2 posts tagged “not so dumb after all”
Two trades for the Penguins today.
Defenseman Hal Gill from Toronto for Pittsburgh's 2nd and 5th round picks in the 2008 draft.
Gill is 6' 7", all of it mean. He's very good at parking himself in the slot on the penalty kill and beating on anybody who dares cross his path. If you remember him from his Bruins days, you probably remember him because he frustrated the bejeezus out of Jaromir Jagr.
Wings Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis from Atlanta for wing Colby Armstrong, center Erik Christensen, center Angelo Esposito (currently back in juniors), and Pittsburgh's 1st round pick in the 2008 draft.
Wow. This is a big, big deal.
Hossa is a five-time All Star, has averaged about one point per game, and is a steady 30 goal per season scorer. He's also a strong penalty killer. Dupuis is more of a third-line checking winger, and is also a good penalty killer. (Detecting a theme here?)
The now ex-Penguin I feel, um, least bad about is Christensen. Crusher's ideal role is second line center. He doesn't really have the physical style that his nickname would suggest, so he won't work on a third or fourth line. Michel Therrien tried him on the wing last year, but he wasn't very effective there. Thus, the only way Christensen could get quality time was when Crosby or Malkin were, for whatever reason, not the 1 and 2 centers.
That excess depth at center also explains Esposito's departure. With Crosby locked up for six years, and Malkin due for a big contract this summer, there wasn't room for another first round center. It could end up another Markus Naslund for Alex Stojanov deal, if Espo lives up to the potential he's shown with the Quebec Remparts. The jury is still out on that, though.
The big shock in the deal is Colby Armstrong. On the ice, he's had some scoring droughts, but he never takes a shift off, is a reliable penalty killer, can take on any role in the system, and never lets his beanpole physique get in the way of a good hit. In the locker room, he set the tone for this young team: Take the work seriously, but never let the game stop being fun. You probably couldn't find a human being in the city of Pittsburgh who didn't like Army.
That kind of heart isn't easily replaced.
But from a tactical point of view, Ray Shero's moves make good sense. The Penguins' penalty kill has been mired in the mid-20s in the league rankings this year. Meanwhile, Hossa and Dupuis were 1-2 in shorthanded ice time for the Thrashers this season. (Which makes you wonder what will happen to their PK down the stretch...) Gill's size speaks for itself. Together, they should improve the team's biggest weakness.
Acquiring Hossa also solves the dilemma that has been perplexing armchair GMs in Pittsburgh all season: Who will be Sidney Crosby's linemates? Since Sid's high ankle sprain, the Malone-Malkin-Sykora line has caught fire. Nobody wants to break that up, but that left the cupboard bare for Crosby's line. Now, with Hossa, Sid has the finisher he needs to complement his play-maker role. Add a grinder like Talbot, and the Penguins already potent offense gets that much deeper.
Gill's place in the line-up creates a new question, though. Who's the odd man out? The obvious answer would be Brooks Orpik, who has been in and out of Therrien's doghouse all year. Down the stretch, though, there's always somebody hurting, so a seventh defenseman isn't a bad thing to have around. Ask Alain Nasreddine.
We'll have to wait and see how this all unfolds. The obvious message from Ray Shero is that the time for rebuilding is over. Now, it's time to win the Stanley Cup.
Well, let's see how I've done so far...
East
#1 Buffalo vs. #8 NY Islanders
Prediction
Sabres in 6 if DiPietro plays, 4 if he doesn’t.
Results
Sabres in 5
DiPietro missed Game 1, but came back for the rest. The Islanders made every game interesting, but the Sabres were almost always one notch better. Long Islanders will spend the summer complaining about video reviews and Sean Hill's 20-game PED suspension before Game 5.
#2 New Jersey vs. #7 Tampa Bay
Prediction
Lightning in 7.
Results
Devils in 6
Martin Brodeur looked a little shaky in Games 2 and 3, but he got himself right, and exposed Tampa's lack of scoring depth in the end. There was nobody behind LeCavalier, St. Louis, and Richards for the Lightning. Johan Holmqvist's inconsistency didn't help.
#3 Atlanta vs. #6 NY Rangers
Prediction
Rangers in 6.
