A Season in Review - Penguins Report Cards Part 1

Hey pens fans,
As we all know, this was not the most stellar season for the Penguins, but there were some bright spots. We have seen what the players can do ans now it is time to evaluate and regroup for next year. This is my attempt at doing so. Feel free to disagree and let me know if you do, but this is how I have graded the Penguins.

Report Cards

Sidney Crosby- He was one of the bright spots in and otherswise mundane season of problems. He finished his rookie season with an impressive 102 points (39 goals and 83 assists). Crosby played in 81 of the Penguins 82 regular season games this year. He had 110 Penelty Minutes and was -1 on the year. We have just seen what this kid can really do. Sidney played extremely well this season. He had to deal with being singled out a lot in the games and he stood up for himself, when he needed to. Crosby can not only score goals he sets up some great plays for his teammates. Overall, I don't think we could have asked for any more from Sidney. He will definetly be a forcec in the coming years. Grade- A+

Sergei Gonchar- I am very conflicted by the season Gonchar had. He finished as the second leadig scorer for the Penguins behind Crosby, with 58 points (12 goals and 46 assists). He was also -13 on the year, which is not a good thing. He played in 75 games this season. His performance was hot and cold. At times, he played well, and at times he was somewhere else altogether. Gonchar made some beutiful plays, but he made even more dumb mistakes and showed a lack of effort through a good portion of the season. I think is, if nothing else, the most overpaid player we have. I was not impressed with his performance. It was good, by some standards, but I expected more of an impact and less mistakes from a veteran of his skill. Grade- D

John LeClair- He finished the season with 51 points (22 goals and 29 assists). LeClair played in 73 games for the Penguins this season. When it came to scoring he did right around, what I expected from him. He is still a great player. The only thing that concerns me is the fact that he is -24 on the season, which is bad. LeClair seemed to play well. He is not as fast, as he once was, but he is still a consistent player. He plays night in and night out. The entire team had a problem with giving up the puck on bad turnovers this season and he was not exception. I wish I could grade him higher for all the good things he contributed this year, especially his leadership. Grade- C+

Ryan Malone- He played in 77 games this year and had 44 points (22 goals and 22 assists). Malone played well thhis year. His offensive output was better than I expected and he made a real contribution to the team. He was -22. That is not good. I know I am starting to sound like a brokenn record, but this team gave up too amny turnovers and could not seem to gain or to keep control of the puck. Game after game it was the same problem and Malone is no exception to this. The entire team needs to work on it. Grade- C+

Colby Armstrong- This season Colby played in 47 games for the Penguins. He scored 40 points (16 goals and 24 assists). He also acumulated 40 penelty minutes. One thing about Colby is that he is not afaraid to play the body. He will take a hit for the team and dish them out as well. Colby had 58 penelty minutes. He finished the season +15, which makes him one of the few players not to be a minus. He is the highest plus we had. He played very well and managed to score a more than respectable amount of points in the games he played. Next year, if he continues to play this way, could see him in the NHL full time. Grade- B+

Ryan Whitney- For a defenseman, he put up some pretty good offensive numbers with 38 points (6 goals and 32 assists), in 68 games. Ryan had 85 penelty minutes. This season was a pretty good one from Whitney though he was -7, which is not great, but compared to the rest of the team, it was not all that bad either. I think he has a lot of promise and if he keeps it up, he could become a major part of this team in the future. Grade- B-

Michel Ouellet- This season he played in 50 games for the Penguins recording 32 points (16 goals and 16 assists). Michel was -13 on the year. He also accumulated 16 penelty minutes. One thing I think he needs to try to improve on is his even strength play. The majority of his goals were on the power play, but he only had 5 even strength tallies this year. If he could improve on that number it would be great. His power play is pretty good and that is something he needs to keep doing and with time it should imprve as well. He played well this year and hopefully will only be better next year. Grade- C

Andy Hilbert- He was a good acquisition before the trade deadline and I was unexpectedly impressed by his play. Based on what little I knew of his skill previous to be acquired by the Penguins, his play was a pleasant surprise. I think he is a good fit for this organization. Hilbert played in 47 games, recording 27 points (12 goals and 15 assists). He finished the season +4 and had 38 penelty minutes. I think he is a solid player who ahs the potential be a very good two way player and we saw elements of that this year. If he continues to play this way, I think he has a good future here. Grade- C+

Tomas Surovy- This year he played in 53 games for the Penguins. He recorded 25 points (12 goals and 13 assists). He was also -13 this season. Yet, again we find another major disappointment in the +/- category. Surovy also had 45 penelty minutes. His performance was not horrible, but it was not great either. The thing he seems to be lacking is consistency. Each night, you do not know what to expect. If he performed well and contributed on a more consistent basis, he could be a much better player. Grade- D

Eric Boguniecki- This season he accumulated 10 points (6 goals and 10 assists), in 47 games. Eric was -3 on the seeason as well and recorded 33 minutes in penelties. Overall, his play was pretty good. I would to see a little more offense from him. I think that if he just shot the puck more he could get a few lucky bounces. He barely averaged over a shot per game. that is my main complaint. He works hard on the ice and seems to play about the same on a fairly consistent basis. Grade- D

Josef Melichar- This season was yet another season that I do not think he reahed his potential. He played in 72 games this year recording 15 points (3 goals and 12 assists). Melichar also had 66 penelty minutes and was -2. Overall his performance needs to be more consistent. If not, I think it is time for the Pens to move on. Grade- F

To be continued in another edition...