Official Announcements

First off, Penguins will display the new jerseys on Wednesday. Will they appear to be the same ones posted previously? One never knows till they know.

Secondly, Eric Lindros was only just relaxing at home browsing the internet when he came across this site.* Reading a prior post about his alleged retirement, Eric started thinking. Now, he had given it some thought and will officially announce today where he stands in the NHL. Although I can't confirm that to be the exact chain of events, I can confirm that his announcement will come today. Furthermore, I suppose this also makes me right in my prediction that he will not appear in a Penguin uniform. That's right...I'm right. But it's ok, I'm modest. Mom says modesty is one of my best qualities.

Some find this announcement to be a bit upsetting, considering he was once hailed along the lines of Sid status. He never won a cup, and every season since leaving the Flyers there has been some issue with injuries. Trust me, I wish the guy the best, but I really think it'd be in his best interest to retire. Tiki Barber left the Giants in what some considered to be a short career, but he said on the contrary he'd at least be able to physically walk away from it.

Hell, I can't resist.



Annnnd part 7, to conclude the series.


*Can't confirm as a fact

Preseason Sale - Rumors

Preseason tix are officially on sale. Unfortunately, the Pens only have two home games; September 22 against the Red Wings and the 28th against the Sabres. Also in case you missed the previous blog, all 6 and 12 game packs are sold out. Even if they weren't, they aren't being offered any more for the sake of offering more tickets to the general public.

Regular season tickets go on sale September 15th at (tentative) 10am.

Some rumors are circulating for quite some time now with regards to future homes for Lindros and Forsberg. The only reason I mention just these two of the many rumors, is because many people felt that both would somehow find a home in Pittsburgh. Now I don't hold a front office position, but I highly HIGHLY doubt either would find themselves in a Pens sweater. First off, Forsberg would cost too much. He's injury prone. Plus, we already have a powerful first and second line. So really, where would Forsberg fit? Third liner? I don't think so. Not on that ankle, not for that salary and not on this team.


So, you elbow Orpik and then expect to wear our Jersey? I admire that grit.

Now for Lindros, who is somewhat in the same boat. Although I'm sure, chances are, he's going to slip in said boat and suffer yet another concussion. Take it from your brother Brett - call it quits. You had some stellar years in Philly, you didn't and won't win a cup, and you certainly won't find yourself in a Pens jersey. You'd cost too much, your brain is leaking and we don't need you. On top of that, I don't think we want you. We're a young team (save for some great veteran presence from the likes of Recchi and Roberts). The only way I could see Lindros in a Pens jersey is if he called up his buddy Mario, begged, and Mario said "Ok, but only for base salary." Pull the ol Shanahan move.


Lindros taking a nap after Scott Stevens rocked him to sleep


Part 6

New Threads?

I suppose somewhere in some distant land a fashion designer is screaming and having nightmares about what Reebok is going to do with the new line of jerseys. Rest assured, the poison hands of Reebok didn't do much to the traditional Pens-wear.

Home


Away


I can't guarantee if these pics are official, nor do I really understand why the emphasis in these shots was placed on the back of the jersey and not the front. But if you do notice, the Reebok logo is present around the neckline. Last I saw, the logo was the same Penguin/hockey stick logo as last year. Besides, the green screen in the back leads me to believe these were being used for some kind of computer enhancement...or something along those lines.

Pittsburgh Penguins.com released pictures of the new arena. Well not necessarily pictures as in digital photography, but sketches.

Take a look.

Pretty nice work on the transitions. There's even one picture where a guy walking on the street is pointing to the arena. "It's right there" he says to the Rangers fan, pointing to the giant arena across the street. "Dumbass" he mumbles, ripping off his 3 piece suit to reveal a Penguins jersey.

