Yardbarker: Marc-Andre Fleury

MAF IS COMING BACK

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:46:28 -0500

No, he can't play wing, but at least the Penguins can cross goaltender off of their list of concerns for the next seven seasons. The man known as "MAF", Marc-Andre Fleury, is back in the fold with a seven-year deal worth $35 million.

This comes on the heels of yesterday's signings of Brooks Orpik, whose beefs with Michel Therrien seem greatly exaggerated, and Evgeni Malkin, who looks like he's not going to Russia (or the Kings) after all.

Now back to your regularly scheduled Hossa-bashing and Jagr-pining.

PENGUINS LOCK UP FLEURY WITH SEVEN-YEAR, $35 MILLION DEAL [TSN]

MAF IS COMING BACK

Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:46:28 -0500

Now back to your regularly scheduled Hossa-bashing and Jagr-pining.

PENGUINS LOCK UP FLEURY WITH SEVEN-YEAR, $35 MILLION DEAL [TSN]

Penguins Free Agency Update

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:57:18 -0500

It has been a week of good news and bad news for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they have seen several roster gains, losses and signings as the free agency market swings into full motion. Ray Shero is quick to emphasize that he managed to keep the core in place, yet he lost his #1 post-season priority as Marian Hossa opted to take a 1-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings. While managing to keep their defensive core, centers, and starting goaltender in place, the Penguins have lost the majority of their active wingers to the free agent market.

The Deal Is Done!

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 14:11:06 -0500

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed superstar netminder Marc-Andre Fleury to a new 7-year, $35 million contract. Fleury is the latest of the Penguins young stars to commit to the team long-term as they look to remain a power in the NHL's Eastern Conference for years to come.

Penguins Limp Towards Free Agency

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:55:28 -0500

With just a few days to go before the July 1st opening of the free agency market, the Penguins have so far failed to complete any of their post-season priorities. It was no secret that the Penguins wanted to lock up a long-term deal with Marian Hossa, re-sign Brooks Orpik, and tender a trade prior to the draft to acquire a first round pick. To help with the challenges, the Penguins filed for salary arbitration with Marc-Andre Fleury to buy some time on his contract talks to focus on getting the other deals done. So far, the Penguins have nothing to show for their efforts aside from some public rejections from the players involved.

Riding The Learning Curve

Mon, 23 Jun 2008 21:22:47 -0500

At age 23, Pittsburgh Penguins goalie Marc-Andre Fleury has seen his star rise in recent months. How do Fleury's numbers and achievements to this point in his career compare to some of his peers? Is he the second coming of Martin Brodeur, or just another product of the French-Canadian goalie factory? Look at the numbers and judge for yourself.

Atlantic Division 2008 Free Agency Preview

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:20:39 -0500

What will the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins be up to come July 1st? Will the Flyers be able to keep their young talent? How many players will the Penguins manage to keep in tow? Who will the Rangers overpay this year? Will the Devils finally find some offense?

Central Division 2008 Free Agency Preview

Thu, 12 Jun 2008 21:17:33 -0500

What does free agency have in store for the Chicago Blackhawks, Columbus Blue Jackets, Detroit Red Wings, Nashville Predators, and St. Louis Blues? What can the Blue Jackets do to become a legitimate contender in the West? Can Detroit strengthen their already loaded lineup? Will this be the year the young Blackhawks make the big leap forward?

Penguins set for big decisions

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:47:28 -0500

Following their loss in the Stanley Cup finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins are faced with some key decisions as to which players they wish to keep in order to try and get back for another shot at the Cup.

Looking Back To Look Ahead

Mon, 09 Jun 2008 21:25:48 -0500

Watch the triple OT classic Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals in its entirety! While you're there take a look at just some of what you can look forward to at Taking One For The Team in the coming weeks.

