beating up the entire other team. I’ll just say I’m glad he’s on our side.

Evgeni Malkin

Last season, Evgeni Malkin finished the regular season with 50 goals and 109 points to lock up the NHL scoring title. He was also won the Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding Player) and was voted the league MVP. This season, Geno had nine goals and 24 assist, which put him on pace for 15 goals and 41 assists in an 82-game campaign. Those numbers would represent the second-worst statistical year of his career, with the worst coming in a season in which he played only 43 games. He did have injury problems this year as well, but Malkin might as well have fallen off the face of the earth. Thankfully, there’s still the postseason to redeem himself. He’s played some of his best hockey in the Stanley Cup playoffs, most notably in 2009 when he when the Conn Smythe trophy as the postseason MVP. His odds for winning a second Conn Smythe are 20/1 this year.

Paul Martin– At the end of last season, Paul Martin was public enemy No. 1 in Pittsburgh. He had a putrid year and because of his $5 million per year salary, it didn’t seem likely that any other team would take him off our hands. We became stuck with Paul Martin. Now, thank god we’re stuck with Paul Martin. He was easily the team’s comeback player of the year. Just consider the numbers. This season he has four more goals in 39 fewer games. He has nearly as many assists this year (17) as he did last year (25). His plus/minus is five points better. When it comes to the intangibles, it’s also been night and day. Last year, he struggled in the offensive zone, especially when he was on the point during the power play. This season, he’s calm and collected in the offensive zone. There is no panic and he has seemingly always made the right pass or shot at the perfect time. And with 52 games played in the Stanley Cup playoffs, his experience is welcomed with open arms at this time of year. A $5 million Paul Martin? Hell, that’s a bargain.

Brenden Morrow– Brendan Morrow has been a Penguin for only 15 games and already he’s a cult hero in Pittsburgh. The blue collar fans love his style of play. They love that he parks in front of the net and raises hell on ice for defensemen and goaltenders. They love that he’s averaged nearly a point per game since he’s arrived. But I think Pens fans really love him because he seems to play with such passion and emotion, even after 850 career NHL games. And what’s the most telling fact? When he scores, he beams. It’s like every time the puck zings off his stick into the net, it’s the first time he’s ever scored, and this is a man who has 249 career goals. Fans enjoy when it’s clear that players are having fun representing their city. And it doesn’t hurt that Morrow put the beat down on local villain Subban and yelled from the penalty box “You have five minutes to think about what I’m going to do to you when we get out there.”

Douglas Murray

In his former lives, Douglas Murray was a bouncer, a boulder, a bull dog and a beef cow. In this life, he’s a slow-skating mountain troll who doesn’t feel pain and clears the ice of human debris. After Morrow, Murray might be the next favorite addition to the Penguins because of his strength, size and because he might be a slightly cleaner reincarnation of Ulf Samuelsson. Between his time in San Jose and Pittsburgh this season, Murray has 89 hits and 98 blocked shots, which both rank second amongst Pen’s D-men. He has the second worst plus/minus on the team, but other than that he certainly has made a positive influence in the Burgh.

James Neal– The Real Deal James Neal hammered home 21 goals this season, nine of them coming on the power play. He still has one of the most wicked shots in hockey, a release so quick that the opposition can’t get in front of it quick enough (skaters and goalies all included). I wondered how Neal would look upon returning from a concussion, but my fears were alleviated by a four-point regular season finale complete with a hat trick off of eight shots. Neal is yet another power play specialist within the Penguins roster that will do some major damage in the postseason, especially off of a face off play that is so quick, the announcers can’t call the goal until the puck is in the net for five seconds.

Matt Niskanen– Niksanen is another one of those Penguins players that rarely gets talked about because there’s never a need to do so. He’s been one of the most quietly consistent Penguins since he joined the team and this year was no different. He didn’t exactly wear out the net twine but he was able to put together a respectable season with 14 points, two game-winning goals and was a plus-4. This was a carry over from last year’s playoffs, in which the former Dallas Star lead the Penguins in almost all major statistical categories in terms of shots against, goals against and Corsi.Pair his play on the ice with his recently received “Good Guy” Award and you have a quality person and D-man in Matt Niskanen.

Brooks Orpik

Orpik is the second-biggest question mark remaining on the Penguins roster heading into the postseason (with the first obviously being Crosby). He suffered a lower-body injury last week against the Buffalo Sabres that kept him out of the final two regular-season games. He did skate by himself this week but is listed as day to day. Orpik is an important cog in a Penguins defense that struggled in the beginning of the year, only to turn it around in mid-season. His potential absence could leave a glaring hole in front of the net. He was clearly the best defensive defenseman for the Penguins, leading the team in hits (119), blocked shots (114) and games played (46). I’ll feel a lot better about the back end once Orpik and his demonic bulging eyes are back on the ice.

Dylan Reese– Reese played in three NHL contests this season and registered one shot on goal. He’s currently playing for the Baby Pens in the first round of the AHL playoffs. He grew up in Pittsburgh, so that’s nice. Moving on…

Trevor Smith– If it doesn’t ring a bell, don’t worry, it shouldn’t. Mr. Smith played in one game this year. I was at that game in March and didn’t know he had played in it. He registered zero stats during 10:24 of ice time.

Brandon Sutter– Now that the season is over, we can finally compare the stats of Sutter and Jordan Staal and see which team won the trade! Although this doesn’t necessarily work in a black and white comparison, it’s still fun to see. Sutter finished with one more goal than Staal, but the ex-Penguin racked up 13 more assists. The glaring difference was their plus/minus numbers. Sutter finished with a plus-3 (the second-best of his career) while Staal finished a minus-18, easily the worst of his career. Sutsy finished with five game-winning goals. Staal had one. There wasn’t a huge difference between the two, but given where the Pens are right now, I’d say that Shero has no regrets. And given Sutter’s family pedigree and style of play, I cannot wait to see what kind of force he can be in the playoffs.

Joe Vitale– I always admired Joe Vitale’s game. He hustles like he’s Bryce Harper on ice, he drills guys into the boards and while he doesn’t often fill the net, he scored one of the prettiest elevation goals of this shortened NHL season. He has a skill set that would be utilized a lot more were he not on a superstar-loaded team. He still managed to get on the ice 33 times this year, however that was the best number on his stat sheet. He was a minus-7 with two goals and three assists. I would have liked to see him get some more time this year simply because he’s fun to watch, but a healthy roster will probably relegate him to the press box for the remainder of the season. He has one year left on his contract after this season and then becomes a restricted free agent. Given his overall lack of production and the fact he’ll be 28 years old, that might be the last season we see him in a Penguins sweater.

Tomas Vokoun

Much can be said about all of Ray Shero’s 2012-13 acquisitions, but the best of them all was Tomas Vokoun. Fleury was overworked when he entered last year’s playoffs because of the Penguins’ hesitance to start Brent Johnson more than a handful of times during the regular season. With the installation of Vokoun, the Pens were able to rest Fleury without worrying about their backup getting lit up. Vokoun’s veteran presence has seemed to push the Flower to become more focused and better rested. And heading into the postseason, Fleury is by far the most important person to be in peak condition both mentally and physically.

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with Beau Bennett, Brandon Sutter, Brenden Morrow, Brooks Orpik, Chris Kunitz, Craig Adams, Deryk Engelland, Douglas Murray, Dustin Jeffrey, Dylan Reese, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Jarome Iginla, Joe Vitale, Jussi Jokinen, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Mario Lemieux, Mark Eaton, Matt Cooke, Matt Niskanen, NHL, Pascal Dupuis, Paul Martin, penguins, Pittsburgh Penguins, Robert Bortuzzo, Sidney Crosby, Simon Despres, Sports, Steve MacIntyre, Tanner Glass, Tomas Vokoun, Trevor Smith, Tyler Kennedy

Pittsburgh and the Mystical Winger: A Penguins Tale of Lore

April 2, 2013 3 Comments

Do you like bad fan fiction? Do you like hockey?

If you answered “yes” to both of those questions, this post is for you!

There is a fairy tale that has been told in Pittsburgh for some time now.

It is a chronicle about one man in search of eternal glory – not only for himself, but for his people and his small, but loyal army. His name was Ray Shero and he dreamt of drinking from a hallowed cup, the most precious of trophies and the most coveted of possessions among his peers. And he wanted to drink from this great Cup more than once, for he was a great wizard, deserving of great riches and heavenly wealth.

But to achieve this, some thought, Shero would have to find a man first. Prophecy foretold that this man would one day arrive in Pittsburgh, through no easy means, and find great comfort and success on the wing of Sidney Crosby, the vaunted White Knight.

But to speak of Shero’s vaunted White Winger, one must first understand Crosby.

Crosby was no commoner, himself. He had already fulfilled a prophecy, one which named him “The Next One.” At the age of 18 and in his first NHL season, he had already salvaged a dying Penguins franchise and a wilting National Hockey League. He did this with the help of a great 66, called “Le Magnifique” by some and Mario Lemieux by all.

But even though Lemieux and Crosby brought the NHL back into the public’s favor after a devastating lockout in 2004-2005 and saved the Penguins franchise from bankruptcy and relocation, there was still work to be done.

For you see, the Penguins still existed, but only barely. Even with Crosby finishing sixth in league scoring with 102 points (39 goals, 63 assists) and a runner-up bid for rookie of the year, the Penguins still finished second from last in the NHL with 58 points. Even Lemieux couldn’t help his ill-gotten team, for he had grown old by then and could no longer carry the remaining weight of the franchise on his shoulders.

