Moves on the Horizon?
Are the Pittsburgh Penguins on the verge of making some personnel moves, no one aside from General Manager Craig Patrick knows the answer to that question. It is becoming more obvious by the day that something is needed to spark this line-up into playing the way it should be. The only constant has been the play of Sidney Crosby.
When the Penguins opened their wallet during the free agency period that followed the signing of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the thinking was that they would now be able to compete with the rest of the league. Gone were the days of selling off the team's talent and challenging for the Stanley Cup playoffs was again a reality. Craig Patrick was given the opportunity to show the hockey world that he was a keen judge of talent and that he was held back by the financial constraints that were put on him under the old system. Well, that just hasn't been the case. Unfortunately, many of the players who were brought in are not faring well in the new NHL. Mark Recchi has met all expectations and a case could be made for Ziggy Palffy as well, aside from his reluctance to shoot the puck! The goaltender that was brought in the be the workhorse has been more of a mule, and one that should be sent off to the glue factory. Jocelyn Thibault has been horrible. He has struggled with injuries and has been average at best. He has done well with stopping the first shot most of the time, but in this league stopping a rebound has become even more important because defensemen just can't hold up forwards the way they used too. Thibault has failed miserably at stopping second and third shots. Often times looking around in disbelief at the lack of a whistle to stop play, even though the puck is sitting in the clear, waiting to be knocked home by a charging opponent. Thibault was signed to a 3 year, 1 way deal that has pretty much handcuffed him to the organization. At this point he is an untradable commodity, and becomes more so with each poor performance. Thibault, Sebastian Caron and Patrick's overestimation of their talent when signing them have pretty much relegated "goalie of the future" Marc Andre Fleury to the AHL for the remainder of the season. He was the best goalie in training camp and has been stellar in his few NHL looks this season, aside from one outing. He should be in Pittsburgh now, money aside.
The organization has made numerous comments on their self imposed budget and how they still stand to lose millions this season. How do you think not making the playoffs will effect the bottom line? The team is worried that Fleury has easy to attain bonuses in his contract that could push it to $3 million this year, all the while knowing that he is the goalie that gives them the best chance of getting the revenue that can be generated through a round or two of the playoffs in the spring. The absurdity of the situation is that the team is paying players such as Lyle Odelein and Steve Poapst the cash that could be used to have their "franchise" goaltender in Pittsburgh. Odelein would be ok as a niche player, but is being used as a top 4 defenseman. Noah Welsh could just as easily be in that role, but he is being left in Wilkes Barre - Scranton too.
Andre Roy was brought in to give the team a physical presence. He has spent most of the season out of the line-up with a broken orbital bone. He may not be able to fight anymore, which all but negates his value here. Another million dollars wasted. John LeClair is a great leader, but hasn't contributed lately, unless you count the 2-3 penalties he takes each game. These are the types of mistakes that Patrick has made in the past few months.
The team put Lasse Pirjeta through waivers last Friday to free a roster spot for Shane Endicott. Could this be the first of several more moves? The team is still in dire need of a second line center and a top 3 defenseman. Hopefully Craig Patrick is working the phones and developing a plan to right this ship before it is too late. Some of the moves are obvious, others are not, but something has got to happen soon. This team has to much talent and potential to be wallowing in the basement of the eastern conference.
When the Penguins opened their wallet during the free agency period that followed the signing of the new Collective Bargaining Agreement, the thinking was that they would now be able to compete with the rest of the league. Gone were the days of selling off the team's talent and challenging for the Stanley Cup playoffs was again a reality. Craig Patrick was given the opportunity to show the hockey world that he was a keen judge of talent and that he was held back by the financial constraints that were put on him under the old system. Well, that just hasn't been the case. Unfortunately, many of the players who were brought in are not faring well in the new NHL. Mark Recchi has met all expectations and a case could be made for Ziggy Palffy as well, aside from his reluctance to shoot the puck! The goaltender that was brought in the be the workhorse has been more of a mule, and one that should be sent off to the glue factory. Jocelyn Thibault has been horrible. He has struggled with injuries and has been average at best. He has done well with stopping the first shot most of the time, but in this league stopping a rebound has become even more important because defensemen just can't hold up forwards the way they used too. Thibault has failed miserably at stopping second and third shots. Often times looking around in disbelief at the lack of a whistle to stop play, even though the puck is sitting in the clear, waiting to be knocked home by a charging opponent. Thibault was signed to a 3 year, 1 way deal that has pretty much handcuffed him to the organization. At this point he is an untradable commodity, and becomes more so with each poor performance. Thibault, Sebastian Caron and Patrick's overestimation of their talent when signing them have pretty much relegated "goalie of the future" Marc Andre Fleury to the AHL for the remainder of the season. He was the best goalie in training camp and has been stellar in his few NHL looks this season, aside from one outing. He should be in Pittsburgh now, money aside.
The organization has made numerous comments on their self imposed budget and how they still stand to lose millions this season. How do you think not making the playoffs will effect the bottom line? The team is worried that Fleury has easy to attain bonuses in his contract that could push it to $3 million this year, all the while knowing that he is the goalie that gives them the best chance of getting the revenue that can be generated through a round or two of the playoffs in the spring. The absurdity of the situation is that the team is paying players such as Lyle Odelein and Steve Poapst the cash that could be used to have their "franchise" goaltender in Pittsburgh. Odelein would be ok as a niche player, but is being used as a top 4 defenseman. Noah Welsh could just as easily be in that role, but he is being left in Wilkes Barre - Scranton too.
Andre Roy was brought in to give the team a physical presence. He has spent most of the season out of the line-up with a broken orbital bone. He may not be able to fight anymore, which all but negates his value here. Another million dollars wasted. John LeClair is a great leader, but hasn't contributed lately, unless you count the 2-3 penalties he takes each game. These are the types of mistakes that Patrick has made in the past few months.
The team put Lasse Pirjeta through waivers last Friday to free a roster spot for Shane Endicott. Could this be the first of several more moves? The team is still in dire need of a second line center and a top 3 defenseman. Hopefully Craig Patrick is working the phones and developing a plan to right this ship before it is too late. Some of the moves are obvious, others are not, but something has got to happen soon. This team has to much talent and potential to be wallowing in the basement of the eastern conference.
posted by Bmetzer66 at 12:44 PM
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