the Penguins are STILL gonna suck

Originally posted by Rob_Gee:

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
if theres any one team whos great all season and then loses in the first round of the playoffs, its the B's.

Usually to Montreal. [/QB]

not really. we only lost to them last season (2003) and before that, i cant remember them ever losing to the Habs in the playoffs. (though, until 1986 i was a Maple Leafs fan)

its like a double whammy being a Boston fan from Toronto and losing to Montreal. theres just no brightside of that.

I remembered that rivalry in the 80's between Boston and Montreal, being from New England and all. Of course I was rooting for Montreal because back in that day Rick Vaive couldn't single handidly get Toronto into the playoffs.

I was reading an article about what the Blues will do with their roster, and the article said the old 4th line defensive stalwarts will now be out of a job in favor of players with more offensive skill under the new rules, I think there is going to be some sloppy hockey

but maybe we will see some 100 point scorers with regularity again

oh, and after reading the article, I am pretty sure the Blues will suck, Tkachuk and Weight are taking up a lot of payroll, I hope somebody else signs Pronger or else they are really screwed

I MOVED THIS FROM THE JUST ANNOUNCED THREAD AS I THOUGHT IT WAS BETTER SERVED HERE.

Originally posted by sonickteam4:
not even Comcast, NESN or Fox SportsNet? I could care less about ESPN's coverage as i get NHL Center Ice.

Some local deals still exist. The lack of fluid deals on Cable channels will render even the Center Ice package a little watered down. And if I remember correctly, DirecTV has not yet decided to offer the 2005-2006 Center Ice package because their may be a lack of televised games.

hey mr. shoeshine, wanna look into hitting the pens/lightning game on oct. 15? i'd rather go see the bruins over columbus day, but i've got plans that weekend.

that might be doable. basically depends on when i make the seasonal 'try to see everyone within 40 miles of a primanti bros' trip. plus, i am hoping to go to a stillrz game at some point this season

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
that might be doable. basically depends on when i make the seasonal 'try to see everyone within 40 miles of a primanti bros' trip. plus, i am hoping to go to a stillrz game at some point this season

well then, i won't point out that the steelers are at home that weekend as well. . .playing the jaguars.

yeah, my buddy is on the waiting list for season tickets (only 7 more years or so!). he gets two tickets for 2 games, but its a lottery. i get to go to one, but i don't think he's heard yet

AND i usually go up for a pitt game once a year. they play south florida that weekend! sure to be one for the ages

so smack, how would you feel about the Ducks giving up the #2 overall for Pronger, that is 1 of the rumors I am hearing, although apparently Keenan wants him bad now

I want the #2, the Blues will suck for a couple of years with or without Pronger

Originally posted by general grievous:
so smack, how would you feel about the Ducks giving up the #2 overall for Pronger, that is 1 of the rumors I am hearing, although apparently Keenan wants him bad now

I want the #2, the Blues will suck for a couple of years with or without Pronger

We are oblgated to pay so much money right now that I don't see how it's going to happen. But I would love Pronger.

Originally posted by vansmack:
We are oblgated to pay so much money right now that I don't see how it's going to happen. But I would love Pronger.

I just read this over at hockeyrumors.blogspot.com

The Ducks and the Panthers are making a very strong late bid for Chris Pronger…One of my better sources believes now that the ducks may be the front runner, saying, "Remember way back when, when Brian Burke was the GM in Hartford? He drafted the 18 year old man/child Pronger and pushed him to the forefront in the NHL. Pronger loves Burke and vice versa. (Chris went through some hard times early on)…Brian burke stood right by his man the whole time. Loyalty will win out over dollars. Waddell does not know Pronger the way that Burke does. besides, Jack Johnson is the next Scott Stevens. STL will be fine. Waddell will focus his attention on Adam Foote and Hatcher."

Originally posted by general grievous:
I just read this over at hockeyrumors.blogspot.com

It will take a ton of cap room manuevering to get it done. There's an entirely new economic formula that's being put into place in the NHL and a lot of people are going to struggle with it.

Originally posted by vansmack:
There's an entirely new economic formula that's being put into place in the NHL and a lot of people are going to struggle with it.

not the blues, they are in strip and sell mode, no long term contracts on any players, and no buyouts because the current owner doesnt want to put any more cash out before selling

I would guess the fact the ducks signed Sandis O. today would make it more difficult

from ESPN:

Pittsburgh provides perhaps the perfect landing area for the young phenom, or more to the point, the perfect safety net.

The team is rife with players and staff who have made their lives in Pittsburgh, who understand the game and the city, from the training staff to GM Craig Patrick to coach Ed Olczyk to assistant coaches Joey Mullen and Randy Hillier to Mark Recchi.