The team’s mediocrity didn’t last, though. The very next season, they finished second in the Atlantic Division with an astounding 105 points. Crosby had grown into the vision the hockey gods had projected. He led the NHL with 120 points (36 goals, 84 assists) and won the Hart Trophy, becoming the youngest player and only teenager to win a scoring title. Crosby was also named the league MVP and received the Lester B. Pearson Award as the most outstanding player, becoming the seventh player in NHL history to earn all three awards in one year.

In 2008, Shero found himself pulling strings at the trade deadline. His army wasn’t quite legendary, but it was something to behold. It was the best in the East. Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fleury were all as formidable as anyone in the league and no one doubted the team’s greatness. But it seemed that they lacked a key piece to make them the best in all of hockey.

And that piece existed.

He was skating and shooting and scoring in the land of Atlanta, a land long forgotten by the hockey gods. It, perhaps, was shunned because of one evil winger that played there. Unfortunately, for Shero, he was the thought to be that piece. He was Marian Hossa, who later became known as the Dark Winger.

“We must have him,” Shero thought. And so he worked his great magic and the Penguins sent Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, Angelo Esposito, and a first-round pick in the 2008 Entry Draft to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for the heralded Hossa, as well as Pascal Dupuis.

Hossa helped carry the mighty Guins to the finals that season. But victorious the team was not. For unbeknownst to the Penguins and Shero, Hossa was a wolf in sheep’s clothing. He was a shape shifting evil doer, hell-bent on personal success with no connection to the mortal world.

He was not a team player.

So the Penguins lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. Driven by only his greed for personal success, Hossa departed from the Land of Steel for the Hell of the Midwest – Detroit, in search of glory of the evil variety.

Without Hossa the following season, the Penguins repeated as Eastern Conference champions. They crossed into the darkness of Detroit once more, this time besting the Redwings in seven games to capture the Cup in a valiant effort that will live in lore forever.

They drank from Lord Stanley’s fabled Cup, but some say it was against the will of the hockey gods. You see, although Detroit may be an evil land, it had become the home of the hockey gods, thus earning the city the name “Hockey Town.” The gods had built their sanctuary in the midst of the downtrodden city around them and that sanctuary was known as “the Joe.” It was the Joe Louis Arena, the oldest arena in the NHL. And because the Penguins seized the Stanley Cup on Game 7 in the Joe, snatching it away from the sanctuary of the hockey gods, they were cursed, doomed to never reach the Finals again.

But legend had it that if the Penguins were to find the White Winger, one man pure and devoted to the game and its fans, a captain of his own domain so incorruptible that he could endure a terrible team for years and still remain up-beat; only then could the Penguins return to the Finals and hoist the Cup once more.

In the coming seasons, the Penguins were tremendous. But as remarkable as they were, the playoffs became their Achilles heel because of the hockey gods’ curse. Once 82 games of regular season had elapsed, the Penguins lapsed. And for the three years following the Cup victory, the Penguins were ousted in either the first or second round of the playoffs.

Great regular season success followed by despicable postseason defeat was a curse that Shero’s people had great trouble enduring.

At the start of the 2010-2011 season, the Penguins believed they could triumph despite the curse and the lack of the White Winger. The hockey gods feared they were right. So in the midst of Crosby’s greatest season ever, the gods sent a lightning bolt crashing from the heavens during the nationally televised Winter Classic. It struck Crosby in the form of a David Steckel hit to the head. It was a hit that sent shockwaves throughout Shero’s kingdom.

Some foretold he may never play again. He missed nearly two full seasons, but by power of magic and great strength, he became the man he once was.

From then on, the Penguins and its fans realized they indeed needed the White Winger to succeed. This had everyone going on “watch.”

First it was “Jagr watch.” That wasn’t to be. Jaromir Jagr, once a masterful winger for the Penguins in the days of the first and second Penguins Cups, succumbed to dark sorcery and chose evil over good. He signed with the Philadelphia Flyers in the summer of 2011.

The following summer, Crosby’s good friend Zach Parise became the next prospective winger for the Penguins. “Parise watch” was in full force and many Pittsburgh faithful believed the ex-Devil’s captain would bring his talent to the Penguins and vie for a Cup. But once again, the hockey gods vetoed the suspicions and cast him to the great north of Minnesota, where he collected a king’s ransom.

So the final White Winger watch brings us to modern times. Rumors were whispered across the hockey landscape that the Penguins were closer than ever to finding him. Truth be told, the Penguins signed a winger, a captain, who many thought would fulfill the prophecy. He was Brenden Morrow, a veteran captain of the Dallas Stars. He was a born leader and would be valued because of his insight into the game and his gritty style of play. He had long been a bastion of good will in a town where the hockey gods had not been kind to in quite some time. He was pure of heart and remained upbeat in an unsuccessful hockey town.

After quick consideration, the Penguins faithful decided he was close enough to the prophecy. He played the wing. He probably wouldn’t supplant the outstanding wingers Crosby already had (Dupuis and Chris Kunitz) but he would fill the second-line role that was needed badly.

The visions had changed scripture and it was no longer Sid’s winger, but the second line’s winger that would fulfill prophecy. Dreamers fell back down to earth and realists realized something great: This Penguins team was now built for a deep run in the playoffs.

After the addition of the mountain-of-a-man, troll defenseman Douglas Murray a day later, reality now became the prophecy. Shero had found his pieces. The missing rook and the absent bishop were now on the board and Pittsburgh was more than capable of a checkmate against any team in the league.

But there had been another winger in the land of hockey, one of great value. His name was Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla. He hailed from the west of Canada for many years and donned a “C” on his chest and a “C” over his heart. Some soothsayers claimed that he was that mystical winger who could fill the void in Pittsburgh. This, of course, was before it was filled by Morrow, so it could no longer be.

But the days following the Morrow signing, these same oracles still whispered about Iginla’s interest in Pittsburgh. Most folk responded to these whispers with “delusions of grandeur! For Shero is done. He has finished his work, so let us be merry now without conjecture and speculation from fools with unnamed sources.”

The doubters were right. On a dark Wednesday night, as the newly acquired Penguins traveled toward their new kingdoms, the oracles confirmed that Iginla had indeed agreed to become a Boston Bruin. Penguins fans were not pleased, but certainly not worried. Although the Bruins would be their toughest playoff adversary, Iginla’s addition would certainly not guarantee a Pittsburgh demise.

“So be it,” they said. “Let Iginla skate for Beantown. It shall make no difference.”

So Penguins fans laid their heads to their pillows and began to dream new dreams. These were dreams of a tougher Penguins team, one that could score and skate and deliver blows to the opposition. They would have been nightmares had they been dreamt by fans of any other team.

But while they all slept, the great Shero was wide-eye and sharp minded in his quarters. His phone in hand and wit ablaze, he conspired in the early morning hours, working magic not seen in Pittsburgh since 1991, when another great wizard GM by the name of Craig Patrick clouded the minds of the Hartford Whalers management and usurped Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelsson and Grant Jennings in exchange for Jeff Parker, Zarley Zalapski, and John Cullen.

Shero had landed Iginla.

With a flick of his wand, Shero sent a 2013 Penguins first round draft choice and prospect forwards Kenneth Agostino and Ben Hanowski to Calgary in exchange for a future hall of fame right winger. Presumably, Flames GM Jay Feaster had been rendered deaf and dumb with zero chance of cognitive ability. The forwards he acquired are both C-rated NCAA players and according to scribe Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, neither was listed in the top ten best prospects within the Penguins organization.

Which brings us to today.

Iginla is everything the hockey gods have spoken of and everything prophecy has written of the White Winger. Although he may not be Crosby’s winger, he is a veteran scorer and man of virtue and good faith. He has said he will assume any role that is asked of him and that is why many believe he is the man foretold to undo the gods’ curse.

But we must all remember the fickle whims of the hockey gods. Those whims change at the drop of a puck and we may never truly know what they desire to be. It does appear they are still angered by Shero and his mighty plan, however, for they have once again struck down the great Crosby, this time by casting a whirring puck from the stick of Brooks Orpik into Crosby’s face, breaking his jaw and casting his teeth into the land of wind and ghosts. We do not know when he will return to Shero’s army.

We also do not know if he or Morrow are the men who the prophecy spoke of. They each fit the description, but it seems of Iginla more so. Once the regular season closes, only then will we know if Iginla is the winger who will return to Cup to Pittsburgh.

So it was written, so it may be.

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with Angelo Esposito, Atlanta Thrashers, Ben Hanowski, Boston Bruins, Brenden Morrow, Brooks Orpik, Calgary Flames, christian ehrhoff, Colby Armstrong, Craig Patrick, David Steckel, Detroit Red Wings, Douglas Murray, Erik Christensen, Evgeni Malkin, Grant Jennings, Hartford Whalers, Jarome Iginla, Jaromir Jagr, Jay Feaster, Jeff Parker, Joe Louis Arena, John Cullen, Jordan Staal, Josh Yohe, Kenneth Agostino, Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Marian Hossa, Mario Lemieux, Pascal Dupuis, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ray Shero, Ron Francis, Sidney Crosby, Ulf Samuelsson, Zach Parise, Zarley Zalapski

What? Wow! Really? Jarome Iginla is headed for the Steel City

April 1, 2013 Leave a comment

This post was originally written on Friday, March 29.

It was early Thursday morning and I couldn’t believe what I was reading. As I scrolled down on my Twitter timeline, numerous Pittsburgh hockey reporters, as well as national reporters, were speaking of possible line combinations for Jarome Iginla and various Pittsburgh Penguins players.

“This doesn’t make sense,” I thought. “Are they saying what WOULD have happened?”

Before I took a long shower, TSN had reported that the Boston Bruins had agreed to terms with Iginla. In exchange for the veteran winger, Boston would send center Alex Khokhlachev, defenseman Matt Bartkowski and a first-round pick to the Calgary Flames.

