the Blueline

This is getting ridiculous.

2007-10-12T14:56:00.001-04:00

Two more controversial hits have been getting some attention in the hockey world. I'll start with Jordin Tootoo of the Nashville Predators, since there seem to be a lot of people out there who have never heard of charging. For the unfamiliar:

Charging is a penalty in ice hockey. It occurs when a player take more than three steps before checking an opposing player. It can vary in severity from a two minute minor penalty, a double-minor of four minutes, a major penalty of five minutes, a match penalty, or even a suspension if the opposing player becomes injured as a result of the charge.

The other involves the Flyers, who are apparently Hellbent on returning to the Broad Street Bullies reputation they've held in the past. Jesse Boulerice is going to get 25 games from rearranging the Canucks' Ryan Kessler's face.

What is going through the minds of some of these players? If this is what's going on in October, what's going to be happening later in the season when teams have started playing other teams in their divisions 5 or 6 times?

Pens fall to 1 - 2

2007-10-11T14:07:00.000-04:00

The Pens lost to the Montreal Canadiens last night, 3 - 2.

Overall, I think this has been the most solid the Pens have looked so far. Carey Price did a great job in his NHL debut, and the Habs defense did their part by clearing loose pucks in front for most of the night. (When they weren't throwing the Pens forwards into the net, anyway. What was Roman Hamrlik thinking?)

The Pens got another solid showing from Eaton and Scuderi, and another shaky game from Sydor. I'm hoping he's just off to a slow start, - you don't win two Stanley Cups for nothing, - but so far I've been unimpressed with Sydor's performance. I wouldn't say he's been a bust, - it's only been 3 games, far too early to tell - but he's definitely got to step it up.

I'm also not a member of the "Trade Fleury while we can still get something for him" camp, but he's got to get better at controlling his rebounds. The slot is not an appropriate place for a loose puck. You're just asking for trouble.

Hopefully we'll get this thing turned around on Saturday when we face off against the Leafs.

Jason Blake press conference

2007-10-09T16:25:00.000-04:00

I know it's old news by now, but Toronto Maple Leafs winger Jason Blake has recently been diagnosed with a rare, but thankfully treatable, form of leukemia. During the press conference announcing his condition in Toronto, a reporter had the gall to ask if this puts his "mini-slump" in perspective. This man is 34 years old and will be on medication to fight cancer the rest of his life, and you're asking him why he hasn't scored a goal in his first three games?! Are you out of your mind?!

Best wishes to Jason Blake and his family. May the medication do his job and allow him to live his life as normally as possible.

Pens win home opener

2007-10-07T12:25:00.000-04:00

The Penguins beat the Ducks 5 - 4 last night. It was an exciting game. The goals were coming in bunches. They definitely looked better than they did against the Canes, but not quite in mid-season form yet.

A few observations:

Hate to talk trash on the refs, but the officiating was not good last night.
Georges Laraque has really shown up so far. Working hard, flashing some skill. We approve.
Darryl Sydor has been less than impressive so far.
Mark Eaton was unstoppable.
MAF: 4 goals on 23 shots? Isn't someone trying to earn a big contract this season?
That said, he was hung out to dry by Gonchar on the Ducks shorthanded goal.
Colby Armstrong's goal was awesome.

3 Stars

Petr Sykora
Colby Armstrong
Chris Kunitz

Pens fall to Canes in season opener

2007-10-06T12:20:00.000-04:00

Eric Staal scored two first period goals in the Carolina Hurricanes' 4 - 1 decision over then Pens. Mark Recchi scored the only goal for the Pens on a power play late in the third.

The Pens didn't look great out there last night, but that's not to take away from Carolina's defense and Cam Ward's unbelievable play. They were all over the loose pucks the Pens were leaving all over the ice, creating turnovers on our multitude of bad passes, blocking shots and smothering Crosby and Malkin every time they went over the boards.