Part 5

Tickets...Get Your Tickets! (If you're lucky)

Today the Penguins announced they are doing away with 6 and 12 game ticket plans so as to make more tickets available to the public. I suppose this is both a good thing AND a bad thing. On one hand, the die hard fans that couldn't get their hands on season tickets (I believe that's up to a year and a half waiting period now) would have a chance to see a few home games at a relatively cheaper price then buying tickets every game. But on the other hand, I believe every one who doesn't have tickets should have a fair shot. This apparantly frees up around 2,000 tickets for every home contest. Not to mention, they were selling out 95% - 98% capacity last season, and 90 - 95% the previous season when they were still last in the conference. So all in all, I'd say this is a good idea.

Some dates to keep in mind - August 30th at 10am tickets go on sale for the two preseason home games.

September 15th - tickets on sale for individual home games.

FROM THE FRONT OFFICE
"The response of our fans continues to be overwhelming. We decided to cut off the sales of our mini-plans, after cutting off the sales of our full- and half-season tickets, because we want to have enough tickets available for fans who want to buy individual game tickets."
- Dave Soltesz, the team’s vice president of sales and marketing -

Part 4

Battle In The Atlantic - Plus Unofficial Quotes

Alright, we all know the Pens have a full 82 game season ahead of them. But we also know that 32 of those games are specifically in the division. So, who is going to be the biggest opposition for them this year?

Rangers
No doubt the biggest threat in the Atlantic. They've practically resigned their entire team, added on some big guns with Gomez and Drury and secured the net with Lundqvidst. Who cares if they've spent every last penny on doing so? Hey, the front office doesn't. "Take good care of the stick you have now, it's all we can afford this year." - Unofficial quote from Rangers President and GM Glen Sather.
4-4 or 5-3 Rangers

Devils
Parise, Zubrus, Elias, Langenbruner. That's all the offense has left (and has gained) in the off season. Oh yeah, they also have Madden and Pandolfo, but I meant people of significance. Brodeur's flexibility will be at test early in the season. Lord knows he'll be diving everywhere to keep the biscuit out thanks to a collapsing defense and pitiful offense. Not to put a ridiculous blogger hex on him, but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if Brodeur goes down early this season. At the least, he'll be sitting a few games to watch Weekes in net. "Wait, you mean I have to actually EARN my salary?" - Unofficial, but highly speculated quote from Kevin Weekes.
5-3 Penguins

Islanders
Guerin is back in the Atlantic, I'm sure he couldn't be happier. Only now he has a C on his sweater and he won't just be taking practice shots on Brodeur. There's one thing I've noticed about Islanders' fans - they're in denial. Signing a goalie for 12+ years is not smart managment. Frankly, it's pretty dumb. Di is not franchise material. Secondly, if you needed any further emphasis on the fact take a look at the Smyth signing last year? There's an idea. Trade away a first round draft pick for a guy to come play with you for the remainder of the season, only to wave goodbye when he signs with Colorado. Now you're out that player and also your first round pick. Silly Islanders. Plus, Blake is now on Toronto, which for the sake of my retnas is a good thing. When I first saw him face to face, I thought Powder learned how to ice skate. "You can't see me in the snow."- Unofficial quote from Jason Blake.
6-2 Penguins

Paparazzi photo of Jason Blake minutes before signing with Toronto


Flyers
The mediocre goaltending of Biron, mixed with the goal scoring from Gagne and the recent addition of Briere may just be the recipe Philly needs to find a spot in the playoffs. As a Penguins fan, I find it difficult to openly appreciate another Pennsylvanian team. But, put it this way - I've considered going up to New Hampshire to watch VanRiemsdyk play. Will the Penguins sweep the Flyers again this year? Highly unlikely. "If I pass it off the boards to myself and then score a goal, can I get the assist also?" - Unofficial quote from Simon Gagne, circa February 2007.
6-2, but would love to see 7-1 Penguins


Part 3 for your viewing pleasure.

Prospect Camp - Official Line Up?

How far away are we from having an official line up? Prospect camp kicks off on September 5th, so that helps us get an idea. And really, only less than two weeks after that we start things off in the preseason. I'd imagine we're set. From what I see we've already stocked up on players, then added some coaches and trainers to lock up the offseason.

Let's see what we have so far. All bold players are new acquisitions for the upcoming season.

