Get Ziggy With It

ZIGGAAAYYY!

With Jeff Taffe being put on waivers, the Penguins had to sign another man for his replacement and that was ultimately Mike Zigomanis from the Phoenix Coyotes for future considerations.

I like the pick-up. From what I’ve heard from Coyotes fans, he goes 100% at all times. He can take a hit and give it out, he can score, and is a very likeable player. Good pick-up.

Get healthy damn you

In other news…

Petr Sykora (his new name will be “Sicky”) will be out this weekend AGAIN with that same ole’ nagging groin injury that he had last weekend. Those can be a major bitch though. I’ve never had one but from what I’ve heard, they blow.

We really need Sicky back in our lineup. It just doesn’t seem right both in how we perform and how our team structures.

PENS PLAY TOMORROW! WOO!

LETS GO PENS!

Banners, Oh Banners

Just look at that mullet...EPIC

On Saturday night the Pens will showcase last year’s “Eastern Conference Champions” and “Atlantic Division” banners but they’ll also reveal other banners as well.

Two new banners will list the Penguins’ 12 NHL scoring champions, and another will list their five NHL MVP award-winners.

I like it. I really do. The Pens have rich history of players winning the Art Ross and that will continue with Crosby and Malkin. Plus I feel this is something that the Pens should celebrate. Anytime you get so many players winning an award as prestigious as this, it should be showcased.

It’ll also stop the controversial topic of Jagr getting a banner, which he should. He was the second best player to ever sport a Penguins logo and they should recognize him for that.

Very pumped to see this Saturday night.

LETS GO PENS!

Bye-Bye Pez

BEAST

With the final day of cuts, the man, the myth, the legend, Janne Pesonen is the last cut.

It was ultimately down to Pez and Bill Thomas and Thomas was the man that ended up beating Pez out. I’d rather have seen Pez not get cut but Thomas has been having a very solid camp and has surprised many. I’m not totally dissapointed with Pez getting cut and Thomas staying.

Plus we’ll see Pez a few times this year anyway…

I hate life and lame injuries

In other bad, crappy news…

Petr Sykora will miss tomorrow’s game…UUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

These injuries are really starting to take a toll. He better be fine and come back for game 2, at least game 3 or else we could be in trouble.

I guess either Talbot or TK gets bumped up to play on the second line. We should be fine for tomorrow but if this injury is worse than it is (God forbid), we could be SCREWED with Gonch, Whits and Sykora all out.

Whatev, Pens play tomorrow, that’s all that matters…

LETS GO PENS!

‘Geno = A

Get that 'A' on that giggly man...

If you can remember, I made a post just recently talking about the possibility of Malkin receiving the alternate captain role. Well this possibility has now become a reality as ‘Geno was named alternating alternate captain along with Brooksie.

I like it, I really do. I was a little blinded earlier that his English has improved, which I thank Eric from Experiencing the Evolution for pointing out to me that his English HAS improved via the Pens home site where they list their videos. But he’s not the alternate captain all by himself which is the main thing I like about him. He’ll be rotating with Orpik and won’t have THAT much of a load on his shoulders.

Hopefully ‘Geno can fulfill his duties as a rotating alternate captain and be a permanent alternate captain in the future.

ehh not really feeling the new Sid commercial. I usually like all of Sid’s commercials but this one doesn’t do it for me. Just doesn’t give you a ‘pump up’ feeling. I don’t know, I’m weird.

What an EPIC logo

In other news, the Pens beat Jokerit 4-1 today. Wasn’t here for it so I couldn’t listen to it. BUT THE OPENER IS THIS SATURDAY! WOOT!

P.S. Sorry for the lack of posting. As you can guess, I’ve been really busy as of late and haven’t had much ‘me’ time.

LETS GO PENS!

Crapage – Sarge out for 4-6 months

ugh...

*sigh*…It has been reported that Sergei Gonchar will be out for 4-6 months.

NOT GOOD at all for the Pens to start without their two best defenseman for 4-6 months (Ryan Whitney as well). They both should be back for the 2nd half of the season and we should be fine.

