THN: Top 50 players in the NHL: 1-10

By: The Hockey News on October 7, 2014

Sidney Crosby (Jamie Sabau/Getty Images)

In THN’s 2014-15 Yearbook, we asked our panel of executives, broadcasters and observers to rank the best hockey players in the world right now, heading into this season. If you were starting a franchise from scratch today, which players would you take?

We ended up with a ranking of the top 50 NHLers and we’ve been releasing that list in chunks of 10. Today, we finish with the top 10 players in the NHL and where they ranked on last year’s Top 50 (LY). Here is the rest of the list:

11-20
21-30
31-40
41-50

1. SIDNEY CROSBY | PITTSBURGH | C | LY: 1
It’s pretty difficult to go against the guy who won the MVP award in voting by the players and media last season and won the scoring championship by 17 points. Crosby only had two goals in 19 Olympic and playoff games, but an injured wrist undoubtedly contributed to that.

2. DREW DOUGHTY | LOS ANGELES | D | LY: 10
The best player for the best team in the Olympics and the best player for the best team in the playoffs rockets up our list. The Kings have had internal meetings about Doughty and have determined there isn’t a player in the NHL for whom they would trade him.

3. JONATHAN TOEWS | CHICAGO | C | LY: 6
The only thing keeping Toews from best player in the world status is the offensive numbers to go with his all-around level of excellence at both ends of the ice. He’s the best leader in the game today, and if there’s one player you don’t worry about when it comes to giving him a long-term deal, it’s Toews.

4. STEVEN STAMKOS | TAMPA BAY | C | LY: 3
Had Stamkos not broken his leg, there’s a good chance he would have won his third Rocket Richard Trophy. He was on pace for 68 goals prior to his injury in November. Even with missing half of 2013-14, Stamkos has 210 goals in his past five seasons, seven more than anyone else.

5. ANZE KOPITAR | LOS ANGELES | C | LY: 22
None other than Wayne Gretzky himself said during the playoffs that Kopitar is the third-best player in the world. We don’t completely agree, but he’s certainly not far off. Kopitar epitomizes the big center ice man who has become synonymous with success in the Western Conference.

6. RYAN GETZLAF | ANAHEIM | C | LY: 33
After putting up the equivalent of a 91-point season in 2012-13, Getzlaf faced the challenge of proving he could remain among the league’s offensive elite. He succeeded with flying colors. Unlike a lot of other stars, he doesn’t feast on the power play. No player scored more points per 60 minutes of 5-on-5 play than Getzlaf.

7. JOHN TAVARES | NY ISLANDERS | C | LY: 5
If Tavares hadn’t been injured during the Olympics, he likely would have finished second in NHL scoring with 90-plus points. That probably would have made him a Hart Trophy finalist for a second straight season. Any success the New York Islanders have in the next decade will be dependent upon how far Tavares can lead them.

8. PATRICE BERGERON | BOSTON | C | LY: 9
The winner of two of the past three Selke Trophies put up a 30-goal season to go with his defensive excellence in 2013-14. And he’s the undisputed best player in the league in two very key areas: puck possession and faceoffs. The analytics crowd loves this guy for very good reason.

9. CLAUDE GIROUX | PHILADELPHIA | C | LY: 16
Two summers ago he suffered a mysterious injury while golfing, and he had an off-ice setback (to say the least) this past summer. But we’re concerned with what players do on the ice, and Giroux is arguably the most creative and deceiving set-up man in the NHL today. He might have been the best player in the league in the last 60 games of 2013-14.

10. DUNCAN KEITH | CHICAGO | D | LY: 14
You look at Keith and wonder how this undersized, skinny guy gets it done. But he wins Norris trophies because he plays both ends of the ice with equal aplomb and logs big minutes, particularly in the playoffs. There might not be a better pure skater from the back end in the NHL today.

These rankings originally appeared in the 2014-15 THN Yearbook.

Dupuis may be Penguins' most important player

By Rob Rossi

http://triblive.com/sports

Tuesday, Oct. 7, 2014, 10:03 p.m.

