Detroit Red Wings - Wherefore Art Thou Fans?

While last night was text book example of how a team can get caught on their heels and not recover I have to say how interesting it was to see so many empty seats at Joe Louis Arena. Cheap seats, Expensive seats – Did not matter. Empty clusters and Half-empty rows were scattered throughout as if this was “just another Detroit game.

I thought for a moment I was watching a Nashville game. Did anyone put the word out that Detroit is known around the league as “Hockeytown, USA” where every seat should be filled, after all … these are the conference finals, the bridge to the championship, the last push for that beloved battle to raise Lord Stanley’s Cup. Maybe it was because they are playing against Dallas, a team that hasn't been here for the playoffs in 10 years, when Detroit knocked them out of the Conference Finals in 6 games. Also, maybe because they are playing against a goalie that has yet to add a tick mark to the Win column when playing against Detroit. Even IF those are all true – Why would you still not pack the arena during the Conference Finals to show your team (Hockeytowns Team) that they have fans behind them? Is it because this is what you have come to expect from your team? Is it because it does not mean anything until your team is IN the Finals? Let us not forget the Month of February where your team went 4-8-2 being outscored in that month 28-38.

So what's the problem, I know the economy is bad and I am not telling people to go farther into debt for a Hockey game … but seriously, we're not talking 100,000 seats to fill at Joe Louis either. I would want to think there are enough fans and money in Hockeytown to fill those empty seats. Come on - if Detroit can fill Lions seats, why can’t they fill Red Wings seats.

Some great hockey is being played this year and this post season has given us games that will be relived for many years to come. Ever since Game 5 against Nashville, the Wings have been a different team. Grinding, hitting and hat-tricking. They haven't lost in three weeks. They look tight and enthused. They've gotten production from their stars and their supporting cast. They're protecting the puck and they're getting an enormous boost from Osgood, the goalie. This is the combination every great Stanley Cup winner possesses – The stars of the team shine, the supporting players back them up and before you know it, your lifting the Cup with tears running down your face … because since your 4th birthday when you were given those “New Skates” … THIS is the moment you have dreamed of.

If you missed last nights game, here's my quick wrap up. The Wings started off the night with too many opportunities. They got a 5-on-3 chance less than five minutes in. Nine seconds later, they scored -- a beautiful ricochet slapper by Brian Rafalski. How about Franzen, redirecting a puck for his 12th playoff goal and his fifth straight playoff game with a score -- tying a team record held by, ahem, Gordie Howe and Ted Lindsay. Even captain Nicklas Lidstrom said, when asked to evaluate the seven-game winning streak "It's comparable to some of the great teams (we've had).”

I still don’t think you can pin this win soley on the stellar game Detroit brought to the table. Dallas did not even show up, I think they were caught off guard early in the first period and never recovered. It looked, to me, as if the Stars were watching the puck to much and standing around waiting for something to happen. Well, Marty did the best he could … after all, I would assume knowing your playing in an arena where you are 0-8-2 might do something to your confidence. That is where the 5 guys in front of him have to say … Not Our Goalie!

I am excited about the Philly/Pittsburgh matchup tonight and I will wait to see how the Stars answer back in Game 2 before I cast my judgment.

San Jose Sharks - Shooting for the Stars

Anyone catch the last game in Dallas? 6 days ago I posted my thoughts on the Sharks/Stars match up. 4 games down and San Jose is looking at elimination is NOT what I had in mind. So, let me ask again ... Did anyone catch the last game in Dallas? The Sharks come out fighting, owning the corners, dominating the offensive zone. Marty Turco turns aside shot after shot … then, 5 minutes into the second period POW, Dallas scores and the Sharks pack it up. They might as well had their equipment truck back up to the zamboni entrance. San Jose’s game changed the moment they were down by one. Then, on an amazing breakout pass from Sergei Zubov, Patty Marleau pulls out another short-handed goal on Marty Turco (yes, 2 games in a row he did that!) I was shocked, and that is what energized them enough for Milan Michalek to convert the only power play (out of 6) to make it 2 – 1 by shoving in his third goal of the series, and Evgeni Nabokov had his strongest game of the series, and possibly of the playoffs, making 17 saves in the win, and the Sharks live to play another day. I bit my nails, Dallas threw everything they had at Nabby and the Sharks won!

