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June 26, 2012
Refreshing Penguins notes: Because the ice never melts in Hockeytahn.
* Ray Shero handled the Jordan Staal situation by the book. The Penguins general manager offered Staal a 10-year deal worth $60 million. When Staal declined, Shero moved him. Luck figured in. The lure of playing with his brother made Carolina a team Staal might consider signing with before reaching free agency in 2013. The Hurricanes thus provided greater return than Staal would have fetched anywhere else.
* Penguins fans shouldn’t hate Staal for wanting better, or for wanting to be his brother’s teammate. Staal would have been the Penguins’ third-line center forever. Skating on the third line isn’t what Staal dreamed of as a kid in Thunder Bay, and his talent and performance merit an opportunity of higher pedigree. Remember Staal fondly. He raised his game every time the bell rang for the playoffs. He’ll be difficult to replace.
* Brandon Sutter, 23, will give replacing Staal one hellacious try. He’s a prototypical third-line center, plenty of grit, and he’ll embrace that role. Sutter will net just shy of 20 most seasons and is affordable at $2.066 million per (two years remaining). In terms of complementing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Sutter is perfect.
* You can’t go wrong having a Staal, and you can’t go wrong having a Sutter: Six Sutter brothers played in the NHL from 1976-2001, two progeny are now in the league (Brandon is Brent’s son) and two more are on the way. One ominous note: Rich Sutter washed out in Pittsburgh. The Penguins drafted him 10th overall in 1982, but he played just nine games with the team before bouncing around the NHL until 1995.
* The main goal of dealing Zbynek Michalek to Phoenix was to open cap space. But Michalek just didn’t fit. He was a shutdown defenseman who never got a chance to shut down anybody. Coach Dan Bylsma wants his D to hit the deck by way of blocking shots and passes, but Michalek wasn’t good at that. So he’s gone. System uber alles.
* Defenseman Simon Despres, the Pens’ first-round pick in 2009, is a lock to make the team, maybe play top four. Defenseman Joe Morrow, their top choice in ’11, has a shot at sticking. Can you win a Stanley Cup with kids on defense? Expect the Pens to sign a veteran defenseman with leadership capabilities if the price is right.
* More than anything, Shero made bold moves because the Penguins had stagnated. No matter how good they looked on paper, the Penguins lost three consecutive playoff series to lower-seeded opponents. That merits a shakeup.
* The Penguins will take legit runs at signing defenseman Ryan Suter and winger Zach Parise when free agency hits Sunday. Parise should be their first choice because of the potential fit on Sidney Crosby’s line. Crosby and Parise are alumni of Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep in Minnesota. That connection is a plus. But would Parise take a bit less to come to Pittsburgh? He would have to. Crosby and Malkin take less. That means everyone else must do so, too.
* Paul Martin’s fate depends on what the Penguins do in free agency. You have to be under the cap by season’s start. If the Penguins make an impact signing, Martin goes. Despite Martin’s subpar performance in Pittsburgh, there’s decent interest in him.
* The Penguins now have seven defensemen who are all under 22, all first- or second-round draft picks. Can’t go wrong with that. Could Despres be trade bait? Why not? You got six more like him. Morrow is considered a better prospect in the long term.
* Congratulations to Malkin for winning the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, but it was anticlimactic. A foregone conclusion for months. More surprising and just as impressive: Winger James Neal joins Malkin as first-team NHL All-Star. Neal has been everything hoped for, perhaps even more. Neal is a true finisher, a stone-cold sharpshooter.
* Crosby will walk home with a bunch of hardware at next year’s NHL awards soiree. Crosby averaged a league-best 1.68 points in 22 games last season, but remember: Crosby not only missed lots of game time after being concussed on Jan. 1, 2011, he missed lots of training time, too. Crosby, a workout king, has been back to his old regimen for quite some time. When you least expect it, Crosby always finds another gear.
* Ray Shero handled the Jordan Staal situation by the book. The Penguins general manager offered Staal a 10-year deal worth $60 million. When Staal declined, Shero moved him. Luck figured in. The lure of playing with his brother made Carolina a team Staal might consider signing with before reaching free agency in 2013. The Hurricanes thus provided greater return than Staal would have fetched anywhere else.
* Penguins fans shouldn’t hate Staal for wanting better, or for wanting to be his brother’s teammate. Staal would have been the Penguins’ third-line center forever. Skating on the third line isn’t what Staal dreamed of as a kid in Thunder Bay, and his talent and performance merit an opportunity of higher pedigree. Remember Staal fondly. He raised his game every time the bell rang for the playoffs. He’ll be difficult to replace.
* Brandon Sutter, 23, will give replacing Staal one hellacious try. He’s a prototypical third-line center, plenty of grit, and he’ll embrace that role. Sutter will net just shy of 20 most seasons and is affordable at $2.066 million per (two years remaining). In terms of complementing Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, Sutter is perfect.
* You can’t go wrong having a Staal, and you can’t go wrong having a Sutter: Six Sutter brothers played in the NHL from 1976-2001, two progeny are now in the league (Brandon is Brent’s son) and two more are on the way. One ominous note: Rich Sutter washed out in Pittsburgh. The Penguins drafted him 10th overall in 1982, but he played just nine games with the team before bouncing around the NHL until 1995.
* The main goal of dealing Zbynek Michalek to Phoenix was to open cap space. But Michalek just didn’t fit. He was a shutdown defenseman who never got a chance to shut down anybody. Coach Dan Bylsma wants his D to hit the deck by way of blocking shots and passes, but Michalek wasn’t good at that. So he’s gone. System uber alles.
* Defenseman Simon Despres, the Pens’ first-round pick in 2009, is a lock to make the team, maybe play top four. Defenseman Joe Morrow, their top choice in ’11, has a shot at sticking. Can you win a Stanley Cup with kids on defense? Expect the Pens to sign a veteran defenseman with leadership capabilities if the price is right.
* More than anything, Shero made bold moves because the Penguins had stagnated. No matter how good they looked on paper, the Penguins lost three consecutive playoff series to lower-seeded opponents. That merits a shakeup.
* The Penguins will take legit runs at signing defenseman Ryan Suter and winger Zach Parise when free agency hits Sunday. Parise should be their first choice because of the potential fit on Sidney Crosby’s line. Crosby and Parise are alumni of Shattuck-St. Mary’s prep in Minnesota. That connection is a plus. But would Parise take a bit less to come to Pittsburgh? He would have to. Crosby and Malkin take less. That means everyone else must do so, too.
* Paul Martin’s fate depends on what the Penguins do in free agency. You have to be under the cap by season’s start. If the Penguins make an impact signing, Martin goes. Despite Martin’s subpar performance in Pittsburgh, there’s decent interest in him.
* The Penguins now have seven defensemen who are all under 22, all first- or second-round draft picks. Can’t go wrong with that. Could Despres be trade bait? Why not? You got six more like him. Morrow is considered a better prospect in the long term.
* Congratulations to Malkin for winning the Hart Trophy as NHL MVP, but it was anticlimactic. A foregone conclusion for months. More surprising and just as impressive: Winger James Neal joins Malkin as first-team NHL All-Star. Neal has been everything hoped for, perhaps even more. Neal is a true finisher, a stone-cold sharpshooter.
* Crosby will walk home with a bunch of hardware at next year’s NHL awards soiree. Crosby averaged a league-best 1.68 points in 22 games last season, but remember: Crosby not only missed lots of game time after being concussed on Jan. 1, 2011, he missed lots of training time, too. Crosby, a workout king, has been back to his old regimen for quite some time. When you least expect it, Crosby always finds another gear.
Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9)
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