 

Pascal Dupuis may have spent Tuesday night in the basement testing the limits of a stationary bicycle, flooding his basement floor in sweat. Everybody deals differently with disappointment. Dupuis' method is to channel bicycle climbs in the Tour de France, because it is better to sweat than sweat it, to push on than be pushed out.

That's what the Penguins were missing last season.

Well, that and the right fit to the right of Sidney Crosby.

Now that Dupuis is back from his blown out knee, all should get back to normal, right? Except, normal isn't part of the Penguins' makeup anymore. They're about change for the sake of change.

That's why Jim Rutherford is the general manager, Mike Johnston is the coach, there is a frosted-glass wall that divides the dressing room from the hockey operations department and one of hockey's best lines has gone the way of drafting defensemen, stretch passes and open lines of communication.

“I was never good enough to play with Sid,” Dupuis said from a strange feeling Consol Energy Center after the Penguins practiced Tuesday.

The feeling is strange because nobody seems comfortable, which might be a good thing for a franchise that has been passed by (at least) Los Angeles, Chicago and Boston in the NHL's salary-cap era.

Those franchises produce teams that win in the playoffs. This franchise doesn't.

Strange might be what the Penguins need. It has worked for their best clubs.

Strange certainly seems to be what the Penguins are going for with the hiring of a junior coach and the organizing of a management structure that already has fulfilled its promise to produce alliances among its members.

So, strange it is — and that's what it will be to see a second line centered by Brandon Sutter with Dupuis and Evgeni Malkin as his wingers. Johnston said that could happen against Anaheim in the regular-season opener at home Thursday night.

Now, Johnston also said Malkin playing as a right winger won't last. That's wise, because the Penguins' two weakest spots are their two top scoring lines, and until Rutherford trades an asset (Paul Martin) that's not going to change.

Dupuis' role really won't change either, even though the Penguins seem determined to change his position and placement.

He was the top-line right winger. He is the second-line left winger.

He was the guy who kept Crosby happy. He is the guy to keep Malkin happy.

That pretty much makes Dupuis the Penguins' most important player, because an unhappy Malkin — a really unhappy Malkin — will doom this club to the point that a first-round playoff exit would be an accomplishment.

Relax, everybody. Malkin isn't unhappy.

He is aware what has been and is being said about him privately within Penguins circles, and that contributed to some message sending of his own. But Pittsburgh remains the only place he wants to play hockey, the only city outside of Magnitogorsk and Moscow he wants to call home.

Malkin will be fine once he starts playing, but he will perform better if Johnston can find him a new preferred primary playmate.

Kunitz is a better fit as a left winger for Malkin. That's mostly because Kunitz's strengths — a simple, straight-line style blended with short-burst speed and physicality — would transform Malkin back into a look-to-shoot skater instead of the settle-for-setups one he became with James Neal.

However, Kunitz will play with Crosby. These are the Penguins, after all.

That leaves Dupuis for Malkin — and with the challenge of making something new work only seven months after surgery to repair knee ligaments.

“There are echoes,” Dupuis said. “Probably not in this room, where I've proven myself, but probably, definitely, there are people who have said I'm not the player I was. And I'm not playing with Sid right now, so that's where things are.

“We won the Cup, and I was on the fourth line. My attitude's not going to change.”

That's what the Penguins were missing last season, too.

Rob Rossi is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at rrossi@tribweb.com or via Twitter @RobRossi_Trib.

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It's a win, but it's certainly not "fixed"

By Mark Madden

Beaver County Times

http://www.timesonline.com/sports/

October 6, 2014

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Brice McCain, right, celebrates with teammates James Harrison (92) and Cameron Heyward, center, after he intercepted a Jacksonville Jaguars pass and ran it back for a touchdown during the second half of an NFL football game in Jacksonville, Fla., Sunday, Oct. 5, 2014. (AP Photo/Phelan M. Ebenhack)

After the Steelers mangled most of football’s general principles in a loss to previously winless Tampa Bay last week, coach Mike Tomlin vowed to “fix it.”