I was hardly surprised about Boston acquiring the long time Flames captain.Since Iginla had to waive a no-trade clause, he had reportedly drawn up a short list of teams he would play for. It was believed that list was comprised of Pittsburgh, Boston, the Los Angeles Kings and the Chicago Blackhawks. And since Pittsburgh had already acquired a veteran winger in Brenden Morrow, they probably had taken themselves out of the hunt.

There was a flood of tweets, more than one hundred since I had been away from my computer. But as I scrolled farther down on my timeline, I started to see “breaking news.” My heart jumped up into my throat and my eyes became the size of pucks. That’s when I found the tweet that confirmed my excitement.

I wanted to call every Penguins fan I knew, but it was around 2 a.m. so I figured it wasn’t an option. So I texted every Pens fan I knew and gave them the best news they could wake up to.

But the truth is, I was completely happy with the Penguins before they landed Jarome Arthur-Leigh Adekunle Tig Junior Elvis Iginla. They were in the midst of a 12-game win streak and earlier than week, Penguins GM Ray Shero acquired Morrow and bruising defenseman Douglas Murray from the San Jose Sharks.

Morrow was a captain for the Dallas Stars for seven years. He had played 835 games in his career, all with Dallas, and he had scored 528 points (243 goals and 285 assists). The 34-year-old winger wasn’t a prolific scorer, but he brought experience (clearly), grit and a net-front presence. Morrow played a solid defensive game and he forechecked relentlessly.

Those attributes were the only thing missing in the Penguins offense. They would beat teams because they played an up-tempo game and usually scored a ton of goals. Grinding games out wasn’t quite their forte.

The other net-front presence they were lacking was that in the defensive zone. I can easily say that the worst area for the Penguins was in their goalie’s shadow. They were having trouble clearing guys away from the crease and greasy goals were on the ledger in almost all of their losses.

Murray was a pick-up to solve that deficiency. He looks like he’s skating in taffy but when Murray posts up in front of the net, there’s no offensive player in this league that can move him. He’s 245 pounds of angry muscle. If you’re loitering on his property, don’t expect to stay standing.

Pittsburgh lacked some grittiness, net-front presence and defensive zone muscle. They solved it with Morrow and Murray, and lost only peanuts in the process. They were as square as a postage stamp.

But just because something is seemingly perfect doesn’t mean you can’t improve upon it. That’s why Shero continued to pursue Iginla, even after he’d added some great pieces.

The 35-year-old Iginla might not be as fleet of foot as he once was, but there’s no denying what he’ll bring to the city of Pittsburgh. The man has amassed 1,095 points (525 goals and 570 assists) in 1,219 career games, all with Calgary. He’s a six-time all-star, has two “Rocket” Richard Trophies, one Art Ross Trophy, one Lester B. Pearson Award, one King Clancy Memorial Trophy and a Mark Messier Leadership Award.

Iginla has bagged all those points and all that hardware basically despite his team (with the only exception being 2003, the year Calgary lost in the Stanley Cup Finals). The Flames just haven’t put the talent around Iginla to contend much. He’s never played with a center even close to being as talented as Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin.

And you can’t underestimate the toughness he brings, either. He has only missed one game in the last six seasons, and that was on Wednesday when he was held out because of the trade. He has 831 career penalty minutes and he’s not afraid of the fisticuffs: Iggy has dropped the gloves 62 times in his career.

It’s not clear yet where the Penguins will insert Iginla in their line scheme. He’s a clear fit with Crosby on the first line because the two already know each other well and have solid chemistry; he set up Crosby for the Golden Goal in Vancouver during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

But coach Dan Bylsma told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette the Kunitz-Crosby-Dupuis line “is one of the best lines in hockey right now” and “I think we’re going to continue to see those three guys play together.”

He’s right. That line has three of the NHL’s top-13 scorers and the chemistry is mesmerizing to behold. If it’s not broke, don’t fix it.

The best option would probably be for Iginla to drop down to the second line to play on the right side of Malkin. James Neal usually plays on the right wing, but he wouldn’t have any difficulty switching to the left considering that is his natural position anyway. That would drop Morrow down to the third line to play with Brandon Sutter and Matt Cooke.

That set up would make the top three lines quite possibly the best in the game. It would contain two top lines of pure scoring with deep talent and the greasiest, grittiest and most defensively-sound third line in hockey.

What a matchup nightmare.

Yahoo Sports hockey blogger Greg Wyshynski probably put it best: “The Pittsburgh Penguins are an all-star team. They’re something you’d create in a video game. They’re all the hockey cards you don’t throw away.”

The Penguins might not have needed Jerome Iginla, but they got him, and if they don’t win the Stanley Cup this year, they might go down as the biggest disappointment in NHL history.

No pressure.

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with Boston Bruins, Brendan Morrow, Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, Douglas Murray, Evgeni Malkin, Jarome Iginla, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ray Shero, San Jose Sharks, Sidney Crosby

Should the NHL mandate visors?

March 21, 2013 1 Comment

Yes. Here’s two simple equations to illustrate the point:

Vision = good.

Blindness = bad.

Ever since New York Rangers defenseman Marc Staal took a puck to the eye on March 5, the hockey world has been buzzing about whether or not the NHL should grandfather in a mandatory visor rule.

Staal will make a full recovery, but after watching the video, it’s no surprise plenty of players don’t have an issue with that mandate.

Since 2006, the AHL has demanded that all its players wear visors. The majority of draft picks that reach the NHL do so via a call up from the AHL, so anyone who has played in the AHL from 2006 on is used to wearing the devices – that’s a large portion of NHL players. And according to the NHLPA, 73 percent of NHL players already wear the protective plastic that partially or fully cover their faces.

That percentage reflects the fact that NHL players are wising up. The game is getting faster and more dangerous as players continue to evolve into even greater athletic marvels than their predecessors. The puck is traveling faster and sticks are getting lighter. Odds are greater that a deflected puck or an errant stick will inflict major damage to an unfortunate skater in their paths. Just ask Bryan Berard, Manny Malhotra and Chris Pronger.

But there are still a number of players who oppose a mandatory visor rule, despite an overwhelming amount of evidence that supports the change.

Many of these players are grinders, fighters and checkers. They are men employed to beat guys up, protect super-stars and take up space to block shots and prevent offense. They value toughness and the respect they garner from other players around the league.

These players cite a variety of reasons why they don’t want visors. Here are their excuses and my responses:

1. “Visors obstruct my vision and ability to play the puck.” You aren’t in the league for your ability to play the puck. You take the body. You knock guys down. You block shots. And even if you are a skill player and think a visor obstructs your vision too much to effectively play the puck, ask the elite skill players in the league like Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Pavel Datsyuk and the other 73 percent of players how much negative impact a visor has on their vision. If they can get used to some fogginess and water droplets in front of their eyes, so can you.

2. “If I wear one, my peers will think less of me.” This isn’t high school and being a tough guy isn’t everything, even in the NHL. Do you want your kids to have a cyclops father? How would your mother feel watching you scream in agony on live TV because of an accident that could have been avoided? There are much worse things in life (like, I dunno, blindness) than guys like George Parros or Colton Orr thinking you’re a sissy. Blaze a path and be a leader that other tough guys can follow. If you make your living by protecting other players on the ice, rallying for mandatory visors would make you a greater protector than any fist you’ve thrown or any check you’ve delivered.

3. “If I instigate a fight while wearing a visor, I’ll get an extra two-minute penalty. Plus it’s hard to challenge anyone with a visor on.” This is actually a legitimate point. According to Rule 46.6:

If a player penalized as an instigator of an altercation is wearing a face shield (including a goalkeeper), he shall be assessed an additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. Should the player (including a goalkeeper) who instigates the fight be wearing a face shield, but removes it before instigating the altercation, the additional unsportsmanlike conduct penalty shall not apply.

In the heat of battle, nobody with a visor is going to take off their helmet before defending a teammate who just took a cheap shot. And fighting someone with a visor on is considered dirty. This is situation the NHL to needs to remedy by removing the instigator rule and mandating visors. That’s what they did in the AHL and it hasn’t changed players from being physical or fighting. And since the NHL doesn’t want to cut out fighting altogether, it should make those changes.

4. “It’s my body and I should get to decide how to best protect it.” This is true in theory, but in professional sports, commissioners and other league officials have the duty to protect their players the best way they see fit, such as the mandatory use of the HANS device in NASCAR or the helmet rule in the NHL, which was grandfathered into the league in 1979. And here’s the beauty of grandfathering in the visor rule: If you didn’t wear a visor prior to whenever the rule was enacted, guess what? You’d be allowed to play without one! It would only affect players who signed their contract after the rule was placed. You’re old school? Fine, don’t wear one and accept the consequences if something bad happens. Everyone else? Too bad, these are the rules and we’d like you to have both eye balls and a lengthy career. All professional sports need to move forward in protecting their players because this isn’t ancient Rome, it’s the 21st century. A league’s investment in player safety is an investment in that league’s longevity.

5. “It’ll take too long to get used to it.” How long is too long? Two days? Three? If the rule is enacted, it will be done so during the offseason in the summer. That will give all of the remaining holdouts months to adapt to their new protective devices. Just ask Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik, a perennial tough guy who’s played more than 600 NHL games without a visor. He began wearing one in practice a few days after the Staal incident. A day later, he was comfortable enough to wear it during a game on March 14. He’s worn it for every game since. He said there was no noticeable difference and his play hasn’t suffered, either. And coincidentally, he was hit with a shot near his face during a matchup against the Rangers three days after he began using the visor.

Who knows what would have happened otherwise.

