Pens Trade UFA Rights of Malone and Roberts

The Pens have traded the UFA rights for Malone and Roberts to Tampa for a 3rd round pick. IF Malone signs with Tampa it becomes a 4th round pick.

An Update on All Things Peguins

The Penguins have made qualifying offers to the followin RFAs: Mark Ardelan, Paul Bissonnette, Tim Brent, Patrick Ehelechner, Daniel Fernholm, Jonathan Filewich, and Ryan Stone.

Rumors:
In addition to the Pens, Ottawa and Toronto have interest in Gary Roberts.

Brian Campbell is said to be narrowing his list of possible teams and the Peguins are still very much in this.

Marian Hossa will likely sign with a team north of the border, but he has not completely declined returning to the Pens.

Ryan Malone has half of the NHL interested in him from what I am hearing. I cannot even begin to seperate the real contenders from the pure fiction. There are too many, but I have a feeling that Pittsburgh' s own might be moving on.

Marcus Naslund - Now, there is a name from the Pens past. Many of you may not remember his time with the Penguins in the latter part of the mid 90s. I do and I have the autograph to prove it. He has really come into his own as a player since he left here many years ago. The Pens are said to be one of his top teams and he is said to be on our shopping list, as well.

Brooks Orpik is not entirely against returning to the Pens and management is not against it either, but what is known is that there is some sorrt of a rift and I do not think his return is a first choice for either side.

Ruutu is talking with a few other teams, most notably Edmonton. It is hard to tell how this will play out, but the Penguins have not been ruled out.

I think that is about it for now...

Quick Rumors

Well, the off season always leads to rumors in a plentiful number, particularly with the draft this weekend. There has been a large amount of buzz about the Penguins. Many teams have interest in many of our previvously underrated players, such as Ryan Malone, Brooks Orpik, Pascal Dupuis, and others. There are so many rumors about them that it is nearly impossible to seperate legitimate possibilities from pure fiction. As for the Malkin rumors, many are shocked that the Penguins would consider trading him. I am not shocked. He is the type of player that is very oveable and will likely play for many teams before his NHL career ends. I am not saying that he will be definetly moved this off season, but it has good possibility. I have heard that both the Kings and the Panthers have interest. I also heard the Capitals do, but I doubt the Penguins would want to give Ovechkin Malkin, as a teammate. We do not want to create a tandom like that, unless it is on our team. If Malkin is to be moved, I think that the draft is the most likely time and place. I will have complete coverage of the draft and the deals after it ends. I will be away this weekend, but will be on top of the draft and all the trades and upon my return, I will give a full post on all the goings-on.

Fleury, Malkin, Malone, Orpik

The Pens have filed for salary arbitration with Fleury.

They are also working on a contract with Malkin, which may not be going as smoothly as expected.

Malone is looking hard at if he wants to remain in Pittsburgh. The end of the season made us think he was moving on and that is still a good possibility.

Orpik will likely not be a Penguin next season. There is a bit of a rift between him and management. Both sides seem to be ready to part.

Quick Rumors

Ok, so now that the sting of the loss is beginning to lessen a bit, it is time for off-season rumors.

Ryan Malone - I love him and hope he is a Penguin next season. He is currently a very sought after player. There are few teams that would not want him. I think is has been underestimated in Pittsburgh until recently. I hope a deal cana be made to keep him here, but Columbus is very interested in him and I have also heard that a south east team is also interested, as well.

Pascal Dupuis - The best bonus the Pens have gotten on a trade. As a part of the Hossa deal, his arrival was overshadowed. I think that he will likely be a Penguin next season.

thinkuvasn4me sent me an im asking about the Malkin rumors. I do not think that there is any truth to them on the Penguins end. We are by no means hsoppinig him, but I would think that Shero would entertain serious offers. I do not think that Malkin will be leaving Pittsburgh in the near future. The number 2 regular season scorer is not easily traded.