But for the first few months, we could be SCREWED. Hopefully a fire gets lit under Goligoski and he steps up because we’ll need him and Letang to step up as our offensive defenseman.

Get well soon Gonch…

LETS GO PENS!

Cutting It Up

Oh he's making the opening day roster

The Pens trimmed down their roster again yesterday as they only have one more player to cut before they go to Sweden. Notable players that were cut were Connor James and Danny Richmond.

Sort of disappointed to see Richmond being cut. Really wanted him to stay a little bit more but hey, we’ll definitely see him this year when a player goes down.

Same with Connor James in the light that you’ll see James at least once this year. He had a good year in WBS last year and I feel like he’ll keep improving.

Though I gotta say, it’s awesome to see that Pez is still on the roster. Now it’s a definite possibility that he’ll on the roster that travels to Sweden for the opening games. He’s been solid in camp anyways so don’t be surprised to see Janne make it.

Anyways my prediction for the next cut: Bill Thomas

LETS GO PENS!

Life Is Definitely A Beech…

Kris Beech: AHL Lifer

The second wave of cuts from the Pittsburgh roster down to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton roster were made earlier today.

Some noticeable players that WERE NOT cut are Janne Pesonen (yay), Bill Thomas (possible sleeper?), and Danny Richmond (he could make the trip to Sweden since Gonch is out for a little while). I think either Pez or Thomas will make the trip over to Sweden as well.

However, the ones that were cut were Ryan Stone and Kris Beech.

It’s a shame that Stone never panned out. He was suppose to be pretty good and some expected him to make the opening night roster. Hopefully he can progess more in the AHL and make a few appearances this year when players go down with injuries.

Don’t have to worry about Kris Beech being on the roster. I never really liked the idea of signing him in the first place. He’s been a career dissapointment and will continue to be one. Not a surprise at all that he got cut and probably will play the majority of his season down in WBS.

LETS GO PENS!

What The “A”?

In Soviet Russia...ahh screw it...that joke's old

In early August, I predicted who I thought should get the second alternate and the possible candidates. I had the expected Max Talbot, Petr Sykora, Brooks Orpik and Ryan Whitney. But I also included Evgeni Malkin, not expecting him to get it at all but to throw it out there because some thought he would get it.

I giggled at the thought of ‘Geno ever getting the second ‘A’ because the dude can barely speak English. So if he can’t speak English, he can’t communicate with other teammates as well. I thought that was a big deal right?

Not so fast my friend…

Rob Rossi of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review recently wrote an article suspecting that #71 would get the second ‘A’. Talk about a TOTAL SHOCK. I would have to think that Malkin would be the one of the more least likely players to receive that honor. Usually a great teammate/role player like Talbot gets it or an old, veteran guy like Sykora would get it. But to give it to someone who can barely speak English, is only 22 years old is surprising and only been in the league for two years is surprising.

However, I like it but at the same time I don’t like it.

Why I like it…’Geno will be here for 6 more seasons since he just signed a 5 year contract with the Pens. What a great way to tell him he’s a big piece in this organization by putting an ‘A’ above the skating Penguins logo. Since Crosby gets most of the media attention, it wouldn’t surprise me if Malkin sort of feels neglected because he’s on the same level as him but doesn’t get any where close to Crosby’s star level. Like I said before, it’d be a great message to ‘Geno that the Pens organization is committed to him as much as they are to Crosby.

Add that it could give him confidence. It could give him the mindset that he’s one of the team leaders and make him work harder. Sometimes a boost in a player makes them play unreal (which is a scary thought since we’re talking about Evgeni freakin’ Malkin).

Why I don’t like it…he can’t speak English. Yes I’ve said it a couple times now but it’s important. If Malkin can’t speak English, he won’t be able to technically ‘lead’ this team. Yes I know that some players lead by example but when you’ve got to order someone to step up, you can’t do it when you’re speaking Russian. When it’s less than two minutes to go in the third period and you need a goal to tie it up, you can’t be motivating them in Russian. In order for Malkin to get the second alternate, he should speak the English language a bit more fluently.

