Oh, brother... Mark Madden. Staal for Kovalchuk?

It has been a while since I've listened to a Mark Madden radio broadcast. I stopped listening to Madden because I could not stand the constant shredding of our Pittsburgh sports teams. While I disagree with some of his harsh attitude, I decided to give him a listen on the radio today.

Madden was talking about the rumor that started running its course yesterday afternoon. I'm sure that by now, most of us have heard about the "blockbuster deal" in the works between the Penguins and the Atlanta Thrashers. According to Madden, speculation hints toward young guns Kristopher Letang and Jordan Staal centerpiecing a deal for Ilya Kovalchuk. The deal would also send a first round pick to the ATL.

I spent my drive to class waiting on hold to get a conversation in with Madden. My main purpose for calling was to attain some validity of the source, but also to gain an experienced journalist's opinion. I actually found that Mark Madden and I agreed on something; we both believe that Kovalchuk could become a 70 goal scorer with the likes of Crosby at center. This in turn would give Crosby 150 point possibility and almost assure 100 assists a season.

While it is far too early in Staal's career to simply write him off as having a great rookie season with nothing else to show, he is simply not worth keeping and developing when you can trade him for the explosiveness that a player like Kovalchuk brings. Seeing how it will already be very difficult to resign Staal, his inclusion in the deal is valid on all fronts. The second piece of the puzzle worries me slightly more. Kris Letang is very young and is still developing into a defensive force. We are currently having a very hard time moving the puck forward, especially on the powerplay. Until we get Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar back, I am not sure that we can give up a promising young offensive defenseman. Let's also not forget that giving up another first-rounder could be devastating as well. It might not seem like a big deal, but these types of moves are reminiscent of the before-Lemieux-era-80's where the Penguins unloaded picks for talent--hurting us in the long run.

Even with the downside of losing a lot of potential talent, if this deal is on the table, Ray Shero needs to pull the trigger. Bringing Kovalchuk to the Burgh could solidify a top line with two of the best young names in hockey (Ilya and Sid) and leave a lot of talent to play with for Gino.

I look forward to hearing some thoughts on this rumor. Contact us at Penstation.Blog@gmail.com

Matt@Penstation