The Sharks win came on the second night of a back to back games in Dallas because everyone expected there would be a Dallas Mavericks playoff game that night, but the Mav’s were eliminated by New Orleans. The win gives the Sharks a very small shred of hope, in that, this series is not quite over yet. What San Jose has done is planted that same thought, into the heads of the Dallas Stars, instead of hope, it’s in the form of doubt. It’s like a seed has been planted, and tonight, the Sharks need to do everything in their power to make that seed grow. If they play the “in your face” hockey they showed us at the end of the regular season I believe they can get Dallas to second guess their play and capitalize that into another win.

With Detroit completing their sweep of the Colorado Avalanche, the Sharks can hope that a possible date with Detroit could be just what they need to rejuvenate their passion into power. Just the thought about meeting Detroit for the Conference should have some Sharks players and fans licking their lips, thinking a possible revenge match could be waiting for them in the next round.

However, as we all know, one game does not make the series, and the Sharks aren't close to seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. A win tonight night will get them that much closer, plus keep them in the second round for one more game. As of now, there is no Game 6 or Game 7 that the Sharks can even think about, because if they don't win Game 5, then neither of those will ever exist. There are ways for San Jose to secure another trip to Dallas: A continued presence from guys like Mike Grier, Tomas Plihal, Torrey Mitchell, and Devin Setoguchi up front, not to mention Marleau’s continued hot streak, and the occasional appearance from Joe Thornton needs to become a little more consistent. Back that with pressure from the defense, Brian Campbell needs to show up and push San Jose’s Defensive lines like he did after the trade.

Kudos has to go to Ron Wilson for bringing Curtis Brown back … in his Stanley Cup debut this year his veteran leadership allowed San Jose the ability to hand the Stars zero points on their 3 power plays, Brown also won 7 of the 11 face offs. Brown’s efforts were part of the reason why San Jose is playing a Game Five on Friday. The Sharks are pining for a chance to make history. Only two teams have rallied from a 3-0 deficit to win a Stanley Cup Playoff series. In 1942, the Toronto Maple Leafs did that in their Finals series vs. Detroit. Thirty-three years later, the 1975 New York Islanders repeated that performance in the quarterfinals vs. Pittsburgh. And ironically, it’s been 33 years since that Islanders-Penguins series.

If you are into numbers … this could be a great omen for the Sharks.

“It’s an awfully big mountain to look at if you say, ‘We have to win four’,” Brown said of the Sharks elimination situation. “We have to take little steps and win one. And then hopefully another one. That’s how you take little bites out of that big hill.”

“We know what the task is,” Wilson said. “You’ve got to win four games in a row to win the series. It’s happened before. If you think you’re facing an impossible situation, then we shouldn’t even bother playing the game. The advantage for us is that we have two of the next three games at home. We can hold our home ice. We just have to win one more game in Dallas. You just try to find any way to look at something positive.”

Sean Avery - Fashionista Interning At Vogue Magazine

Sean Avery is transitioning from agitating hockey player to fashion magazine intern. Thats right, according to ABC News (www.abcnews.go.com) Sean has a soft side!

You can check out the story here - Ranger Wears Prada: Hockey Player to Intern at Vogue Magazine

Tampa Bay Wins the Stamkos Sweepstakes

The Tampa Bay Lightning have won the draft lottery and will almost certainly add superstar-to-be Steve Stamkos to their lineup essentially reconstructing a new "big three" with Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St Louis and Stamkos. Now if they can find some defense maybe they'll make the playoffs again.

Patrice Bergeron's Return Imminent

Patrice Bergeron met with his doctors this morning and was cleared for contact. He immediately went to practice and participated in his first full-contact practice since he suffered a grade 3 concussion in October. While his exact return date is uncertain, Patrice himself said that he won't play on Thursday in the Boston Bruin's opener against the Montreal Canadiens, it does look like he'll play at some point in the first round.

Cinderella Makes the Ball

The Washington Capitals completed their seemingly impossible venture from the basement of the Eastern Conference to the third playoff seed on Saturday night with a passionate, and somewhat dominant, win over the Florida Panthers. It topped off what has been one of the most remarkable stories of the year and puts the team in the playoffs for the first time in five years. It is, in many ways, the classic Cinderella story.

