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Thread: Pittsburgh Penguins Team Report 6/11/2010

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    Quest For 7 Array title="steelpride12 is a splendid one to behold"> steelpride12's Avatar

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    Pittsburgh Penguins Team Report 6/11/2010

    http://www.usatoday.com/sports/hocke...tes.htm?csp=34

    Pittsburgh Penguins Team Report Posted 12h 30m ago



    General manager Ray Shero has not ruled out trying to re-sign any of the players he would like to bring back next season. That group includes defensemen Sergei Gonchar and Mark Eaton and left wing Matt Cooke.
    Whether veteran right Bill Guerin is on Shero's radar remains an unanswerable question. However, Guerin told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review after the Penguins' second-round exit that he would like to return for a final NHL season and play it with the Penguins.
    One player not going anywhere is center Evgeni Malkin, though he joked after the season that this might have been his last one with the Penguins.
    Malkin, 23, is a season removed from winning the NHL scoring title and playoff MVP award, but he had career lows in games, goals and points in 2009-10, and he costs $8.7 million against the NHL salary cap. That fueled speculation that he could be moved for a package of prized players, prospects and picks.
    However, the Tribune-Review reported in late May that the Penguins would not entertain offers for Malkin.
    SEASON HIGHLIGHT: Game 6 of the first round will be the one remembered in Pittsburgh as the champs' last stand. Down 3-0 at Ottawa and with a 3-2 series lead looking as if it was about to vanish, the Penguins rallied for three goals before wrapping the series on LW Pascal Dupuis' OT winner.
    TURNING POINT: Cs Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were held to two goals combined in Round 2, and G Marc-Andre Fleury was brilliant in two wins, but far below average in four losses. The season turned in this round, as Montreal expertly attacked the Penguins' Big Three, and by the time of Game 7 there was little left in the emotional tank for Pittsburgh' cornerstone players — and it showed in a 5-2 loss at home.
    NOTES, QUOTES
    —Consol Energy Center will open on schedule for the Penguins to play next season. The new arena is slated to play host to a mid-August concert with Paul McCartney and be ready for Penguins training camp in September. The team could play up to three exhibition games in its new digs in September.
    —The Penguins' plan for the 2011 Winter Classic at Heinz Field is to turn the event into a winter carnival for Pittsburgh. That could include a second outdoor ice rink to be set up at Point State Park, where Pittsburgh's famed three rivers form a confluence. That rink would be open to public skates and local youth hockey tournaments.
    —The Penguins are expected to unveil a new alternate sweater for next season, but they will not wear it until the Winter Classic. The design could borrow from the dark blue jerseys the club donned in the mid-1970s.
    QUOTE TO NOTE: "Did you say football stadium for football state?" — LW Pascal Dupuis on Heinz Field, home to the NFL's Steelers, being the site for the Winter Classic between the Penguins and Washington Capitals.
    ROSTER REPORT
    MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: C Sidney Crosby spent last summer trying to improve his shot. He scored 51 goals in the regular season, his first 50-goal campaign, and nearly won the scoring title with a five-point game in the finale. His 109 points were second. He was a Hart Trophy finalist.
    MOST DISAPPOINTING PLAYER: LW Ruslan Fedotenko's return was expected to provide stability for C Evgeni Malkin. Instead, by the trade deadline Fedotenko had scored only nine goals and Malkin's production had dipped dramatically. Fedotenko was a regular scratch during the playoffs.
    FREE AGENT FOCUS: The Penguins have seven prominent free agents, but the two they'd like to keep are D Sergei Gonchar and LW Matt Cooke. Gonchar, 36, is their top defenseman and power-play quarterback, but he wants a long-term deal at his current salary ($5 million), and that won't happen given the cap constraints. Cooke scored 15 goals and added four in the playoffs, and his influence in the dressing room as a leader grew. However, his profile has never been higher, and at 31 he has one chance to cash in on a long-term deal.
    PLAYER NOTES:
    —D Brooks Orpik is scheduled for offseason surgery on his abdomen. He played most of the second half with an injury to that area, though he did not disclose it until after the season. Orpik is expected to be ready for training camp in September.
    —C Sidney Crosby will be up for several awards at the NHL Awards Show in Las Vegas in late June. He is a finalist for the Hart Trophy, Ted Lindsay Award and Mark Messier Leadership Award. Crosby also will be presented as the co-winner of the Maurice Richard Trophy for finishing tied with the NHL goals lead.
    —G Marc-Andre Fleury was one of several teammates looking to avoid watching the final two rounds of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and he planned to join many of them on a safari in Africa. Fleury, who lives outside of Montreal, wanted to get away from the playoffs after the Penguins were bounced, saying it was too painful to watch after they played in the Final in 2008 and 2009.
    MEDICAL WATCH:
    —The Penguins have not made public any needs for offseason surgery.
    Missing you every day, thinking about the memories every moment, loving you every second Mom ♥ R.I.P. 1951-2011