Koz: DON'T DREAM IT'S OVER

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:21:44 -0500

by Koz
koz81@comcast.net

The last article I wrote for the site was quite harsh and many of you noticed. I don't consider what I do here to be sports journalism. I have no illusions about my place in the worldwide sports conversation. I'm a fan. That's an important role. Without fans, there are no professional sports. Thanks to technology, fans have a louder voice than ever. I consider it a great privilege to be able to share my thoughts with you. After Game 2, I was in despair.

I was fortunate to be in attendance at the Mellon Arena for Games 3 and 4. When it's all said and done, there will be few emotional experiences in my life that will rival Game 3. The only way I can begin to describe the feeling when Sidney Crosby scored the Penguins first goal of the series is to compare it to Hollywood. You know the climactic scenes in Armageddon or Apollo 13 when mission control is nervously awaiting word from the silent spacecraft to see if the astronauts are safe? You know the pandemonium that ensues when the spacecraft makes contact with mission control to say everything is ok? That sense of joy and relief was what 17,132 experienced when that first puck trickled across the goal line. People were high-fiving, spilling beer, cheering, hugging and some were even getting a little misty-eyed. We had hope.

The crowd noise throughout Game 3 was like nothing I've ever experienced. I honestly have no idea how we stayed that loud consistently from opening face-off to the final buzzer. Game 4 wasn't the same. Maybe it's because the Pens weren't holding the lead the way they had in Game 3, or maybe it's because we were exhausted, but the crowd was more tentative (though still respectably raucous). When it ended in defeat, there was a huge empty feeling that it was the last time we were going to see the team together in person. It was the kind of loss where the lone Penguins star of the game (Hossa) didn't come out for his curtain call. The 17,132 who couldn't be silenced just a few days earlier walked into the Pittsburgh night like a funeral procession.

Then came Game 5. It was what the playoffs are all about. People all over the United States tuned in for the evening news, Jay Leno, and eventually Conan O'Brien but were greeted with the most intense sports scenario on the planet. Before we got to overtime, Marc-Andre Fleury and Max Talbot became Pittsburgh legends. Fleury's toe save on the two-on-one is the kind of stuff that will have children named after him. As the game crept toward the finish with Wings fans chanting for the Cup, I felt like I was sitting with my dying grandmother. Then, with 34 seconds remaining in the season, Talbot tied the game and all of a sudden it was like grandma leaped out of bed and screamed, "Hop in the Cordoba, we're going bowling!"

The overtime was so intense, I forgot what was on the line. In the moment, only winning that game mattered. I had to remind myself, if we lost, it was all over. There would be no more games. I rooted for the Pens, if only for the chance of one more game.

Considering the herculean effort to give us a sixth game, it was even more painful to watch the two soft goals that ended up burying the Pens for good. Late in the third period, just when a comeback seemed impossible, they gave us hope again. Things were coming together so improbably they made you believe. In the final seconds, it seemed impossible the Pens could even generate one more shot, but they did. As the final backhander was launched, you almost knew it was going in – until it didn't.

Game 6 gave Pens fans one last chance to salute their heroes. It was well deserved.

When the Steelers won Super Bowl XL, I cried. I was born in 1981. The Steelers Dynasty of the 70s is my heritage, but they were never my team. After XL, I finally had my own Super Bowl victory to brag about; to buy t-shirts, hats, posters and newspapers. Those tears of joy were for me.

People talk about how young the Penguins are and how bright the future is, but this team will never again take the ice. The 07-08 Penguins are now lost to history. Some could retire. More will leave because of free agency. Nearly 24 hours after the opening face-off of the final game of the 2007-08 Pittsburgh Penguins season, I cried. But I wasn't sad that I couldn't boast as the fan of a champion. I was sad because it hit me that I will never see this team play again. Even a storybook finish to the Game 7 that-never-was wouldn't alleviate that sadness. Of course it's much worse with this empty finish.

This year's Penguins team gave so much to the fans, and in turn, the fans gave a lot to them. I have great respect for all the folks who sat on the lawn to watch on the big screen, for those who stay for the announcing of the three stars, for D-9 and their cowbells, for section F and their banners, and for the guy in the Jiri Slegr jersey in A-14 who screamed his head off every game.