The team spent 50 days with the worst record in the conference prompting their coach to be replaced by his minor league counterpart only a few months into the season. Their group of young future stars and role players came together and exceeded all expectations under new leadership. They acquired a true veteran at the deadline that many, including myself, believed to have nothing left in the tank, or the chest, only to see him find his passion again. They traded for a goalie that was left behind by his former team, a goalie that would then lead the Caps to the playoffs by setting a franchise record for wins in a row. Their young superstar proved that he's the best player in the world and stands to be the first to win four NHL awards in single season. All of this resulted in the Capitals becoming only the second team in NHL history to go from finishing last in a division three years in a row to winning the division and the first since the NHL had more than 6 teams in the league. It is easily the greatest single and multi-season comeback in recent memory and the story shows no signs of ending anytime soon.

The Hope for a Night to Remember

The league MVP award is on the line tonight along with the Washington Capitals playoff hopes as Alexander Ovechkin leads the Caps into their final game of the season. They face the Florida Panthers, ironically the same team that did them a favor last night when they defeated Carolina, in what is easily the biggest game of Ovechkin's career and the the most important game for the Capitals in a very long time. All they have to do is earn a single point, just one, and they'll not only be in the playoffs but they'll also secure the third spot in the East and home ice advantage through at least the first round.

The Carolina Hurricanes and Capitals have been neck in neck in the Southeast Division for the last week or so as both teams surged towards a playoff birth. The teams come from very different angles, however, as the young Hurricanes franchise looks to overcome the disappointment of missing the playoffs last year after winning the Stanley Cup the year before. They started off incredibly well this season as one of the top team's in the East, and then tumbled through the standings before regaining their momentum at the end of the season. Washington, on the other hand, hasn't made the playoffs in years and struggled out of the gate prompting the dismissal of then coach Glen Hanlon. He was replaced by Bruce Boudreau and the team has soared since in what has become a record breaking season for their young superstar Alexander Ovechkin.

Ovechkin now has 65 goals on the season and 47 assists. He's set a new NHL record for goals by a left winger in a single season and was the first player to score more than 60 in a decade. He's easily the MVP of the league, but will he win the award if his team fails to make the playoffs? If history holds true, it's unlikely since the award is rarely given to someone on a team that failed to make the playoffs, which is just one of the reasons why he'll need to play the best game of his young career. A tremendous amount of pressure will also sit on the shoulders of Cristobal Huet, acquired at the trade deadline from the Montreal Canadiens, who has been nothing short of stellar since arriving in Washington.

Going into yesterday's games Washington was tied with Carolina in points, but Carolina had an additional win which gave them the top spot. All Carolina had to do was beat the Florida Panthers in their final game of the season to secure the division and their playoff birth. They out-shot the Panthers 46-17, but fell 4-3 in what can only be described as a devastating loss for the franchise. A loss that paves the way for Ovechkin and the young stars of the Capitals to make their playoff debut.

If they earn a point tonight and subsequently find themselves in the playoffs, they may just have the scoring depth and role players to surprise a number of teams. The NHL has to be quietly cheering for their new face of the league to make the post-season. It would make for quite a story and it's exactly the kind of drama that makes the NHL post-season the best season of any major sport.

Kyle Turris to Make NHL Debut This Week

The Phoenix Coyotes' will get a glimpse of their future this week with Kyle Turris making his NHL debut. The 18 year old signed an entry level deal with Phoenix that ended his career at the University of Wisconsin and started what could be a brilliant one in the NHL. Turris was taken third overall by the Coyotes in last year's draft and Wayne Gretzky has been very high on the youngster from the start. In fact, many thought he may even try to trade up at last year's draft just to make sure he was able to obtain the 6'1 centerman. Turris scored 121 points in 53 games last year for Burnaby in the BCHL and averaged a point per game at the University of Wisconsin. Getting Turris into the NHL this year is a great move for Phoenix as this will not count as the first year of Turris' contract but will get him some valuable time in the NHL before next season. Phoenix already has a number of standout youngsters including Peter Mueller, who is battling for the Calder Trophy as the league's best rookie, and the team continues to get better while they get younger with their newest addition. Had they had Ilya Bryzgalov between the pipes all season they'd easily be in the playoffs, but for now they stand as the number one team to watch for next year.

