Was Jordan Staal Given the Alternate Captaincy to Increase His Trade Value?

I hate to be this guy. I really do. But I didn't start a sports blog so I could keep my thoughts and opinions to myself.

I love Jordan Staal. At 20 years old, we couldn't ask for much more out of the kid. He scored about 75 goals as a rook, and hasn't matched that offensive total in the one-plus years since. But what he brings as a versatile two-way player and penalty kill specialist...that's unrivaled for a player so young. The dude has crazy potential, and from time to time skates like a man possessed.

Which is why his recent strong play earned him the Alternate Captaincy, along with linemate Matt Cooke, for the month of December. Therrien is switching it up all season, but Staal truly earned the A on his jersey.

So now to the depressing, rumor-filled part of this post.

My buddy Tony at The Confluence wrote that the Penguins have yet to find a legit scoring winger for Sid. Ray Shero has done a remarkable job assembling a ridiculous core of centers to go with a sturdy blue line and a franchise goalie who always seems to be backed up by a proven vet. The one thing lacking is the wing.

In that post, there are a good number of comments with readers speculating on what will happen, given that the team has a decent amount of trade bait and hardly any cap space to work with. It seems like the only options are to hope a young guy like Luca Caputi matures quicker than hoped, or to package a few guys for the chance at a mid-to-higher tier scoring winger.

Earlier in the season, the "Trade Staal!" chorus could be heard everywhere. He couldn't score and was looking lost. Those chants have quieted with his recent output, and should be silenced forever with Therrien bestowing the A to Staal's jersey. But is it all part of a plan?

Right now, Staal's market value is the highest it's ever been. He's finding the back of the net and is really putting together some solid shifts. However, if you were an opposing GM, which player would you look at? The young kid who sometimes plays to potential and other times still seems not ready for the bright lights? Or the former #2 overall pick, in his third season at just age 20 who dons an A on his jersey? Which guy is gonna bring the Penguins the most in return?

Staal is a Second Line-caliber center who plays on a checking Third Line due solely to the talent above him in Sid and Geno. I'm all for home-grown talent, and kinda can't wait to see if guys like Caputi (or even Janne Pesonen), could be that star on Sid's line. But due to the situation that Staal is in, it could be in the best interest of the team to package Staal and a defenseman or prospect to a talent-starved team in hopes of a young, scoring winger.

Which is why that A on Staal's chest might mean more than originally thought.

I Freakin' Love Max Talbot

I decided to stop back in to Max's blog (horribly translated from French), to see if he had anything to say about the epic 7-6 OT win over the defending champs. I told you about his blog a few weeks ago. Max updates about once a week, so I don't have to furiously refresh the page every day.

I missed last week's offering, what with getting ready for my sister's wedding. Let's take a peek into the past two posts, and see what's on Max's mind.

11-4-08, I Think Semin is Jealous of Sidney:

On a rough opening month to the season - "Before the last game of our journey, against the Blues in St. Louis Michel Therrien made us understand that it was time to turn the page in our head at the same time as the calendar page. The month of October was over and even though our results were not disastrous, we could be lucky to have a winning card and it was time to start from new, find our positivism."

On Alexander Semin's now-famous diss of Crosby - "According to [Semin], Crosby is a good player among many others and [receives] more attention than most stars of the League. I think Semin is lack of attention, [and] is a little jealous of Sidney."

On having no respect for Sean Avery - " If only this guy could concentrate on playing hockey. I really have nothing against the role of agitator it is supposed to perform and I know he is not a bad hockey player. He can count, he skates well, it is able to fight and disrupt the opponent. But that's all that surrounds it, the character he himself created around him, which I have no respect for him."

11-12-08 A crazy match and my chronic TV:

On the ridiculous 7-6 OT win - "It was truly a part of hockey, comparable to the intensity found in series. I would venture to say that this is one of the best regular season games in which I had the chance to participate. We learn from behind 4-2 after the second period before starting a rebound en route to the win of 7-6 in overtime. Such a game could seduce anyone does not passion for hockey, it was a very catchy (ed. - awesome description!)."

On Hossa - "Of course, this match became the first rendezvous against Marian Hossa in his uniform Wings. Unsurprisingly the media have created a great excitement around this story. It should be noted that the Penguins fans have not yet forgiven the decision. On the side of players, we have no choice but to accept his decision.It remains satisfied that he was not a big factor in the party even if one of the best players in the NHL (ed. - translations rule!)."

On having dinner with Hossa - "The day before our party face the Red Wings, some of my teammates went to dinner with Marian Hossa and this story was circulated in the media.For me, this is an acceptable phenomenon regular season."

On being featured on Fox Sports Net Pittsburgh - "It makes me happy to slip a few words about an experience that I am lucky to live once week with the television network FSN (Fox Sports Net) which broadcasts our parties."