This year for me as a fan has been unlike any other. It started on September 6 when Sidney Crosby delivered my mom's season tickets and called me for the most memorable 90-second phone conversation I'll ever have. I was given the chance to share my love for hockey and the Pens with you, the Mondesi's House readers. This season had great games, heartbreaking injuries, unsung heroes, and blockbuster trades. It lasted longer than most expected but still ended one game too soon.

I am confident the young nucleus of the Penguins will stay together and our captain will raise the Cup over his head at least once in the next decade. Even if it happens every year for the next ten, it won't make up for the heartbreak I feel for this season's team.

Let's Go Pens.

SO CLOSE...

Fri, 06 Jun 2008 20:21:44 -0500

RED WINGS 3
PENGUINS 2

Watching this season play out, the way the Penguins' 2007-08 campaign finally ended pretty much summed it all up: a talented team facing adversity gave an incredible, gutsy effort.

Down 3-1 while getting only one shot on goal through the first 16 minutes of the third period? No problem. Summon Sergei Gonchar and Marian Hossa for a little power-play magic and give us renewed hope with a minute-and-a-half remaining.

With the lid of Mellon Arena ready to be blown off, Marian Hossa's final effort trickled past Detroit goalie Chris Osgood, just inches away from tying the score as the clock ran out on the Boys of Winter.

It was an excruciating tease of what could have been.

But hockey, like football and golf, is a game of inches. A bounce here, a bounce there, and the Penguins could have won more than two games in this series. But there is no doubt that the better team won. The Penguins were the NHL's #2 team this year, and considering the age and inexperience of many of these players, there's no shame in that. But the day after, that's a message that no one wants to hear, especially the players.

As the title implies, the Penguins were both close and far in this series. Things couldn't have started much worse than back-to-back shutouts in Detroit, coming home with a 7-0 goal defecit.

There were times when this series had the feel of the 1960 World Series between the Yankees and Pirates. Yes, it was played about 20 years before I was born, but I've heard and read about it enough to know what happened.

Going into Game Seven, the Yankees won three games over the Pirates by scores of 16-3, 10-0, and 12-0. The Pirates also won three games: 6-2, 3-2, and 5-2. And as we all know, it took every bit of the seventh game, right down to the final at-bat, for the Pirates to eek out a 10-9 victory on home turf, cementing Bill Mazeroski's legacy in this town for the rest of time.

From 1947-1959, the Yankees won eight World Series and appeared in two others. Of the three years in that span that they didn't make it, their records were 94-60 (1948), 103-51 (1954), and 79-75 (1959). Their team was stocked with names like Mickey Mantle, Roger Maris, Yogi Berra, and Whitey Ford...and that was just in 1960, to say nothing of the DiMaggios, Rizzutos, and Billy Martins that played in the years preceding.

To tie my comparison together, the Penguins were outshot by the following margins in this series: 36-19, 34-22, 34-24, 30-23, 58-32, and 30-22. True, shots alone don't win games, but they certainly give you an indication of who is in possession of the puck, and that was not the Penguins. They scored a grand total of 10 goals in six games, with seven of those 10 coming in just two games. They were facing a Red Wings team absolutely stocked with experienced, Stanley Cup-winning talent.

And much like the 1960 Pirates, these Penguins bridged the apparent gap between the two championship contestants with an amazing effort and a never-say-die attitude. After the series' start, few would have been surprised to see a sweep. But a funny thing happened on the way to that four-game series: the Penguins made it a series. This is not a team that packs it in.

The obstacles in the Penguins' path were many. First and foremost was the ridiculous Detroit defense, which was somehow able to totally neutralize the red-hot Pens, who had just had their way with the entire Eastern Conference. At times it was felt like trying to penetrate the Steel Curtain defense.

