Thursday, October 30, 2008

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 letang_staaltoward 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 IlyaKovalchuk_cardcould 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


Who's on first? And, who's playing on what line?

Coach Therrien has always been known as a line jumbler. While he has proven to be very successful with our young players, he has also been a bit quick to jump the gun on a line change. While in class tonight, I was doing a bit of this chemistry searching myself.

While Malkin and Crosby have proven that they can compete with anyone in the game, what do we give up by combining their talent on our first line? It is very possible that the Penguins had the greatest wealth in terms of line depth last year. Our second line emerged as arguably the greatest line in the league last season (Malone, Malkin, Sykora). This year, after losing several players at the trade deadline and through free-agency, we are looking at possibly becoming a one-line-team.

In tonight's game, The Kid and Malks will be separated once again with a few different faces on their wings. In my notes was the notion that replacing Malone on Malkin's line with Mcook_vs_maloneatt Cooke could prove to be a wise move. I was happy to notice that when I got home, Malkin's line included Sykora and the energetic Cooke. I do not think that Cooke has the potential to put up Malone-like numbers, but he could very well save the same purpose on this sniper style line.

One thing that has worried me about the Penguins this year is the lack of a "Kevin Stevens" in front of the net. We need a grinder that is willing to win pucks in the corners and feed our shooters while providing a big target in front. I was hoping that Jordan Staal would fill this role, but I have yet to see him use his size to an advantage beyond reach. Hopefully, without Malone, Cooke or Staal will fill this role over the season.

With the Phoenix game underway, we will see how these new lines work. If Therrien and I are correct, Cooke will provide the body and the energy to restore Malkin's line to productivity heaven.

Let's Go Pens!

Matt@Penstation

Welcome to Penstation!

Welcome to Penstation! Through this blog, I plan to create a new home for Penguins fans. I will be serving up a heavy dose of couch coaching, game recaps, previews, rumors and polls. Currently, I am one aspiring sports journalist looking to bring my thoughts about our team to life. I am, however, looking for more writers to pitch in and work together on this project. If you would like to talk about this opportunity, contact me via the address below. Happy reading, but most importantly, LET'S GO PENS!


Questions and comments are welcome at Penstation.Blog@gmail.com

Matt@Penstation