Don't blame anyone

Don't blame Malone

Malone made that obvious by issuing statements Tuesday to The Trib ("We will not talk to anyone until July 1") and the Columbus Dispatch ("I don't want any team I go to to give up a possible teammate"), seemingly torpedoing any chance the Pens had to deal his pre-free agency negotiating rights for a draft pick or a player or both.

Translation: I'd rather screw the Penguins than the Blue Jackets.

Malone isn't screwing anyone. Any deal the Pens would have made for his negotiating rights would have surely been contigent on the team acquiring him signing him to a long-term contract. Malone's well within his right's to wait until July 1 to field all offers. He's this close, he might as well go all the way to let a possible 30 teams bid on his services instead of negotiating with just one.

Further, hundreds of players are about to become free agents. Sure their are special situations where an impending free agent like Vincent Prospal getting dealt, but for the most part they all go into the UFA market with no return to their team. Malone is no different, and he shouldn't be faulted for that.

For anyone to suggest more is foolish.

Talking about what we don't want to talk about

We've been very immersed in the Penguins playoff run, it's been thrilling and historic. But this little break in the action means not much news which means our attention turned to what's been for a years a great site to round-up the pulse of newspaper writings in every NHL city: Spector's Hockey.

We have purposely been avoiding this site for rumors for the oncoming reality of not keeping this team 100% intact (Hossa, Malone, Dupuis, Orpik, Ruutu, Hall, Roberts and Laraque are all unrestricted while young guys like Malkin, Staal and Fleury are all in line to get extensions this summer). Some of those names will be back, but all won't.

Our quick scan to find any news and notes about these players, we figured to see Hossa and Orpik and boy did we. Writers aren't GMs but do carry the buzz of their corner of the hockey word. And, after all what team wouldn't be in the market for a forceful young defenseman like Orpik or a sensational scoring winger like Hossa?

The current buzz seems to place some interest for Orpik in Minnesota or Manhattan while Toronto is dreaming outloud about buying out Darcy Tucker and trying to squeezing in Hossa.

This is not earth-shattering revelations, but a sad look of things to come once the Stanley Cup finals end. But, you know what, we'll take the sinking feeling of losing an important or player or two in the summer for the trade off of dancing with Lord Stanley.

Extension for Malone to wait 'til summer..

..If at all.

One of the biggest changes the NHL has gone through since instituting the salary cap has been granting players unrestricted free agency at a younger age. That's a big reason you're seeing teams lock up players that are 24, 25 years old or younger for 5, 6, or even 12 or 13 years now.

Ryan Malone is a poster boy for this. At 28 years old, he's at the prime of his career. And, fortunately for Bugsy, he's having a career year (24 goals, 45 points and counting). At 6'4 and 220 pounds, he's always been big. But he's using it more effectively and consistently. That sound of lip smacking is about 30 general managers imagining adding a power forward to their lineup.

But Malone will hit the market with fewer than 300 career NHL games for the Penguins. He was drafted in the old CBA, where teams had a lot more time before they had to start developing prospects professionaly. Malone was drafted in the summer of 1999 but didn't join the Penguins until finishing his senior year at St. Cloud State. Throw in the lost lockout year and he's only had four seasons in Pittsburgh's organization.

Through teams good and bad Malone's always been a consistent 20 goal scorer (last year he netted 16 in 64 games of an injury shortened season). But he's never been this good.

So, how are the negotiations going?.

The Penguins are believed to have recently offered Malone a long-term contract,but not at significantly more than his current $1.45 million salary.

Uhh that's not going to get it done for a guy who will hit the open market. Teams historically over-pay for talent on July 1st---$8 million on two years of Todd Bertuzzi and Robert Lang, $20.4 million on six years for Dainius Zubrus last summer and so on and so on. It's easy to make a case that al of those guys are more established than Malone, but they were also older and had more "wear in the tires" too.

It's not crazy to think some team will swoop in and offer at least $12 million for four years for Malone...But would he leave?

Malone has publically stated he hopes to remain a Penguin. And who wouldn't? It's a bright time for the organization and Malone's played with centers like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin for the past two and a half seasons. Taters has been a physical force, but he's not been the one primarily lugging the puck up the ice or making many decisions with the biscuit. It's simple; drive to the net, create room for the playmakers, cycle the puck and throw the body around and the puck on target.

But Bugsy is a Pittsburgh boy, you say. While true he spent his formative years (from high school senior through college) in the upper middle west. And, what will come as a newsflash to many Pens fans who believe Malone is the prototypical "hometown discount" remember that he makes his offseason home not in Pittsburgh, but in Minnesota.