The Red Wings were able to hold Evgeni Malkin to a mere one goal for the entire series. The Penguins' goal scoring was very top-heavy, with three of their 10 from Hossa, two from Sidney Crosby, and two from the surprisingly efficient Adam Hall. Ryan Malone, Pascal Dupuis, and Gary Roberts were held to just one assist each. Jordan Staal failed to crack the scoring ledger.

With the lack of scoring production came the increased importance of other factors. Marc-Andre Fleury certainly silenced any remaining doubters who failed to notice his 19-10-2, 2.33 regular season or his 12-2 record coming into the Finals. Brooks Orpik and Hal Gill did their part to make the Red Wings sore on a regular basis. For inspirational purposes, you could look at a number of guys playing hurt, most notably Gonchar and Malone. There was the added lift from veterans Roberts and Daryl Sydor. And of course, no one will forget the efforts of Max Talbot or Petr Sykora in the near future.

Even on the losing end, it was as heroic an effort as anyone could have asked for. The Penguins gave, gave, and gave up until the final buzzer. Sadly, it was not to be this year. And I realize we can't take any future Finals appearances for granted, but the future is certainly bright.

So today, the offseason officially begins. GM Ray Shero is in a tough situation, as some combination of Hossa, Roberts, Dupuis, Hall, Malone, Orpik, Ty Conklin, Georges Laraque, and Jarkko Ruutu will surely sign for greater dollars elsewhere. But as he's proven time and time again, he's more than competent at his job. And while I'd love to see a guy like Hossa back in the black and gold next season, the Penguins will be a challenger for the crown regardless of who stays or goes.

To the Penguins, we thank you for an incredible, memorable season. From the October 5th opener against Carolina to the Winter Classic to the climactic finale last night, it will be regarded as a year for the ages.

The great thing for fans about playing this late into the season? Training camp's only a few short months away. I'm sure this nucleus will be more than ready to finish what they started.

Ex-Steeler Pursues MMA Career

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 07:07:27 -0500

Anybody watch the EliteXC MMA show on CBS last Saturday? If you're a proud yinzer like me, you probably spent the night watching the Detroit Red Wings put the kibosh on our beloved Pittsburgh Penguins. Sadly, our quest for Lord Stanley's Cup was fruitless as they went down to ultimate defeat last night. As an aside, I don't want to sound like a whiny bitch, otherwise known as a Seahawk fan, but I'll never understand NHL officiating no matter how many games I watch. However, giving credit where credit is due, Detroit was the better team and a deserving champion. If not for the heroic efforts of The Flower, Marc-Andre Fleury, the Pens would've been swept in 4. Anyway, back to big sweaty tattooed men beating the snot out of each other. I posted that clip because it might be of interest to Steeler Nation. Last Saturday night, on that MMA show, a familiar name fought in an unaired prelim. Anybody remember Carlton Haselrig? C'mon, people! Haselrig was one of the most gifted offensive linemen we've ever had. You think Barry Foster, Bam Morris, and Eric Pegram gained all those yards by themselves? Haselrig served up more pancakes than IHOP. What's amazing is he never played ONE down of college football. He was an amateur wrestling star at Pitt. While there, he even beat future TNA Champion/WWE Champion/Your Olympic Hero, Kurt Angle. Three years later, he was in the Pro Bowl. Unfortunately, Haselrig was a, how to put this nicely, FREAKIN' NUTCASE. He once locked his keys in his car. Instead of using a coathanger to jimmy the lock, he decided to break the passenger window. WITH HIS BARE HAND. And that wasn't even his manliest incident ever. He was once arrested for driving his motorcycle. Yep, Big Ben's two-wheeled hijinks weren't the first time the Steelers have run afoul of the Chopper Gods. Poor Carlton also had a motorcycle-related incident, although he was wearing his helmet… BACKWARDS. But he was wearing it because, hey, if you're going to cruise through McKee's Rocks completely blind while on top of a 500 cc instrument of death, it's best to remember safety first. Upon being questioned by the fuzz, he reportedly said he did this because he "wanted to see if he could." That's the best reason to do anything, folks. So it should come as no surprise that Haselrig has decided to move on to manly pursuits which actually pay him money. Namely Mixed Martial Arts. Sure he's 42 years old. Sure he just started his new career in April. But this man is a 6 time NCAA wrestling champion. Even Angle admits he would've won a Gold medal had he pursued the Olympics. Instead he turned to football and dominated at something he had zero collegiate experience at. So I wouldn't bet against him. If he puts his mind to it, I truly think he can accomplish anything, athletically-speaking. UFC President Dana White, are you listening? I hear Brock Lesnar could use an opponent on a future card. Make it so!

