Rob Rossi: Month of Change for Pens

By Rob Rossi TRIBUNE-REVIEW Sunday, August 28, 2005 Mark Recchi's job placed him in Philadelphia and Montreal after the Penguins traded him in 1992, but he's been a Pittsburgher all the while -- maintaining an offseason home in the city where his NHL career began. And, he does know that the Steelers come first, and everything else, a distant second. But, that's changed over the past month. "Everybody's talking about us," Recchi said. "It's not too often you can upstage the Steelers when they are in training camp, but we've made some noise. We'll take that and run with it." The noise the Penguins have made since a magical Friday in late-July has resonated not just in Pittsburgh but around the hockey world. "I'm really thrilled that the Penguins are back on the map," said Bill Clement, a hockey analyst for ESPN. "They were on their death bed, and they were told there was no cure, and then, somehow, they got a cure for what was ailing them. "It was a miracle cure. It's really unbelievable." For the Penguins, it came in dosages. First, the NHL resumed business July 22, coming back from a season-long absence with a new collective bargaining agreement that included the salary cap necessary for competitive balance. Later that day, the Penguins won the NHL's draft lottery, thus giving them the opportunity to draft Canadian teenage phenom Sidney Crosby, whom they selected in the July 30th draft. And from there, everything went crazy. On Aug. 3, the Penguins made their big splash in free agency by agreeing to terms with offensive-defenseman Sergei Gonchar. They landed a much-needed enforcer, Andre Roy, the next day. With Aug. 8 came the inking of high-scoring winger Zigmund Palffy. Two days later, the club traded for and then signed goaltender Jocelyn Thibault. They apparently capped their spending spree with the signing of bruising power forward John LeClair on Aug. 15. Perhaps, there is no greater indication of just how far the Penguins have come over the past month than the following statement from agent Steve Bartlett: "It's funny: I called (general manager Craig Patrick) about a couple of free agents I had, and the first thing out of Craig's mouth was, 'We're aiming higher.' " From landing Crosby to all their free agency moves, the Penguins have gone from a team that finished at the bottom of the league when NHL games were last played in 2003-04 to one that has all the makings of Stanley Cup contender in the near future. "I've never seen anything like this," Recchi said. "Getting Crosby changed the gameplan. Obviously, they believed in Crosby, that they had a player they could build the franchise around, and they set out to put some established stars around him. "Then, when they got Gonchar, they showed that they were serious about winning. Other guys around the league took note of that." Guys such as LeClair, who built a deep friendship with Recchi while the two played together in Philadelphia. Still, that friendship wasn't what sold LeClair on the Penguins. "Mark didn't exactly have to sell me hard on Pittsburgh at all," LeClair said. "The Penguins, after all the moves they had made, weren't really a hard sell." Such words are music to team president Ken Sawyer's ears, especially as the franchise tries to make good on his goal of selling out every game for the 2005-06 season. The Penguins sold only 475,080 tickets during the 2003-04 season, good for a league-low average of 11,877 per game. To date, they have already exceeded that total for the upcoming season -- and individual tickets don't go on sale until Sept. 17. "We knew we would have an exciting team because we have some good young players, and we planned to be active in free agency, but we didn't expect sales to be like this," team president Ken Sawyer said. "No question, Crosby was the catalyst, and the signings have sustained (ticket sales). Everybody seems to realize that we'll be one of the more exciting teams in the league. "It's pretty obvious that there was a pent-up demand for winning hockey." What isn't so obvious is whether or not winning hockey -- or, at least, the prospect of winning hockey -- will be enough to land the Penguins the new arena they so desperately covet. The club is trying to put some political pressure on lawmakers to back their bid for slots license by upgrading their on-ice product. The thinking is that allowing the Penguins to leave when their lease at Mellon Arena expires after the 2006-07 season would prove more difficult if the team is selling out the building deep into the playoffs. "I think what the Penguins have done over the past month dramatically enhances their position, politically, because now they have expressed by finance their faith in the city of Pittsburgh by rebuilding their franchise," said Jerry Shuster, a political communications professor at Pitt and Robert Morris. "They're putting their money where their mouth is. "The Penguins are saying, 'We're planning to go out there to win.' They are sincere in their effort to make their team a viable contender for the Cup. They can use that as an argument that their faith is in the city of Pittsburgh -- they can say to the city, 'Where is your faith in us?'" Before rejoining the Penguins prior to the NHL lockout, Recchi put his faith in owner/player Mario Lemieux and Patrick to rebuild the once-proud franchise. He is beyond pleased that such faith has been rewarded. "I just can't wait to put that jersey on the first night (Oct. 5)," he said. "Part of the fact with coming back was getting this franchise back to where it should be." A little more than a month and it is well on its way. Rob Rossi can be reached at rrossi@tribweb.com or (412) 380-5635. Today's Most-Read Articles 1. Analysis: Time to make cuts 2. Notebook: Parker played ahead of Haynes against Redskins 3. Steelers offense continues to struggle 4. Month of change for Pens 5. Revis in 'comfort zone'