| March of the Penguins By Patryk Fournier April 12, 2007 |
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It can not be understated enough how much of a surprising and feel-good story the Pittsburgh Penguins have been this year. In terms of appeal and popularity the Penguins have become the NHL’s biggest story maker this year. In fact the Pens are bigger than the denim budget at Sportsnet Connected. Disney could easily take the story of the Pens, a team that has finished near or at the bottom of the NHL standings over the last three years, and convert into one of those heart-warming/suspend belief sports movies; think Invincible and the Rookie that they’re so good at making. The Pens turnaround from league doormat to Eastern Conference powerhouse is the headliner story this year in the NHL but the Pens have also produced competing front page stories with the quick maturation and realization of talent from their young core of players and the organization’s season long struggle and nearly decade long fight to secure a new arena deal. At many points this season it appeared that relocation to Kansas City with their sweetheart rent-free arena deal was a realistic proposition. Eventually Mario Lemieux and the Pens ownership group convinced the state of Pennsylvania to come to their senses and pony up some money to retain the league’s most exciting team and have them play in a modern first class facility that is warranted to display their high echelon talents. With a lineup that boasts the likes of 19-year old Sidney Crosby, 20-year old Evgeni Malkin, 18-year old Jordan Staal, 24-year old Ryan Whitney, 23-year old Marc-Andre Fleury plus other 20-somethings: Erik Christenson, Colby Armstrong, Brooks Orpik, Maxime Talbot and Ryan Malone, the future is so bright that someone like Oakley or the Sunglasses Hunt may want to buy naming rights to the new arena. It would hardly take a Mensa member to deduce that the Pens would become a prominent force in the NHL but the rate at which they would become considered amongst the league’s elite is startling. The Pens were not supposed to be this good this quickly. It’s really a testament to the organization’s ability to draft well and surround the young players with a great environment. What other sports organizations have you heard of that has the live-in arrangements that the Pens have with Jordan Staal living with Mark Recchi, Evgeni malkin living with his fellow Russian country mate Sergei Gonchar and Sidney Crosby, the NHL’s youngest scoring champion, living at perhaps the greatest player of all-time’s house; Casa de Mario? I’m just surprised that the NHL hasn’t contacted Spike TV to turn this into a reality show. The success of the young Pens hasn’t been lost on the rest of the league. NBC specifically petitioned the league to have Game 2 of the Senators-Penguins marquee first round matchup be played Saturday afternoon rather than the natural HNIC time slot it normally would have received. The Pens were also the league’s third best draw on the road this year, up 17 spots from last year. And the impetus for much of the season-long discussion about altering the league’s rivalry-based schedule was centered specifically around making teams like Pittsburgh more accessible to the rest of the league, most notably for the major markets in the Western Conference. So with their first playoff berth in 6 years now under their belt, what can this exciting young team expect to accomplish? Can they honestly be considered a legitimate Stanley Cup contender when their top three players are all under the legal drinking age in the US? The Pens’ 105-point campaign has caught everyone by surprise including myself. While few will question whether the impressive offensive firepower we saw in the regular season will continue in the playoffs there are plenty of questions about the team’s defense. There hasn’t been this much discussion about a backend since Jennifer Lopez appeared on American Idol. Sergei Gonchar and Ryan Whitney are accomplished offensive players but they’re not exactly shutdown defenseman in the mold of Chris Phillips or Scott Hannan. Brooks Orpik and Mark Eaton are underrated and solid yet unspectacular d-men who excel at making the simple plays. The remaining corps of Josef Melicahr, Alain Nasredienne and Rob Scuderi are fringe/depth defensemen at best. In fact Scuderi is the Alex Ovechkin of own goals. He’s had the misfortunate numerous times this year of being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Thankfully he’s not a soccer player from Colombia. So despite their defensive shortcomings, Marc-Andre Fleury’s questionable performance in playoff performance in Junior and the AHL the Pens remain a dangerous club. With their 43-point regular season improvement over last year, they are a major threat largely because they’re now in the enviable position of playing with house money. They have absolutely no pressure on them because they’ve already exceeded expectations. And as we know sometimes the greatest regular season teams fail because they can’t cope with the immense pressure that comes with being a favourite. |
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