Blogs

U-S-A Invites were handed out today for Team USA Olympic men’s ice hockey camp later this summer, the 2007-08 Penguins were well represented. Currents Ds Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi made the list, as did former teammates D Ryan Whitney and LW Ryan Malone, who could become the first Pittsburgh-born men’s ice hockey player to [...]

YINZ DON’T SAY A question from Marty Graff of Dresher, Pa.: I have thought for over a year now that there was one opportunity to find more cap space, and that is dealing (D Sergei) Gonchar. Last season makes it difficult to ascertain whether my idea makes sense, since his return coincided with the coaching [...]

PENS LACK CAP ROOM With only hours before free-agent season opens Wednesday, the Penguins don’t figure to be major players. No surprise, as their nucleus is secured for the next four years. Still, with 17 players under contract for next season, they are only $5,582,000 under the $56,800,000 cap for 2009-10. Exactly $35.15 million is [...]

Quick thoughts from Day 1 of the 2009 NHL entry draft at Bell Center: — PENS’ PICK ANALYSIS D Simon Despres, a 6-foot-3/205-pound left-handed shot, scored two goals and recorded 32 points to go with 74 penalty minutes in 66 games with Saint John of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. His notable pre-draft ratings: [...]

Pittsburgh: City of Champions and inclement weather, which is more scary than inclement. Anyway, a few days have passed since the last blog update – apparently, Team Trib can’t hand me enough special Stanley Cup sections to work on – so I’ll take on some post-Game 7 notes at the end of this rambling mess: [...]

Thoughts and observations after Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final, which the Penguins won, 2-1, over the Detroit Red Wings at Mellon Arena: ——— STAR GAZING My top stars from Game 6: 1. G Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins: His third-period pad save on Red Wings RW Dan Cleary will be talked about for years if [...]

A few off-day thoughts after Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, won by the Red Wings, 5-0, over the Penguins at Joe Luis Arena on Saturday: — STAR GAZING My top three players from Game 5: 1-D Nicklas Lidstrom, Red Wings. He looked a lot like the best defenseman of his generation with an [...]

A few thoughts and observations following the Penguins’ 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at Mellon Arena in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final: — STAR GAZING The top three stars from Game 4: 1-G Marc-Andre Fleury, Penguins. His 37 saves gave him 64 of 68 in Games 3 and 4. There will [...]

Thoughts and observations from an off-day before Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final (plus some way late post-Game 3 commentary): ——— STAR GAZING Top stars from the Penguins’ 4-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday: 1. C Evgeni Malkin, Penguins: With three assists, his eyes are fully focused on two terrific trophies. [...]

Quick thoughts after Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, which the Penguins trail, 2-0, after a 3-1 loss to the Detroit Red Wings at Joe Louis Arena: ——— STAR GAZING My three stars from Game 2: 1. G Chris Osgood, Red Wings: Another 31-save effort has him two wins from the Hall of Fame. [...]