He didn’t. Not yet, anyway. It’s still broke.

A win is a win. But it’s difficult to be impressed by Sunday’s 17-9 victory at 0-5 Jacksonville. The Steelers lugged around the NFL’s worst team for far too long.

Jacksonville had previously been defeated by 17, 31, 27 and 19 points. The Jaguars had allowed an average of 38 points before Sunday. The Steelers scored 17 points, and seven of those came via defense.

The Steelers “only” took seven penalties. Most annoyed rather than damage, the potential for calamity relieved by Jacksonville’s severely limited capability. The Jaguars have lost eight straight, but never truly seemed out of this one.

Lance Moore spiked the ball after a pedestrian catch, drawing a delay-of-game penalty and Tomlin’s ire. When Tomlin jawed at Moore, Moore jawed back.

The Steelers went offside twice in a row on kickoffs.

Robert Golden committed two penalties on special teams. Golden is the special-teams captain.

Troy Polamalu went offside on a Jacksonville spike, taking the Jaguars five yards closer to a field goal in pursuit of a big play that was literally impossible to make.

Do the Steelers even listen to Tomlin?

The Steelers indulge an outdated version of football. They pass a bit more than they run, but many of Ben Roethlisberger’s passes might as well be runs. Fifteen of his 26 completions yesterday went to backs and tight ends. If bubble screens carried the Ebola virus, Jacksonville would be a wasteland of corpses.

Le’Veon Bell is the new “best all-around back in football,” except he’s not. In a quick-strike, score-often league, what will that get the Steelers?

Another 8-8 season, probably.

The notion of wearing the opposition down, then winning in the fourth quarter still works. As long as you play a team that hasn’t won since Dec. 5, 2013.

Then, it barely works.

If you’re tired of reading my tepid punch lines, I’m no less tired of watching the Steelers doggedly refuse to modernize.

I’m no less tired of watching offensive coordinator Todd Haley turn Ben Roethlisberger into Mike Tomczak. I’m no less tired of red-zone inefficiency. Memo to Haley: Yards aren’t points.

I’m no less tired of hearing what a miracle worker offensive line coach Mike Munchak is, yet Roethlisberger has already been sacked 15 times.

I’m no less tired of hearing about Dick LeBeau’s timeless defensive wisdom even as his bend-but-don’t-break defense bends and breaks. (Yesterday was an exception. But, QB Blake Bortles’ ample potential duly noted, Jacksonville’s rookie-infested offense would have a hard time scoring much in WPIAL Quad-A.)

The Steelers have the rep, but their results are limited. All hat, no cattle.

Perhaps it’s part of a building process. But right now, the Steelers stink.

Tomlin can’t “fix it” as long as the Steelers overestimate themselves, and where they should be. As I have little doubt they do. The Steelers’ biggest problem has always been their inability to recognize problems.

Next Sunday’s visit to Cleveland looms big. The Steelers blew a 27-3 halftime lead when the Browns visited Heinz Field for the season opener, only to salvage victory when Shaun Suisham hit a tiebreaking field goal as time expired.

Brice McCain saved the day Sunday with his pick-six. But McCain literally made me change the station when he said, during the radio post-game, that he was blessed, the Steelers were blessed and everybody was blessed.

If God watched yesterday’s dumpster fire at Jacksonville, I feel very confident in saying He would not want to be associated with it.

I bet God watches NFL RedZone.

Mark Madden hosts a radio show 3-6 p.m. weekdays on WXDX-FM (105.9).

Strong practice week preceded Brice McCain's heroics for Steelers

By Scott Brown

http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers

October 5, 2014

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- After a team whose season could have gone either way – and still could -- gritted out a win Sunday afternoon, there seemed to consensus among the Pittsburgh Steelers that cornerback Brice McCain played like a combination of Mel Blount and Rod Woodson last week in practice.