When pressure is put on some athlete’s shoulders they thrive while others die. I’m afraid ‘Geno could be one of the fragile ones which will make his play worse. That’s definitely not something I nor any other Pens fans want.

My overall thoughts…I think Malkin should get the second ‘A’ NEXT YEAR. Learn some more English, then come into the 09/10 season with that brand-spanking shiny new ‘A’ patched onto your jersey ready to prove people like me wrong. It’ll only be a matter of time when ‘Geno will collect the second alternate…

LETS GO PENS!

He Said WHAT?!

It was fun Bugsy...

So after the 07/08 season, everyone assumed that Ryan Malone was going bye-bye’s forever from the Penguins organization. It was his pay-day after his best year yet and he deserved to get the money he got from the ‘Bolts. It was a business decision for Malone to go, both on his part and the Ray Shero’s part.

However, in the PIttsburgh Tribune-Review, Malone has stated ‘A deal could have been done a long time ago’ with the Pens.

Sort of interesting how he says that yet he’s the one who wanted the money in the first place. Not only that but Shero wasn’t going to give him the big bucks he wanted and with all the contracts the Pens needed to extend, there was no way Bugsy was coming back. It’s unfortunate, yes, but it’s what he had to do. I wish we could have Bugsy back for this year but I expect Staal to fill in that role nicely in the coming years.

Not only that but Ryan’s been a inconsistent player throughout his career. He turned it on halfway through the year last year and that was it. I still remember the cries over at LGP for the Pens to get rid of him.

GET WELL SOON SARGE!

Sergei Gonchar’s injury apparently seems worse than once thought. He was supposed to have an MRI today earlier this afternoon and results to come in later. Many are saying it could be a separated shoulder which could really suck because he’ll be out for 4-8 weeks possibly. Though we’ll need him more in April than October, it is a bummer to have your two top defensemen out for a while.

The Pens D really can’t afford another injury. ..ugh.

Crosby > Zetterberg

Before I say what I’m about to say, let me just say I think Henrik Zetterberg is an elite hockey player. Got that? You did? Good.

Wes Goldstein of CBS, posted his top 50 player rankings last week and it struck some controversy with me. First off, why is CBS writing about hockey? They don’t even have hockey on their station so why care about it on your website? Laff.

Anyways, he has Henrik Zetterberg #1 over Alex Ovechkin and our very own Sidney Crosby. Ovechkin’s second and Crosby’s third. Interesting, I’d like to see a poll conducted by all NHL GM’s to see who they would take for their first pick – Sidney Crosby, Alex Ovechkin, or Henrik Zetterberg?

I’ll tell you the answer to that question….it’s zero, the answer is zero.

LETS GO PENS!

9 Down

Caputi is still the greatest last name ever

On Friday, the Pens first cut day as the Pens cut the roster down to 42, eliminating 9 players. Those players were Luca Caputi, Joe Haddad, Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson and Mark Letestu, and Jonathan D’Versa were sent to the AHL. Alex Grant (St. John’s) and forwards Keven Veilleux (Rimouski) and Casey Pierro-Zabotel (Vancouver) were returned to their junior teams.

Yeah, there’s a reason why I bolded Caputi. I never expected Caputi to start with the Pens on opening night. He needed more time in the AHL and that was obvious. However, I never expected him to be cut this early in the game. I thought he’d play a preseason game or two before getting cut and sent down. I’ve been hearing many, many positive reports about him that I’m actually pretty disappointed that he was cut. I honestly feel like this is unfair to Caputi to not to show what he’s made of in a couple preseason games. But hey, I’m just a fan, not the coach, what do I know?

It’s a shame Veilleux got cut. He was expected to do big things. Now I’ve been reading around that he’s looking terrible and needs to go back down to juniors. He went to one of the Pens top prospect studs to one of the top prospect duds like that.

LETS GO PENS!