That is it for now. I am heading to Maui for some relaxation. If anything major breaks, I will do my best to post it. If any one hears anything, please feel free to post it as a comment to this blog, in my absence, to keep each other informed.

It came down to the final seconds...

Pens Fans, I do not know if I have the words right now. It was a tough game and a tough series. We came within seconds and inches of tieing. It was the tougest drive home from the game that I have ever experienced. The fans showed a lot of class soluting the Pens after the game and by showing respect for the Wings. The Pens deserve so much credit for what they did this season. They are all truly outstanding. The season draws to a close on a sad note, but we have so much to be proud of. Tonight, is a night of sad reflection. To everyone in E 29, see you next season it has been a great ride. To the players, coaches, trainers, front office, and everyone else in the Penguins organization, thank you for a great season. You all have the heart and the time will come...

Game 5: Holy Overtime!

Last night's Pens' game, that spilled into this morning, was something that will not be soon forgotten here in Pittsburgh. The Pens came out with a bang and took the early lead. Through the first two periods, the Penguins were on their "A-game." In the first period, Marian Hossa opened up the scoring and was assisted by Sidney Crosby and Pascal Dupuis. Adam Hall added a goal to make it 2-0 to end the period. The Wings added a goal in the second to make it 2-1. In the third period, the Pens seemed to lose all momentum and began falling into a downward spiral to the end of their season. Late in the third, the Pens began to look like they had a little left in them and pulled Fleury close the the minute mark. Max Talbot can on as the extra attacker and scored to tie the game and was assisted by Marian Hossa and Sidney Crosby to force the OT. Detroit continued to dominate for the first and second OTs. In the third OT, the Pens young players skated circles around their elder foes. Petr Sykora called the shot and put it in past Osgood to win the game. He was assisted by Evgeni Malkin and Sergei Gonchar, who left the game injured in the third period to take his first shift since on that goal. Ryan Malone also battle through injury. He took a shot to the face and broke his nose for the second time this series and his face was still bleeding a few OTs later. Marc-Andre Fleury was the undisputed hero of the game stoppingg 55 of 58 shots on the night. He played amazinly and has truly come into his own. Ryan Whihtney also had a strong game loging over 50 minutes of ice time, which is more than Crosby or any save Fleury had on the team. Onto game 6, we made it this far and it is not over yet. Let's Go Pens! I will see everyone at the game.

Stanley Cup Finals Game 4: Wings 2 Pens 1

Well, this was a hard night for the Penguins. This was the first home loss since February 24th. This game was frustrating to watch, as a Pens' Fan, though I am sure the Wing's Fans loved at least the final two periods. The Penguins were deflated at the end of this game, as a group. One positive was in the post game press conferences, hope could still be heard in Sidney Crosby's voice. He seemed to get mad, when one of the questions hinted that it was all over. One thing that the Pens need to do more of is shoot the puck. Bob Grove and Phil Bourque pointed this out on the radio after the game. I know that it was likely apparent to all, who saw it, but that was all that I saw that we could change. We plaayed hard. We got beat. With the exception of our lackluster 5 on 3, we played a fairly solid game. The Red Wings just were better. This game coculd have gone either way and, iff we shot the puck more and did not miss so many opportunites, the game likely would have been ours. Malkin has rececntly hit a dry spell of fepic proportions. The crowd was behind him tonight and "Geno" chants were fairly common. You could see the utter frustration on his face. Monday is going to be one tough game going back to Detroit down 3-1. If any team can come back and hold off the Wings, it is the Penguins. As Crosby said after the game, the team cannot look at it as having to commeback and win three games in a row. They have to look at it as winning on Monday and after Monday focus on the next goal. It is a tough road ahead and it is not over, by a long shot. I know it is hard to find optimism,, right now. I am having that problem and I am the perpetual Penguin cheerleader to a nauseating extent, as many of you know. Don't stop believing. Don't let this get you down Pens Fans. This team is not a one time thing. We are trying to build a winning team that is lasting and this glimmer of greatness is the first product of that. We have the makings of a dynasty in Pittsburgh and our time will come...