Coach Mike Tomlin said McCain had four interceptions during team drills. Veteran cornerbackIke Taylor said it was much higher than that.

“He had like seven picks during the week,” said Taylor, who is out with a broken arm. “In one practice, I think he had like three.”

McCain had one measly pick Sunday, but his timing was impeccable. The sixth-year veteran turned a pre-snap read into the play of the game, as well as a teaching tool for Tomlin.

[+] Enlarge

AP Photo/Phelan M. EbenhackBrice McCain turned practice production into a game-changing play in Jacksonville.

McCain jumped a route after a blitz hurried a throw from rookie quarterback Blake Bortles, and his interception and 23-yard return for a touchdown allowed the Steelers to hold off the winless Jacksonville Jaguars 17-9 at EverBank Field.

“I told him before the game, ‘Man you had a great week of practice. This is your game,’ ” Steelers free safety Mike Mitchell said.

There were several different ways to look at McCain’s game-changing interception two plays after Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger lost a fumble deep in Jacksonville territory with Pittsburgh clinging to a 10-9 lead.

It seemed, at first glance, to come from an unlikely source.

McCain, after all, had played so poorly in Houston in 2013 that the Steelers were able to sign the 27-year-old to a veteran minimum contract last March even though he has started in the NFL and is in his prime.

Tomlin preferred to look at the biggest play turned in by the Steelers’ defense this season as “football justice.”

“That’s the type of week [McCain] had in practice,” Tomlin said after the Steelers improved to 3-2. “It just reinforces the concept of the things that you do in practice have an opportunity to come up in a game.”

How many times do you think Tomlin will make mention of that to his players, especially the younger ones, when the Steelers practice for their game against the surprising Cleveland Browns?

A great week of practice and a little intelligence he had gleaned while playing on a team that shares a division with the Jaguars led to McCain making his fifth career interception.

With the Jaguars facing second-and-12 from their own 15, Bortles changed the play from a run to a pass with the Steelers showing blitz.

Split end Mike Brown veered inside, and when McCain saw him stick out his elbow, he said he knew from previous experience that the Jaguars were trying to run Steelers cornerback Cortez Allen and McCain into each other.

NFL Nation: Week 5 Coverage

•  Minnesota at Green Bay
•  Chicago at Carolina
•  Cleveland at Tennessee
•  St. Louis at Philadelphia
•  Atlanta at N.Y. Giants
•  Tampa Bay at New Orleans
•  Houston at Dallas
•  Buffalo at Detroit
•  Baltimore at Indianapolis
•  Pittsburgh at Jacksonville
•  Arizona at Denver
•  Kansas City at San Francisco
•  N.Y. Jets at San Diego
•  Cincinnati at New England

McCain avoided the traffic, and when Allen Hurns looped behind Brown, McCain was waiting for him – and the pass the Bortles wanted back as soon as he threw it.

“I looked back and he threw it right to me,” McCain said.

Bortles said Hurns, who is also a rookie, didn’t run the wrong route or that he should have shortened his route with the Steelers blitzing.

“I should have stayed with the play that was called, but it was just a bad read by me,” Bortles said. “Worst-case scenario, I should have just thrown it over his head.”

That wouldn’t be too hard, as McCain is generously listed at 5-foot-9 and is anything but the biggest guy in the world.

Despite his lack of height, nobody stood taller in the Steelers’ locker room after a win they had to have.

And Taylor, whose arm injury provided the opening for McCain to get on the field regularly as a nickelback, said what Bortles learned in his second career start: Don’t overlook McCain.

“He’s feisty and he hates to lose,” said Taylor, who broke his forearm two weeks ago. “He can run with anybody and you saw what he can do.”

Steelers vs. Jaguars preview

By Scott Brown and Michael DiRocco
http://espn.go.com/blog/pittsburgh-steelers
October 3, 3014



JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Jacksonville Jaguars are still searching for their first victory. The Pittsburgh Steelers are searching for redemption. 