The Ducks fell to 1 - 3 last night with a 4 - 0 shellacking by the Columbus Blue Jackets (you know, the "We're the only team in the NHL to never make the playoffs" Columbus Blue Jackets). Something tells me they won't be happy when they roll in to the Igloo tonight. Let's hope for a better showing from the Pens for the home opener.

Darryl Sydor gets no respect

2007-10-05T12:57:00.000-04:00

From the Pittsburgh Tribune Review:

Only three players, Sykora, Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts, have ever been part of a Stanley Cup championship team. Sykora won with New Jersey in 2000, Recchi with the Hurricanes in 2006 and the Penguins in 1991 and Roberts way back in 1989 when he was with Calgary.

Darryl Sydor was cleaning his Stanley Cup rings earned with Dallas and Tampa Bay and could not be reached for comment.

It's a Hockey Night in Pittsburgh!

2007-10-05T10:42:00.001-04:00

Puck drops on the 2007-08 Penguins season tonight at 7. Get ready.

Weaver snatched off the waiver wire

2007-10-02T15:34:00.000-04:00

The Canucks have acquired another Pens player right before the start of the season. Mike Weaver will be heading to Vancouver.

Downie gets 20 games for hit on McAmmond

2007-09-28T16:01:00.000-04:00

Ok, I didn't report on this initially, so if anyone has been hiding under a rock this last week of the preseason, here's some back story:

In an exhibition game between the Flyers and the Senators, Flyers prospect Steve Downie took a run at the Sens' Dean McAmmond, caught him with his head down behind the net, and left his feet to deliver a blow to McAmmond's head.

Well the NHL has decided that's worth a 20 game suspension to Downie. It's good to see the NHL get this one right and hand out an appropriate suspension. That hit was not only potentially career ending, but McAmmond could have been killed. Hopefully this clown learns his lesson. Provided he ever makes it to the NHL to serve those 20 games.

Pens sloppy in preseason loss to Detroit

2007-09-24T09:51:00.000-04:00

I had a chance to attend the preseason game against Detroit on Saturday and made a few observations.

Mark Eaton got the game's first goal with a wrister from the point. But the Pens couldn't hold on to the lead. A lot of the Pens forwards seemed to be chasing the play, taking stupid penalties, not being in position to get anything going, and when they were they were stifled by Detroit's D.

One bright spot from this weekend's game was the penalty kill. With Talbot not dressed for Saturday's game, Erik Christensen ate up his minutes on a PK unit with Colby Armstrong. For being a more offensive minded player, Christensen played very well in shorthanded situations. He made some nice plays to break up Detroit's attack and clear the puck, and was able to hold on to the puck well in the neutral zone as well as in the Wings' zone. It looks like he is taking his new role seriously and could be on his way to being a more complete, 2 way forward.

Fleury played well and kept the Pens in it for a while, but in the end it was a 5 - 2 Detroit victory. Malkin had the other Pittsburgh goal on the power play with 2 minutes left in the game.

Let's hope they can get something going next week when the games matter.

More tickets to the Winter Classic?

2007-09-20T22:37:00.001-04:00

Tonight at the Pens' Season Ticket Holder Town Hall Meeting, David Morehouse told us they are still in talks with the NHL about securing more tickets to the Winter Classic for Pittsburgh season ticket holders. Expect some kind of announcement from the team sometime after September 28th.

And if anyone out there is wondering why Fleury decided to become a goaltender, here's your answer:

"Because I suck to score goals."

There you have it.

Pens sign lease for new Arena

2007-09-20T11:15:00.001-04:00

The Penguins have signed a lease agreement for the new arena that will keep them in town until 2040.

Sykora to miss 2 games, Curry sent to AHL

2007-09-20T00:31:00.000-04:00

In what is becoming a disturbing preseason trend, a new Penguin player has been hurt by a teammate in an exhibition game. This time Brooks Orpik's elbow will cost Petr Sykora at least 2 games with a broken nose.