The GMs have already agreed on grandfathering visors and the NHLPA will poll players this summer to decide on whether or not to do the same. If the players and the competition committee decide to approve the change, it will be up to the NHL Board of Governors to give the thumbs up before it is inked into the rule book.

The remaining 27 percent of visor-less players stand to be the only people that could block the rule. They need to stop making excuses and realize how precious their health is. This requires the abandonment of antiquated hockey tradition and the adoption of progressive thinking to protect themselves for their own sakes and those of their families and fans.

Like Orpik told Josh Yohe of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: “I guess there really isn’t a valid excuse to not wear one anymore.”

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with Brooks Orpik, bryan berard, chris pronger, Evgeni Malkin, Josh Yohe, manny malhotra, Marc Staal, New York Rangers, NHL, NHL Injuries, NHLPA, Pittsburgh Penguins, pittsburgh tribune review, Sidney Crosby, visors

New York Islanders fans: bloodthirsty, boorish and absent

February 7, 2013 1 Comment

As I exited from Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Tuesday night after the Penguins dispatched the Islanders 4-2, a security guard playfully urged me and a group of others to hurry up. “Go on you Penguins fans,” he joked, “get outta here.”

I responded in kind by thanking him for the hospitality. He scolded me briefly before I told him I was kidding. “Hey, it’s always fun to come out to the island,” I told him.

I was lying.

I’ve been lucky enough to live in the heart of the NHL’s Atlantic Division since I moved to New York City in the summer of 2010. Although this limits how many Pens’ games I can see in Pittsburgh every season, I still have relatively easy access to Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. and the Coliseum in Uniondale, Long Island. Because of this access and my affinity for seeing the Pens play live, I go to four or five away games every year against the Rangers, Devils and Islanders.

There’s something uniquely enjoyable being a Penguins fan in these venues. Rather than identifying with the majority, I become the enemy with limited or no support from other human beings around me. Sometimes, it feels borderline-dangerous and I’ll admit it’s kind of a rush. A little back and forth with local fans is entertaining and usually it’s just good-natured ribbing from both sides. But when I show up on Long Island to watch the Pens, I have to say that the majority (not all) of Islanders fans are boorish, rude and easy to dislike.

My experience on Tuesday was no different.

I’ve been to Nassau Coliseum to watch the Pens four or five times in my life and each time, I find myself being verbally accosted for no reason other than for wearing a Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin shirt. I never instigate and I never reply. Usually I’m by myself, so getting into an altercation with hoards of “enemy” fans would be unwise. But the main reason I don’t respond is because I don’t want to be a poor representative of Penguins fans. That is a concept that most Islanders fans cannot seem to grasp.

Within minutes of entering the arena last night, I was approached by three full-grown men who felt the need to inform me that many things “sucked.” It wasn’t just the typical “Crosby sucks,” it was “Hey man, you suck–” followed by some language I won’t repeat.

Charming.

This scenario happened a number of times during the course of the evening, in addition to being told to “shut the f*** up” after I cheered for the Pens. I turned the other cheek and smiled because after all, Pittsburgh was winning and nothing else mattered. I’ve come to expect the hostility from fans in the New York metro area (as well as most other pro sports venues that I’ve been to) but the Islanders faithful managed to step it up a notch on Tuesday.

The most disturbing portion of the night happened early in the second period when a Kris Letang shot caught Crosby in the face. Play was halted and the bloodied Penguins captain was immediately led into the locker room by trainers with a towel over his face. As soon as the scant crowd realized who had gotten hurt, it erupted into their loudest cheer of the night followed by a “Crosby sucks” chant.

How winsome.

Now, I realize opposing fans love to hate Crosby. He gets booed in every away arena in the United States (and even in Canada, despite the fact he won the country a friggin’ gold medal in 2010). Is it jealousy or even a form of veneration? Perhaps. On NHL Live last night, Boston Bruins radio analyst Bob Beers said that “everywhere Zdeno Chara goes, he seems to get booed, which I guess is the ultimate form of respect.”

So by that reasoning, Crosby is the most respected player in the NHL.

I’ve never had a problem with booing, it’s kind of a dumb fan tradition (imagine booing vegetables on your plate as a child or booing the staff at the DMV), but everyone does it and it’s harmless. I’ll take a “boo” over mindless cursing and the utterance of homophobic slurs any day.

But there is never an excuse for fans to cheer when a player gets injured. That’s over-the-line behavior. It’s an abusive mob mentality that perfectly depicts the lack of respect some fans have. I’m sure the cowards who harassed me before the game were among the boisterous thousands who cheered while Crosby, a player with a history of head injuries, lay bleeding on the ice before them. It’s probably not a stretch to presume they’ve never been pelted in the face with a frozen rubber puck going 50-plus miles per hour, either.

I wasn’t the only person who was disgusted by the scene in Long Island Tuesday night:

Seth Rorabaugh — Penguins writer for the Penguins for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Jesse Marshall — Co-owner/operator of Faceoff-Factor.com

Dejan Kovacevic — Pittsburgh Tribune-Review sports columnist

Arthur Staple — Islanders writer for Newsday

Dave Molinari — Penguins beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Josh Yohe — Penguins beat writer for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Crosby’s incident wasn’t quite as bad as Eagles fans cheering when Michael Irvin suffered a neck injury during a game in 1999, but both were disgusting. Philly fans already have the reputation for having the worst fans in all of pro sports, but New Yorkers (Islanders fans specifically) aren’t far behind.

I understand that this kind of behavior isn’t happening in the vacuum of New York and Philadelphia. Every fan base in pro sports has its share of bad apples, idiots, slack-jawed ignoramuses and drunken morons — Pittsburgh included.

So what gives for all the idiocy and ignorance?

Former NBCSports.com contributor and current Miami Heat columnist for the Palm Beach Post Ethan J. Skolnick wrote an article in 2009 entitled “Why do sports turn us into irrational fanatics?” In the article, he interviewed Dr. Richard Lustberg, a Long Island resident who runs the site psychologyofsports.com. Lustberg offered one explanation of why fans act like fools:

“It’s without a doubt one of the great diversions that you can have in entertainment. People take that entertainment and then relate it to their own lives. People can understand getting to the precipice of getting to a promotion, and then succeeding at it or not. The merging that occurs between fans and players is the involvement that takes you away from other issues in your life, but also the understanding that you too have been involved with highs, lows, ups, downs in your life, and that’s how you relate.”

In the same article, Christian End, an assistant psychology professor at Xavier University specializing in sports fan behavior, said the following:

“Groups strive to make themselves distinct from other groups,” End said. “They also want to be better than the other groups when you compare them head-to-head. If they begin to believe that the taunting is having an impact on the game, they sort of take pride in being the best at providing a distraction. That can help them buffer, and make them feel better if the team isn’t as successful head-to-head.”

Take those two opinions, toss in a few decades of losing seasons and you have a valid representation of an Islanders fan.

Watching your favorite hockey team is supposed to be fun. It should be a pleasant distraction to everyday problems. But for Islanders’ fans, the team is just another problem creating yet another need for more distraction, i.e., drinking too much, name calling, etc. The team hasn’t finished above .500 since 2007, which also marks the last time it reached the postseason (they lost the series 4-1 to the Buffalo Sabres). The Islanders haven’t won a playoff series since 1993 and haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 1983. In my lifetime (25 years), they’ve been a winning team a grand total of eight times.

Yep, must be frustrating but it’s still no excuse.

And according to End, those fans take pride in being the best distraction since their team is no good. However, they failed at being anything more than background noise when it came to the play of the Penguins. Cheering during Crosby’s injury was distracting for me, but I highly doubt it did anything other than motivate Crosby and the rest of the Penguins. He returned in about 10 minutes he didn’t seem to exhibit any ill effects.

I suppose the cheering may have been more effective if Islanders fans would actually bother to come to the games. If you want to see an NHL game but can only afford to spend less than $20, the Islanders are for you! There’s virtually no local interest in this team. I bought my ticket on Stub Hub the evening before the game and the base price was $9.50.

$9.50.

With additional fees and the other standard charges, the grand total came to $19.50. Only twice have I paid less money for a ticket to a professional sporting event and both of those times were at Citi Field when the woeful Pirates came to town to play the lowly Mets.

Here’s the Coliseum about an hour before the puck drops. Yes, that’s pretty early before the game but there were about 20 fans in the building. The attendance of the hotel bar next door was far greater.

Come early and often! Or, don’t bother with either!

So you’d figure that the Penguins would get a decent draw for away games. They’re one of the best teams in the league and super stars like Crosby and Malkin are major attractions, regardless of whether fans love them or hate them. But here’s a picture I took during the pregame warmups. This was about 20 minutes before game time.

The Penguins hold practices in front of larger crowds.

By the end of the night, the total paid attendance was a whopping 11,318. Major high school football games attract higher fan numbers. Last year, average attendance for Islanders games was 13,191 and total attendance was 540,838. The only team with poorer attendance was the Phoenix Coyotes and this year it looks like the Islanders could challenge the Coyotes for the bottom spot on the list.

Long Island used to be the home to a stellar hockey franchise that won four consecutive Stanley Cups in the ’80s. Fans were proud of the team and the team was proud of its fans. They deserved each other.

But now, I dare say that neither side supports the other and any dignity this organization built in the wake of its success has since faded. The on-ice product might be improving with the likes of John Tavares and Michael Grabner, but the fans on Long Island don’t seem to appreciate any kind of talent when it graces the ice of Nassau Coliseum.