The Jaguars (0-4), who play host to the Steelers (2-2) on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET at EverBank Field in rookie quarterback Blake Bortles’ first home start, haven’t lost by fewer than 17 points, but the schedule offered a pretty tough start. Three of the first four games were on the road, and three of the opponents were playoff teams in 2013 (Indianapolis, Philadelphia and San Diego). 

The Steelers are coming off a 27-24 home loss to Tampa Bay in which the Bucs scored the go-ahead touchdown with seven seconds remaining. That was the same Bucs team that lost to Atlanta by six touchdowns 10 days earlier. 

Steelers reporter Scott Brown and Jaguars reporter Michael DiRocco break down this week's matchup. 

DiRocco: That was a crushing loss to Tampa Bay last week. Tough, hard-nosed defense used to be the Steelers’ identity, so is the Bucs’ last-second victory at Heinz Field a sign that Dick LeBeau has lost a bit off his fastball or is it a case that they’re just not as talented on defense? 

Steelers at Jaguars: Stats of the Week

6.3

---

The Steelers lead the AFC with 6.3 yards per play. They can run and throw, and that balance bodes well for the offense consistently producing at a high level this season.

18

---

The Jaguars had 18 drives of three or fewer plays (not counting a one-play drive before halftime against Indianapolis) in 10 quarters under quarterback Chad Henne. The Jaguars have had just four in six quarters underBlake Bortles.

Brown: There has been a drop-off in talent, and the Steelers are also in transition, having gotten younger on defense while also working in some new players such as free safety Mike Mitchell and defensive end Cam Thomas. I simply don’t buy into the notion that LeBeau is too old or that the game has passed him by. Yes, he recently turned 77, but he could pass for 57 and is known to rip off pushups during breaks in practice. LeBeau is still very sharp, and believe me when I say that the Steelers’ defensive players feel awful when they don’t play well. They simply love the man and want to succeed for him in the worst way. 

The problem is that a LeBeau-coached defense needs outside linebackers who can consistently harass the opposing quarterback. The Steelers don’t have those kinds of pass-rushers unless Jason Worilds breaks out of his early-season slumber. I think the defense will get better as the season progresses, but the Steelers might have to score a lot of points to return to the playoffs after consecutive 8-8 seasons. 

The Jaguars whiffed on the Blaine Gabbert pick in 2011, but early indications are that they got their quarterback of the future when they took Bortles third overall in the 2014 draft. The future is now with Bortles starting. What are your early impressions of him, and how do you expect him to play in his first home start? 

DiRocco: I like what I’ve seen from the rookie from Central Florida. The things I’m most impressed with are his poise and demeanor on the field. He never gets rattled. He could be facing a jailbreak blitz or a four-man rush with great protection and you couldn’t tell the difference in the way he looks or acts. No panic, no happy feet, no bailing out. He has all the physical traits you want in a quarterback: size (6-foot-5, 230 pounds), good arm, the athleticism to move in the pocket and the ability to run with the ball. But it’s the things I mentioned before that I believe give him the chance to be a special player. 

As for how he’ll play Sunday, I expect him to certainly be a little jacked-up at the beginning. In fact, offensive coordinator Jedd Fisch joked about Bortles’ first pass being so terrible last week because he was so fired up to make his first start. Maybe he’ll call all-go on the first play and let the kid air it out just to get that out of the way. Seriously, though, I expect Bortles to play the way he did against San Diego. He completed a lot of shorter, high-percentage passes but took a couple shots downfield. He missed a few chances to go downfield more, so I expect him to take more shots this week. 

What are the Steelers hoping for and what do you think they will get out of James Harrison? Was it a smart move to coax him out of retirement? 