From the same TSN article, goaltender John Curry was sent to the Pens' AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Pens even preseason series, NHL finally admits their schedule sucks

2007-09-19T10:02:00.000-04:00

As I failed to point out yesterday, the Pens dropped their first preseason game to the Habs, but came back to win the second game 5 - 2. Lighting the lamp for Pittsburgh were: Ryan Stone and Jeff Taffe, who scored on the first two shots of the game, Petr Sykora, Evgeni Malkin and Tyler Kennedy.

Word on the street is we will no longer have to suffer through the current NHL scheduling mess after this season. The NHL's Board of Governors is set to vote on a change in the schedule that will see each team face all 29 other teams in a year. As much fun as it is to see the Islanders 8 times a year, I'd really like a chance to see the rest of the league more often.

Empty Netters: Great blog, questionable fashion taste

2007-09-18T14:37:00.000-04:00

If you're not already checking in on Empty Netters, you owe it to yourself to make it a daily read. Seth does a great job keeping up with the hockey world and presents a very entertaining blog.

He's been on record throughout the summer railing against Reebok's new EDGE uniform system. I can't say I blame him. There have been some real train wrecks unveiled this summer. So you can imagine my surprise reading his take on San Jose's new look this afternoon:

The Sharks unveiled their jerseys and guess what, we actually like them. Even if they did "update" (i.e. downgrade) what was one of the best logos in all of sports, the new Sharks uniforms are an upgrade in our opinion, mainly because they got rid of the ridiculous vertical striping that had been on the jersey previously. Now if the rest of the league could follow...

For my money, I'd take the Sharks jerseys of old over this monstrosity:

Winter Classic sells out in about half an hour

2007-09-18T11:39:00.000-04:00

Around 10:30 or so I got a text message from a friend of mine who was unable to get tickets to the "AMP Energy NHL Winter Classic" (do we get free Mountain Dew at this thing?). 41,000+ tickets, gone in less than an hour. That's amazing. Not one to drag their feet on getting hockey tickets, Firefox was waiting on ticketmaster.com for about 10 minutes before tickets went on sale. We'll see you in Buffalo, suckers!

It's official. Look out Buffalo.

2007-09-17T11:18:00.000-04:00

In what has got to be one of the worst kept secrets in the history of sports, an official announcement is coming today on the "Ice Bowl". The game will take place at Ralph Wilson Stadium in Buffalo on New Years Day at 1pm. Tickets will be available tomorrow, September 18th, and should range from $29 for the upper bowl to $225.

The Blueline will be among the multitude of Pens fans making the trip up I79 to Buffalo. We'll see you there.

Watch Live Streaming QMJHL Games This Season

2007-09-12T16:28:00.000-04:00

Want to see how your teams prospects that don't make the big club are progressing? Well, here's your chance. All QMJHL games, including the playoffs, will be streaming live, for free, at qmjhl.mytelus.

QMJHL 2007/08 Regular Season Schedule

Pens re-sign Assistant coaches

2007-09-12T11:40:00.001-04:00

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: Mike Yeo and Andre Savard each got one year extensions to assist head coach Michel Therrien, while goaltending coach Gilles Meloche signed a two year contract.

Barrasso named Carolina's Directory of Goaltender Development

2007-09-07T14:44:00.000-04:00

Former Penguins goalie Tom Barrasso has been named Director of Goaltender Development with the Carolina Hurricanes. He will be working with goaltenders on Carolina's minor league affiliates.

No word yet if he will berate each goalie individually or issue one blanket insult to be used.

A Nice Touch

2007-09-06T16:04:00.001-04:00

24 lucky season ticket holders had their 2007/08 package hand delivered by one of 6 Penguins players.

No offense to my mailman, but I'm a little disappointed now that my tickets just came in a run of the mill USPS box. It would have been much more entertaining to have Evgeni Malkin on my doorstep not having any idea what I was saying to him. Until I offered him a shot of vodka anyway.

Pens New Threads

2007-09-06T00:11:00.000-04:00

I couldn't get close enough to take my own pictures, so I'll just link to some from the net. (thepensblog - go there. now.)

I'm for 'em. I still don't plan on buying one, especially since I just got a newly obsolete Talbot jersey at the end of last season, but they look good. Minimal changes, no stupid piping. Things could have been a lot worse.