There was a very telling quote by Ray Shero in that article, one that sounded more than willing to acknowledge this might be it:

"For every goal he scores, assist or fight he has - look, we're rooting for him. I hope he has a great playoff," Shero said. "It's the way the system is, and Ryan knows what our feelings are."

The Penguins have a general plan and they know what they're doing. Priority #1 this summer is obviously locking up Evgeni Malkin....Marc-Andre Fleury will also need new deal and the Pens can look to extend Jordan Staal if they want to as well. As crazy as it sounds, don't sleep on the the Pens not making at least a pitch for Marian Hossa either. If they're willing to spend to the salary cap, like has been reported it might be workable.

Immediately, There's 13 players next season under contract, the forwards are: Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Petr Sykora, Maxime Talbot, Tyler Kennedy. The defense is a lot more set: Sergei Gonchar, Ryan Whitney, Hal Gill, Darryl Sydor, Kris Letang, Rob Scuderi (and Alex Goligoski) are under contract. Dany Sabourin is too, but that's a different issue for a diferent day.

By our unscientific math that's a cap hit of right at $34 million...That leaves about $18 million to what's expected to be the cap; even if they don't make any moves on trying to shed a guy like Sydor ($2.5) or Whitney ($4) It'll be decision time to see who the Penguins want to bring back, who they're able to bring back and what will happen.

Start with Ryan Malone, end up with a thesis paper about the Penguins salary cap next season...That's Sweater Ted style, baby.

Orpik wants to stay....But why?

Gary Roberts, Georges Laraque, Mark Eaton, Jarrko Ruutu, Adam Hall, Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik

What do those seven Penguins skaters have in common? As of July 1 they are free to find another place to play.

Ray Shero, smartly, has only signed veterans for a term of one or two years, preferring to spend the lion-share of the team’s cap room on the nucleus of the franchise’s core. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to identify the core: it’s Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, Staal and Whitney. And it shouldn’t be a surprise.

All of the impending unrestricted free agents are pretty good at what role they’re cast to. They’re veterans and most, as you’d expect, are predictably reliable. None, however, are cornerstones to the team and it’s not a stretch to imagine the majority of this list could be plying their craft somewhere else starting next fall.

There are two players of this bunch that intrigue us here at TST the most. They probably intrigue most Pens fans and observers because they have the complete package: size, skill, reasonable speed, physicality and most hauntingly “the potential of youth”. Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik, though almost UFA ready still seem like they have the potential to have a bigger impact than they’ve since shown. Both lack consistency. Both have shown flashes of brilliance.

Thanks to the new Collective Bargaining Agreement Malone (28) and Orpik (27) are years younger than the tradition unrestricted free agent. Malone’s NHL career is just 266 games so far and Orpik has only 264, which is just over 3 seasons worth for both. It’s strange to think both are hitting the open market when it seems like they’re just getting started.

We bring this up over something Orpik said in today’s Post-Gazette.

Even though there have been times this season when Orpik has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff, he said he'd be "very receptive" to negotiating a deal to remain with the Penguins.
"I've loved all the time I've had here," he said. "I love the guys here, love the direction Ray [Shero, the general manager] has put the organization in. Everything here is done first-class, very professionally."
While there clearly would be a market for a defenseman with Orpik's willingness -- and ability -- to play the body, he expressed no great desire to test the open market.
"Some guys get really upset with where they're at," Orpik said. "They can't wait to get to July 1 to get out of a situation. ... I've talked with a lot of guys I've played with here who have gone other places, and they kind of wish they could come back."

While we don’t doubt Orpik must enjoy his teammates and the only organ-eye-zation he’s ever known, doesn’t he have an agent? One that could tell him that if a 32 year old Andy Sutton can fetch $9 million over three years then dangit Brooks, you can too.

Also a new opportunity might do Orpik well. As the article alludes to, he’s been benched, gone through a long streak of sitting in the press box (including once in his hometown of Bahhston) and even when he’s in the lineup he’s averaged 16:46.

Orpik’s done his part to make his minutes count, with a team high 129 hits. He is the only physical defenseman on the roster, given the next blueliner is Kris Letang (39 hits in 31 games) and, brace yourself, the Sarge (34 hits in 45 games).

But physical play doesn’t always translate into smart play or indicate the coaches are happy with your performance. Orpik is on the ice for penalty kills a mere :42 a game. He mans a point on the powerplay (if you can call it that) for an average of :50 a game.

So you’re a physical defenseman but the coaches don’t trust you on the PK. You’re getting less icetime than a 20 year old rookie. You have the chance for a big payday with a team that will fall for your big hits and “potential” for more consistency. But you want to stay?

