Interesting stats at the half-way mark

--Evgeni Malkin is on pace for 126 points. Last year Alex Ovechkin netted 112 and in Sidney Crosby's year he got 120. Malkin's on pace for 96 assists which would be the most since Wayne Gretzky cracked a hundy in 1991.

--Malkin is ten points up on Ovechkin in the scoring race. Since the lockout the margain of victory by the Art Ross winner over the second closest scorer has been 6, 6 and 2.

--And just think what happens when Malkin (goal-less in nine games, without a PP goal since November 15th) gets heats up in that category.

--To what should be the surpise of no one, Eric Godard is #1 on the team in penalty minutes...But #2 (Crosby) and #4 (Malkin) on that list is strange.

--Brooks Orpik has 151 hits, good for second in the league to Boston's Milan Lucic (154). Thanks to an injury to Anton Volchenkov, Orpik is also in 1st place for the unofficial "black and blue" trophy with 234 combined hits and blocked shots. Columbus' Mike "Make it Rain" Commodore is second in that category with 200.

--Reliable Rob Scuderi is 5th in the league with 102 blocked shots.

--Not surprisingly with the long-term injuries to Ryan Whitney (22:26 TOI last season) and Sergei Gonchar (25:54) have seen some defensemen pick up some serious minutes. Kris Letang jumped from 18:09 of ice-time last season to 21:32 over the first half of this season. Brooks Orpik went from 16:57 last season to 20:40 this year. Rob Scuderi has seen an extra 1:22 per game this season and Alex Goligoski has been playing 18:41 (he played 13:56 per game in three games last season).

--Marc-Andre Fleury is one of the players looking forward to turning the page on the first half of the season; he's given up 68 goals in 24 games so far this season, while the entire last season he only surrendered 72 goals in 35 games. Hopefully for the Penguins though, Fleury will play well more than 11 games the second half of this season.

--In a moment to take a look on the bright side; Jordan Staal hits the midpoint with 21 points, whereas he only had 28 the entire sophomore slump last season.

--Pascal Dupuis and his rocket-laser slapshot have nine goals, but if he only doubles it 18 still won't be a career high; as Dupuis somehow hit 20 in 2002-03, the height of the trap happy Minnesota Wild.

--No idea if this is a a record or what, but Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin have combined for 114 points (in 82 combined man-games played). Every other skater to wear a Penguins sweater this season has 167 points (in 656 combined man-games played). The difference in points per game ratio is 1.39 points/game for the Big Guns to .25 points/game for everyone else.

--Malkin and Crosby scoring 41% of all points scored by Penguins is a little skewered, of course, since they receive all the power-play time they can handle and often times assist on each other's goals or assists.

Updated Post: 2500 PIM, 300 Point Club

A while back I invented a special club with the intent to blend toughness with skill....Players tough enough to accumlate at least 2500 penalty minutes, but skilled enough to score at least 300 points. The result yielded some surprises (like Dave Manson and Willi Plett) and some guys you'd probably guess (Tiger Williams, Dale Hunter, Rick Tocchet, Chris Chelios).

In total, there were 11 inductees this summer, and only two were on the horizon (Brendan Shanahan has 17 PIMS in 25 games so far, he's 58 PIMs short and looks doubtful to make it this season).

But a new man has joined this club, and since he just scored his 900th career point on an assist last night, it's only fair that tonight we honor him by inducting him to the club (even though he got his 2500th penalty minute earlier in the season).

Without furter adue, the 12 member to the exclusive 2500 penalty minute, 300 point club is the one, the only Gary Roberts. After we induct Gary, the rest of the club will be re-posted.

