NHL Hockey

It's an interesting dilemma. No other team has two players making that much money. It's not quite the same as any situation in the NBA, including the Celtics. First off, there is a hard cap in the NHL, at least until the next CBA renegotiation. Secondly, projections say the cap will go down the year after next because of the economy and the league's financial struggles.

Those cap limitations have a lot to do with why the Pens struggled early in the season. They're great up the middle with Crosby/Malkin/Staal and Fleury in net but they are young and thin elsewhere in terms of long-term pieces. (Staal may not be living up to expectations but any team would love to have him as their 3rd line center.)

Last season they would've gone nowhere without bringing in big pieces like Hossa and vets like Recchi and Roberts, even with Crosby and Malkin as cornerstones. This season, Kunitz and Guerin have gotten them back into the mix.

Having said all that, I think it will be tough to convince Lemieux and the rest of management to part with either player. They may continue to try to put players that are just good enough around those two guys and use trade deadlines to fill in the gaps until it's clear that they need to go in another direction.

Right now, I'd take Malkin over Crosby without hesitation. He's a far more complete player at this point. That could change in time though. Regardless, unless Crosby inexplicably stops improving while Malkin continues to get better, management would choose Crosby in the face of that tough decision.

 

To me, the Pens this season are sort of like the Hawks in the East. They're a notch below the elite teams (Bos, NJ, Det, SJ) but nobody wants to play them in the first round.

That comparison has limitations though. I feel the Pens have a lot better chance of making it to the finals than the Hawks.

 

I'm not sure what you are saying here but assuming the Habs make the playoffs, I think that's the team everybody wants to play as of right now.

Is Lang supposed to be back for the playoffs or is he done for the year?

 

The Sabres are a well-coached team. Losing Vanek and Miller for several weeks hurt them this season. They were great a couple years ago.

 

They definitely have plenty of talent. We'll see how it plays out. Any team can turn it around come postseason so you're right, there is no reason to say they can't.

I heard about that mess with the Kostitsyns and whoever else. Price will be key in the playoffs, assuming they make it. He's been struggling mightily this season. I've seen him let in a ton of softies this year. Of course, good goalies often step up when it matters and Price has already shown he can do that at a very young age.

But remember, they can't take advantage of that home ice if they don't even make the playoffs, right? They are barely hanging on to the 8th seed as of today. And they won't likely have home ice advantage at any point during the postseason if they do make it.

Losing Lang was a big loss. He's a solid vet with postseason experience. He was having a great year. I loved him when he was playing for the Caps.

 

Calgary was by far the most improved team at the trade deadline. Jokinen has looked great playing for his former coach and Leopold was also a good pickup.

I actually think they have enough to win it this season with the latest additions. They may not be the favorites but I like them over other second tier teams in the West like Chicago and Vancouver.

 

That's a good comparison, too. Of course, Malkin and Crosby are much more dominant hockey players than Tracy or Yao are as basketball players. There is also the fact that the Pens added some much needed depth at the trade deadline. T-Mac and Yao typically kept the Rockets in the mix without a lot of support. Despite playing well individually, Crosby and Malkin were going nowhere fast this season until management brought in Kunitz and Guerin and Gonchar got healthy. Those moves undeniably sparked the team and they really haven't looked back. A month ago, few people thought they would make the playoffs.

Don't forget about Alzner. He has the potential to be an elite stay at home D-man. He isn't flashy but fundamentally rock solid. He was the 5th overall pick for a reason.

John Carlson is also tearing it up in the OHL. He could end up being another great offensive defenseman that will add depth to our already deadly power play.

And hopefully either Varlamov or Neuvirth, or both, are the real deal in net. They were both high picks that have shown signs of being legit NHL talents. Varlamov has great mobility while Neuvirth seems to have great composure. They've both had some success this season with the Caps which is a great sign given their ages. Neuvirth saved 47 of 49 shots the other day back in Hershey as well as 7 of 9 shots in the SO win.

I disagree here. Huet had a great finish to the regular season with us but that happens a lot after trades. He wasn't exceptional in the playoffs. I'm glad the Caps didn't spend the extra mil or so per year on him. We are going to have trouble resigning Semin and Backstrom as is. Every dollar counts with the current cap structure.

Huet has also been up and down for Chicago this season. They thought he would take over when they signed him for big bucks but he was consistently outplayed by NH.

You can't always just look at GAA and SV% when evaluation goalies. The best goalie in the world will look bad behind a crappy defense and an average goalie can look great behind a good defense.

I also don't think Theodore is the main problem. He started the year out poorly but has been great since around December. No, he's not elite by any means but he's not as bad as his numbers show. Brodeur wouldn't look nearly as good if he was playing behind this D and in Boudreau's run 'n gun system.

I'm not worried about Theodore. I'm worried more about the fact that we don't have enough of the type of D needed to fit Boudreau's system.

The Caps are a young team with some real weaknesses, notably their defense and their lack of guys up front that are willing to crash the net and score gritty goals. Laich is currently the best at it but he's got a long way to go and we need more forwards on our top lines that forecheck better. We can't leave all our forechecking to our 4th line.

I'm not sure who you meant to include other than the Flyers when you listed the teams you fear in our conference but I would definitely add the Devils to that list, regardless of our regular season results against them. I don't think any team wants to face the Devils at this point. They have all the pieces to make a serious run. I think they are the favorites to come out of the East over the Bruins or the Caps or anybody else.

I agree about the Flyers. They are a tough matchup.

The Pens could be dangerous too with the additions mentioned above, including Gonchar. Adding talent around playmakers like Malkin and Crosby is always a dangerous thing for other teams. With Gonchar back manning the point and the additions of Kunitz and Guerin, they are extremely dangerous on power plays.

I'd rather face any team other than the Devils, Flyers or Penguins in the 1st round. Obviously, because of the standings, we won't face the Bruins unless we advance but I think we match up OK with them.

 

I don't think he was making fun of you. I have no idea what he was doing though.