GO STEELERS!  :>

i'm sorry mr. rogers, but it's gonna be a terrible day in your neighborhood today.

- this message is brought to you by the numbers 92, 56, and 43. and by the letters Harrison, Woodley, and Polamalu. :>

ouch.  beat themselves.  mr. rogers did indeed have a rough day, but the turnovers made it good enough for a superbowl ring.  congrats to the packers.  :{

and i'm not knocking him per se, but polamalu didn't have a big game.  he made a couple big hits, but one of them was still a touchdown.  he also blew the play on one of green bay's touchdowns by guessing wrong.  :{

With Malkin off the pay role, who do the Pens have theirs eyes on? Maybe Guerin comes out of retirement?

I've been hearing a lot of talk about deadline shopping for a big gun, but honestly what do they have to trade other than draft picks?  They won't get much of a return for any of the forwards about to become FAs (Dupuis, Talbot, Rupp, Godard, Asham, Adams, Conner, Comrie, and Kennedy and Letestu who are both RFA).  The hot rumor is Goligoski to Emdonton for Penner or Hemsky.  But Gogo has a great contract.  As much as I'd HATE it, from a financial standpoint the best piece to trade is Orpik.  He's also older than Goligoski and his salary is 3.75 mil.  The downside would be losing their most physical D-man.  People also say that Simon Despres will be making the big club next year and that make Gogo expendable.  I think all that does is enable you to move a D, not specifically Gogo.  Hell, maybe more Despres.  That's a blue-chip prospect, might net a nice return.

However, with Malkin done and Crosby likely out until March, the last thing I'd want to do is try to rent a player for a playoff run.  Not this year with these injuries.  If you can make a move that makes you better next year?  GREAT, but that's the only risk I take with a trade.

I trust that Shero is smart enough to see this in a similar light.

I've heard those same rumours kid. Gogo to Edmonton for Penner. I personally have mixed feelings about it. Gogo reminds me of Letang a few years ago. Still raw and a kid. He makes a ton of turnovers though, but has great upside. Still, I'd love to see Penner in a Pens uniform as that makes us that much stronger. Despres still needs some seasoning in the minors, and with 7 d men under contract, I see no reason why Lovejoy couldn't take a regular shift. I would hate to see us move Brooks, as he is a steady force on the back end. If we traded him, who would be left to clear the crease in front of MAF? Letang is a strong kid, but not near as physical as Brooks is.

Soooo losing Malkin hurt.

Anemic offense without Letestu, Sid, Geno, and Kunitz tonight.

The good news is how strong they've been so far this year.

They have something like 27 games left.  They could likely still make the playoffs by winning 10 of those.

Not that they'll make much noise there without the big 2, but still, making it should be a goal for the season.

lost to columbus.  looks like it's starting to catch up to them.

i agree the pens shouldn't make a trade just for a rental.  but trading for anything else is difficult with malkin and crosby back on the books for a full payday again next year.  they don't want to screw themselves cap wise either.  :>

I'm ok with moving any of the upcoming UFAs, as well as Kennedy.  I would hope any return would be under contract beyond this year, as I doubt all of the pending UFAs above will be back.

I'd hate to see them move any prospects unless it's part of a package that nets a big fish.

I forgot Orpik had a NTC, not that they'd move him anyway.  I'd be all for trading Cooke, but really, who would want that POS?

Cooke gone for 4 games. Geez, if this keeps up, Ray is gonna call me to see if I can play forward (and that IS desperation!)!

Sent down Tangradi and Wallace and then this:

I saw this. Why send down Tangradi and call up these 4 guys? The only reason I can figure is to see if any of these guys can cut it at the NHL level before we make a move with a roster player. I didn;t think Tangradi looked out of place in his last few games though. Would have been nice to see him bury a couple, but he has a greatupside and should be with the big club all season next year.
Gotta believe Goligoski and a UFA like Conner is going to be moved to a team like Edmonton for a Penner, if that is enough to get him.