The honorable 2500 penalties in minutes and 300 points club


Gary Roberts (2529 Penalties in Minutes, 900 points)

Few players have struck as much fear in opponents as Gary Roberts. Fierce and determined are the best words to describe him. Roberts, a rough and tumble player for the Calgary Flames in the late '80s and early '90s only played 43 games from 1994 to 1996 season due to a severe neck injury that actually forced him to retire in '96. Roberts adopted an insane workout regimen and was able to return to the NHL the following year. Known for showing up in the post-season and especially tormenting the Ottawa Senators, Roberts has made a living being a tough customer. Arguably he cemented his legendary status in December 2007 when at the age of 41 he fought (and easily won) a fight against a 23 year old Ben Eager who had a height and weight advantage over him.

When you talk intensity and grit, you talk Gary Roberts. That's the staple of this club and we welcome him with open arms.


Tiger Williams (3966 penalties in minutes, 513 points)



Probably the most badass of all time, Tiger Williams is synonymous with out of control mayhem and general awesomeness. But he could play a little hockey and is truly the godfather of this club. I'm too young to really appreciate his glory, but I still know that Tiger Williams is pretty much the man.

Dale Hunter (3565 penalties in minutes, 1020 points)


Dale Hunter is known for a lot of things, perhaps first and foremost the brutal late hit on Pierre Turgeon. But he's second on this list in total points and was a great leader for his teams. Capitals fans hold this guy in very high regard. Though sometimes he'd lose his cool, he's pretty much what a hockey player should be in my opinion: tough, skilled, and a leader. He's the epitome of this club.



Marty McSorely (3381 penalties in minutes, 359 points)


Unfortunately, like Dale Hunter, McSorely is remember for an unacceptable split second decision he made at the tail end of his career, to tomahawk Donald Brashear. But McSorely earned his bones by protecting the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux for much of his career and was atleast good enough of a player to enjoy a lengthy NHL career.



Bob Probert (3300 penalties in minutes, 384 points)


Players like Bob Probert aren't around anymore. One of the toughest players in history, Probert was just flat a monster at beating people up. I must admit, when compiling this list I was surprised to see Probert got the points to make the cut; since most of my memories of him playing come from the tail end of his career when he wasn't much of a scoring threat. But Probert scored 13 or more goals six times in his career, and in 1987-88 he had 29 goals and 33 assists to go along with 398 penalty minutes. Just shows you how much the game has evolved in the last 20 years.

Rick Tocchet (2970 penalties in minutes, 952 points)


Controversy often follows members of this club (like aforementioned Hunter and McSorely), since they naturally seem to be risk takers and are inherently hot under the collar. Unfortunately Rick Tocchet's name is more linked to gambling nowadays then it is to being a true power forward. He was on Mario Lemieux's wing for the Cup years and an absolute force to be reckoned with. Cam Neely (1241 PIMs and 694 points) was probably the premier power forward during Tocchet's prime, but Tocchet was an extremely dangerous player in every way for many years.

Pat Verbeek (2905 penalties in minutes, 1063 points)

"The Little Ball of Hate" is probably the coolest nickname ever. Verbeek, listed at 5'9, was never afraid to go into the tall trees and always disturb things. His career points total makes him #1 on this list. A lot of skill and a lot of fury on the ice. I love it. That's why this club exists to showcase warriors like Verbeek that aren't true enforcers (unlike some in this fraternity) but just skilled, hard-nosed players that it's a pain to play against. No opponents enjoyed playing against Verbeek because they knew he would always go balls to the wall and leave it all out on the ice. To me, that's the best compliment you can pay someone.



Chris Chelios (2837 penalties in minutes 936 points)


Chris Chelios is so old he's probably in every club you can make up, like this one and probably even Jesus's original book club. Credit him for being able to keep in shape and keep playing the game, and still not taking shit from anyone, even if they're young enough to be his son. Chelios could have retired after the Red Wings won the Cup in 2002 and still made this club, by the way. Even Gordie Howe thinks this dude needs to hang 'em up. If you were wondering, Howe "only" had 1685 PIMs in his NHL career, so even he falls short on this most exclusive club.