We’ll see how this pans out, we’d love to see Orpik stay and love even more for his performance (and minutes) to pick up but we just can’t see it happening.

By the way, UFA predictions:

• Ruutu: Didn’t get a bigger role, 80% chance of leaving
• Laraque: Still is happy here, team still needs that presence, 75% staying
• Eaton: Great when not injured, problem is injured too much, 50% staying (we think the Pens might not want him for durability fear, not Eaton wanting to leave)
• Hall: Great roleplayer and PK’er but his type is a dime-a-dozen 40% of staying just since Shero knows him so well
• Roberts: whatever he wants to do, stay, go to a Canadian team, retire…As usual Gary’s calling the shots, 100% awesome
• Malone: Pittsburgh boy, hard to see him leaving when he’s so comfortable with team/city but it is UFA; 50% chance of staying
• Orpik: Saying all the right things but all signs are pointing to a departure, 25% chance of staying (due to above comments)
  
  

You know who is back at it....

Here we go again...

Hossa to Pitt (e2) Yeh, indeed. The pending UFA would pretty much be the ideal fit in Pitt. What I am hearing is that IF the Pens could get Hossa to agree to some sort of extension, Jordan Staal + could be the pricetag. Big IF. However,Hossa could become Crosby's Kurri pretty damn quick.

Is he hearing this from the voices in his head? The Penguins have to tow the line as much as possible before the new arena, even with all the sell-outs Forbes estimated they still don't rake in that much revenue relative to the rest of the league.

``Evgeni Malkin will need a long-term contract and probably be looking at the $7-$8.7 million range a year long-term, a bump of $3+ million.
``Marc-Andre Fleury will be a restricted free agent
``Important players will be unrestricted: Ryan Malone, Mark Eaton, Brooks Orpik....Whether the Pens want them back (or how much interest they might command on an open market) is a whole 'nother issue). The point is though, if they're gone the team is going to have to find somewhat veteran or good players to fill their roles.


Still, in the most foolish thing I've done on this blog since sourcing wikipedia, let's acknowledge this "rumor" as a legitimate one.

No doubting Hossa and Crosby (or Malkin and Hossa) would make for a dynamic offensive duo that would be very frightening. But this isn't your Xbox360 and it's not so simple just to pluck elite wingers.

Also, why would Atlanta want to trade him? Sure there's a risk of losing him as a UFA, but that's a risk coach/GM Don Waddell has taken---and got burned on many times watching players leave his club as UFAs. Also, after a terrible start that cost Bob Hartley his job the Tbombs are up to .500 hockey (43 points in 43 games). That may not be a total playoff pace, but they’ve been one of the conference’s better statistical team for the past 30-35 games and may not want to deal away one of their best players.

What exactly would they want in addition to Staal? If it was a non-roster more long-term project like Alex Goligoski, Jonathan Filewich I could see the Penguins maybe making that deal. If they were holding out for a guy like Kris Letang or Colby Armstrong then I don’t think that would ever work. Plus Shero has said he’s not interested in trading draft choices and has stressed how he wishes to continue to build the organization from within with those picks, so I doubt he’s going to move a first round pick or Angelo Esposito.

And then there’s the issue of compensation for Hossa. On the open market he could get a deal like Danny Briere or Scott Gomez got, a huge frontloaded deal that might see him stand to earn $10 million next season. As hinted to already, the Penguins are in no condition to pay open market value for Hossa or any other player than Crosby or Malkin.

As most sane folks realize, there are a lot of factors that would have to break exactly the right way. And that’s assuming that Shero is willing to pull the trigger on a deal to send Jordan Staal out of the organization. Sure he’s having a sophomore slump this season, but he’s 19 and is going on 200 NHL games (preseason, regular season and postseason) by the time he’s not a teenager. Look at some statistical performances guys like Joe Thornton or Vincent Lecavalier had in their first two seasons at 18 or 19 years of age.

In conclusion, Eklund is an idiot.

Aces Wild: Pens Win

Big 4-2 win on the road tonight against a Minnesota team that's been one of the NHL's strongest over the first month of the season (7-3-2 record good for 2nd in the West). Even better though, this was the first time of the season that the Penguins really put in a solid 60 minutes of effort and played well at both ends of the ice. Game notes

• Obviously this game was all about Sidney Crosby (1g, 3a, +3, 4 SOG, 3 hits, 68% faceoffs (15-7), 21:30 TOI) and Evgeni Malkin (2g, 1a, +3, 3 SOG, 4 PIM, 19:40 TOI). I was against using them on the same line long-term, but on a night like this why not? They were dominant and it showed.


