pravin

OK, i understand Flyers acted real quick on Philly. Neidermyer rejected a
bigger Devils offer to go to anaheim. But what about the others? Kariya,
Hedberg(probably cheaper than Joseph and a better reliever for our young
goalies), Holik, and a bunch of others have signed for some pretty
reasonable salaries. Who the hell is left?

I don't think they're looking for a reliever. They want someone who can
play most of the games as a starter this season.

Holik, and a bunch of others have signed for some pretty


There are quite a few players left but I don't look for the Pens to sign
anyone that would get you excited. I am starting to believe that they will
concentrate on getting Malkin over here and probably now Morozov. They may
pick up another wing on the cheap but it's not going to be the "best of
what's left" IMO. At any rate this signing period was WAY overhyped. Many
of the talking heads went overboard and I think this was do to letting their
own excitement get in the way of their reporting and speculation. Many fans
in turn bought into the reports stating things like -Many FA's are going to
be anxious to come to Pitt- , -The Pens are going to be very aggressive-, CP
is the exact GM you would want to go into the signing period with- (think
that was Ron Cook)..etc, yadda yadda. Of course now all these "heads" are
applauding CP on being "smart" and we the fans again look like the
impatient, naive children.

jd

Yeah, don't forget too that we threw 25 million Sergei Gonchar's way...

I think he's worth every penny and fits exactly into the style of game the
Pens will be playing this year. Hopefully they will get Malkin over here,
he's going to be something else as well.

JD

bmac

Did Pitt actually not pursue any of the FA's??? Or did they and just
end up not getting them because they chose to sign with someone else?

bmac

Don't forget our young guys were starting to play better, as well.
Malone, in particular. Also, I believe we still have Jackman,
Tarnstrom, and Orpik, right? Our "D" isn't as bad as many may think.
This season, it will not be a good play for the opposition to take a
penalty against the Pens, either. The PP is well stocked with guys
that can play the point, and get the puck on the net. As stated
above, it will be huge if they can get Malkin to play over here. I'd
also like to see Morozov back on the team, too. Acquiring Joseph as a
netminder is a bit intriguing, though I'm sure Joseph has the Pens
farther down his priority list than most people think. I can't wait
for the season to start...

I'm sure they perused some player, Domi reportedly turned down the Pens
offer. I saw CP also state that they made Kovy an offer as well though I'm
thinking it had to be very low as all reports indicated he really wanted to
come back. When all is said and done I think we might hear that the Pens
simply did not have the cash to throw around that all of us somehow thought
they did. Add to that the fact that bringing Malkin over to play a season
got much more expensive and I think the lack of activity on the Pens part is
understandable.

stalker

I agree with that. Ya named 3 solid "D" men, there. I'd be pretty stoked
to see Tarnstrom on a PP line with Gonchar... behind Lemieux, Crosby and
Malone (or Recchi)... going to bad-assed team to take a penalty against.

gartner

There is no reason to go nuts. They arn't winning the cup this year. You
have one of the best talents of the future on your team. Take your time and
make the right moves and its going to be hard to mess up.

jd

http://www.pittsburghpenguins.com/team/features/arts/1278.0.php

Nice stat about Sergei:

"Gonchar, a 6-2, 215-pound offensive defenseman and power play catalyst, has
scored more goals (74) and racked up more points (241) than any NHL
defenseman over the past four seasons. He looks to add to those numbers in
Pittsburgh. "

He's VERY happy to be in Pittsburgh, gotta love that.