Dave Manson (2792 penalties in minutes 390 points)

Dave Manson was the name of a player I'd heard, but I had to look him up; I'm too young to really remember him as an impact player in any team or particular game. But, I'll give you this: only 3 defensemen are in this club and the other 2 are sure-fire hall of famers. I don't know what that says for Manson, but he's in good company.



Scott Stevens (2785 penalties in minutes 908 points)


Scott Stevens means business. Probably the toughest hockey player I've ever seen. Not just because of the devastating, highlight reel hits (whattup Eric Lindros?) but just how he played seemingly 30 minutes a night, every night and was so smooth, so IN CONTROL. I think a lot of that rubbed off of a younger teammate and partner of his Scott Niedermayer. Stevens was awesome as an offensive-defenseman in Washington and a total rock for New Jersey as he aged. He and Marty Brodeur are the Devils. When I dreamed up this club, I was looking for players with crazy toughness and some skill to match...Clearly Scott Stevens was made for it.

Willi Plett (2572 penalties in minutes 437 points)


I was a little surprised about Dave Manson, but I'll admit Willi Plett was the only guy I've never heard of. At all. He retired when I was 4 years old and played for such powerhouses as the Atlanta Flames and the Minnesota North Stars. The only thing I know about the Atlanta Flames is I hate Clement, Clement Hands of Cement and the only memories I have of the North Stars is how Mario tore through them to give the Pens a Cup. But, looking at Plett's hockeydb profile, he scored 38 or more points seven times in his career and every year he had double digit PIMs. Must have had a bit of an edge and some skill to match, so we'll let him in.

Matthew Barnaby (2562 penalties in minutes, 300 points)


Newest inductee Matthew Barnaby knows about being a pest. He had to literally fight his way onto a junior team that he showed up weighing 140 pounds. He turned out a solid NHL career that he announced this summer was over due to concussion woes. Barnaby was the ultimate nuisance, a player who could actually play the game, but always knew his role and never hesitated in sticking up for the team, even when it meant fighting someone much taller and heavier. Unlike enforcers he wasn’t a totally liability on the ice but unlike skill players, he didn’t have the natural talent to slide through on point production alone.

Barnaby was the ultimate crowd pleaser, still a fan favorite in places in Buffalo and Pittsburgh even though he's long left them. Opponents and rivals hated him (some fans still do), which is only a testament to how good he was at doing his job. The shame is Barnaby had to retire young, and couldn't climb higher on this list. Still, not bad for a kid coming from nothing.

That's your 11 members of the 2500 PIMs + 300 point club. Fierce but skilled. Not afraid to mix it up, but strong enough to still help their teams. Tough enough to compete for a long, long period of time in a gruesome NHL world. These are your alpha-males. These are the top dogs.

The Curse of Greg Malone

Greg Malone was a serviceable NHL player. Pittsburgh drafted him in the 2nd round (19th overall) in 1976. Greg would go on to score 143 goals in 495 games for the Penguins from 1976-77 to 1982-83 before moving on to Hartford. Nice to be sure. When Malone's playing days were done in 1987 he settled in Pittsburgh were soon a young son of his, Ryan, was playing hockey and doing well.

In 1988, former Pens GM Tony Esposito (no relation to Angelo) hired the elder Malone as a scout. Malone worked his way up the ranks and eventually was made into a head scout. He was let go when Ray Shero came in to town and Malone now is working for the Phoenix organization in a scouting capacity.

The Penguins haven't had a meaningful 2nd round pick pan out yet. Breaking it down year by year, here's the kiss of death that is becoming a Penguins 2nd round pick:

Total Busts
1978 - Mike Meeker (25th overall) 4 games, 0 points, 5 PIMs
1985 - Lee Giffin RW (23rd overall), 27 games, 4 points (1g + 3a), 9 PIMs
1988 - Mark Major LW (25th overall) 2 games, 0 points, 5 PIMs
1991 - Rusty Fitzgerald C (38th overall) 25 games, 4 points (2g + 2a) 12 PIMs
1992 - Marc Hussey D (43rd overall) 0 games
1996 - Pavel Skrbek D (28th overall) 12 games, 0 points, 8 PIMs
1997 - Brian Gaffaney C (44th overall) 0 games
1998 - Alexander Zevakhin LW (54th overall) 0 games
1999 - Jeremy Van Hoof D (57th overall) 0 games
2000 - Shane Endicott C (52nd overall) 45 games, 3 points (1g + 2a) 47 PIMs
2002 - Ondrej Nemec D (32nd overall), 0 games