The Return of Patrice Bergeron

Note: This story combines data I found on yahoo, cbssportsline and a few other sites with my own observations.

Boston Bruins' young star centerman Patrice Bergeron wasn't thinking about hockey in November. He wasn't thinking about the next opponent or the playoffs or what he needed to do to elevate his already impressive game. At age 22, he was wondering whether he'd ever get a chance to play again.

On October 27th against the Philadelphia Flyers, Bergeron's career was forever changed when he was driven face first into the end boards at full speed by Flyers defenseman Randy Jones. The hit left him motionless on the ice for what seemed like an eternity. The medical staff cut away his gear before placing his neck in brace, taping his legs to one one another and moving him to a board to stabilize his body. He was finally moved on to a stretcher and taken to the hospital. It was a terrifying scene as Bergeron showed little to no movement throughout the process. He was ultimately diagnosed with a severe grade 3 concussion and a broken nose. There was good news, however, in that there was no damage to his neck or spine but his career was certainly in question.

Claude Julien was furious with the play, calling it a "dirty hit" and challenging the league to address the situation with the Flyers who, as a team, had been involved in three violent plays in their first 10 games. Ultimately, Julien was most likely disappointed in the suspension handed down by the league. Randy Jones was suspended for two games without pay, which ultimately cost him $5,614.98. For the Flyers, it wasn't much of a loss considering that Jones wasn't even one of their top four defensemen while it was a devastating loss for the Bruins.

Patrice Bergeron was one of the most promising young players in the league. 2005-2006, his second year in the league, was a breakout season for the 20 year old where he scored 31 goals and added 42 assists. 29 of those points were scored on the powerplay. The following year wasn't quite as great, but still a very good season with 70 points and 22 goals. There were high hopes for the 2007-2008 season as Bergeron had 7 points in the first 10 games, but the attention quickly shifted after the incident. The team no longer wondered how many points he' d scored but rather whether he'd ever score another goal again.

On November 8th, an ailing Patrice Bergeron held a press conference to discuss the game, the injury and his future. It was as gutsy a performance by a player that I can remember. Bergeron, still in a neck brace, physically struggled to even rotate his head to face the reporters. The lights, the noise, the commotion all seemed to take a toll on him. The rules were that he would answer questions in English for five minutes and then in French for another five and then he would walk away. It was ultimately a unique press conference where Bergeron called, not for the league, but for the players to change the game. He urged them to show a greater level of respect for one another and cut down on the dangerous hits from behind.

"You have to hold back -- hitting is a part of the game, but not from behind. We have to respect each other a little bit more. I know I'm not the only one who has been saying that this past year. Something needs to be done. We have to think about the consequences when you're on the ice. "

I have a tremendous amount of respect for Bergeron and I'd love to say that his sacrifice was worth it, that his press conference changed the game but I'd be lying. For me, there have been more dangerous hits from behind this year than any I can remember and the league continues to be shy about cracking down on it. I often wonder when we'll see someone get paralyzed on the ice. When it does happen, the league will need to shoulder part of the blame.

It's been about 5 months since the incident and Bergeron has fought through all of the pain and discomfort that comes with a concussion of that magnitude. In fact, at times it prevented him from even being able to watch his teammates as the lights and noise triggered debilitating headaches and dizziness that made it difficult to move around. Brief walks were a challenge and all the exercise his body could handle. Ultimately, he struggled to even leave his home. Over time, he regained some of the little things people generally take for granted. He was able to move around, go outside and eventually go see his teammates in person. It was one of the first steps he'd take.

Recovering from concussions is a difficult thing. It's about testing yourself and your body and being patient throughout the process. For Bergeron, a slow, steady five minute ride on an exercise bike in December was a huge step forward and the biggest "win" he'd had since the injury. Throughout his exercise program the headaches would return forcing Bergeron to scale back his approach. After a period of time, he'd try again and see how far he could go without the headaches and dizziness bringing him back to earth. Then he took a big step in late February when he started skating again. It started slowly, with him skating before and after practice by himself with no gear. Two weeks ago his dedication, patience and persistence allowed him to return to practice with his teammates. He wears a special colored jersey so that his teammates know that he is only practicing in a "non-contact" fashion but being back with the team is exactly what he wanted.