It was great to hear "IT'S A HOCKEY NIGHT IN PITTSBURGH!" again.

Camp starts soon.

Don't forget

2007-09-05T15:55:00.000-04:00

The Pens will unveil their new look tonight at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. Festivities are set to begin at 5:30, with the actual unveiling coming at 6:30.

Several Pens prospects sit out rookie tournament

2007-09-04T17:11:00.000-04:00

The Post Gazette is reporting Angelo Esposito, Alex Goligoski and Keven Veilleux will be watching the prospect tournament that pits rookies from Pittsburgh, Toronto, Ottawa and Florida against each other from the press box. Esposito is still out with a groin injury, Goligoski is rehabbing a surgically repaired shoulder and Veilleux will be going under the knife to repair a sports hernia.

Esposito is expected to dress for training camp on September 13th.

Ever wonder how a hockey puck is made?

2007-08-31T10:18:00.000-04:00

Find out at On Frozen Blog.

Pens to unveil new jerseys on Wednesday

2007-08-30T14:16:00.000-04:00

Bob Grove has assured us there will be no changes to the logo, so we don't have to worry about a trainwreck of Vancouver's magnitude.

Ryan Whitney, Ryan Malone and Max Talbot will be showing off the new duds next week at the Galleria at Pittsburgh Mills. So if you're not busy on September 5th around 5:30, go check it out.

Pens announce individual ticket sales, ask for fan input on new arena

2007-08-28T13:16:00.000-04:00

Individual game tickets for the 2007 - 08 season will go on sale September 15th.

The Pens have also added a survey to their website requesting fan input to be considered for the planning of the new arena.

Group including 2 Pens successful in bid to buy Junior team

2007-08-25T11:40:00.000-04:00

A group of NHLers that includes Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor were successful in their attempt to purchase the Kamloops Blazers. H/t to Mirtle.

"Ice Bowl" a done deal?

2007-08-24T09:46:00.000-04:00

WKBW in Buffalo is reporting plans have been finalized for an outdoor game between the Sabres and the Pens on New Years Day. They say an announcement from the league will be released in September.

We'll wait til we get word from the league before we start calling our friends in Buffalo to find couches to sleep on. Those following these rumors (again, we're waiting for it to come down from the NHL) know that this idea was originally planned for a January 1 game, then reported to be moved to February. Personally, we think it would make way more sense to play this game in February. Not as much football to compete with for TV viewers and it's usually a few degrees colder. Regardless of when it takes place, this is going to be an amazing game. Expect a huge fan turnout from not only Buffalo and Pittsburgh, but hockey fans from the surrounding states and Canadian provinces.

Someone gets it

2007-08-23T10:35:00.000-04:00

Spector points out that having room under the cap doesn't mean a team has money to spend within their own budget.

This is a point a lot of people seem to be missing. I'm looking at you, "Forsberg to " people.

Ty Conklin preview

2007-08-21T13:53:00.000-04:00

Couldn't resist.

Injury sidelines Esposito

2007-08-21T13:04:00.000-04:00

Angelo Esposito won't be joining Team Canada at the Super Series after all. TSN has reported a groin injury will keep Espo off the roster for the series.

The Pens have also named their new strength and conditioning coach.

Sidney Crosby showed up to surprise the kids at a hockey clinic at RMU Island Sports.

Tocchet to get 2 years probation

2007-08-17T10:45:00.000-04:00

TSN has reported Rick Tocchet was sentenced to 2 years probation and no jail time for his role in backing a gambling ring. The Coyotes and NHL have not yet issued statements or made a decision on whether or not he will be able to return to the Coyotes bench as Wayne Gretzky's assistant coach.

Sure, this may not be as bad as the gambling scandal the NBA has had to deal with, but we don't think someone convicted of running a gambling ring should be coaching a professional sports team. They may not have been taking bets on the NHL at the time, but it still calls into question the integrity of the game and the people running that team. The NHL is enough of a sideshow to most people that we don't need one more excuse for them to talk about its irrelevance.