Will the Islanders return to form as a playoff contender in the NHL in the near future? It certainly seems like a legitimate possibility. They have a ton of young talent and the team has looked strong in a number of games this season. But the real question is if a considerate fan base will ever pack the confines of the Islanders’ home arena any time soon. The fact that a resurgence in respectful fan support for a four-time Cup winner can even be questioned is far more devastating than a puck to the face.

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with Arthur Staple, Atlantic Division, Dave Molinari, Dejan Kovacevic, Josh Yohe, New York Islanders, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Seth Rorabaugh, Sidney Crosby

A quick thought on Pittsburgh patience

November 9, 2012 Leave a comment

We live in a right now, knee jerk, gotta have it yesterday, instantaneous society. It’s a fact that’s tough to argue against when fewer and fewer people are willing to wait a day for their news in a paper and prefer to get breaking information over their Twitter feed, whether it’s confirmed as true or not. It’s a reactionary culture that’s quick to condemn, redeem or otherwise forget anyone or anything that seems to impact our existence at any given time.

Because sports tend to be a large part of many of our lives, it’s not surprising how quickly we decide what the state of our teams are or will be in the near future.

A good example is the firing today of Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown after FIVE games. Did he deserve it? Maybe, but it seemed like a knee-jerk reaction to say the least.

Or how about the Duke lacrosse scandal a few years ago? That team was condemned by the media and public for alleged sexual assault crimes, only to be pardoned after due process and ultimately forgiven.

As difficult as it may be and as frustrating as it sounds, everybody needs to slow down and take a breath. We must all wait a bit to gather our thoughts and let the world play out before we pound the gavel and execute or dismiss. And because of recent events in the Steel City, this is especially true for Pittsburgh sports fans.

Last Sunday, the Steelers executed their finest win of the season, defeating the Super Bowl champion Giants 24-20. And despite horrendous officiating, the Steelers dominated much more than the final score suggested. Eli Manning – the owner of two very large rings and two MVPs to go with them – was held to just 125 yards and completed only 10 completions on 24 attempts. The Giants passing game was stagnant. Their run game was stifled (the G-Men racked up only 68 yards on the ground).

Not only was it an outstanding defensive performance reminiscent of the Steel Curtain teams fans fondly remember, the black and gold also put together a sound performance on the offensive side of the ball. Ben Roethlisberger went 21-30 and threw for 216 yards, two touchdowns and one pick. Back-up running back Isaac Redman carried the ball 26 times for 147 yards and a touchdown. The offensive line opened up holes big enough to drive a garbage truck through. The pass game clicked. The run game cruised. Everything went to plan.

Just about every way you look at it, this game was in stark contrast to what the Steelers looked like through the first five games of the season. At that point, they were 2-3 and suffered brutal losses including two to the Raiders and Titans, two of the worst teams in the league. Pittsburgh ranked dead-last in rushing and the defense allowed an average of 23 points per game while blowing a number of fourth-quarter leads.

They just didn’t look like the Steelers. Had the Browns changed their colors to black and gold? Did Mike Tomlin and Dick LeBeau go on mental vacations?

But after leaving Tennessee with their tail between their legs following a 26-23 loss, it seemed like something started to click. The game plans looked better and the execution was far superior. They went into Cincinnati and shut down Andy Dalton and A.J. Green (who is a top-five receiver in the NFL this year). Pittsburgh trounced rookie phenom and the Redskins 27-12. They finally looked like the Steelers again and everyone’s doubts went out the window and started to drown at the confluence of the Monongahela and Allegheny rivers.

But the problem is, there was never any reason to hit the panic button in the first place, even after losing to Oakland and Tennessee. Sure, the team looked out of sorts, but it was still quite early in the season and the rest of the AFC (minus the Houston Texans) looked no better. Pundits on national radio and television were killing the Steelers. Colin Cowheard of ESPN Radio said that the Steelers were too old defensively and they couldn’t produce well enough to be an upper-echelon team. Now the Steelers are 5-3, only one game back of first place in the AFC North and everyone is once again calling them contenders.

Here’s some advice to all fans and media: Avoid the waffling in the first place and wait until at least halfway through a season before declaring this or that about any team in professional sports. There’s something called a turnaround and we should all be well aware of it by watching the Giants the past few years. If they’ve taught us anything, it’s that all you have to do is make it to the postseason and then anything is possible.

Pirates fans learned this lesson the hard way over the last two years. The team started off their last two campaigns in excellent fashion. Both teams spent time in first place in the NL central division and it appeared that they would be locks to end 19- and 20-year losing skids. But both collapsed. We were all left wondering what happened and how it was possible. But it certainly was possible, if it wasn’t realistic, for both the 2011 and 2012 Pirates to blow up winning seasons because that’s sports. It’s not predictable in many cases for better or for worse. That’s what makes them great in the first place. Anything can happen.

And even now after Pirates owner Bob Nutting has decided that his inexperienced, sometimes hair-brained front office is staying intact, that doesn’t mean the team can’t have a winning season in 2013. Does it seem likely? Absolutely not. But stranger things have happened. I suppose it might be easier to expect the Pirates to be bad next season so that if we are surprised, it’s a pleasant one.

The same goes for the Penguins last year. With Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang and Marc-Andre Fluery, we’ve come to expect greatness from the Penguins recently. Not just Pittsburghers either. Last season, Vegas had the Penguins pegged as the odds-on favorite to win the Stanley Cup. And after the regular season, it looked increasingly likely. The Pens finished second in the East and with Sidney Crosby finally healthy again and Evgeni Malkin having assumed the role of best player in the world, the only team that could beat the Penguins was the Penguins.But then they clashed with the Flyers in a less-than-heroic fashion and were defeated in six games. And entire season blew up in two weeks. Fluery, who had won a Cup in 2009, looked like Swiss cheeses as pucks easily found their way past him. Evgeni Malkin didn’t look the same as he did as the MVP in the regular season. Everyone let their expectations get the better of them because the Penguins were SUPPOSED to win. And should the NHL season happen this year, the Penguins are again the favorites to win it all.

Let’s just hold off on that judgement now.

Is it possible the Penguins and Pirates will collapse again? Yes. Is it likely? For the Penguins, no. For the Pirates. Maybe. But we shouldn’t engrave Sidney Crosby on the Cup yet and we shouldn’t fire Clint Hurdle before the season begins.

It’s best not to let any expectations get in the way of our sports. Just watch, listen and enjoy. Let the surprises work themselves out and let fate do what it does.

The 18th-century English poet Alexander Pope may have put it best when he said “Blessed is he who expects nothing, for he shall never be disappointed.”

Filed under MLB, NFL, Penguins, Pirates, Steelers Tagged with Ben Roethlisberger, Bob Nutting, Dick LeBeau, Duke Lacrosse, duke lacrosse scandal, Evgeni Malkin, Isaac Redman, Kris Letang, Los Angeles Lakers, Marc-Andre Fleury, Mike Brown, Mike Tomlin, NFL, Philadelphia Flyers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates, Pittsburgh Steelers, Sidney Crosby, Sports

Sidney Crosby: The Best Captain in NHL History?

July 13, 2012 Leave a comment

Sidney Crosby: The Best Captain in NHL History?

By Pete Dombrosky

With fireworks set to launch above the confluence of the Monongahela and the Allegheny in Pittsburgh this July 4th, Sidney Crosby and the rest of the Penguins waited for star free agent Zach Parise to decide where he would bring his talents for the foreseeable future. The Steel City had long anticipated the acquisition of a star winger to pair with Crosby and rumor had it that Parise just might be the man for the job.

But unfortunately for the Penguins, the Minnesota Wild set off some fireworks of their own, announcing they signed Parise and free agent defenseman Ryan Suter for identical 13-year, $98 million deals.

The Penguins’ plan A went up in smoke while sky-bursts lit up the North Shore.

Plan B might include Shane Doan, Bobby Ryan, Rick Nash or even Alexander Semin. Sure, a star forward would be a great gift for Crosby – whose birthday is approaching on August 7 – but he already has about as much as a 24-year-old Canadian could ask for.

On July 30th, 2005, Crosby fulfilled his life-long dream of being drafted into the National Hockey League. Although he grew up a Montreal Canadiens fan, Sid certainly wasn’t any less-enthused about joining the same roster as Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux.

He succeeded Lemieux’s captaincy in 2007 – becoming the youngest ever to receive the honor – and later that season led the Penguins to their first Stanley Cup Final since 1992, while winning the Art Ross Trophy, the Hart Memorial Trophy and the Ted Lindsay Award. Since then, Crosby has won a Stanley Cup, a Maurice Richard Trophy and an Olympic Gold Medal.

On Sunday July 1, the Penguins captain officially signed a 12-year contract worth $104.4 million, making him the highest paid player in hockey (if you average the first nine years of the front-loaded deal).

Yes, Crosby has more hardware than a Home Depot, but he’d be the first to admit that his championships are the most important. That’s why it’s reasonable to assume that what Crosby wants most is to keep adding his name to Lord Stanley’s Cup as many times as possible.

And that shiny new contract might give him a shot at an NHL championship record set in 1971 – the most career NHL championships as a captain. NHL legend Jean Beliveau won the Cup as captain five times – in 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969 and 1971 – during his 10-year captaincy of the Montreal Canadiens from 1961-1971.

Crosby may only have one Cup now, but there are four reasons why he has a chance to eclipse Beliveau’s mark.

1. Time is on Sid’s side. His new contract ensures that he will be a Penguin until 2025. Because there’s little chance anyone else becomes captain while he’s there, Crosby has a lengthy span to win five more Cups with the “C” on his chest.

