2 Days In And Feeling A Bit Frustrated
Posted 12:11 AM ET | Comments 9
Well these past two days have been rather uneventful for Pens nation. Unless you count the mass exodus that is going on as eventful, but I don't exactly find myself looking for my party hat as much as I am looking for the missing hair on my head and wondering why a bottle of tequila is empty.
Here I am a couple days from my vacation from work and instead of focusing on this joyous trip, I'm wondering what the Pens have in mind by letting all these guys go.
As I write this we've lost: Marian Hossa, Ty Conklin, Adam Hall, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts and Jarkko Ruutu.
We've re-signed Brooks Orpik, which I'm very happy about. We've also given Malkin a 5-year extension, which is also nice.
In addition to those two, we've re-signed Pascal Dupuis and Mark Eaton. Again, guys I have liked for some time even before they came to Pitt.
So to recap, we've lost six guys so far and have brought in one.
Oh, I didn't mention the one guy we brought in? Perhaps you've heard of the greatest player in the NHL? Eric Godard!
(If you can't tell the immense sarcasm in that last statement without having to read this explanation, stop watching hockey.)
Now I haven't gone into total panic mode yet even with every other team in the division being active already. There's still plenty of great players left on the free agent list and I really hope we are in talks with some of them.
In a previous post I mentioned wanting Miroslav Satan and Markus Naslund. That still stands, but I'm going to expand the list a little.
We need forwards to fill the holes left by those mentioned above. At this point I'd be willing to take someone who has a history of injuries like Pavol Demitra. If healthy he could put up some big numbers alongside Sid or Malkin.
Other guys I'd like to see come over are Martin Straka, though his NHL status is unknown at this time, and Jason Williams.
I have a bad feeling that we will end up signing Ladislav Nagy from the Kings. Nagy hasn't been the same since he got injured in Phoenix during what would have been a career year. Since that day he's had a problem with contact and confrontation and gets panicky when in the corners.
Could he regain his scoring touch in Pittsburgh? It's possible, but I really don't want to be on here writing about how much I am frustrated with him after every game this year.
I've also read that there may be some interest in bringing Jaromir Jagr back to Pittsburgh. To that I say, YIPPIE!
(Again....sarcasm)
Do you really think this guy will be welcomed back by the fans after how he left in the first place? The guy is already relentlessly booed every time he touches the puck at the Igloo. The second he starts to slump the fans would be all over him again and questioning management as to why we brought him back in the first place.
It's not a good situation and doesn't have many positives so I don't really think this will happen.
I guess I'm more disappointed than anything right now. I've woken up the last two days with a giddy feeling expecting to see a headline of "Penguins sign......" but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe tomorrow will bring happier news.
Here I am a couple days from my vacation from work and instead of focusing on this joyous trip, I'm wondering what the Pens have in mind by letting all these guys go.
As I write this we've lost: Marian Hossa, Ty Conklin, Adam Hall, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts and Jarkko Ruutu.
We've re-signed Brooks Orpik, which I'm very happy about. We've also given Malkin a 5-year extension, which is also nice.
In addition to those two, we've re-signed Pascal Dupuis and Mark Eaton. Again, guys I have liked for some time even before they came to Pitt.
So to recap, we've lost six guys so far and have brought in one.
Oh, I didn't mention the one guy we brought in? Perhaps you've heard of the greatest player in the NHL? Eric Godard!
(If you can't tell the immense sarcasm in that last statement without having to read this explanation, stop watching hockey.)
Now I haven't gone into total panic mode yet even with every other team in the division being active already. There's still plenty of great players left on the free agent list and I really hope we are in talks with some of them.
In a previous post I mentioned wanting Miroslav Satan and Markus Naslund. That still stands, but I'm going to expand the list a little.
We need forwards to fill the holes left by those mentioned above. At this point I'd be willing to take someone who has a history of injuries like Pavol Demitra. If healthy he could put up some big numbers alongside Sid or Malkin.
Other guys I'd like to see come over are Martin Straka, though his NHL status is unknown at this time, and Jason Williams.
I have a bad feeling that we will end up signing Ladislav Nagy from the Kings. Nagy hasn't been the same since he got injured in Phoenix during what would have been a career year. Since that day he's had a problem with contact and confrontation and gets panicky when in the corners.
Could he regain his scoring touch in Pittsburgh? It's possible, but I really don't want to be on here writing about how much I am frustrated with him after every game this year.
I've also read that there may be some interest in bringing Jaromir Jagr back to Pittsburgh. To that I say, YIPPIE!
(Again....sarcasm)
Do you really think this guy will be welcomed back by the fans after how he left in the first place? The guy is already relentlessly booed every time he touches the puck at the Igloo. The second he starts to slump the fans would be all over him again and questioning management as to why we brought him back in the first place.
It's not a good situation and doesn't have many positives so I don't really think this will happen.
I guess I'm more disappointed than anything right now. I've woken up the last two days with a giddy feeling expecting to see a headline of "Penguins sign......" but it hasn't happened yet. Maybe tomorrow will bring happier news.
Just relax...Shero and company will get the right guys. I am confident he will find players that will work in this system. Personally, I was a little sorry to see Huselius signed...I think he could have had a "Kovalev" type year if he played here (when Kovie played here!). Shero will pay LESS for guys that will keep us in contention and then he will go after the right guys at the deadline again. We have a good GM...so just ride this out for a while...
I do have faith in Shero, much more than Craig Patrick. I just needed to get some things off my chest so I wrote this up. I agree that Huselius would have been a great addition to the team though.
You where never going to be able to sign hossa, conklin's replaceable, malone's overrated, roberts is too old and ruutu had no talent. The pens have a great core and will have a great team as long as they add some grinders. Just relax
I can certainly understand your point of view and unfortunately I think you have nailed it. For most teams the Stanley Cup is a window of opportunity and Shero went forit with the Hossa trade.You guys will have a very competetive team but will not contend for the cup. Having Malkin and Crosby locked up is great but they can't carry the team on their shoulders. In a cap world it really boils down to supporting cast and yours has been depleted with no obvious replacements in the wings.
Sabata - there are "replacements" everywhere...just not on roster right now. Please read the latest blog from METZER. Shero is looking for 2 forwards that he can spend the "Hossa" money on...and there's speculations that he might be tryin to move Ryan Whitney for a top 6 forward. Very SMART moves, buy a GM that know what it takes to put a winning team together. There are guys that will move up from the minors too. I don't know if we will make it to the cup finals again, but you can bet we will "contend" for the cup as well as anybody in the EAST next year.
Yikes!...sorry for my spellng and grammar errors in the last comment.
Just give Cindy and Malkin a winger with some decent accuracy and you'll be fine.
With Crosby and Malkin (at what they're making) tied down Wilkes-Barre needs to be productive. As of 2009-10 two guys are making 30% of the payroll. What I'm saying is, those are your marquee guys now. For your team's sake, don't wish for Miro Satan. Looks nice from the outside, but a less talented Yashin, and not in any good way.
bslaf has it exactly.