    "When you go out on the field and you're intense for 60 minutes, some guys don't want to do it. When I line up across from him, he has to do one of two things, he has to raise his level of play, or he's going to get his *** kicked all day"

    - Greg Lloyd


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    Administrator Array title="HometownGal has a reputation beyond repute"> HometownGal's Avatar

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    Re: Pittsburgh Penguins Team Report 6/11/2010

    Thanks for the heads-up!

    FREE AGENT FOCUS: The Penguins have seven prominent free agents, but the two they'd like to keep are D Sergei Gonchar and LW Matt Cooke. Gonchar, 36, is their top defenseman and power-play quarterback, but he wants a long-term deal at his current salary ($5 million), and that won't happen given the cap constraints. Cooke scored 15 goals and added four in the playoffs, and his influence in the dressing room as a leader grew. However, his profile has never been higher, and at 31 he has one chance to cash in on a long-term deal.
    I think it would behoove the Pens to sign both of these guys, as they are key pieces to the Pens puzzle, but my sweet Serg - you've got to come down to $4 - $4.5 mil and a 3 year deal if you want to remain in the Burgh. I know all too well how important you are to the team (and to me!) but if Sheron & Co. are willing to come halfway, you're going to have to follow suit.

    I still think the Pens will find a way to re-sign him. He's just too important on D and the PP and is one of the biggest leaders in the LR. I'll never forget his "It aint over" encouragement in the Pens LR after Game 6 against the Dead Things in the SCF's in '09.

    Cookie is also a must sign. He's more than proven his worth to this team and he's a huge fave in the LR. #24 is going to be my newest jersey come the start of the season!






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    Steeler Blood Array title="cakmakli will become famous soon enough"> cakmakli's Avatar

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    Re: Pittsburgh Penguins Team Report 6/11/2010

    My next Jersey is going to be Brooks Orpik. He plays hard and the dude can flat out hit.

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    Quest For 7 Array title="steelpride12 is a splendid one to behold"> steelpride12's Avatar

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    Re: Pittsburgh Penguins Team Report 6/11/2010

    I hope to the heavens Shero and the Pens find a way to sign Sarge. He is this team on the PP and on defense. Losing him would be fatal for the Pens and the PP would never be the same unless Letang somehow stepped up and improved greatly. I think the Pens may attempt 5 mil at the most for 3 seasons at his best offer, and I hope Gonch realizes and takes it!

    Cooke Proved himself this season as a key player for that third line(best in the league), and an agitator the Pens love to use to help swing momentum in our favor! Cookie will get resigned and well deserved.
    Missing you every day, thinking about the memories every moment, loving you every second Mom ♥ R.I.P. 1951-2011


    "When you go out on the field and you're intense for 60 minutes, some guys don't want to do it. When I line up across from him, he has to do one of two things, he has to raise his level of play, or he's going to get his *** kicked all day"

    - Greg Lloyd


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