When Crosby’s latest contract runs out in 2025, he will be 38. Yes, that’s pretty old for a hockey player, but there have been some pretty outstanding men to compete well past that age in the NHL. Chris Chelios was 46 years old when he won the Stanley Cup in 2008 when he and the Redwings beat the Penguins in Crosby’s first trip to the Finals. Former Penguin Mark Recchi was 43 when he won his third Cup with the Boston Bruins in 2011. Igor Larionov and Dave Andreychuk also won Stanley Cups when they were 41 and 40, respectively. Hockey players aren’t necessarily like fine wines, but they can be good enough to win for a long time.

2. Crosby’s contract is structured for team building. Upon first examination of Crosby’s new contract, it might seem like he’ll be handcuffing the Penguins in the first nine years of his deal. Here’s what it will look like: 2013-14 — $12 million, 2014-15 — $12 million, 2015-16 — $12 million, 2016-17 — $10.9 million, 2017-18 — $10.9 million, 2018-19 — $10 million, 2019-20 — $9 million, 2020-21 — $9.6 million, 2021-22 — $9 million.

But because of the structure of the deal, he’ll command an annual cap hit of only $8.7 million per year, the same as his previous contract. Because Crosby was willing to go without a raise for the rest of his career, that leaves plenty of annual cap room for the Penguins to sign additional talent to place around their captain.

Within the current roster, that means the Penguins will have a better shot at signing core players to new long-term contracts when the current deals expire. Evgeni Malkin – who won the Art Ross Trophy, the Ted Lindsay and the Hart Memorial Trophy this season, will be an unrestricted free agent in 2014. The same goes for All-Star blueliner Kris Letang. The following year, Stanley Cup-winning goalie Marc-Andre Fluery will also become an unrestricted free agent. They will be the priorities for Penguins GM Ray Shero. We won’t know what kind of contracts the three will be asking for by then (they’ll most likely be in need of raises at that point) but Crosby’s deal will give the team more wiggle room to lock them up.

In addition, the Pens will have the ability to go after big-name free agents when they pop up. Parise was a prime example. Not only was there cap room to pursue him, Crosby himself was part of the selling point. He called Parise on the Penguins behalf to entice him to Western Pennsylvania. Sid is a big draw for the fans in Pittsburgh, but he’s also an attractive worm on the hook to lure talent to the team. It’s a pretty big selling point to skate with the best player in the world and since Crosby will be in Pittsburgh for the rest of his career, big-time UFAs should be drawn to Pittsburgh for a decade.

3. Crosby is only 24 years old. Beliveau was 33 when he won his first Cup as a captain – 12 years older than Crosby was when he became the youngest captain ever to win a Stanley Cup in 2009. And Sid will be in the prime of his career for at least 3-4 more years. After that, you can expect a decline in his numbers, but a decline for Crosby probably won’t bring him down to human-like stats until he’s in his 30s. Obviously it’s speculation at this point, but it’s a reasonable assumption.

Crosby has seemingly reached his full maturity potential when it comes to his puck skills, scoring and skating, but I still believe he can further progress. Again, I’ll reiterate that he is only 24. Crosby would be the first to tell you that he still has plenty to learn and achieve. He already has a “veteran presence” but the average age of a captain in the NHL is 30. So it’s reasonable to assume that a player reaches full maturity and has the full capacity to become a stalwart leader around that age as well.
You think Crosby is mature now? Just wait six years. His physical abilities might have declined by then, but his intangibles will have escalated.

4. Crosby is one of the best players in the world. Although Evgeni Malkin probably holds the current title of best player in hockey, a healthy Sid can take over a game more so than even Geno can. He has an average of 1.40 points per game, which is first among active players and fourth all time, behind three guys named Gretzky, Lemieux and Bossy. Only once in Sid’s seven-year NHL career has he scored fewer than 24 goals, and that was last season, when he scored eight in only 22 games. His last full season was 2009-10, when he scored 51 goals, tying Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos for the Maurice Richard Trophy for most goals in the season.

Sid has a nose for the back of the net, but he’s also an outstanding playmaker. He has averaged .889 assists per game, putting him behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Bobby Orr and Peter Forsberg on the all-time list. He currently ranks first among active players in that category.

Not only do Crosby’s stats represent his case, he has unquantifiable intangibles that make him extra valuable. He has outstanding vision of the ice. He knows where space is, even if it’s out of his field of view and he can always sense where his teammates are. Crosby has that unexplainable sixth sense of his surroundings that truly sets him apart. Even if his critics think he complains too much, they have to admit he is a special talent.

The main roadblock standing in Crosby’s way is his injury history. Sid missed the better part of the last two seasons with concussion symptoms. He was on pace to set career highs in goals, assists and points when he was blindsided by Washington Capitals forward David Steckel in the 2011 Winter Classic and suffered a concussion. During the next game, Tampa Bay defenseman Victor Hedman smashed Crosby into the glass, worsening the effects from the Steckel hit.

After rehabbing and seeking treatment for the remainder of the season and the following summer, Crosby came back on November 21, 2011, 320 days after the injury occurred. He lasted only eight games however, and was once again put out of commission by a David Krejci elbow. On March 5, Crosby returned again and played in the remaining regular season and subsequent playoff games, appearing to be back to normal.

Will Crosby’s concussion symptoms return? No one knows for sure.

His health will determine his longevity, but the Penguins brass seemed to be confident that Crosby’s concussions are a thing of the past. If they were truly skeptical about his condition, they might not have signed him to such a lengthy deal. That became more apparent when the news broke that Crosby’s new contract isn’t insurable because his concussion history is considered a pre-existing condition.

If Sid can’t finish his contract because of a concussion-related injury, he will still be paid in full, but the Penguins would not receive assistance from an insurance policy. Although this event wouldn’t cripple the team financially because of revenue generated from 251 consecutive sellouts, a big TV deal, hefty sponsorship and deep-pocketed ownership, Penguins management still needed some faith in Crosby’s health to sign him for more than a decade.

Another barrier to this record is the parity in the NHL. It’s been 14 years since a team won back-to-back Stanley Cups (The Redwings in 1997 and 1998). And the last captain to win multiple Stanley Cups? That would be Scott Stevens of the New Jersey Devils when he won his third in 2003; before that was Steve Yzerman of Detroit Red Wings, who won his third Cup in 2002. The last captain to win four Stanley Cups was The Great One in 1988.

For Crosby to win five more Cups in the next 13 seasons, the Penguins would have to average one championship about every two years. The difficulty of that task cannot be overstated. NHL teams just don’t have dynasties like in the days of the two-line pass. It’s highly improbable that there will be a new “Montreal Canadians” dynamic because of free agency. Teams just don’t have the money to pay an entire roster of stars any more. Although future collective bargaining agreements could change the salary cap ceiling in the future, it’s still unlikely that teams could hold onto all of the pieces they used to win one Stanley Cup.

Crosby’s best chance to keep a highly competitive team around him is to have the Penguins sign their core players and a few other star pieces to long-term deals, spreading the salary out to stay under the cap. And in these days where star NHL players make many times the salary of the President of the United States, it’ll be tough to convince the best of the best to sign for less money when they could go to other teams to pad their wallets.

So if the salary cap will be an issue when it comes to signing free agents to play with Crosby, the Penguins will have to be successful in stockpiling young talent from the ground up. As the whole, the organization has been successful recently. It seems to draft well every year and currently, has a wealth of defensive talent in its farm system including Brian Dumoulin, the 20-year-old defenseman who came over from Carolina in the Jordan Staal trade; Scott Harrington, the 19-year-old Penguins second round draft pick in 2011; Joe Morrow, the Penguins 19-year-old first round draft pick of 2011, as well as 18-year-old Derrick Pouliot and 17-year-old Olli Määttä, the Penguins 2012 first and second round draft picks, respectively.

The Pens absolutely need to keep hitting the bull’s eye with their drafts and player development. Not only will these youngsters need to develop to play for the Penguins someday, they also need to be good enough to use for potential trades to acquire other NHL players to address the immediate needs of the team. For Crosby to win more Cups, it’s essential that the Penguins be among the most competitive organizations from top to bottom in the league for the next decade, which is another very tough goal to achieve.

Pittsburgh also needs to sort out their postseason issues. Although they have a combined regular season record of 147-78-21 since winning the Stanley Cup in 2009, the team has gone 12-14 in the postseason since, winning only one series (against the Ottawa Senators in 2010). It’s a terrific regular season record to have, but it doesn’t mean anything if they can’t win games in April and May.

In the 2010 playoffs, the team had trouble scoring goals. It was the same story in the 2011 postseason, but the team had the excuse of an absent Crosby and Malkin. Last season, there was no shortage of offense for the Pens, but there were defensive breakdowns every two minutes and Fluery was abysmal. Hopefully for Pittsburgh, the offseason signing of veteran goalie Tomas Vokoun will give Fluery more rest during the regular season so he is fresher come playoff time.

And defensively?

They just have to be better, there’s no other way of putting it. Maybe that warrants calling up young defensive talent from Wilkes-Barre Scranton to join the full-time roster. Perhaps Pittsburgh should hire a coach to specialize on the penalty kill or change their overall PK philosophy. Maybe they need to find another blueliner via trade. Maybe all four.

But ultimately, the team goes as Sid goes. He is the heartbeat of the Penguins and if he stays healthy for the remainder of his contract, the team makes responsible roster decisions and the hockey gods sprinkle in a little luck, the one they call “The Kid” might very well see his moniker engraved in silver and nickel alloy five more times.

That would be the best present that Crosby could ask for.

