All is right with the world...
If you could see me, you'd be looking at one very happy woman. My Beloved Penguins are not relocating to Kansas City or Las Vegas! The deal is done!!
Of all the bad things that could have happened, that would have been the worst. I mean, I survived Mario's Hodgkin's diagnosis and treatment in '93. I survived the crash-and-burn of that '92-'93 team (the one who waltzed through the regular season, took the President's Trophy, then became the object lesson for Why The Playoffs Are Different Than The Regular Season). I survived (and just barely, I might add!) the Game Seven choke against the Florida Panthers in '96. Bankruptcy. Ownership changing hands. Personnel moves motivated primarily by financial constraints. Out-and-out selling of players to trim the budget. Hiring a head coach simply because he was already on the payroll as a broadcaster! BOTH lockouts. In 2002, we fell out of the playoff picture.
Then, a light at the end of the Fort Pitt Tunnel: the draft. Starting in 2000, we began to s-l-o-w-l-y rebuild. 2000: Brooks Orpik. 2001: Colby Armstrong. 2002: Ryan Whitney in the first round; Erik Christensen in the third. 2003: Marc-Andre Fleury. 2004: Evgeni Malkin. A strong core right there, but then in 2005 we hit the draft lottery and Sid was ours. Last year, we took Jordan Staal with the second overall pick and assumed he'd head back to Junior after camp *grin*.
Sprinkle in a few veterans for leadership and you have the time-tested recipe for success in the NHL, but we seem to turn even that on its head. The leaders on the current squad are the under-25's, not the over-30's. We have no official Captain, just three Assistants.
And until Monday, we had a team without an arena lease for next season. All I have to say now is "Sorry, Kansas City! Sorry, Las Vegas! Better luck next time!"
THE BOYS ARE STAYING PUT!
Of all the bad things that could have happened, that would have been the worst. I mean, I survived Mario's Hodgkin's diagnosis and treatment in '93. I survived the crash-and-burn of that '92-'93 team (the one who waltzed through the regular season, took the President's Trophy, then became the object lesson for Why The Playoffs Are Different Than The Regular Season). I survived (and just barely, I might add!) the Game Seven choke against the Florida Panthers in '96. Bankruptcy. Ownership changing hands. Personnel moves motivated primarily by financial constraints. Out-and-out selling of players to trim the budget. Hiring a head coach simply because he was already on the payroll as a broadcaster! BOTH lockouts. In 2002, we fell out of the playoff picture.
Then, a light at the end of the Fort Pitt Tunnel: the draft. Starting in 2000, we began to s-l-o-w-l-y rebuild. 2000: Brooks Orpik. 2001: Colby Armstrong. 2002: Ryan Whitney in the first round; Erik Christensen in the third. 2003: Marc-Andre Fleury. 2004: Evgeni Malkin. A strong core right there, but then in 2005 we hit the draft lottery and Sid was ours. Last year, we took Jordan Staal with the second overall pick and assumed he'd head back to Junior after camp *grin*.
Sprinkle in a few veterans for leadership and you have the time-tested recipe for success in the NHL, but we seem to turn even that on its head. The leaders on the current squad are the under-25's, not the over-30's. We have no official Captain, just three Assistants.
And until Monday, we had a team without an arena lease for next season. All I have to say now is "Sorry, Kansas City! Sorry, Las Vegas! Better luck next time!"
THE BOYS ARE STAYING PUT!