NFL Nation: Week 5 Previews

Our NFL Nation reporters break down the Week 5 schedule:

•  Minnesota at Green Bay
•  Chicago at Carolina
•  Cleveland at Tennessee
•  St. Louis at Philadelphia
•  Atlanta at N.Y. Giants
•  Tampa Bay at New Orleans
•  Houston at Dallas
•  Buffalo at Detroit
•  Kansas City at San Francisco
•  Baltimore at Indianapolis
•  Arizona at Denver
•  Pittsburgh at Jacksonville
•  N.Y. Jets at San Diego
•  Cincinnati at New England
•  Seattle at Washington

Brown: They really had no choice but to convince Harrison to play for one more season. Jarvis Jones is out until at least the middle of November, and the Steelers were dental-floss thin at outside linebacker before Jones got hurt. Harrison knows this defense and keeps himself in such good shape that it shouldn’t take long for him to get in the necessary football shape. The Steelers aren’t expecting him to be the James Harrison who made five consecutive Pro Bowls from 2007 to 2011, but he will play his share of snaps with Jones out. If Harrison can give them 25 to 30 snaps a game and help the anemic pass rush, I think the Steelers will be more than happy. 

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin made the Jaguars’ defensive line sound like the second coming of the Steel Curtain. Is the Jaguars’ front seven their biggest strength, and do you see Jacksonville winning the battle against the Steelers’ offensive line? 

DiRocco: It was supposed to be the defense’s biggest strength and it has been, but that’s not saying much because the defense has been terrible. The Jaguars are last in total defense, scoring defense and pass defense. They are tied for second with 12 sacks, but five of those came in the first half of the season opener. Defensive tackles Sen’Derrick Marks and Roy Miller have been the most consistent of the group and have played pretty well, but ends Chris Clemons and Red Bryant -- both of whom were signed after being cut by Seattle -- have been a bit of a disappointment. They haven’t played badly, but neither has made the kind of impact that was expected. Maybe those expectations were unfair because they’re both in their 30s, but they played in coach Gus Bradley’s system in Seattle. I can see the Jaguars having some success rushing the quarterback, but I think it’s going to be rough against the run because the Jaguars haven’t been able to consistently set the edge, which is dangerous against a back like Le’Veon Bell. 

Speaking of Bell, is he the AFC’s version of Matt Forte, a back who contributes nearly as much in the passing game as he does on the ground? He’s not your typical Steelers back, is he? 

Brown: That is what you heard a lot after the Steelers took Bell in the second round of the 2013 NFL draft, and certainly the former Michigan State star has done nothing to discourage comparisons to Forte. Bell is a complete back, and he quickly earned the trust of Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger with his ability to pick up blitzes. I will be honest and say that I thought Bell was a nice all-around back but that I didn’t see him emerging as one of the top runners through the first four weeks of the NFL season. Bell has been a dynamic player with uncanny patience for such a young back. He gives Pittsburgh the balance it desperately lacked the previous two seasons, and there is no question that the Steelers haven’t had as well-rounded a running back as Bell since Tomlin took over as head coach in 2007. 

I didn’t give the Buccaneers much, if any, chance to beat the Steelers last week, but they came into Heinz Field and sprung the upset. What do the Jaguars have to do to pull off a similar upset this week? 

DiRocco: The main thing would be to quit blowing coverages and stop giving up big plays. The Jaguars have given up 25 pass plays of 20 yards or longer this season, including six that have gone for touchdowns. Both of those numbers are, by far, the worst in the league. Bradley said earlier this week that he doesn’t think the defensive backs are doing enough to challenge receivers for the ball, citing the fact that Philip Rivers threw the ball 39 times and the defense broke up only two passes -- and one was a deflection at the line of scrimmage. The defense has been torched because players have been out of position or missed an assignment. That has to stop happening. The Jaguars can’t let Roethlisberger throw to wide-open receivers and still have a chance to win the game. 

Pirates' Priorities Should be Obvious

By Joe Starkey

http://triblive.com/sports/

Thursday, Oct. 2, 2014, 10:33 p.m.

 

Russell Martin hits a single in the second inning against the San Francisco Giants during the National League Wild Card game at PNC Park on October 1, 2014 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

(Justin K. Aller/Getty Images North America)

Looks from here like the Pirates should be set at seven positions next season. Not just set but potentially stacked.