At least they kinda made it
1977 - Jim Hamilton LW (30th overall) 94 games, 32 points (14 g + 18 a), 28 PIMs
1979 - Paul Marshall (31st overall), 95 games, 33 points (15g + 18a), 17 PIMs
1981 - Steve Gatzos F (28th overall), 89 games, 35 points (15g + 20a) 83 PIMs
1982 -Tim Hrynewich LW (38th overall), 55 games, 14 points (6g +8a) 82 PIMs
1983 - Todd Charlesworth D (22th overall), 93 games, 12 points (3g + 9a) 47 PIMs
1986 - Dave Capuano LW (25th overall) 104 games, 56 points (17g + 38a) 56 PIMs [only played 6 games with Pittsburgh for 0 points]
1987 - Rick Tabaracci G (26th overall), 1 game played with Pittsburgh
1993 - Dominic Pittis (52nd overall), 86 games, 16 points (5g + 11a) 71 PIMs [1 game with Pittsburgh]
1999- Matt Murley LW (51st overall) 59 games, 8 points (2g, 6a) 38 PIMs


These guys are a heartbeat away from getting relegated to the bust club
2001 - Noah Welch D (54th overall) 33 games and counting, 7 points (3g + 4a) 33 PIMs...Florida has only used him for 4 games this season
2003 - Ryan Stone LW (32nd overall) 0 games and it's not looking good
2004 - Johannes Salmonsson LW (31st overall) 0 games and probably won't be in the organization much longer


Too early to tell
2004 - Alex Goligoski D (61st overall) 1st professional season
2005 - Michael Gergen RW (61st overall), still Minnesota-Duluth, will he get a contract?
2006 - Carl Sneep D (32nd overall), sophomore season at BC
2007 - Keven Veilleux C, (51st overall) 10 points in 14 games in the Q so far


Possibly the exceptions to the rule
1989 Paul Laus D (35th overall) 530 games, 72 points (14g + 58a), 1702 PIMs [All games played with Florida Panthers]
1994 Richard Park LW (50th overall), 459 games and counting, 134 points (61g + 73a) 172 PIMs [58 games with Pittsburgh for 11 points]



Since Greg Malone there hasn't been one NHL'er the Penguins have drafted in the NHL that's made an impact for them. The only ones with somewhat decent careers (Laus and Park) found them in other cities and aren't exactly household names themselves.

So will the drought end soon?

• There were high hopes for Ryan Stone, but he hasn't been able to crack the lineup and is now going on his 3rd full season in the AHL. Not many NHL contributors often spend that much time in the minors.
• Salmonsson might never be back in North America and it doesn't seem like anyone in the organization is that concerned about whether or not Gergen will join the lineup.
• Sneep looks promising, but he's light-years away from the NHL, probably at least 3 to 4 more years of college or the minors before pencilling him into the lineup.
• Veilleux has the size but it truly is to early to tell how he could handle the professional game.
• So there's one choice left: Alex Goligoski. He's looked, well, like a 21 year old rookie playing in the AHL for the first time. There have been some praise for him, like how he's manned the point on the powerplay but also some shaky reports about his work in his own zone. It'll take a little while to get acclimated to the speed of the game. But you'd think in a year or so we're about to find out if he can hack it (like Ryan Whitney) or if he'll flounder and join the likes of Noah Welch.

Announcing the 2500 Penalties In Minutes & 300 Points Club

This is something I thought of for no real reason one day. This stems from the fact that the pure 'enforcer' is a dying breed. Gone are the days when a 4th line winger that can't skate and is only there to fight could flourish in the NHL. These days you need a skill set to atleast be decent with the puck to be looking at a decent NHL career.