• Ryan Malone deserves a lot of credit too. He's played really well this year and opened up room on the top line. If he gives this type of effort every night this team is going places...Malone's knock has always been consistency and periods of no production over long stretches but he's answered the bell so far this year...It's almost like he's a UFA at the end of the year or something...


• The defense played very solid as well. As usual, Sergei Gonchar led all skaters on the Penguins with 24:38 in icetime. But the defensemen with the least amount of icetime was Darryl Sydor and he had 16:25. Most fell into the 19-20 minute range. Good balance. And, if I'm going to go on forever with Sid and Geno's statline it's worth mentioning these unsung heroes: Mark Eaton (20:28 TOI, 8 blocked shots), Brooks Orpik (3 hits, 4 blocked shots). That's not a typo, Eaton really did block 8 shots.


• Petr Sykora showed why he's a slick goal scorer with his powerplay goal. Dude has a heck of a release on that shot. Hopefully he keeps getting a lot of PP time, he's notorious for scoring slumps so it's good to see him producing.


• Michel Therrien must have gotten the message loud and clear: Old Man Recchi had but 13:30 icetime. He's good in that role. His line with Adam Hall and rook Tyler Kennedy play well as a lower line unit. And that's basically the same role Recchi played for Carolina when they won the cup.


• Is there a goalie controversy? Sabourin was great. He made the saves he need to make, the Wild were frantic but Sabs was strong. Really, if you took the numbers off both goalies backs (and, I suppose the identifying yellow pads away), you'd probably have to say Sabourin deserves the next start. But this team is not going to go places with Sabs, it's going to have to be Marc-Andre Fleury taking them places....Stay tuned.

Now it's off to Colorado for a game against a team with a pretty fair home record so far (5-0-0).

Oh yeah, don't forget Sidney Crosby is now up to 5th place in the NHL in scoring with 17 points. He is on a 10 game point scoring streak. Malkin is tied for 7th in the league, right behind him with 16 points.

Get the Skissors out, it's time to make some cuts

The Pens head back to West Point for another round of boot camp on Sunday. They expect to carry close to, if not the final roster. As of now though, we're looking at 24 forwards, 13 defenseman and 3 goalies...Here's my educated more than guess about the roster:

Forwards(13): Armstrong, Brent, Christensen, Crosby, Laraque, Malkin, Malone, Recchi, Roberts, Ruutu, Staal, Sykora, Talbot

Defensemen (7): Eaton, Gonchar, Letang, Orpik, Scuderi, Sydor, Whitney

Goaltenders (2): Fleury, Sabourin


If I'm wrong, here's where:
13th forward: I took Brent, he's a right handed center (unique to the organization), and has some NHL experience. I know the Pens like young guys like Ryan Stone, Jon Filewich and especially Tyler Kennedy but there's only so much room at the inn. Unless there's a trade (Ryan Malone I'm looking at you) then I don't see how. Adam Hall's inspired tryout play falls just short.

Defensemen: The organization loves Letang, but I almost wish they'd give him 10 games in Wilkes-Barre to wet his feet in the professional pool before diving right in to the NHL. Mike Weaver who I consider a poor man's Mark Eaton, just solid enough to get the job done, but not skilled enough to fly above the radar.

Question #2: Where the Heck does Taters fit?

Gotta be honest, if I was running the Penguins going into camp, Ryan Malone would be on the 4th line.

Yes, Ryan Malone, the organizational golden boy. Just because you were on the team when it sucked doesn't mean you get a pass now. Malone had the chance to largely be Sidney Crosby's even strength winger and he produced virtually squat (16 goals, 15 assists in an injury shortened 61 games). True, he did open up space for his linemates and it was commendable for him to step up and drop the gloves defending Sid a few times, but what did he really bring to the table? The lasting memory is turnovers, flubbed chances, pucks rolling off his stick or shots going just wide.

So where does that leave him? Presumably with the acquistion of Petr Sykora, the decision to try out Erik Christensen on the wing and the other skill spots held by Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Mark Recchi, Malone's in something of a no man's land.

For the third line then, the wingers are naturally Gary Roberts and Colby Armstrong. I like Maxime Talbot in the 3rd line center spot, he's natural to that position, plays harder than Malone and figures to be on the upswing of his career still.

Malone could always sub in when the vets like Recchi and Roberts need a breather, but that's not much promise. Malone is a central piece of the lockeroom and while trading him (without even knowing his value amongst the league, given he's an impending UFA) might shake things up a little.

How Ryan Malone is fit into the roster will be another interesting ongoing development.