The positions are left field (Starling Marte), center field (Andrew McCutchen), right field (Gregory Polanco), first base (Pedro Alvarez), second base (Neil Walker), shortstop (Jordy Mercer) and third base (Josh Harrison).

Nothing is guaranteed, obviously, but it's hard to imagine many teams showing up to spring training better fortified at those positions.

Polanco should be given every opportunity to realize his immense potential. Alvarez, in the worst season imaginable, still managed 18 home runs and finished second on the team (behind McCutchen) in at-bats per home run. He has 84 home runs over the past three seasons. Much as some want him gone, you don't dismiss power like that. A fresh start at first could be just what the man needs.

Harrison and Mercer must prove they can repeat. An approximation would be good enough in Harrison's case. Marte is a rising star. McCutchen is the best player in the National League. Walker brought his game to a new level.

That is a group of seven to envy, a group that could inflict some serious damage on the rest of the National League.

Here's the problem: Two other positions carry extra weight and often cost extra money. Lots of it.

Those would be catching and starting pitching.

Those are the areas the Pirates must target, and they won't be alone. Everybody wants pitching. Many need catching.

We've already witnessed the transformative impact a high-quality catcher can provide. Credit the Pirates for identifying a need and signing Russell Martin to a competitive free agent deal two years ago. He was the fifth-highest paid catcher in baseball this season.

Getting Martin was akin to the Detroit Tigers signing Pudge Rodriguez to a $40 million deal 10 years ago. In both cases, it changed everything.

It's hard to win big without a superior catcher. The Boston Red Sox managed to do so last season. The Pirates might be in such a position next season, although they are making the kind of noise rarely heard in these parts when it comes to a pending free agent.

Team owner Bob Nutting echoed general manager Neal Huntington on Wednesday when he said the Pirates would “stretch” financially in an effort to keep Martin.

What does that mean?

Well, if it doesn't mean three years and at least $45 million, then it's just talk. And unless Martin is willing to accept a discount, even that kind of deal likely won't be enough. The catching market is pathetic. Martin is filet mignon among a dozen burned hamburgers.

All it will take is one well-fortified franchise — like the Los Angeles Dodgers and their multibillion-dollar local TV deal — to outbid the Pirates. An extra $20 million or an extra few years is nothing to the Dodgers. It's franchise-changing to the Pirates.

If Martin turns down a fair offer from the Pirates and leaves, there will be nobody to blame, other than maybe Major League Baseball's still-inequitable financial system, which fails to adequately distribute massive resources such as local TV money.

If you're the Pirates, you cannot give a 32-year-old catcher (Martin turns 32 in February) more than three years, and you probably cannot go higher than $45 million-$50 million.

So what then?

Rising prospect Elias Diaz isn't yet ready, and 2009 first-round pick Tony Sanchez shows scant signs of ever being ready. So the Pirates would have to get resourceful. Luckily, Huntington has proven to be the resourceful type.

With no Martin, the club would also be advised to target at least one bona fide starting pitcher to go with whatever reclamation projects make their way into the system.

Clearly, if the Pirates are in position to go “way beyond” with Martin, they have some money to spend. Starting pitching would be the place. After Gerrit Cole, there are question marks. Young talent is on the way, but it's either rehabbing from injury (Jameson Taillon) or not quite ripe.

The Pirates would be wise to target two of their own in Francisco Liriano and Edinson Volquez. Failing to re-sign either, they should be in position for a modest spree. They don't shop in places where Max Scherzers are sold, but the next level down shouldn't be out of their range. Something like what the A's did last winter with Scott Kazmir (two years, $22 million) sounds about right.

Maybe the Pirates will surprise us and retain Martin. Doing so would allow them to save money in their ongoing pitcher-rehab program. Martin is an integral part of that.

If not, life goes on. The Pirates would have money to spend, some obvious places to spend it, and a talented core to build around.

Joe Starkey co-hosts a show 2 to 6 p.m. weekdays on 93.7 FM. Reach him at jraystarkey@gmail.com.

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