pens/sens thoughts

[penny lane]

3rd period letdown by the senators not withstanding there is no excuse the penguins can use as to why they were not more energized.

Sidney's end of 1st period penalty; was it because Sid thought he had a goal in the 1st and they would not review? OR, because he thought D Heatley should have received 4 mins for elbow to face/head? Sid talked with 1 ref nothing heated & then went to the other one & that is the one who called the penalty. shocking that the pens announcers had no clue what happen.

The 5-on-3 I would rather see R Whitney get into the opponents zone and
then whisk Gonchar into the play. How frustrating to not even be able to set-up a play.

Penguins need a winger to score goals, need somebody with a hunger
to score goals. If pens tied it up or take the lead in the 1st put the sens
on their heels.

If pens get a lottery pick this may be the year to see what other teams offer in terms of picks/players.

Heard Paul STeigerwald complaining that the pens did not use any time
to scrimmage & this contributed heavily to the loss. Poor power play
an issue too.

Can't believe it is tanking time once again.

[Mad City Mike]

Sidney's end of 1st period penalty; was it because Sid thought he had a goal in the 1st and they would not review? OR, because he thought D Heatley should have received 4 mins for elbow to face/head? Sid talked with 1 ref nothing heated & then went to the other one & that is the one who called the penalty. shocking that the pens announcers had no clue what happen.

It can't possibly be the goal call. That clearly hit the post. It had to be the hit on recchi, which I personally didn't think warranted a penalty.

The 5-on-3 I would rather see R Whitney get into the opponents zone andthen whisk Gonchar into the play. How frustrating to not even be able to set-up a play.

Gonchar should have been sent to the press box after his heinous giveaway on that 5-on-3. But the whole thing was a classic case of being outworked. It was embarrassing.

Penguins need a winger to score goals, need somebody with a hunger to score goals. If pens tied it up or take the lead in the 1st put the sens on their heels.

Absolutely. They could have gotten up on the Sens, who were flat early. But the Pens were too. Sid had a very bad game by his standards. The one nice pass he made just got tipped by Emory, and mhe spent most of the rest of the night trying to beat three guys by himself.

If pens get a lottery pick this may be the year to see what other teams offer in terms of picks/players.

They absolutely should, and they should not rule out dealing Malkin for a huge return. But saying this is contingent on them having a new GM in place to make these deals. if Patrick is still there, then no way do I recommend either option.

[Pitts]

Trade the pick, never Malkin. If they trade Malkin you with hear Naslund comparisons beyond reproach! How anyone would think to trade a commodity like Malkin is beyond belief. Having a 1-2 of Crosby-Malkin is a GM's wet dream right now. Don't be silly.

[netwolf]

I think most of the "Trade Malkin" type stuff comes from two things.

1. People are worried they won't be able to get him over here. A vlid concern with no IIHF agreement. However, Malkin has been quoted that his club will not stand in his way if he wants to come over. That just leaves compensation to work out. If the Olympics were a true indication of this kid's ability, cut the Russian's a $5 million check and stay out of the the FA pool this summer. Rookie growing pains aside, Malkin will have more impact on this team than anyone they could sign anyway.

2. People remember what the Lindros trade did for Quebec/Colorado. I don't know that a deal like that could be struck under a slaray cap environment. Besides, I think all GMs look at that deal and how it worked out from Philly's end and realize it might not be the best move.

[Stoosh]

The Lindros trade broke down as follows (thanks, TSN)...

QUE received - Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, PHI's 1st-round pick in 1993 (Stephane Fiset) and PHI's 1st-round pick in 1994 (which was later traded to TOR and then to WSH) and cash.

PHI received - Eric Lindros

Six players, two picks and cash for one player. Netwolf is right...no way that type of deal happens again in the cap era unless the majority of those players are prospects.

Something else to think about, too. The Lindros deal certainly helped set up the QUE/COL franchise for the Cup, but they won that Cup four years after they made the Lindros deal. It didn't happen overnight and some might argue that it wouldn't have happened at all had Mario Tremblay just pulled Roy after the first period of that infamous Canadiens-Red Wings game in 1995. Consider this...barring another trade for a goalie, the Avs tie their playoff hopes that year to either Stephane Fiset or...Jocelyn Thibault.

[DelPen]

The Lindros trade broke down as follows (thanks, TSN)...

QUE received - Ron Hextall, Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, PHI's 1st-round pick in 1993 (Stephane Fiset) and PHI's 1st-round pick in 1994 (which was later traded to TOR and then to WSH) and cash.

PHI received - Eric Lindros

Six players, two picks and cash for one player. Netwolf is right...no way that type of deal happens again in the cap era unless the majority of those players are prospects.

Something else to think about, too. The Lindros deal certainly helped set up the QUE/COL franchise for the Cup, but they won that Cup four years after they made the Lindros deal. It didn't happen overnight and some might argue that it wouldn't have happened at all had Mario Tremblay just pulled Roy after the first period of that infamous Canadiens-Red Wings game in 1995. Consider this...barring another trade for a goalie, the Avs tie their playoff hopes that year to either Stephane Fiset or...Jocelyn Thibault.

And the Nords already had at that time Nolan, Sakic, Foote, Leschyshyn, Sundin and Kamensky to build on. The only guy we have in that class is Crosby.

[Pitts]

Agree Del and Stoosh. We don't have another Quebec/Colorado setup on our hands. Better to Keep Malkin and build for the Cup in a few seasons here.

[DelPen]

We're more like the Senators from the late 90's right now. It took them 7 years to get good, we are in the end of year 4 now. The drafted in the top 3 for 4 years in a row, so will we after this year.

[penny lane]

Agree Del and Stoosh. We don't have another Quebec/Colorado setup on our hands. Better to Keep Malkin and build for the Cup in a few seasons here.

Keep E Malkin for sure! But, if we are so lucky to get another lottery
pick for 06; depending on GM see what other teams may offer in
terms of players who can score goals for our 2 prime centers.

[Jamie]

I agree with trading the pick for an EXCELLENT return. What I mean by excellent is a goal scoring winger, and a SOLID d-man, or two PROVEN NHL scoring wingers. These players should not be at the end of their careers. DO NOT TRADE MALKIN. I think you have to try and get that kid over here.