Espo to play for Team Canada in Super Series, NHL.com breaks down Pens prospects

2007-08-16T15:42:00.000-04:00

Angelo Esposito, the Pens first round pick in this year's entry draft, has been selected to play in the Super Series that will pit the top Canadian Juniors against their top Russian counterparts, marking the 35th anniversary of the legendary Summit Series. I believe readers from the Great White North will be able to see the series televised on CBC.

Over at NHL.com, columnist John McGourty gives us an overview of who he thinks we should be on the lookout for in the Pens system. Worth a read.

Training camp schedule announce, 2 Pens make a bid for their old Junior team

2007-08-15T09:53:00.000-04:00

The NHL has released the schedule and location of training camp for all teams.

The Pens will take the ice at Southpointe from September 13 - 16, and will shift to the Igloo from the 17th until the start of the season.

Mark Recchi and Darryl Sydor were in Kamloops, BC recently to meet with the board members of the Kamloops Blazers, where they played Juniors, to represent their group in making a bid to purchase the team. (Thanks to Mirtle for pointing this out). Their group also includes former Blazers Jerome Iginla and Shane Doan. Great to see current NHLers remembering where they came from and wanting to stay involved so the next generation has the same opportunities.

In other NHL news, the Hockey News has reported that Teemu Selanne is leaning towards calling it a career. After finally winning the Cup with Anaheim last season, the Finnish Flash feels he'd rather go out on top than put in a couple more seasons.

Division I College Hockey at the Igloo

2007-08-13T13:40:00.000-04:00

This year, Robert Morris University will host Ohio State at the Mellon Arena for the second annual College Hockey Showcase. Last year featured Notre Dame shellacking the RMU Colonials. We attended the game last year, and it was definitely worth the trip out there. Hopefully the hometown Colonials fare a little better this year, but either way it's great to see a local school making a name for itself in the college hockey world.

In other news, Billy Tibbetts is still an absolute joke.

Ekman signs in Europe, Fleury gets some love

2007-08-13T09:44:00.000-04:00

Ekman Signs With Khimik Mytishchi.

The Cape Breton post has a nice piece on Fleury.

This offseason is killing us.

Rumored VS tv schedule, Pens sign blueliner

2007-08-08T13:20:00.000-04:00

Battle of New York has posted what they believe is the schedule for the 2007-08 season on Versus. The Pens will be on Vs 8 times in the coming season. Here are the details (thanks to Japers' Rink for the link)

Oct. 23 – 7:00 NY Rangers vs. Pittsburgh
Oct. 30 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. Minnesota
Dec. 11 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia
Jan. 14 – 7:00 NY Rangers vs. Pittsburgh
Jan. 21 – 7:00 Washington vs. Pittsburgh
Jan. 26 – 7:00 All-Star Skills Competition/Young-Stars
Jan. 27 - ??? All-Star Game
Feb. 4 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. New Jersey
Mar. 24 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. NY Islanders
Mar. 31 – 7:00 Pittsburgh vs. NY Rangers

In other Pens' news, they've signed defenseman Mike Weaver to a 1 year, 2 way deal. He looks to be another depth defenseman that will likely spend a considerable amount of time in Wilkes-Barre this year.

Update! The news keeps coming in: The Post Gazette has reported the Staals and their guests at Eric's bachelor party may be getting a plea deal. Right now their lawyers are looking into the immigration and visa ramifications of the final decision.

Where do they get this stuff?

2007-08-07T11:42:00.000-04:00

Adrian Dater has dropped Pittsburgh in his list of teams reported to be interested in Peter Forsberg. Ignoring the fact we don't like Forsberg and think he's overrated, these ties to Pittsburgh in the press still don't make sense to us.

Sure, the Pens have the cap space under the CBA, but people seem to forget having space under the cap != having money to throw around at washed up players. Even if it was in the budget, where would they find a spot for him on the depth chart? What, is Malkin going to be anchoring the third line any time soon? With the strength the Pens have down the middle, the last thing we need is an injury prone center that's past his prime.