Credit: Dan4th Nicholas, Flickr Creative Commons

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Stanley Cup Wins by Captain

5 Stanley Cup Wins (1 player)
Jean Beliveau, Montreal Canadians (1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68, 1968–69, 1970–71)

4 Stanley Cups Wins (5 players)
Maurice Richard, Montreal Canadians (1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60)
Yvan Cournoyer, Montreal Canadians (1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79)
George Armstrong, Toronto Maple Leafs (1961–62, 1962–63, 1963–64, 1966–67)
Denis Potvin, New York Islanders (1979–80, 1980–81, 1981–82, 1982–83)
Wayne Gretzky, Edmonton Oilers (1983–84, 1984–85, 1986–87, 1987–88)

3 Stanley Cup Wins (4 players)
Syl Apps, Toronto Maple Leafs (1941–42, 1946–47, 1947–48)
Sid Abel, Detroit Redwings (1942–43, 1949–50, 1951–52)
Scott Stevens, New Jersey Devils (1994–95, 1999–00, 2002–03)
Steve Yzerman, Detroit Red Wings (1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02)

2 Stanley Cup Wins (12 players)
Sprague Cleghorn, Montreal Canadians, Boston Bruins (1923–24, 1928–29)
Bill Cook, New York Rangers (1927–28, 1932–33)
Sylvio Mantha, Montreal Canadians (1929–30, 1930–31)
Doug Young, Detroit Redwings (1935–36, 1936–37)
Toe Blake, Montreal Canadians (1943–44, 1945–46)
Emile Bouchard, Montreal Canadians (1952–53, 1955–56)
Ted Kennedy, Toronto Maple Leafs (1948–49, 1950–51)
Ted Lindsay, Detroit Redwings (1953–54, 1954–55)
Bobby Clarke, Philadelphia Flyers (1973–74, 1974–75)
Mark Messier, Edmonton Oilers, New York Rangers (1989–90, 1993–94)
Mario Lemieux, Pittsburgh Penguins (1990–91, 1991–92)
Joe Sakic, Colorado Avalanche (1995–96, 2000–01)

1 Stanley Cup Win (22 players)
Howard McNamara, Montreal Canadians (1915–16)
Hap Day, Toronto Maple Leafs (1931–32)
Charlie Gardiner, Chicago Blackhawks (1933–34)
Johnny Gottselig, Chicago Blackhawks (1937–38)
Cooney Weiland, Boston Bruins (1938–39)
Art Coulter, New York Rangers (1939–40)
Dit Clapper, Boston Bruins (1940–41)
Bob Davidson, Toronto Maple Leafs (1944–45)
Pierre Pilote, Chicago Blackhawks (1960–61)
Henri Richard, Montreal Canadians (1972–73)
Bob Gainey, Montreal Canadians (1985–86)
Jim Peplinski, Calgary Flames (1988-89)
Guy Carbonneau, Montreal Canadians (1992–93)
Derian Hatcher, Dallas Stars (1998–99)
Dave Andreychuk, Tampa Bay Lightning (2003-04)
Rod Brind’Amour, Carolina Hurricanes (2005-06)
Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim Ducks (2006-07)
Nicklas Lidstrom, Detroit Redwings (2007–08)
Sidney Crosby, Pittsburgh Penguins (2008–09)
Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks (2009–10)
Zdeno Chara, Boston Bruins (2010–11)
Dustin Brown, Los Angeles Kings (2011–12)

Stanley Cup Winners By Team/Captain

Anaheim Ducks
2006-07- Scott Niedermayer

Boston Bruins
1928–29- Sprague Cleghorn
1938–39- Cooney Weiland
1940–41- Dit Clapper
1969–70 No captain
1971–72 No captain
2010–11- Zdeno Chara

Calgary Flames
1988-89- Jim Peplinski

Carolina Hurricanes
2005-06- Rod Brind’Amour

Chicago Blackhawks
1933–34- Charlie Gardiner
1937–38- Johnny Gottselig
1960–61- Pierre Pilote
2009–10- Jonathan Toews

Colorado Avalanche
1995–96- Joe Sakic
2000–01- Joe Sakic

Dallas Stars
1998–99- Derian Hatcher

Detroit Red Wings
1935–36- Doug Young
1936–37- Doug Young
1942–43- Sid Abel
1949–50- Sid Abel
1951–52- Sid Abel
1953–54- Ted Lindsay
1954–55- Ted Lindsay
1996–97- Steve Yzerman
1997–98- Steve Yzerman
2001–02- Steve Yzerman
2007–08- Nicklas Lidstrom

Edmonton Oilers
1983–84- Wayne Gretzky
1984–85- Wayne Gretzky
1986–87- Wayne Gretzky
1987–88- Wayne Gretzky
1989–90- Mark Messier

Los Angeles Kings
2011–12- Dustin Brown

Montreal Canadiens
1915–16- Howard McNamara
1923–24- Sprague Cleghorn
1929–30- Sylvio Mantha
1930–31- Sylvio Mantha
1943–44- Toe Blake
1945–46- Toe Blake
1952–53- Emile Bouchard
1955–56- Emile Bouchard
1956–57- Maurice Richard
1957–58- Maurice Richard
1958–59- Maurice Richard
1959–60- Maurice Richard
1964–65- Jean Beliveau
1965–66- Jean Beliveau
1967–68- Jean Beliveau
1968–69- Jean Beliveau
1970–71- Jean Beliveau
1972–73- Henri Richard
1975–76- Yvan Cournoyer
1976–77- Yvan Cournoyer
1977–78- Yvan Cournoyer
1978–79- Yvan Cournoyer
1985–86- Bob Gainey
1992–93- Guy Carbonneau

New Jersey Devils
1994–95- Scott Stevens
1999–00- Scott Stevens
2002–03- Scott Stevens

New York Islanders
1979–80- Denis Potvin
1980–81- Denis Potvin
1981–82- Denis Potvin
1982–83- Denis Potvin

New York Rangers
1927–28- Bill Cook
1932–33- Bill Cook
1939–40- Art Coulter
1993–94- Mark Messier

Philadelphia Flyers
1973–74- Bobby Clarke
1974–75- Bobby Clarke

Pittsburgh Penguins
1990–91- Mario Lemieux
1991–92- Mario Lemieux
2008–09- Sidney Crosby

Tampa Bay Lightning
2003-04- Dave Andreychuk

Toronto Maple Leafs
1917–18- N/A
1921–22- N/A
1931–32- Hap Day
1941–42- Syl Apps
1944–45- Bob Davidson
1946–47- Syl Apps
1947–48- Syl Apps
1948–49- Ted Kennedy
1950–51- Ted Kennedy
1961–62- George Armstrong
1962–63- George Armstrong
1963–64- George Armstrong
1966–67- George Armstrong

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with Sidney Crosby

An Ode to Sidney Crosby

June 28, 2012 1 Comment

I hardly consider myself a poet, but today I felt like I wanted to give a special thanks to Sidney Crosby for agreeing to a 12-year deal worth $104.4 million. What was amazing about the deal wasn’t the length of the contract, but the fact that Sid agreed to never get a raise for the rest of his life. His previous deal paid him $8.7 million a year.

His new deal will pay the same amount.

He could have asked for more money and the Penguins would have given it to him. But he didn’t because he wanted to give the team the cap space to put other quality talent around him.

Sid’s primary goal is to win Stanley Cups.

He knows how it feels to win one and he will never forget how terrific that sensation is. He is a Captain, a leader and the greatest player in the world. Here’s to Sidney Crosby’s unselfish actions. Expect the key to Pittsburgh to be given to him shortly.

An Ode to Sidney Crosby

In sports there are men who come and go,

without much meaning or care.

Then there are men who always know,

the fans who want them there.

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They play hard and say the words,

that are right each and every time.

They carry themselves with pride and calm,

even when things aren’t fine.

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These are the leaders who sacrifice,

for the better good of the whole.

These are men like Sidney Crosby,

who believe that Cups are the only goal.

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In 2005 he came to the Burgh,

touted highly as a star.

Then he proved it with 39 goals,

his stats were right on par.

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From then on out he was a leader,

soon getting the “C” on his chest.

But it wasn’t until 2007,

that he proved he was the best.

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That’s when he won the Art Ross and Hart,

And was on the NHL first all-star team.

He also won the Lester Pearson,

by winning his peers’ esteem.

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In 2009 he helped win the Cup,

in Game 7 on the road.

Becoming the youngest captain ever,

to whom Lord Stanley was bestowed.

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But times since then have been rough,

playoffs and injuries have not been kind.

The critics questioned if he was tough,

and if he was right of mind.

—————————————————

But triumphantly he returned,

and looked like the old Sid.

His critics were quietly spurned,

and he smiled like a kid.

—————————————————

Today he signed a contract,

that makes him a Penguin for good.

He could have asked for more money,

like many thought he should.

—————————————————

But in his mind he had no doubts,

about where he wanted to play.

Consol would be his permanent home,

even for smaller pay.

—————————————————

What the future holds for this Pens star,

cannot be truly known.

But a Cup winning team can be built around him,

and a contender will be grown.

—————————————————

So with Sid and Geno and Letang and Flower,

the future is quite bright.

The Penguins currently have the power,

to put up the NHL’s best fight.

—————————————————-

So here’s to Sid’s decision,

like Mario’s before.

To keep the Pens a contender,

for now and ever more.

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Sidney Crosby

Paul Martin’s Handling of Head Injury Clouded by Poor Performance

June 21, 2012 1 Comment

Earlier today, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reporter Josh Yohe tweeted some disturbing information about Penguins defenseman Paul Martin:

Josh Yohe ‏@JoshYohe_Trib:

“Pens D Paul Martin just told me that he played the first three games against the Flyers with concussion-like symptoms.”

“Martin said nothing to trainers until after Game 3. At that point, he was shut down for the rest of the series.”

“Martin is fully recovered from the concussion and is working out every day in Minnesota.”