Now, he stands at the edge of an incredibly remarkable milestone. On Wednesday he will have a number of neuro tests done and they will determine whether or not he is ready for contact again. If all goes well, and the tests provide positive results, it certainly seems like Bergeron will be back this season. The Boston Bruins, who are desperately hanging on to a playoff spot in the East, would love to have their star in the lineup but they also won't take any changes with a player so young. For them, it's just great to have him back in the locker room. The likelihood of us seeing him back during the regular season are slim-to-none, but the post-season might be a different matter. Regardless, it's great to hear that his return is now a matter of "when" as opposed to "if." He's just happy to be back in the environment, back with the team and back to focusing on the game we all love.

“It’s a great feeling to be around the guys again, be around the locker room, have a chance to skate with the guys. I waited 4 1/2 months to have a chance to do that,” Bergeron said. “It’s a great sport, and you don’t appreciate it as much; you don’t say thanks enough.

“Now that I’ve been away from it, I get a chance to realize it’s my passion. I’m thankful for every second, every minute that I’m on the ice.”

A Night of Milestones With Okposo and Ovechkin

Kyle Okposo scores his first NHL goal in his second game helping the New York Islanders down the New Jersey Devil 3-1. Meanwhile in Atlanta, Alexander Ovechkin scores two goals and leads the Washington Capitals to a remarkable four goal third period comeback over the Atlanta Thrashers to keep the Caps' playoff hopes alive. He also added two assists and finished at a +4 with 9 shots on goal. The goals were his 59th and 60th of the season, making him the first player to reach the 60 goals mark since Mario Lemieux and Jaromir Jagr did it nearly a decade ago.

The Marian Hossa Gamble

It was the blockbuster trade of the deadline and possibly one of the most shocking deal I can remember. Pittsburgh Penguins, who’d only been loosely rumored to even have an interest in Marian Hossa, swooped in at the last second and sent Sidney Crosby’s best friend right winger Colby Armstrong, sniper Erik Christensen, 1^st round draft pick Angelo Esposito and a 1^st round draft pick to the Atlanta Thrashers for Hossa and defensive-minded forward Pascal Dupuis. The reaction was mixed from everyone, including myself. I didn’t mind Christensen, Esposito and the 1^st rounder, but giving up Armstrong stung a bit. The Penguins have struggled to play the kind of nasty, gritty game that is often necessary in the playoffs and they sent one of their few guys who could excel in that environment. Of course, the other big question was whether or not Hossa would purely be a rental or if the Penguins had found their Jari Kurri for their Wayne Gretzky.

Marian Hossa entered the league as an Ottawa Senator when they drafted him 12 overall in 1997. At 6’1, 210 lbs he’s an incredible skater with remarkably soft hands. It’s nearly impossible to move him off the puck in the offensive zone and he possesses one of the best shots in the league. He’s consistently put up impressive regular season numbers failing to hit the 30 goal mark only 2 times in the last 10 years and in one of those he scored 29.

He spent 7 seasons in Ottawa before being traded to the Atlanta Thrasher in exchange for, the then troubled, Dany Heatley. Hossa, himself, hadn’t been able to avoid trouble. On a follow through from a slapshot, Hossa’s stick came up and clipped Toronto Maple Leaf’s defenseman Brian Berard in the eye. Berard collapsed to the ice in a pool of blood and was rushed to the hospital. The initial diagnosis was that he would most likely never see out of that eye again. After 7 operations he regained 20/600 vision in the eye and eventually returned to the NHL. While the play was clearly an accident there were many, including Maple Leafs GM Pat Quinn, who felt like it was actually a dirty play. Hossa apologized to Berard and his family and both were said to have accepted the apology.

Heatley, on the other hand, was involved in an off-ice incident that resulted in the death of a friend and teammate. Dan Snyder and Heatley were driving back from a season ticket holder function with Heatley behind the wheel. According to police, Heatley was driving in excess of 80 mph and lost control of his Ferrari. The results of the crash were devastating and Dan Synder died at the hospital without ever having regained consciousness. Heatley himself suffered a knee injury that cost him the next season, but he was at risk of spending time in prison for the accident. Heatley was found guilty of first-degree vehicular homicide, which carries a 3-15 year prison sentence, but Synder’s family pleaded with the judge to keep Heatley out of prison. Ultimately, he was sentenced to 3 years probation and was traded 6 months later. Heatley himself requested the trade, claiming he wanted a fresh start.

