Deadline-day deal? Not likely for Penguins
Rob Rossi, PITTSBURGH TRIBUNE-REVIEW
There are expectations for the Penguins, but the one fans figure on more than retaining the Stanley Cup is a roster move by general manager Ray Shero before the March 3 NHL trade deadline.
But don't bet on a trade, even though the Penguins have never won the Stanley Cup, let alone played for it, without a significant late-season deal.
Can the Champs defend?So far this season for the Penguins has been anything but easy, with all of their top six defensemen and a few top six forwards going down with injury early in the year its hard to believe that they are still at the top of the conference. The Penguins still have some flaws that if they want to repeat need to be fixed.
Cup Champs Aim To RepeatRepeating as cup champions has been no easy task. But the Pittsburgh Penguins will attempt to be the 2nd team to do it in the last 15 years. The parity, the short summers and for this year the longer season due to the Olympics all stand in the way of the Pens repeating.
However 2 of the leagues top 3 players play here in Pittsburgh. With a trio of dominant centres in Malkin, Crosby and Staal along with the goaltending of Fleury, the talent here will always give them a chance.
What will next season's Penguins look like?Here is the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins' probable lineup going into next season, with possible signings to fill holes. Please feel free to post depth charts/line combinations for any other teams you know of.
Penguins have extended offers to three.Pittsburgh now that the draft is over and days away from July first have decided to kick it into high gear to maintain what players they can. Reports from a local news station have just reported that the pens have tendered offers to three of there major role players.
Who would you keep? A lot of hockey fans out there think that the Pens will have to trade one of their 2 elite center in order to stay competitive and trading either Crosby or Malkin would bring much needed depth to the Pens. Myself I would keep Malkin, as he's bigger, less injury prone, better at faceoffs and also scores more often than Crosby.
Ruutu back to Pittsburgh? Pierre Lebrun is reporting on a ton of rumors, many of them are the same as what HTR has published, but a new rumor that is mentioned is that the Penguins may be looking to awing a deal with the Senators for Jarkku Ruutu, who left the Penguins last season to sign with the Senators.
Therrien Fired1 day after losing 6-2 to the Toronto Maple Leafs, Ray Shero has announced the firing of Michel Therrien. Dan Bylsma, Head Coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, will take over as interim Head Coach.