“Martin said the concussion took place at some point in Game 1, but he isn’t sure precisely when.”

Yohe later elaborated on Martin’s injury and prospective future with the Penguins in a story you can see here.

In Yohe’s article, he quoted Martin saying the following:

“I wasn’t feeling well during Game 1,” Martin said. “But I never said anything to the trainers. I didn’t feel well in Game 2. Then, after Schenn hit me in Game 3, I felt really bad but still finished the game. The next night, I felt worse. I talked to our trainers then, and told them about the symptoms. That was it. They shut me down.”

“The whole thing was tough,” he said. “I took a test and supposedly did fine. But with what had happened with Kris and with Sid’s (Sidney Crosby’s) problems, I think they were being overly-cautious.”

This should upset every Penguins fan.

My No. 1 criticism of the NHL the past couple of years has been the epidemic of concussion problems that has struck pretty much every team in the league. The main problem I’ve had is how the league has been inconsistent with its punishment of head shot offenders. I’ve also taken issue with the fact that players have not changed how they hit others on the ice; head shots are still happening at a high rate and both the league and its players need to make changes to make the game safer.

But in Paul Martin’s case, I’m not mad at the league nor an offending player.

I’m upset with Paul Martin.

Martin plays on a team that has been at the forefront of the concussion debate for two years. Penguins Captain Sidney Crosby spent two seasons dealing with a head injury and as the face of the league, he garnered plenty of attention for it. He was part of the reason the NHL adopted changes to Rule 48, the rule that deals with the penalization of head shots.

Not only did the Penguins have to suffer through a slow recovery from Crosby, they also faced a similar situation with star defenseman Kris Letang. Letang suffered a concussion on Nov. 26 after taking a big open ice hit from Montreal Canadians forward Max Pacioretty, but returned later in the same game. His symptoms became worse over the next few days and he ended up missing 21 games because of them. Later in the season, he dealt with concussion symptoms yet again after taking a hit to the head by Dallas Stars forward Eric Nystrom.

So the fact that Paul Martin played through the pain and tried to ignore concussion symptoms over a three-game span baffles me. He, as well as every other NHL player, is surely aware of how serious a head injury can be. If not treated properly, it can lead to permanent brain damage that may cause major problems for the rest of a players life — and eventually end it. One only has to look as far as Pat LaFontaine, Scott Stevens, Eric and Brett Lindros, Michel Goulet, Brian Bradly, Nick Kypreos, Adam Deadmarsh, Jeff Beukeboom, Matthew Barnaby, Paul Comrie, Keith Primeau and Marc Savard to understand how devastating a brain injury can be — not to mention the death of Derek Boogaard in 2011, which was caused by an accidental drug and alcohol overdose while he recovered from a concussion.

Now, I also understand why Martin didn’t tell trainers about his concussion symptoms until they were debilitating. In professional sports — particularly in hockey and football — players are taught to have tough-guy mentality. They want to go out there and prove themselves, even if it comes at their own physical peril. After all, nothing says you’re a team player more than playing injured and team players get paid and respected.

And for Paul Martin, he had even more incentive to play injured than most players. He had a terrible year, one of the worst in his career. He wasn’t playing at a level anywhere near where a $5 million-per-year player should play. Because of his let-down season, Martin felt that he needed to play, regardless of injury, to prove that he was better than his season had shown. Going into the postseason, Martin had already begun to hear rumblings from fans and media that the Penguins should trade him in the offseason.

Yohe illustrates that here:

Martin was aware of negative talk from local fans and media outlets, and admitted this may have affected his performance.

“Coming from New Jersey,” Martin said, “it isn’t a fishbowl like Pittsburgh is. All it takes is for someone to write an article and people can jump on board. It’s hard to ignore it. When you’re a player, you notice things. I take pride in my job, and when people are telling you that you aren’t doing your job well, you don’t like it.”

Here’s another telling Martin quote from Yohe’s story:

“Do I think the same team is going to be back in Pittsburgh next year? No. But I hope I’m one of the guys who is back. I want to prove to myself and to reestablish to everyone the player that I am.”

Fans, other players and team management want to see players doing everything they can to prove themselves. Unfortunately, that mindset is quite valued. This tweet from Yohe proves that point:

“Obviously Martin’s judgment can be questioned for playing with the symptoms. Can’t question his commitment to the team, though.”

Martin may have thought he was helping the team by playing injured, but he was potentially doing the exact opposite. The old saying goes “Loose lips sink ships,” but when it comes to head injuries, it’s the sealed lips that hurt the most. No team will ever benefit from a player that is unable to get back onto the ice because of a devastating head injury. It looks like Martin got lucky because he doesn’t seem to have any long-term symptoms of his head shot.

It’s tough to say whether or not Martin will be in a Penguins sweater next season. Many people agree that he should be traded, but his high price tag will make it tough for Penguins GM Ray Shero to move him after the terrible season he had. Pittsburgh has plenty of depth in the AHL that could take Martin’s place next year, but if the Penguins can’t move him and are unwilling to eat the remainder of his contract, he may be on the blue line in Pittsburgh for another year. Ultimately, that will be what saves Martin from being traded, not his ill-advised effort to play through a head injury in the post season.

If Martin is a Penguin next season, I’ll expect him to be better on the ice.

But I’ll expect more from his decisions off of it.

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with Josh Yohe, Kris Letang, NHL, NHL Concussions, Paul Martin, Pittsburgh Penguins, pittsburgh tribune review, Ray Shero, Sidney Crosby

Offseason 2012: First Crosby Rumors of the Year

June 5, 2012 2 Comments

Yesterday, Pittsburgh sports radio pundit Mark Madden told listeners on 105.9 the X that he heard Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby reportedly wants a deal worth $125m over 14 seasons, equating to $8.92 million per year. The Penguins and Crosby’s agent can officially begin negotiations on July 1, leaving one year remaining on Crosby’s current contract.

Considering that he makes $8.7 million now, the dollar amount is a bargain for the Penguins — especially if the salary cap goes up after the next collective bargaining agreement.

The obvious point to consider is the contract length. Fourteen seasons is a long time — an entire career for most hockey players. But more importantly, it’s a long time to sign a player with concussion problems.

The Penguins nor their fans will forget the agonizing days during Crosby’s recovery. We didn’t know if he would play again in the 2010-2011 season or EVER AGAIN. And then after his second setback in this year’s regular season, doubts were at an all-time high regarding Crosby’s ability to take hits without re-aggravating concussion symptoms.

I remember asking myself if this was something Penguins fans would have to go through every season until an early Crosby retirement. How long could the captain possibly last in the NHL if he couldn’t take an occasional hit up high? Whether the NHL cracked down on head-shots or not, the accidental hit would still undoubtedly occur.

But fortunately Sid recovered from his second head-shot and was able to play in the final 28 games of the season including six playoff games. In that span, he still collected 37 points with eight goals in the regular season and eight points and three goals in the playoffs.

Those were numbers posted by a guy coming off of a brain injury with far less time on the ice practicing his craft before hand. Now that he’s completely healthy again by all accounts (including his own), he has the opportunity to conduct a full offseason without distraction.

The last time he was able to do that was the summer before 2010-11. And if you remember that season, you remember why he’s the best player in the NHL. In 41 games, he had 32 goals, 34 assists and was on pace for 64 goals, 68 assists and 132 points. And during that span, he had a 25-game point streak in which he notched 27 goals (including three hat tricks), 24 assists, and 51 points.

To me, there’s no debate about whether or not to give him this contract. It’s a great big, bold, double-stamped YES.

Sure, there’s risk involved. But there’s always risk involved in a collision sport like hockey. Any player’s career could end on opening day this fall — especially if the NHL doesn’t start to crack down more on hits to the head. But when you’re dealing with the best player in the world, you give him what he wants.

If Crosby stays healthy, the Penguins will sell out for at least 14 more seasons and probably have a chance at the Stanley Cup for all of them. As Madden said on his show, that contract “gives the Penguins a license to print money.”

Penguins GM Ray Shero could also go a different route by offering Crosby more money, but fewer years on the contract, so his past concussion problems wouldn’t be as big of a liability.

I’m guessing Crosby would be a lot less receptive to that idea. If the whole issue was about money, Crosby would ask for a lot more money, not just $228,571 more per year. Sid is financially set for life, he doesn’t need more money.

It’s the length of the contract that’s the primary issue for Sid.

And let’s say that Shero did offer him fewer years and more money and Crosby doesn’t accept. Do we really want there to be negotiation issues and possible bad blood? What if he holds out and there’s a ton of drama and uncertainty. I wouldn’t expect that to happen, but you never know when you’re dealing with a player’s livelihood, especially one with as much popularity in Pittsburgh as Sidney Crosby. Contract negotiations can be a real pain and create real distractions. Crosby doesn’t want that. Shero doesn’t want that. The fans don’t want that.

Signing Sid for forever for whatever amount is a good deal for Sid, the Penguins, the city of Pittsburgh and the NHL.

Filed under NHL, Penguins Tagged with Mark Madden, NHL, Pittsburgh Penguins, Ray Shero, Sidney Crosby

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The Penguins In Review: The 2012-13 Regular Season

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PLAYERS IN REVIEW

Pittsburgh and the Mystical Winger: A Penguins Tale of Lore

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A quick thought on Pittsburgh patience

Sidney Crosby: The Best Captain in NHL History?

Sidney Crosby: The Best Captain in NHL History?

Stanley Cup Wins by Captain

Stanley Cup Winners By Team/Captain

An Ode to Sidney Crosby

An Ode to Sidney Crosby

Paul Martin’s Handling of Head Injury Clouded by Poor Performance

Offseason 2012: First Crosby Rumors of the Year

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