Hossa excelled in his new environment playing alongside young phenom Ilya Kovalchuk. His first season in Atlanta was a career year for him where he put up 39 goals and 53 assists. He followed that up with an even better performance and helped the Thrashers reach the playoffs for the first time in franchise history with his first 100 point season. All in all, he scored 82 goals and added 110 assists in those first two seasons for the Thrashers and Atlanta seemed to have the one-two punch of superstar forwards that coaches dream of. Unfortunately, Atlanta was swept in the first round and Hossa had little impact on the series registering only 1 assist and finishing with a -6 in the four games. In fact, the biggest knock against Hossa has always been his lack of playoff production or at least that’s what we were hearing leading up to the trade deadline. Over his career, he’s played in 55 post-season games accumulating 13 goals and 22 assists with a -9 rating. These are the stats that were thrown around by analysts as they evaluated Hossa’ value to a playoff bound team but if you look at these numbers a little more closely things are not quite what they seem.

If you remove the 99-2000 season, which was only his third year in the league where he put up 56 points during the regular season, the numbers seem to change pretty drastically. Furthermore, if you look at 01-03, the two years in which the Senators went deep into the playoffs, Hossa’s stats don’t look so unimpressive. Over those two years he played in 30 playoff games and put up 26 points, which is a solid effort for any forward. In fact, if you compare those percentages to what Teemu Selanne did the last two season for the Ducks, 29 points in 37 games, it’s about on-par with what you’d expect from a star forward. In fact, his numbers are better than Selanne’s. I’m not sure a player can ever produce enough points in the playoffs, but it’s seems a bit unfair to accuse of him of disappearing during the post-season.

Career Postseason Stats
Totals	Team	GP	G	A	Pts	+/-	PM	PP	SHG	GWG	S	SPct.
1998-99	Ott	4	0	2	2	1	4	0	0	0	11	0.00
1999-00	Ott	6	0	0	0	-8	2	0	0	0	14	0.00
2000-01	Ott	4	1	1	2	1	4	0	0	0	12	8.33
2001-02	Ott	12	4	6	10	2	2	1	0	0	42	9.52
2002-03	Ott	18	5	11	16	-1	6	3	0	1	54	9.26
2003-04	Ott	7	3	1	4	2	0	1	0	2	32	9.38
2006-07	Atl	4	0	1	1	-6	6	0	0	0	10	0.00
Career		55	13	22	35	-9	24	5	0	3	175	7.43

The Thrashers have desperately been trying to build a solid fanbase in the south and even sold away some of their future for playoff rental players last season so allowing Marian Hossa to walk at first seemed illogical. It eventually became clear that Hossa wasn’t too interested in staying in Atlanta. I’ve heard many concerns over the franchise in general, especially in relation to their minor league and developmental programs, and this decision seems to echo them. Ultimately, he forced their hand and the Thrashers simply couldn’t let him walk for nothing. They got a fine package in return as Armstrong and Christensen have both played well since arriving in Atlanta, Esposito could be a future star in the league and the upcoming draft is deep enough for them to snatch a valuable player with the last first round pick. Atlanta was probably has happy as could be expected.

The Penguins, on the other hand, took heat for the trade. Many felt like Hossa was purely a rental and the Pens wouldn’t be able to afford him next season with Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury and Ryan Malone all requiring new deals in the near future. However, I’m not quite certain that they can’t. I looked up some of the salary numbers and I don’t claim these to be particularly accurate but they should be in the ballpark.

