Forget the Gloom and Doom Pens Fans

This was written following the first couple days of the crazy NHL Free Agency season. The sports radio shows were alive with the Yinzers screaming at Ray Shero and Maid Marion and anyone else. I needed to settle some things down.

Taking a Look Back at What Has Transpired in the Past 48 Hours, and How All the Gloom and Doom May Be Over the Top

I’m aware Pens fans: Yes the Pens did not get priority numero uno this offseason, that of course being Marian Hossa.
Yes, I’m also well aware that said priority signed with the much-loathed Red Wings for a head-scratcher of a deal.
I also have seen the number of role players that have been scooped up by the rest of the league.
I also am quite attentive to the little detail that we are severely lacking in wingers.
And yet, I’m not quite ready to join the rest of you atop the USX Tower just yet.
Yes, it has not quite gone really the way that so many of us envisioned it going thus far, but to those of you moping about town in this miserable rain, I have four simple words for you, three words that could (and should) change your life and your off-season perspective on our Pens: In Ray We Trust.
And there it is.
That’s all I should have to say, end of story, end of column, end of bitching. That’s a wrap.



Sooooooo, that’s not quite enough to settle your nerves, then? Fine, I can live with that, but please, allow me to continue before you call up the Yinzer Yap Line and give Junker and Crowe a piece of your mind.
Is our team worse then we expected it to be at this point? Almost unquestionably. Thankfully, though, the season doesn’t yet start, and that’s where those four little words come into the equation.
Now look, I understand the desire for everyone to play the role of GM and evaluate the here and the now without looking at the fact that no games happen until October, and the playoffs don’t start for roughly 9 months. With that in mind, though, fans, I’m asking for something I know that you, as a collective unit, absolutely, positively do not have: Patience.
I know it’s still a mildly small sample size, but has Ray Shero let us down yet? Absolutely not. Not to sure about that statement, are we? Fine, let’s go to the Book O’ Facts.
(Channeling My Inner Dwight Schrute)
FACT: There was a ton of grumbling when the Pens picked Jordan Staal in Shero’s first draft because he was another center, and that worked out spectacularly.
FACT: Shero got Sid the Kid, Geno, The Flower, and Brooks “Free Candy” Orpik to all take less then their market value.
FACT: Shero’s trade for Gary Roberts was widely scrutinized at the time, partially because Dom Moore, a fan favorite, was dealt away in another trade at the same time. Hmmm….it sure seems like that worked out reasonably well, right?
FACT: He scooped up Sykora, Sydor, Conks, the aforementioned Moore, and several others on the free agent market on the real cheap, all of which way outperformed their contracts.There are numerous other facts that are relevant, but, truthfully, not one move Shero has made can really be construed as a poor one. And as for you crazies who are back to hating on the Hossa trade again now that he left, well all I can say to you is that if you think Army, Crusher, the vastly overrated Angie Esposito, and a near second rounder is worth more to this team then a few months of the Hoss, and that the aforementioned bunch of scrubs can’t be easily replaced, well then you, my fellow ‘Burghers, do not know hockey, and should be banned from any and all discussion of hockey.
Ray thus far has had the Midas touch, just like Goldmember, and, at least not yet, he has not yet touched it to much. (I deeply apologize for paraphrasing Beyoncee there, but it needed to be done).
Whenever you doubt these Pens, and after two sneaky good moves today in acquiring Satan and Fedotenko, you really shouldn’t be doubting them too much these days, just repeat those four words to yourself:
In Ray We Trust.

Pens Best Shot At A Title? Please.

This one was posted June 5 as well, the day after the Penguins lost Game Six to the Red Wings as I wrote it as a shot to those on the radio that day who were worried the Pens had missed their chance! Can you believe that?

It was a bit of a tough pill to swallow last night, watching our beloved Penguins season come to an end. Sure, it was our most successful run, and absolutely exceeded the pre-season expectations of any rational Pens fan, but still, you can't tell me that as the playoffs went forward, the thought of hoisting Lord Stanley's chalice hadn't crept into the nether regions of your mind., especially all those band wagon fans who broke many a bone jumping off the band wagon this morning after the season ended and they were able to talk Pens one last time with their co-workers before forgetting everything Pens that they have seen since jumping on the bandwagon a few months back.
When you see this kind of success in a team that is perceived as being mostly young, the natural assumption is also to take a look forward and ponder aloud the ever-so-dangerous word- "Dynasty?" and then analyze the roster to see if it's feasible, and almost universally, and in typical Pittsburgh fashion, the answer to this utterance has been nearly unanimous: "No".
AHA! I scream back at you naysayers, I couldn't be any more vehement in my disagreement. The constant over-analysis in the local media of the upcoming offseason has been simply unbearable, especially being that it began BEFORE THE FREAKING PLAYOFFS EVEN STARTED!!! Anywho, the analysis, though overdone and overshadowing an otherwise magnificent run, is not without merit. This is after all, the single most important offseason that this team has ever faced. Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Brooks Orpik, Pascal Dupuis, Marc-Andre Fleury (Restricted), and several others are all free agents after the season, and it is fully expected that both Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal will have discussions with the team about long term deals.
All of these players needing new contracts at once coupled with the team's success makes it a near certainty that some of the most important players will be gone by the time the puck drops next October (looking squarely at Marian Hossa). I fully understand all of this talk, but seriously Pittsburgh, what the hell? And by that, I of course mean, what's with the naysaying? How did we all seemingly come to the agreement that this is the best shot that a team whose best players can't even rent cars legally will have in their time together? Are they going to lose Hossa, Malone, and Orpik? Almost certainly. And, yes, absolutely, I expect our point total to decrease next year, but with a nucleus of Sidney Crosby (the greatest player on the face of the planet), Evgeni Malkin (one of the 5 best players on the planet and a perfect sniper for Crosby), Marc-Andre Fleury (a future Vezina Winner), Ryan Whitney (an All-Star defenseman in the making), and Jordan Staal (a Selke Award winner in the making), there's absolutely no way this team won't be a force to be reckoned with. Especially when you consider they will all get better over the next 5 years or so, to the point that if Geno, Fleury, and Staal all sign 5+ year deals, I guarantee at least 2 cups in that time, and I think that's conservative.
Look, the NHL is a much changed league, and I personally think the Pens are ahead of the curve. I fully expect the league to turn into a similar creature to the NBA in the next 5 years. By this, I mean that each team will revolve around a small core of players (mostly younger ones), and role players and veterans will stick to shorter 2 and 3 year deals that sees them rotate around the league like mercenaries. So naturally, the core around which the team is built becomes the most important facet, more so then these roles guys the Pens may lose (with the expection of Hossa of course), and in this New NHL, give me this core of Pens over anything anyone else can muster.