Pens play in charity tournament

2007-08-02T10:16:00.000-04:00

The Sidney Crosby Show recently posted a great story about some NHLers playing in a charity tournament. Check out their blog for details, pictures, and rosters.

Scratch my back with a hacksaw! Lange returns as voice of the Pens

2007-07-26T13:08:00.001-04:00

Mike Lange will be returning as the radio voice of the Pittsburgh Penguins next season.

Lange and the team have agreed to a one year contract that will bring the Hall of Fame broadcaster back for his 32nd season as the voice of the Pens.

Staals arrested, Flyers name Wheeling Nailers ECHL affialiate

2007-07-26T09:36:00.000-04:00

Yeah, everybody's been talking about this since the story broke yesterday. It seems Jordan and Eric had a little too much fun at the elder Staal's bachelor party. Isn't the point of bachelor parties to get into trouble?

The Wheeling Nailers have announced they have reached an affiliation deal with the Philadelphia Flyers. They will still be serving as the ECHL affiliate to the Penguins.

For a sport that runs from October to June, this offseason is getting brutally long. We're counting down the days to training camp.

Preds' "Our Team" Rally

2007-07-20T09:54:00.000-04:00

It may be hard for a lot of people outside of Nashville to take Predators fans seriously, but as Pens fans, we know what it's like to be surrounded by uncertainty about where your team is going to be in a couple season. It may not have been the best business decision to try to force a team there, as years of financial losses by the current ownership has shown. But you've got to admire the passion these fans have for their team.

Check out On The Forecheck's post about the rally held in Nashville this week.

Pens sign Conklin, announce promos

2007-07-19T13:40:00.001-04:00

The Post Gazette is reporting the Penguins have signed goalie Ty Conklin to a 1 year $500,000 deal.

Obviously it's a little too early to tell, but we see Conklin being the #1 goalie with the Pens AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. It will likely come down to who's more solid in training camp, but if Sabourin plays as well as he did in last year's camp, he should be a lock to back up MAF. Not to mention the Pens already lost Sabourin on waivers once, and obviously saw enough promise in him to pursue him again. We don't think they'd be eager to make that mistake twice.

In ex-Penguin news, Petr Nedved will be returning to the Czech Republic next season and Ziggy Palffy will reportedly be playing for his hometown team in Slovakia. Kudos to Kulka's Korner for the story on Palffy.

More Contracts

2007-07-11T11:18:00.000-04:00

The Pens have agreed to terms with University of Minnesota defenseman Alex Goligoski.

Brendan Shanahan and Henrik Lundqvist will be back on Broadway for one more year.

The Blueshirts seem to be making all the right moves this offseason. We're not looking forward to seeing them 8 times in the coming season. The Atlantic is going to be tough in 2007 - 2008.

Pens lock up Crosby for 5 more years

2007-07-10T09:48:00.001-04:00

The numbers aren't available yet, but the Post Gazette is guessing around $9 million per.

This is the biggest news we've heard since we found out Joe Melichar won't be wearing the black and gold next season.

Talbot signs new contract with the Pens

2007-07-05T13:56:00.000-04:00

RDS is reporting Talbot has signed on for two more years with the Pens.

Welcome news here at the Blueline. Max Talbot does it all. Works hard every shift, kills penalties and can knock in the occasional big goal.

Update: We've just received word that Erik Christensen has also signed a 2 year deal with the Pens. More on the Pens' website.

Farewell, JR

2007-07-05T09:18:00.000-04:00

Jeremy Roenick hangs up the skates.

Love him or hate him, Roenick was a great player, and an entertaining character in the game. We here at the Blueline wish him luck in his post NHL career.

A day late and a dollar short, again

2007-06-29T13:21:00.000-04:00

Old news by now, but congratulations to ex-Penguin Ron Francis on his induction to the Hall Of Fame.

More Pens free agent news

2007-06-26T09:43:00.001-04:00

Michel Oullett won't be the only one we won't be seeing next season.