On being on the first line (trio) with Sid and Satan - " For four games, I have the chance to complete the first trio with Sidney Crosby and Miroslav Satan and I am very pleased that the experience works. I was able to collect three goals and one assist during these four parties. I can not hide that it is good to participate in scoring and that is always nice to produce offensively. That said, I love fill my role when I am employed on a third trio, but I appreciate every moment with Sid and Satan."

--

I love when athletes blog, or at least allow the fans to see a candid side of them. Max is a great character on and off the ice, and his blog mirrors his unique personality.

You should bookmark the shit outta it.

More Therrien Ahead!

Michel Therrien has a little wiggle room, now that the Pens have extended the coach's contract another year through 2008/09.

Therrien's contract was to expire after next season.

Its only a one-year extension, so the Pens are keeping Michel on a short leash. They want to make sure this past season was no fluke. I personally would've liked to see a longer extension. Michel has been a great instructor to a young team that desperately needed discipline after the Eddie Olczyk experiment.

Did you see what Michel did last year? Finalist for the Jack Adams award...in his first full season in the 'Burgh.

Remember when Eddie Olczyk posed as a coach? Remember the 47 point jump from the season Therrien replaced Olczyk to last season? Remember that its the 4th best points jump in league history?

Am I asking too many questions?

No financial terms were discussed, but a raise is likely. Therrien's old contract called for him to make $600k.

Oh, and the Pens also signed defensemen Mark Ardelan and Deryk Engelland. Both guys played in the AHL last season, and are expected to hit up the Wilkes-Barre club this season.

Therrien Denied Coach of Year Honors

Michel Therrien did not get the Jack Adams Award, which is presented to the NHL Coach of the Year. That honor was bestowed on a man with a difficult name to pronounce, Vancouver coach Alain Vigneault.

While the Canucks did have a great year, Therrien deserved the Adams. Did you see the team before Therrien arrived last year?

Therrien was able to accept an award, as he spoke on behalf of Calder winner, Evgeni Malkin. Malkin did not attend the awards, because he was confused (I know I already used that joke, but its the truth. Malkin always looks confused).

PSaMP is happy that Lindy Ruff didn't get the Adams again. The dude's name is Lindy. And he looks like the cousin of bitter beer face. Simply put.

Pens Forget To Play 2nd Period, Lose Game 3

Remember yesterday's game? Despite taking place merely a day ago, the Pens forgot everything they learned in game 2, and instead played like it was game 1 all over again. The Senators won 4-2, and take a 2 to 1 lead in the series.

Sergei Gonchar struggled mightily, and his -1 rating told only half of the story. He couldn't take any passes, couldn't hold the puck in the zone and was taking shots that were easily blocked by Ottawa. I think I pulled out a great deal of my hair watching Gonchar play like it was the 2005 season (yeah, despite having a great past season, it is easy to forget how big of a bust Sergei was in his first year with the Pens after signing a 5 year/$25 million contract).

The Power Play, which the Pens have lived on all season, has been rather shaky. It takes the Pens at least a minute to gain the zone, and finally set up some sort of cycle. In comparison, the Senators have had no trouble gaining the offensive zone, their passes are crisper and their Power Play cycle starts almost immediately. That spells disaster and a possible series loss for Pittsburgh.

However, Crosby added his 3rd goal in as many playoff games in his young career, and his tally reminded me of the fantastic goal he scored against Tampa Bay earlier in the season. After game 1 got out of hand, the Pens were able to score a few goals in the 3rd, which might have helped in game 2. After the game got out of hand tonight, Crosby was able to score, which could end up helping the Pens in game 4.

All in all, the Pens picked the wrong game to emulate tonight. Rather than building on the successes in game 2, the Pens reverted to game 1 status, which is something that doesn't bode well for the remainder of the series. Before game 4 on Tuesday, Coach Therrien better fix the "Jekyll and Hyde" Pens, before the team is unfortunately eliminated from Cup-contention.

Barry Bonds Shows No Respect For Ruth's Records

Several important happenings from last night's Pirate's travesty. The Giants, who many experts picked to finish last in the NL West, beat the Pirates 8-5 behind the longball(s) of a former hometown hero. First off, the Pirates wore their new sleeveless red unis.