Results
Rangers in 4.
This series was just devastating for the Thrashers. After Lehtonen had a bad Game One, coach Bob Hartley yanked him for Johan Hedberg in Game 2. Hedberg was victimized by a crazy bounce on a high dump-in, but was otherwise strong. So, of course, Hartley went back to Lehtonen in Game 3. Fat lot of good that did. Meanwhile, Keith Tkachuk was mostly invisible, Marian Hossa was entirely invisible, and Ilya Kovalchuk only showed up long enough to get in a fight(!) with Sean Avery. (At least he got that, um, chicken Avery to drop the gloves.) Oh, and only 8,800 televisions in Atlanta were tuned in for the games at Madison Square Garden.
#4 Ottawa vs. #5 Pittsburgh
Prediction
Penguins in 7.
Results
Senators in 5.
Maybe it was all those last-second, overtime, shoot-out wins. Maybe it was the third and fourth lines not learning as fast as the first two. Maybe it was Evgeni Malkin hitting the wall in the longest season of hockey he has ever played. Maybe it was Bob Grove's misplaced loyalty in Josef Melichar. (Look! Meli turned it over in his own zone again! Grove will call it a 50-50 puck in the postgame show.) Maybe Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Gary Roberts couldn't carry this entire team on their backs. It was a helluva run while it lasted.
Ottawa, meanwhile, looks determined to shake off the "choker" reputation, with excessive force if necessary. The Sens played with an edge that wasn't there for most of the regular season. And Ray Emery demonstrated what he learned in relief of Dominic Hasek last year.
West
#1 Detroit vs. #8 Calgary
Prediction
Red Wings in 5.
Results
Red Wings in 6.
Jim Playfair is toast. The Flames looked utterly incompetent on the road in Games 1 and 2. Then, in Game 5, he lost all control of his bench. Damond Langkow grabbed Brett Lebda behind the head, and sucker-punched him in the face while they were both getting up from a clean hit by Lebda. Lebda missed Game 6 with a concussion. Jarome Iginla spent a shift stick-fouling anyone with a winged wheel on his chest. And in the most egregious goon job I've seen in years, backup goalie Jamie McClennan was put in long after the game was out of hand, and lasted all of 18 seconds. Most of that time was spent trying to amputate Johan Franzen's legs with a goalie stick. The two-handed chop to the gut after the whistle (for the earlier slashes) earned him a match penalty and a five game "suspension", Playfair was fined $25,000, and the team $100,000. Game 6 went to double overtime solely by the sheer will power of Miikka Kiprusoff, who fought off an onslaught of Red Wings shots. The game winner in the second overtime? Johan Franzen. Ain't karma a bitch?
#2 Anaheim vs. #7 Minnesota
Prediction
Ducks in 5.
Results
Ducks in 5.
Nailed it. Minnesota was all defense, no offense. The most entertainment the series provided was a scuffle between George Parros and Derek Boogaard in the warm-up skate before Game 5.
#3 Vancouver vs. #6 Dallas
Prediction
Heads. Canucks in 7.
Results
Canucks in 7.
Damn, I already spent that quarter. One four-overtime game that ended 5-4 Vancouver, then neither Marty Turco nor Roberto Luongo gave up more than two goals in a game. (There were 2 empty-netters in Game 7.) Given Vancouver's struggles on offense, I think that "stolen series" I figure Luongo would get may have come right here. Turco, on the other hand, may have proven that he can deliver the goods in April, even in a losing effort. Before the Canucks scored in Game 7, Turco had gone over 165 minutes without giving up a goal.
#4 Nashville vs. # 5 San Jose
Prediction
Sharks in 6.
Results
Sharks in 5.
Discipline ruined the Predators' chances. Dumb penalty after dumb penalty against a strong Sharks power play. The final nail in the coffin was Scott Nichol's major/game misconduct for spearing in the second period of Game 5. Patrick Marleau tied the game on the ensuing power play, and San Jose never looked back.
6-for-8. One of my better years, even though I lost a conference semi-finalist in my beloved Penguins. (Homer!) I'll take a fresh look at the second round matchups, and maybe wrap up the Penguins season, tomorrow night.