FORWARDS
20 Colby Armstrong
16 Erik Christensen
87 Sidney Crosby "C"
27 Georges Laraque
71 Evgeni Malkin
12 Ryan Malone
8 Mark Recchi "A"
10 Gary Roberts
37 Jarkko Ruutu
11 Jordan Staal
17 Petr Sykora
25 Maxime Talbot

DEFENSEMEN
3 Mark Eaton
55 Sergei Gonchar "A"
32 Alain Nasreddine
44 Brooks Orpik
4 Rob Scuderi
5 Darryl Sydor
19 Ryan Whitney

GOALIES
29 Marc-Andre Fleury
30 Dany Sabourin

Petr Sykora - For the past two years, Sykora has experienced difficulty in finding a solid home. The Rangers too him from the Ducks after spending four seasons with them (and one season with a Russian club sandwiched in between). Then the Oilers acquired him for all of last season, where by he played all 82 games and pulled in 22 goals and 53 points.

Alan Nasreddine - Predominantly an AHL rotator, Nasreddine played his longest stint with an NHL team last year with the Pens. In 44 games he only collected 4 goals and 5 assists. Perhaps the management sees something in him? Maybe he'll find a good fit on a PK line.

Darryl Sydor - The Penguins are the fifth team in this former first round draft's 15 year career. Last season he played with the Stars, tallying up 5 goals and 21 points. For a Defensemen he had a weak 70 minutes in the sin bin. A solid second or third line defensemen.

Dany Sabourin - With Thibault going bye byes this year, we needed to get a solid second stringer. The young Fleury is now a year older, and although a year may not seem like a long time, he certainly gained valuable experience last season between a stellar run for the division and a harsh reception in the playoffs. Sabourin comes to us from the Canucks, where you can't imagine he saw much ice time sitting behind Luongo. But when he did play, he was 2-4 with a 2.63 GAA and .906 save percentage. Of all the teams to make the playoffs in the Western Conference, the Canucks had the lowest goals for. With that being said, it's pretty evident they were a defensive minded team. Putting a defensive goalie on an offensive team should be a perfect combination, or at least we can hope.

And as promised, part 2 of the 91-92 highlight tape.

Ice Bowl 2008 - The On and Off Again Game

Unless you've been living under a rock for the past three months, you have at some point in your hockey readings come across the 2008 Ice Bowl. Set to take place in Buffalo on New Years Day, the Ice Bowl is to be a regular season game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Buffalo Sabres. Of course, the sheer name of the event does not attribute to just a regular indoor game. No, of course not. Instead the Ice Bowl is set to be played on an outdoor rink.

At least, it was.

Then it is again.

Then it was...well, now they're not sure. Fact is, the most recent Ice Bowl news comes from a television affiliate in Buffalo. They claim the game will be officially announced in September, which at this point isn't too far off.

Here is the exact story.

Again, I'll wait for official word before I completely believe it.

Accordingly, outdoor weather in Buffalo on New Years Day is roughly around 38 degrees Fahrenheit. But still, I don't know why, but I have my reservations about this game.

The NHL prematurely blew the news (there are health supplements for that) far too soon. And, of all days to try and promote a grand ol hockey game you chose New Years Day. Aside from a traditional day of hangovers and ambitious resolutions, it just so happens to be one of the biggest days of the year for college bowl games.

So why would you take a sport like hockey, which has IN THE PAST (just wanted to stress that) witnessed horrible television ratings, and put it up against a sport like Football which in the past (no need to place emphasis) has on occasion dominated ratings?

Pure marketing genius. Truly.

Regardless, I'll be watching comfortably on my center ice broadcast while the rest of the nation will watch future NFL players instead of current NHL stars.

Speaking of watching, here; enjoy the first installment of a 7 part series featuring the 1991-92 Penguins Highlight Tape. Yes, tape existed then. And according to the opening anchorman shot, so did top notch attire.

Of course, if you want to be a jerk you can go to youtube and watch all seven parts, but I wanted each part to get respect.