A league-wide disrespect for the Penguins?

[randy]

A common thread throughout this season sofar?

From Fats Hitchcock's Crosby diving remarks (with reinforcement in the Philly press), to Derian Hatcher's stick to gum surgery, to Rangers fans endless chanting of "crosby sucks", to Ilya Kovalchuk's comments and on ice antics (dont forget LeCavalier a couple seasons back too), getting blown right off the ice by the B's, (any more?) Is there a lack of respect for the Pittsburgh Penguins by other teams? are the pens perceived as an"easy out".

yeah, i'd say so.

Being at the bottom of the standings for 3 years or so can do that I guess.

A common theme from Bryan Trottier throughout the Islander glory years was that they demanded that other teams respect them. They always made a point of verbally tattooing that fact after every playoff series they won. That may be a good concept to get back to.

How so?

By having a killer powerplay? That could take years to put together. Hell, Ive been waiting 10 years for a right handed d that can move the puck.

First comes respect, then with it, wins.

[Pitts]

How so?

Howabout plain old experience?? What do you expect from a team full of rookies working with a few vets with no heart? Give the kids time to mature into the group we all expect them to. Then they can demand respect.

[netwolf]

Nevermind that the Islander teams you mention were actually good. The fact that they were extremely tough to beat had nothing to do with the respect they got.

Edit: looks like the bandwidth ran out on my new favorite smiley...

[ExPatriatePen]

Nevermind that the Islander teams you mention were actually good. The fact that they were extremely tough to beat had nothing to do with the respect they got.

Talent isn't enough by itself. Sometimes desire and fortitude are precursors to Talent.

That's the great thing about the NHL. The most talented team doesn't always win, more often, it's the team with the most heart.

[netwolf]

Talent isn't enough by itself. Sometimes desire and fortitude are precursors to Talent.

That's the great thing about the NHL. The most talented team doesn't always win, more often, it's the team with the most heart.

Very true and I don't disagree with that at all. My issue is that some people seem to ignore the talent part and still seem to believe in that "if you can't bet 'em, beat 'em up" garbage. Ironically, some of them routinely decry the tactics of the Broad Street Bullies-era Flyer teams.

[Peter]

Randy I"m not getting your point. You think we're disrespected, but you also acklowledge that it is because of bad play. Yes and yes. I don't blame the rest of the league.