Penguins send 3 to Youngstars game

Malkin, Staal, and Whitney are heading to the YoungStars game during the All-Star festivities. While this was kind of expected and good news for Staal and Whitney, Malkin has hopes and a good chance of being in the big game. Malkin will at least get to show people where he stands against Kopitar in the Calder race.

Crosby story on ESPN front page...

Finally a Hockey story on the front page of ESPN.com. It is a pretty good article so read up.

If you missed it click here

Bad News for the Pens...

Well looks like the Silver Bullet to end all of the Pens problems has missed the target. Now comes the long political grandstanding, fighting for a good deal and daily are they or aren't they leaving talk. This make me think of just one quote...

When are people going to learn? ... Democracy doesn't work!
-- Homer J. Simpson, free-thinking anarchist, "Much Apu About Nothing"

Special thanks to The Simpsons Archive

Crosby #1 Star of the Week

This probably the easiest vote that the NHL had to make after Crosby put up 10 points in two games and 13 points in 4 game this week in which the Pens went 3-1.

Balsillie no longer buying the Pens...

In what was kind of a shock with everything that is going on with the Pens, Jim Balsillie has informed the Penguins he is no longer going to buy the Pens. The comes at a very odd time with the award of the license so close, just 4 days away. This could mean many many things for the Penguins. One of the reasons that seems to be coming out is that the NHL wanted Balsillie to keep the Penguins in Pittsburgh even if they didn't get the Arena. If this is the case it is a good step for the Penguins that the NHL really does mean it when they say they want to keep the Pens in Pittsburgh. Also if Balsillie real plan was to move the Pens then everything must be going in the right direction for the Pens getting an Arena because he pulled out so close to being either forced to keep the Pens here or having to come up with a Plan B. I think what was going to play out is that the IOC wasn't going to win the license because they didn't grease the right pockets and Balsillie was going to make the City out to be the bad guys by saying their plan isn't viable. Hopefully he is seeing all the signs point to IOC winning and that caused him to want to break down talks with the NHL, but that just me being hopeful.

14 days...

The next two week are pretty big for the Penguins.

In two weeks the Penguins and Pittsburgh will know if the Isle of Capri will have won the gaming license. This will remove all doubt that the Pens are leaving and they will be here for the next 20 years. Stories coming out lately about the gaming license has been that IOC is the front runner. I have my doubt due to the fact that Forrest City did a good job of lining the pockets of key political parties in Harrisburg that have a strong impact on the Gaming Board. I hope this is not the case.

Also in two week there should be a better idea of where the rest of the Penguins season is going. If they pull out of this nose dive and start to climb the standing again there is a lot to look forward to. If not, well lets talk about that at that time.

LeClair waived...

The Pens placed LeClair on waivers today. I am hoping someone takes him because while it would relieve the Pens from paying his $1.5 million salary it would also allow him to play. Last year when he complained that he wasn't traded I could have cared less what happen to him on the ice but he came back and played well and didn't complain. This year he has kept up the same work ethic and help the Pens off the ice if not on it and I am glad he has been a Penguin. It just now that there is no ice time for him and when Malone comes back he might be scratched even more.

All-Star Voting...

The latest results in the All-Star balloting shows that the number 1 and 2 vote getters in the Eastern Conference are Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for the forwards. The top vote getter in the Eastern Conference for goaltenders is Marc-Andre Fleury.

Keep voting for the Pens players here.

Crosby To Play...

Good News today was the Crosby announced himself fit to play which mean he is very close to 100%. This coupled with the news that Yashin is out for 2-4 weeks mean that the game with the Islander will be much different then the last one in which the Pens lost 3-1.

Crosby Out...

Sidney Crosby was ruled out of the game tonight with the Boston Bruins. This hurts the team in the short term but it is probably better that he doesn't play with a lot of the games coming up against the Atlantic Division. He will need to be healthy against the Atlantic because those game are much more important.

Malkin 1, Russia 0

US courts ruled yesterday that the Russian Hockey Federation was unable to stop Malkin and the other Russian players, who gave their 2 week notice, from playing in the NHL. This means that Malkin will be here for the whole year and that this legal problem will most likely be done with. The fact that the motion was flatly rejected means that Russia really has no chance of winning a court case.

The next question is will this cause Russia to quit seeing green and sign the transfer agreement. It is probably likely as they have been close many time to signing only to have Malkin's Russian team stop it because they wanted a big pay day but now probably won't get anything from him. They took a gamble and lost now it is back to the drawing board.

Staal stays...Letang goes...

Jordan Staal has past the first deadline in his rookie season with the Pens. It was announced today that he will remain on the Penguins roster for his 10th game on Wed. The next decision comes at the 40 game make when his 7 year clock for unrestricted free agency will start but that is a few months down the road and will be easier for the Pens depending on the season and his play.

Kristopher Letang on the other hand was sent back to his Junior club today. It wasn't a surprising move as he was scratched for the Pens last two games and after seeing his ice time cut back in the games before. While it was an impress preseason and first 2 game for Letang, it isn't really a set back for him as Defenseman take awhile to adapt to the NHL as Whitney and Welch are examples of this. He is still apart of the Pens future I am sure.