2008 Playoffs: Wrapping Up Game 6 And The Finals

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 23:56:27 -0500

The Stanley Cup Finals are over and the Detroit Red Wings emerged victorious over the Pittsburgh Penguins with a 3-2 win. How did it all go down and where do the two teams go from here?

HOW GREAT WAS IT?

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:41:45 -0500

PENGUINS 4

RED WINGS 3

TRIPLE OT

Now that people are starting to slowly awaken from their slumbers, it's time to try and decipher what we saw last night/morning. Everyone is going to have their unique angle today, be it depression [Albom], "last laugh" [Cook], or inspiration [Prisuta]. Of course, you could just ditch the Penguins discussion and write your umpteenth column about Mark Madden [Smizik], but instead I'm going with the question of where this game ranks in Pittsburgh sports history?

The way I see it, games are broken into two categories: most memorable games and most important games. A memorable game is a no-hitter, it's watching Mario score five goals five ways, it's a Steeler game played in a snowstorm. It can be in the regular season or the playoffs, and involve a good team or a bad team. An important game is a Stanley Cup-clincher, a Super Bowl victory, or something of great significance to your team's advancing.

Some games fall into both categories, most notably Bill Mazeroski's home run in Game Seven of the 1960 World Series, and for the wrong reasons, Game Seven of the 1992 NLCS (or as you may remember it: FRANCISCO CABRERA). This is the distinction that will be bestowed upon last night's contest.

But ultimately, where will Game Five rank in the pantheon of Pittsburgh sports (and Penguin) lore? Was it the greatest and/or most memorable Penguin game ever? That's up for debate. As far as memories go, multiple-OT or unusually lenghty games tend to stick with you, which will certainly strengthen the case for Game Five. I can tell you where I was for the "Petr Nedved Game" and the "Keith Primeau Game" all these years later, and they weren't in the Finals. I even vividly remember the Steelers-Falcons game a few years ago that ended in a tie after a ferocious rally led by Ron Mexico.

And in addition to the debate of what this game meant, we can also debate the great and memorable individual performances of all time based on what went down just a few hours ago. Last night featured 55 saves from Marc-Andre Fleury, a Willis Reed-like moment from Sergei Gonchar, an unreal goal on the brink of extinction from Max Talbot and a truly inspiring effort from the banged-up Ryan Malone. And that's before I even mentioned the words "Petr Sykora" and "Called Shot".

For Sykora, that goal defines his career. It's the moment that means he never has to pay for a meal or a drink in Pittsburgh for the rest of his life. It's the kind of play that allows a player to make a living by signing photos of that specific moment as long as he can scribble his name on an 8x10 photo. He joins Bill Buckner, Mookie Wilson, Bobby Thomson, Ralph Branca, Don Larsen, and most recently, David Tyree in that unique category.

Yes, any way you slice it, Game Five had it all. Most important, though, was the fact that the Penguins actually, you know...won the game, because there were ample opportunities to add another name to another list: infamous players who took down Pittsburgh teams in the postseason. So to David Volek, Francisco Cabrera, Keith Primeau, and Larry Brown, sorry, but your exclusive club will not be getting any new members anytime soon.

Game 6 will be at 8:08 p.m. tomorrow at Mellon Arena. Our mental scrapbooks have a blank page ready and waiting.