"There's a large family here that I think will help because people help in different ways"

The team already is planning to add an extra public relations person to travel with the team, and the team will assist in setting up lodging as the Penguins have traditionally had younger players live with local families. Lemieux, for instance, remains close to the family with whom he stayed when he first came to Pittsburgh. And during the early part of the 2003-04 season, it was Lemieux opening his doors to Fleury.

"He's an 18-year-old kid. You can't take that for granted. We know we carry a responsibility for the league and the sport, as well," McMillan said of Crosby. "We certainly feel the responsibility as an organization, and we take that seriously. But we're glad we have it."

Lemieux, with whom Crosby worked out last summer, will be the focal point in helping with the teenager's assimilation into the NHL culture. He also will be invaluable in absorbing some of the pressure, some of the attention.

"The one thing Mario didn't have when he came here was a Mario to play with," McMillan said.

Olczyk also will be crucial to Crosby's evolution from cult phenom to everyday NHL player. A former Penguin who came to coaching from broadcasting, Olczyk quickly has established a reputation as a fine teaching coach.

"Edzo understands all of the things [Crosby's] going to face, and not just the hockey," McMillan said.

Said Olczyk: "It's going to be important to put him in situations where he's going to have an opportunity to succeed.

"We're going to help him become a good player. Any young player's going to go through a transition period," said Olczyk, who recorded 794 points in 1,031 regular-season games. "At times, it'll probably get a little hectic and a little crazy."

But it's the expectations of the team and the expectations Crosby has set for himself that will matter most to Crosby, Olczyk said.

Maybe it doesn't matter that Crosby can't possibly become the person his clippings suggest. Maybe no one really expects him to. But maybe, against all odds, he'll be enough to make everyone happy.

Originally posted by general grievous:
so smack, how would you feel about the Ducks giving up the #2 overall for Pronger, that is 1 of the rumors I am hearing, although apparently Keenan wants him bad now

I want the #2, the Blues will suck for a couple of years with or without Pronger

I didn't think it would happen. Looks like the Oilers got him:

PRONGER DEALT TO EDMONTON

Trade sends former MVP to EdmontonESPN.com news services

ST. LOUIS – The St. Louis Blues traded four-time All-Star defenseman and captain Chris Pronger to the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night for defensemen Eric Brewer, Doug Lynch and Jeff Woywitka.


The trade was posted on the Blues' Web site. A call to the team from The Associated Press early Wednesday was not immediately returned.


The 30-year-old Pronger won the Hart and Norris trophies as the NHL's most valuable player and top defenseman for the 1999-00 season. He has scored 94 goals and 306 assists in 722 career games. He was drafted by Carolina (then the Hartford Whalers) with the No. 2 pick in the 1993 NHL Draft and spent two seasons with the Whalers before joining the Blues in 1995 in a trade for Brendan Shanahan .


Brewer was the key to the deal for the Blues, general manager Larry Pleau said in a release on the team's Web site.


"Eric Brewer has been a premier defenseman in the NHL for the past several seasons, and we are very excited about the talents he brings to the Blues," Pleau said. "We are also adding two skilled younger defensemen who are clearly up-and-coming players at this level."


Brewer, 26, has played six seasons in the NHL, including the last four with Edmonton. He has 34 goals and 79 assists in 404 games. The 6-foot-3, 220-pound defenseman was drafted fifth overall by the New York Islanders in the 1997 NHL Draft and played for the Islanders from 1998 through 2000.


Lynch, 22, appeared in two games with the Oilers in 2003-04, and played last season with the AHL's Edmonton Road Runners.


Woywitka, 21, played the last two seasons in the AHL with the Road Runners and the Philadelphia Phantoms.

Information from SportsTicker and The Associated Press was used in this report.

Originally posted by vansmack:
I didn't think it would happen. Looks like the Oilers got him:

PRONGER DEALT TO EDMONTON

saw it come through late last night, Brewer will be good, but would have been nice to get a scorer among the other players rather than 2 more defensemen, especially since Demitra signed with LA yesterday as well

I thought this thread would be about the penguin documentary.

Pens sign Gonchar

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2123428

He's always been a Penguin @ heart.
Evidence: Turning the puck over to Marty Straka a few years ago allowing a break-away overtime playoff game winning goal.

my dad's going to be stoked, he always gets pissed when the pens don't have a good offensive defenseman. heard kovalev, straka, forsberg, naslund and rafalski as possible signings. gonchar is bad ass, though

Originally posted by god's shoeshine:
my dad's going to be stoked, he always gets pissed when the pens don't have a good offensive defenseman. heard kovalev, straka, forsberg, naslund and rafalski as possible signings. gonchar is bad ass, though

for $5 million though? i am glad Boston didnt give him that much.