After working out deals to re-sign veteran wingers Mark Recchi and Gary Roberts over the weekend, the Penguins have 16 NHL and minor-league players besides Ouellet and Penner set to become unrestricted free agents Sunday.
Of those, Shero said defenseman Rob Scuderi is the only one the team is trying to re-sign before Sunday.
Others, including defensemen Josef Melichar and Alain Nasreddine and backup goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, could re-sign with the Penguins during the free-agency period.
Many of the rest -- defensemen Eric Cairns, Wade Brookbank, Matt Carkner, Micki Dupont, Joel Kwiatkowski, Richard Litner and Wade Skolney; forwards Nils Ekman, Niklas Nordgren, Ronald Petrovicky and Libor Pivko; and goaltender Nolan Schaefer -- won't be back.

We have to admit, we're a little surprised by some of the names on the list. Sure, guys like Joel Kwiatkowski, Eric Cairns and Niklas Nordgren were total wastes of roster spots. Nils Ekman never got the job done.

Micki Dupont may not have turned many heads last year when he got the call, but he had a solid season in the AHL last year, and we thought he could possibly push for a spot on the Pens roster in the coming season. Thibault hitting the market probably won't be a bad thing for him, but we think it will hurt the Pens. He played very well last season and may be looking for the #1 job elsewhere, but the Pens still need someone who can play as well as Thibault did to cover any lapses in Fleury's game.

It could be an interesting summer...

Pens extend offers to free agents

2007-06-25T18:29:00.001-04:00

The Pittsburgh Penguins have made offers to 6 free agents. They've announced Michel Oullett and Andrew Penner will not be getting offer sheets and will become UFAs on Sunday.

We're looking forward to not seeing Michel Oullett in black and gold come September.

Recchi and Roberts staying with the Pens, Toskala and Bell headed for TO

2007-06-22T15:18:00.000-04:00

Gary Roberts and Mark Recchi have signed 1 year contract extensions with the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Leafs acquire Vesa Toskala and Mark Bell from the Sharks for some draft picks.

Great news for Pens fans.

Raycroft seemed to take a lot of heat from Leafs fans, despite matching Ed Belfour's franchise record for wins last season. Having Toskala there to challenge him should help the Leafs between the pipes.

Giguere staying with the Ducks

2007-06-22T12:31:00.001-04:00

J.S. Giguere has signed a 4 year, $24 million contract extension with Anaheim. Good news for Ducks fans. With the uncertainty about captain Scott Neidermayer's return next season, as well as the return of Teemu Selanne, this contract has got to be a welcome development in Orange County.

First round of the draft tonight. Updates to follow this weekend.

Quick update

2007-06-21T14:17:00.000-04:00

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports on some of the Pens' free agents. No contract for Petrovicky, but no word yet on if Joe Melichar will be back? Clearly, we're not NHL GM material, and Ray Shero hasn't led us astray so far, but if Joe Melichar is back on the Pens blueline next season and Petro is testing free agency, we see that as a problem. We're anxiously awaiting the outcome of the Roberts/Recchi talks as well.

Robert Lang won't be back in Hockeytown.

Why is the owner that has been ruining the Boston Bruins now the chairman of the NHL Board of Governors?

Speaking of the Bruins, after not talking for days after TSN reported Claude Julien will be behind their bench, they've made it official today.

The thought of players being awarded penalty shots for being hauled down in the neutral zone does not sit well with us.

Pavel Bure gets no respect.

Flyers sign Hartnell and Timonen

2007-06-18T16:00:00.000-04:00

TSN has reported that the Philadelphia Flyers have dealt the first round pick they got for Peter Forseberg back to the Preds for the rights to work out a deal with UFAs Scott Hartnell and Kimmo Timonen.

It's an interesting deal. One I certainly didn't see coming. It worked out well for the Flyers, as the pick they used to make the deal belonged to the Preds initially anyway. And Nashville (Hamilton?) gets a first round pick for 2 free agents that otherwise would have walked anyway.