So I thought about compiling a list of historic tough guys that also could score some points. The idea really came to fruition with the concussion forced retirement of a Sweater Ted favorite, Matthew Barnaby. One of the reports pointed out he had 300 points even, so I figured that'd be as good a cutoff as any.

First, some active players that are close inductees:
--Gary Roberts is an absolute lock at 2493 PIMs to go along with his 888 career points. Gary Roberts can look at a referee the wrong way and draw 7 penalty minutes Expect him to make this list as the 12 inductee by about mid-October. In fact, if he sees how awesome this list is, expect him to make it in about an hour.

--Brendan Shanahan needs 75 PIMs to qualify...But considering Shanny's game has evolved to less fiery and more a "pick your spot goal-scoring veteran", it's noteworthy to point out he only spent 47 minutes in the box in 2006-07, it’s conceivable he falls a little short if this is his last season.

After that, no one is one the horizon, and that is the beauty of this club. You can't just be tough and get in a lot of fights. You can't just be a skill player that has an edge. Either way, you'll come up short in one category or the other.


For instance:
-those who would easily have the PIMs, your average enforcer (Donald Brashear and his 2312 PIMs) won’t be able to score the points (he’s 35 years old now and only has 192).

-a guy who easily has the points (like Keith Tkachuk) usually falls hundreds of PIMs short (Tkachuk has 2033 in his career).


Looking far into the future, perhaps Sean Avery (134 points, 913 PIMs) one day will join this prestigious fraternity, but there's still a long road ahead of him of being a pest, and he'd need many more healthy seasons of plying his craft. Feel free to pipe up in the comments if I'm missing a new impending member, but I think I got all my bases covered here.

So without further adue

The honorable 2500 penalties in minutes and 300 points club


Tiger Williams (3966 penalties in minutes, 513 points)


Probably the most badass of all time, Tiger Williams is synonymous with out of control mayhem and general awesomeness. But he could play a little hockey and is truly the godfather of this club. I'm too young to really appreciate his glory, but I still know that Tiger Williams is pretty much the man.

Dale Hunter (3565 penalties in minutes, 1020 points)


Dale Hunter is known for a lot of things, perhaps first and foremost the brutal late hit on Pierre Turgeon. But he's second on this list in total points and was a great leader for his teams. Capitals fans hold this guy in very high regard. Though sometimes he'd lose his cool, he's pretty much what a hockey player should be in my opinion: tough, skilled, and a leader. He's the epitome of this club.



Marty McSorely (3381 penalties in minutes, 359 points)


Unfortunately, like Dale Hunter, McSorely is remember for an unacceptable split second decision he made at the tail end of his career, to tomahawk Donald Brashear. But McSorely earned his bones by protecting the likes of Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux for much of his career and was atleast good enough of a player to enjoy a lengthy NHL career.



Bob Probert (3300 penalties in minutes, 384 points)


Players like Bob Probert aren't around anymore. One of the toughest players in history, Probert was just flat a monster at beating people up. I must admit, when compiling this list I was surprised to see Probert got the points to make the cut; since most of my memories of him playing come from the tail end of his career when he wasn't much of a scoring threat. But Probert scored 13 or more goals six times in his career, and in 1987-88 he had 29 goals and 33 assists to go along with 398 penalty minutes. Just shows you how much the game has evolved in the last 20 years.

Rick Tocchet (2970 penalties in minutes, 952 points)


Controversy often follows members of this club (like aforementioned Hunter and McSorely), since they naturally seem to be risk takers and are inherently hot under the collar. Unfortunately Rick Tocchet's name is more linked to gambling nowadays then it is to being a true power forward. He was on Mario Lemieux's wing for the Cup years and an absolute force to be reckoned with. Cam Neely (1241 PIMs and 694 points) was probably the premier power forward during Tocchet's prime, but Tocchet was an extremely dangerous player in every way for many years.