PLAYER	POS	TEAM	D.O.B.	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
In the NHL
HOSSA, MARIAN	R	PIT	79/01/12	$7,000,000	$7,500,000	$7,500,000
GONCHAR, SERGEI	D	PIT	74/04/13	$5,500,000	$6,000,000	$5,500,000
ROBERTS, GARY	L	PIT	66/05/23	$2,500,000	retire
SYDOR, DARRYL	D	PIT	72/05/13	$2,500,000	$2,500,000	UFA
SYKORA, PETR	R	PIT	76/11/19	$2,500,000	$2,500,000	UFA
WHITNEY, RYAN	D	PIT	83/02/19	$2,500,000	$3,000,000	$3,500,000
GILL, HAL	D	PIT	75/04/06	$2,075,000	$2,100,000	UFA
EATON, MARK	D	PIT	77/05/06	$1,600,000	release
FLEURY, MARC-ANDRE	G	PIT	84/11/28	$1,600,000	$5,000,000	$6,000,000
MALONE, RYAN	L	PIT	79/12/01	$1,450,000	$3,000,000	$3,500,000
LARAQUE, GEORGES	R	PIT	76/12/07	$1,300,000	$1,500,000
RUUTU, JARKKO	L	PIT	75/08/23	$1,150,000	release
ORPIK, BROOKS	D	PIT	80/09/26	$1,075,000	$1,500,000	$1,500,000
MALKIN, EVGENI	C	PIT	86/07/31	$984,200	$984,200	$8,000,000
DUPUIS, PASCAL	L	PIT	79/04/07	$880,000	$1,500,000	$1,500,000
CROSBY, SIDNEY	C	PIT	87/08/07	$850,000	$9,000,000	$9,000,000
STAAL, JORDAN	C	PIT	88/09/10	$850,000	$850,000	RFA
SCUDERI, ROBERT	D	PIT	78/12/30	$700,000	$725,000	UFA
TALBOT, MAXIME	C	PIT	84/02/11	$650,000	$700,000	RFA
LETANG, KRISTOPHER	D	PIT	87/04/24	$560,000	$685,000	$625,000
KENNEDY, TYLER	C	PIT	86/07/15	$550,000	$550,000	RFA
SABOURIN, DANY	G	PIT	80/09/02	$500,000	$525,000	UFA
TAFFE, JEFF	L	PIT	81/02/19	$500,000	$800,000	$800,000
JAMES, CONNOR	L	PIT	82/08/25	$475,000	$475,000
NHL totals				$40,249,200	$51,394,200	$47,425,000

The 07-08 numbers should all be pro-rated based on the amount of time that player will spend with Pittsburgh. As you can see I released a few players, assumed Gary Roberts would retire and signed the proper players to new contracts (the numbers in bold). Again, I don’t claim any of this to be accurate but I don’t think it’s too far off. Whether or not the team will want to spend close to the cap remains to be seen. Even if they do signing Hossa does put Pittsburgh at risk once Malkin’s new contract kicks in which will have to be in the neighborhood of 8-9 million. I think Pittsburgh will try to sign him and perhaps the lure of playing with Crosby and Malkin on a team that will be competing for the cup every year will be too much to turn down, wishful thinking I know, but it’s pretty clear that re-signing him was not the initial goal anyways. The goal appears to be this year’s playoffs and a trade like this tells everyone that the team wants to win right now. So the big question is whether or not Hossa can make the difference.

Hossa’s “career” in Pittsburgh started rough as he only lasted 10 minutes in his debut before a knee on knee collision sent him to the dressing room and forced him to sit for 8 days. He finally returned on the 16^th at home against the Philadelphia Flyers where he had a goal and an assist with a +2 rating. This, of course, was without Crosby who continues to rest his high ankle sprain. Hossa didn’t line up with Malkin, as expected, but seemed to bounce between lines as is typical for Michele Therrien, the Penguins coach. One line that did seem to show some serious potential had Staal flanked by Dupuis and Hossa. This line continues to show up occasionally and seems to have a great balance of solid play in their own zone with the capability of producing scoring chances at any time. In the following game Hossa finished with 5 shots on goal and an assist in a game where the Penguins played poorly against the New York Rangers. In his third game he played nearly 20 minutes, his most since coming to Pittsburgh, but failed to register a point. His lack of points that night had everything to do with Mike Smith, Tampa Bay’s goalie, making 6 or 7 mind blowing saves in the third on nearly every Penguin. Hossa could have , and should have, easily finished with 2 or 3 points.

So far, Hossa seems to be settling in quite nicely even without the guy who will ultimately be feeding him the puck during the playoffs. He’s shown that he can play on nearly any line and has shown flashes of the brilliance for which he’s been heralded. When Crosby returns, which should be next week, we’ll finally get to see how this experiment/gamble paid off. One things for certain, if the Penguins win the cup no one will question the trade, but if they struggle and are then unable to re-sign Hossa, the hockey world will be anything but forgiving.