Also memorable, was Barry Bonds. In what could be his final professional trip to the city where he started his career, Bonds hit career home runs number 736 and 737. it was the 70th multiple homer game for BB, moving him within 2 of Babe Ruth's record of 72 such games (pretty good for a pitcher). Bonds also moved into 5th place on the all-time total bases list with 5,802, passing Ruth yet again.
Zach Duke, who matched the shortest outing of his career, became the 436th different pitcher to allow Bonds to go yard. By comparison, only 35 players have ever hit 436 home runs in a career. For all the Bonds-haters in the world, read that last sentence again. That could be one of the most impressive stats of Bonds' career.
The Buccos dropped their 4th game in a row, and now sit at 4-6. Oh, and Russ Ortiz (remember him?) won his first game since 2005, after going a combined 0-8 last year with the Diamondbacks and the Orioles.
Enough Bonds-banter, its time to look at tonight's playoff game between the Pens and the Sens. After game 1, I agree with Coach Therrien that the Pens can't possibly play any worse than they did in the series opener. Honestly, while watching game 1, I was having flashbacks of Kris Beech, Aleksey Morozov, Hans Jonsson, and any other former Penguins underachiever. Today's game 2 starts at 3 P.M., and the Pens need to come out with way more energy than they did in game 1. This is no longer the playoff debut for the bulk of the team, and Pittsburgh cannot afford to let the Senators set the tone during the opening shifts again, or the team will be back at the igloo staring up at a 0-2 deficit.
I've been impressed with Ottawa's first line all year, but it was their role players who did the most damage against the Pens in game 1. Pittsburgh's defense needs to play a lot more physical against the Ottawa role players before anything can be done against their superstars. I think the Pens will come out with more energy and life in game 2, and will even up the series with a 3-1 win. (However, if the Pens are backpedaling like they did in the opening moments of game 1, this could easily be another Ottawa blowout.) I'm going to stay positive, and expect the Pens to take a tied series back to the igloo.

Fleury, Rest Of Pens, Have Rough Playoff Debut

wow. that was a tough game to watch. the pens got dominated in every aspect of the game, and fell to ottawa 6-3. that score doesnt even do the senators any justice. ottawa did lead 6-1, before gonchar and crosby added "confidence-booster" goals in the waning moments. therrien and the team had been quick to brush off the teams youth and inexperience, but had to face the music after this one was over. therrien accepted that his team was tight, and crosby felt the team was watching rather than setting the early tone. both were understatements. the senators clearly came out with more passion, and were able to leave their mark on the game from the drop of the puck. andrej meszaros scored 1:37 into the game, and chris kelly added a goal only 5 minutes later.

despite giving up 6 goals, i cant place the blame solely on maf. mark eaton tipped a shot that was easily picked up by ottawa for an easy goal. laraque's intended drop pass to ruutu lead to a senators breakaway that resulted in an easy goal. the defense couldnt get the puck out of their own zone. the ottawa forwards were more physical than the pittsburgh defense. the pens couldnt handle simple passes and stick-handling maneuvers. daniel alfredsson was allowed to take hack after hack at the net, and the score would have been 10-3 if the ottawa captain quit missing the cage. ryan whitney struggled to a -2 rating. in case you dont get the point, i can keep going on about why the pens lost. maf looked nervous at the beginning, settled down for a bit, then imploded upon himself. as frustrated as i was, though, there were plenty more reasons for this loss rather than just the poor play of maf.

"apparent kicking motion." remember those words. any chance of the penguins swinging game momentum last night was crushed by the "war room" in toronto, who disallowed sidney crosby's goal in the opening moments of the 2nd period, which would have closed the ottawa lead to 4-2, after dany heatley scored only 15 seconds prior. colby armstrong crashed the net, and sid put the rebound past emery, thus revitalizing the pittsburgh bench. after talking to the "war room," the refs disallowed the goal, because crosby's sliding foot touched the puck before it scooted past emery. crosby took a legitimate shot with his stick, and was falling to his knees like he has done in the past. however, last night, crosby was right in front of emery, and wasnt trying to break his body in half as he crashed the net. he went from his knee to his butt, and the puck tipped the heel of his stick, hit his sliding foot, and went in. the thing that gets me, is we dont know if the "war room" has any bias against the kid. sid is legendary in the league for his lower body strength, and has been known to use his skates like 2 additional sticks. ive never seen a player protect a puck like crosby can, by passing the puck between his skates and his stick with such ease. if anyone in the "war room" (i cant stand that they call it that) has watched any of crosby in his first 2 seasons, they would know the kid's abilities. i seriously hope that the geniuses in toronto didnt hold this against crosby while making their decision to disallow the goal. i understand "apparent kicking motion," but sid actually took the shot with his stick, and as he was falling into the cage, his eyes were still focused on where the shot from his stick was supposed to go. "apparent kicking motion" is supposed to deter players from kicking pucks into the goal, not for overanalyzing a guy falling down while trying to make a legitimate shot. the pens beat the sens back in march after falling down 4-1, and crosby's goal could have sparked the turnaround in this 4-1 game. instead, any momentum was gone once the ref waved the goal off (to steigy and errey's surprise), and maf allowed 2 more goals before being benched for t-bo.

this is, in no way, critical of ottawa. they clearly won the game. they exerted their influence, and flat-out beat sid and company. hopefully the team can build off of the failures in game 1, and come out with more purpose on saturday.