Hartnell was expected to attract a lot of attention come July 1st because of his age and potential in addition to his established skills. Bringing Timonen in was supposed to help, or replace Joni Pitkanin, depending on which rumor mill you believe.

Hartnell will be bringing in $25.2 million over 6 years, while Timonen will be making $37.8 million in that time frame.

Thanks for taking us to the Finals... now clean out your desk!

2007-06-18T14:12:00.001-04:00

Bryan Murray is the new GM of the Ottawa Senators.

And the Winners Are...

2007-06-15T09:27:00.000-04:00

Last night the NHL gave out their annual awards. Here in the States we were shafted by Bettman's joke of a TV deal once again, and the Awards Show wasn't aired until 11pm EST.

*Update*
Apparently it was CBC's fault, not Versus, that the awards show was shown on a tape delay and not aired live.

The winners of the awards were:

Hart (Player voted most valuable to his team by the Professional Hockey Writer's Association): Sidney Crosby
Leaster B. Pearson (Voted as MVP by the NHLPA): Sidney Crosby
Vezina (Best Goalie): Martin Brodeur
Norris (Best Defenseman): Nicklas Lidstrom
Selke (Best Defensive Forward): Rod Brind'Amour
Calder (Rookie of the Year): Evgeni Malkin
Jack Adams (Coach of the Year): Alain Vigneault
Lady Byng (Sportsmanship): Pavel Datsyuk
Masterson (Comeback player of the year): Phil Kessel
King Clancy (On and Off Ice Leadership): Saku Koivu

A lot of people have said Brodeur has an advantage by playing in a system that promotes defense above all else. That may be true, but if Brodeur didn't have what it takes, why did Scott Clemensen only have one win this year? Roberto Luongo is without question and outstanding goaltender, and will no doubt win his share of Vezinas in his career, but Brodeur has earned this.

Our picks for the Calder and the Jack Adams turned out to be wrong. We thought Michel Therrien made a strong case for himself, but Alain Vigneault led the Vancouver Canucks to the Northeast Division title before being bounced by the eventual Cup champs in the second round.

Evgeni Malkin was heavily favored by many to win the rookie of the year honors, and it was no surprise that he won this award. We here at the Blueliner were pulling for his teammate, Jordan Staal to get the nod. This kid had an unbelievable season. He went from a long shot at training camp to becoming one of the Pens top penalty killers, set a rookie record for shorthanded goals, led the league in shooting percentage, was second only to Malkin in goals among first year players, and became the youngest NHL player to record a hat trick in the regular season. Not a bad first winter if you ask us.

The Masterson was pretty much a no brainer. Due to a rivalry with a certain Boston ex-pat friend of ours, we don't like to say anything good about the Bruins. But the season Phil Kessel had while battling testicular cancer definitely deserves to be acknowledged.

Flyers Sign Antero Niittymaki to New Two-Year Contract

2007-06-14T19:36:00.000-04:00

Looks like Robert Esche is going to be looking for a new job this summer. The Flyers and Antero Niittymaki have inked a 2 year deal.

GM Paul Holmgren seems to be working pretty hard to get the Broad Street Bullies back to where they need to be for the 2007-08 Season. Since they've brought in Joe Mullen to help out behind the bench and gotten rid of Forsberg, we're thinking the Flyers will be worth watching next year. Look for the goaltending situation to improve and for Scottie Upshall to make an impact with his first full season with the black and orange. We'll see what they do with their blueline.

Welcome to the Blueline

2007-06-14T13:56:00.000-04:00

That's right, just what the internet needs, yet another hockey blog. We're coming to you from Pittsburgh, PA. Most of the content here will probably be NHL based, but from time to time we'll probably bore you with some minor league information and our adventures in the local adult league.

I'll leave you with this:
Adam Proteau at the Hockey News has a nice piece about hockey not belonging to any one geographic location. A nice read after having to hear about “Canada’s Team”, the Ottawa Senators, for months. (by the way, Bryan Murray and the rest of the Sens organization: If you’re reading this, I still hate you.)