Pat Verbeek (2905 penalties in minutes, 1063 points)

"The Little Ball of Hate" is probably the coolest nickname ever. Verbeek, listed at 5'9, was never afraid to go into the tall trees and always disturb things. His career points total makes him #1 on this list. A lot of skill and a lot of fury on the ice. I love it. That's why this club exists to showcase warriors like Verbeek that aren't true enforcers (unlike some in this fraternity) but just skilled, hard-nosed players that it's a pain to play against. No opponents enjoyed playing against Verbeek because they knew he would always go balls to the wall and leave it all out on the ice. To me, that's the best compliment you can pay someone.



Chris Chelios (2837 penalties in minutes 936 points)


Chris Chelios is so old he's probably in every club you can make up, like this one and probably even Jesus's original book club. Credit him for being able to keep in shape and keep playing the game, and still not taking shit from anyone, even if they're young enough to be his son. Chelios could have retired after the Red Wings won the Cup in 2002 and still made this club, by the way. Even Gordie Howe thinks this dude needs to hang 'em up. If you were wondering, Howe "only" had 1685 PIMs in his NHL career, so even he falls short on this most exclusive club.



Dave Manson (2792 penalties in minutes 390 points)

Dave Manson was the name of a player I'd heard, but I had to look him up; I'm too young to really remember him as an impact player in any team or particular game. But, I'll give you this: only 3 defensemen are in this club and the other 2 are sure-fire hall of famers. I don't know what that says for Manson, but he's in good company.



Scott Stevens (2785 penalties in minutes 908 points)


Scott Stevens means business. Probably the toughest hockey player I've ever seen. Not just because of the devastating, highlight reel hits (whattup Eric Lindros?) but just how he played seemingly 30 minutes a night, every night and was so smooth, so IN CONTROL. I think a lot of that rubbed off of a younger teammate and partner of his Scott Niedermayer. Stevens was awesome as an offensive-defenseman in Washington and a total rock for New Jersey as he aged. He and Marty Brodeur are the Devils. When I dreamed up this club, I was looking for players with crazy toughness and some skill to match...Clearly Scott Stevens was made for it.

Willi Plett (2572 penalties in minutes 437 points)


I was a little surprised about Dave Manson, but I'll admit Willi Plett was the only guy I've never heard of. At all. He retired when I was 4 years old and played for such powerhouses as the Atlanta Flames and the Minnesota North Stars. The only thing I know about the Atlanta Flames is I hate Clement, Clement Hands of Cement and the only memories I have of the North Stars is how Mario tore through them to give the Pens a Cup. But, looking at Plett's hockeydb profile, he scored 38 or more points seven times in his career and every year he had double digit PIMs. Must have had a bit of an edge and some skill to match, so we'll let him in.

Matthew Barnaby (2562 penalties in minutes, 300 points)


Newest inductee Matthew Barnaby knows about being a pest. He had to literally fight his way onto a junior team that he showed up weighing 140 pounds. He turned out a solid NHL career that he announced this summer was over due to concussion woes. Barnaby was the ultimate nuisance, a player who could actually play the game, but always knew his role and never hesitated in sticking up for the team, even when it meant fighting someone much taller and heavier. Unlike enforcers he wasn’t a totally liability on the ice but unlike skill players, he didn’t have the natural talent to slide through on point production alone.

Barnaby was the ultimate crowd pleaser, still a fan favorite in places in Buffalo and Pittsburgh even though he's long left them. Opponents and rivals hated him (some fans still do), which is only a testament to how good he was at doing his job. The shame is Barnaby had to retire young, and couldn't climb higher on this list. Still, not bad for a kid coming from nothing.

That's your 11 members of the 2500 PIMs + 300 point club. Fierce but skilled. Not afraid to mix it up, but strong enough to still help their teams. Tough enough to compete for a long, long period of time in a gruesome NHL world. These are your alpha-males. These are the top dogs.