Welch recalled

Noah Welch has been recalled from the Baby Pens. While this was going to happen at some point this year, it is a little strange that they would recall Welch after Malone went down. This most likely means that Letang is going to be sent back to his Junior team in the coming days. Sending Letang down will leave the Pens without a single Right handed Defenseman in the system. The question is how long this stay will last for Welch with Orpik and Cairns to return from the injury list before too long.

I think the most likely move for the Pens to replace Malone will be to move Ouellet up to the top line and either insert two of Stewart, Roy, or Thorburn on to the 4th line. Ouellet seems to have good chemistry with Crosby on the Power Play and it would be easier for him to move into that role then anyone else outside of the second line. They could also call up Talbot until Petrovicky returns from injury.

Malone out 4 - 6 weeks...

It was confirmed today that Malone will be out 4 - 6 weeks with a broken right forearm. It was broken in the 2nd period of the Blue Jackets game during a fight. It could be seen when Malone was going into the Penalty Box, he said to Crosby while looking at his arm that it was broken.

I don't think that this is going to make an impact on the Staal decision because it is unlikely that he will fill in for Malone.

Malkin to return Wed...

TSN is reporting on their homepage (gotta love TSN for Hockey) that Therrien said during practice today that Malkin will return for the game on Wed vs the Devils. This could come at a better time. Hopefully this will give the Pens the much needed 2nd line scoring that they have missed in the first 4 games after getting nothing from Malone, LeClair, and a group of other that were on the line from time to time. It will also take some of the defensive pressure and allow Crosby to find some room to make plays because either one of them is going to do something. It could also give the Pens their third straight win against division foes. Also since it is not a Saturday game the Pens should come out with some energy and play well.

The countdown begins...

Good Article...

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a great article on the new Penguins owner Jim Balsillie. While he answered all the questions they way you would expect it seems that there is quite a bit of truth to his answers. He seems very sincere and forward in his answer the night he was introduced as the new owner on opening night. While there is still a lot to figure out in funding the new arena (Slot license and Plan B) here is hoping what he says is true.

Malkin a week away?

A story from the AP today says that Malkin practiced in some limited contact drills today and Therrien said today that he is looking for Malkin to be ready sometime next week. Here is to hoping that the Pens are taking everything slowly with him so that he isn't out for the year with the next big hit.

Roster set for Opening Night...

The Pens announced today that they have made there final cuts for the beginning of the season. There were couple of surprises in the roster most notably was that Staal and Letang both made the roster at 18 and 19 respectively. Also it was a surprise that the Pens kept all three goaltenders to start the season. Not making the opening day roster were Welch and Talbot.

The Pens keeping Staal and Letang means that they both will likely be here for at least 9 games at which point the real decision has to be made if they will stay the whole season or be sent back to Juniors. Staal will most likely have to tear it up in the first nine game because Pens will probably not want to have to try to sign both Malkin and Staal in the same year assuming that they both become the players that they are expected to. While this is a long time down the road it is still going to play a part in the decision. Staal making the team also probably means that Malkin will be out for most of the 4-6 weeks and Staal might be able to fill that void for awhile.

Letang is a different story. While there is nothing keeping him from playing the whole year, chances are that he faces the same fate as Staal because the Pens do have Cairns injured and Welch waiting in the wings. So if Letang starts to lose ice time early he would be sent back. Another factor in putting him on the opening day roster puts the carrot in front of him to sign his contract and by doing so relieves the Pens of the fear of him wanting to reenter the draft in '07 if he remained unsigned until then.

While these are tough decisions that need to be made by November, it is still a good thing because just a few years ago the Pens had to just sign enough people to fill a roster let alone worry about who was better.

The weekend that was and a Malkin update...

The Pens had a so-so weekend in the terms of the preseason. The went 1-2 by beating the Flyers, for the second time this week, 2-1 yesterday and losing to the Sabers and Caps in OT. In all good things can be said about the Power Play and Even strength however the PK is still a problem which needs to be worked on. The fact that this problem is showing up in the preseason is a good thing because it let them know that they need to work on it a LOT more. The goaltending was pretty good except for Fluery who has struggled in his last two games. Therrien did not mix words when he said that he expects more out of him and that while he is the go-to goalie that might not last long at this rate.

The Pens have also cut down the roster to 27 with the first question answered of where Christensen would start the season and it will be with the Baby Pens. He has a less then stellar preseason going basically unnoticed in most of the games that he was a part of. The only questions left are about Staal, Welch, Talbot, and possibly Letang on who if any will make the team. Welch and Letang have the hardest task ahead of them because of the Pens 6 Defenseman on 1-way contracts. Staal might have an easier time making team if it is for just 9 games until Malkin hopefully returns.

Also what seems to be the only real story about the Pens for the past 8 months is Malkin. The second opinion on his shoulder was good news since it was revealed that he does not need surgery that would have put him out for at least 4 months. While the Pens did not have any time table on his return, he still could be back within the first few weeks of the season.

Injury Updates...

The latest on the injury front is that Malkin has a dislocated shoulder and Recchi has a broken cheek bone. There is no word on how long Malkin will be out of action but chances are slim that he will be ready for the opener that is two weeks away. Recchi however could play if this was the regular season but since it is not he will probably be out of action for a few preseason games.