PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
The numbers being what they were, with Sidney Crosby's new deal averaging $8.7 million over five seasons, it should surprise no one that there were exactly 66 participants on the conference call held by the Penguins on Tuesday to commemorate the event.
The Pens couldn't have planned that.
Then again, with the way general manager Ray Shero has emerged this offseason as a master strategist, anything's possible. The Crosby contract extension crystallizes Shero's offseason approach of orchestrating for the here and now and for down the road.
By getting Crosby from impending restricted free agency to the 2012-2013 season, Shero has eliminated a potential distraction for his newly named captain.
By getting Crosby to agree to less than the maximum allowable under the NHL's version of the salary cap, Shero has improved his chances of retaining the likes of Marc-Andre Fleury, Evgeni Malkin and/or Jordan Staal over the long haul.
"He was willing to take less, being the team player that he is, to try to help in other areas," Shero said. "The ability to give something back and leave something on the table is a great tribute to him."
It was also a concession Shero admittedly hadn't considered in his initial projections, all of which included paying Crosby the maximum.
Better still, Crosby's gesture will increase in value along with the salary cap.
In the meantime, Shero has returned the favor by providing for Crosby the apparent answers to extending his next foray into the NHL playoffs beyond five games of the opening round.
That's how long it took Ottawa to usher Sid The Kid and Co. from the postseason to the offseason last spring.
The major problems then were the transition game and a power-play unit that evaporated.
Shero's response is to bolster both through the additions of Petr Sykora, Darryl Sydor and Kris Letang.
Sykora is the latest might-be winger Crosby has needed since entering the league.
But whether he becomes the next Warren Young or the next Nils Ekman in his attempt to make the most of the opportunities the superstar center consistently delivers, Sykora ought to at least make the second power-play unit more potent.
Sydor, 35 and Letang, 20, should, too.
If they deliver as advertised, it means the days of Brooks Orpik and Rob Scuderi manning the point on the second power play are over.
It also means the Pens will have at least one offensively gifted defenseman on the ice at all times, which ought to increase greatly the chances of getting the puck out of their own end and jump-starting the breakout.
Retaining the likes of Gary Roberts, Ryan Whitney, Mark Recchi, Erik Christensen, Max Talbot and Scuderi was about maintaining the status quo of a contender.
The free-agent signings of Sykora and Sydor and the anticipated promotion of Letang from the junior ranks is about moving forward, about improving, potentially, what had already been considered a team on the rise.
"It's just about the little details," Crosby said. "Those are the things that make a difference. You look at what Ray's done, you definitely get the feeling that there's an upside.
"I think these moves are going to make us a lot more difficult to play against."
Truth be told, there are probably about 66 reasons for that.
The Pens will settle for 8.7 of them, now and down the road.
Mike Prisuta is a columnist for the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. He can be reached at mprisuta@tribweb.com or 412-320-7923.
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