Who's on the Penguins roster part 3

We're down to 1 preseason game left which means roster cuts are coming soon. Earlier in the preseason, I gave you my thoughts on the roster and broke down some of the bubble guys. It's time to re-evaluate.

First off, we are going to assume Crosby, Asham, and Orpik are all going to be ready to go and Staal will start the season on IR. We are also going to assume the Pens will start out using a full compliment of 23 players including 8 defensemen, 13 forwards, and 2 goalies. Of course, only 20 can dress on a given night but we're looking at the whole opening day roster.

Of course we know who the 2 goalies will be:

Marc Andre Fleury
Brent Johnson

The Penguins currently have 10 defensemen on the roster. I believe this will be whittled down to 8 to start the season. I believe Despres WILL make the opening day roster only to be sent back to juniors after 9 games. This of coarse will give him some experience in the big leagues while not using up any years on his free agency clock. With that said, here are my predictions to fill out the defense:

Martin
Letang
Goligoski
Michalek
Engelland
Lovejoy
Despres
Orpik

Gone on defense:
Hutchinson
Grant


The Penguins currently have 18 forwards on the roster. This includes Jordan Staal. With Staal going on IR to start the season, that leaves 17 forwards and 13 spots. 4 Players gotta go. First we'll take a look at who is guaranteed:

Comrie
Malkin
Dupuis
Kunitz
Rupp
Adams
Godard
Cooke
Talbot
Crosby
Asham

Thats 11 players pretty much locked in. 2 spots are open. Here are the candidates:

Ryan Craig-hurt most of preseason..2 GP..2G..0A...+2
Dustin Jeffrey- 4GP..1G..2A..+1
Tyler Kennedy- 3GP..0G..2A..+1
Mark Letestu- 4GP..1G..4A..+2
Casey Pierro Zabotel-broken finger
Erik Tangradi- 4GP..0G..2A..+1

Although Zobotel is still officially on the roster, you can scratch him off the list. Ryan Craig is still injured and can be taken off the list. That now leaves 4 players competing for 2 spots.
I think it is pretty much a foregone conclusion Letestu is going to make it. He has impressed in camp and appears to be capable.
So, who gets the last spot and who are the odd men out?? Tangradi, Jeffrey, or Kennedy???

With Staal out, I believe the Pens are liking having a big guy on the opposite side of Malkin. With Comrie centering Tangradi and Malkin, it gives the Penguins a line with a ton of skill, size, and speed. At least until Staal comes back, I look for Tangradi to be given a chance. His time has come!

The Hockey Athlete

One of the reasons I have been flocking to hockey more so than any of the other major sports is the athlete itself. Being from the Pittsburgh area, my 1st love was actually with the Pirates baseball team. My Dad was a huge Pirates fan and taught me a ton about baseball. My 2nd love was the Steelers. Being from this area, it is hard not to be a Steelers fan. We have no basketball team here but I did grow up loving the Bulls and Jordan and Pippen and Armstrong. Hockey was an acquired love that I slowly developed. I detailed this in my earlier post.

Over the years my passion has shifted. I have painfully watched the Pirates make terrible decision after terrible decision. They now have 18 straight losing seasons. I still love the Pirates and baseball but there is no doubt the Pirates have the worst ownership and management team in any of sports.

I know do not have any interest in the NBA whatsoever.

The NFL is quickly turning me off as well.

Most of this has to do with the players who play the sports. Hockey players are a different breed. They play the game with passion, with pride. They are humble. They are tough. Now I understand its unfair to lump all players into categories. There most certainly are bad apples in hockey just like there are some very great people involved in the other sports. For the purpose of my point, I am taking about the athletes in general.

For example, how many times have you seen a football player jump up and celebrate a sack like he just won the lottery although his team is down 30-3? All these dances, struts, and celebrations are ridiculous! These are athletes getting paid millions of dollars. They are expected to make plays. They are expected to make a catch when the ball is thrown to them. Can you imagine a hockey player going into some sort of dance after each and every hard hit he puts on an opponent?

Baseball players have grown into a miserable bunch as well. As a kid, I used to love going to games early with my Dad to get autographs and mingle with the players. Now the players act bigger than life. They act as if the fans owe them something. Then there is the whole steroids thing but I'm not going there now.

Whether its baseball. football, or basketball, any given day you have headlines of drug use, sexual harassment, domestic violence, ect.

You rarely see this with hockey players. For the most part, they are just like us. They too are millionaires but they haven't let it go to their heads. They are grounded. They are humble. They have pride in their sport. They feel privileged to be able to play in the NHL. They have respect for the game and for its fans. They are much more accessible.

I feel a connection with hockey players that I just dont feel with any other of the major sports athletes. Because of this, hockey continues to grow as my passion and sadly, the other sports are fading.

Crosby left practice

Sidney Crosby has left practice early today because of a sore hip flexor. He will miss tonights game. It is not believed to be serious.

I've heard this hip flexor thing for awhile but was never really sure what it was. Here is a pretty simple definition

Staal update

According to this Post Gazette article, Jordan Staals infected foot is "progressing". However there is no timetable for his return. He may begin working out next week. Team officials suggest he will miss at least the first few weeks of the season...

So this may be longer than expected. Staal has not been on skates for quite awhile. I'm sure he will bounce back quick once he gets cleared but this is kinda worriesome.

Pens make 11 cuts

Today the Pens made 11 roster cuts. Among those reassigned were:

Forwards:
Chris Conner
Brett Sterling
Nick Johnson
Tim Wallace
Joe Vitale

Defense:
Corey Potter
Brian Straight
Robert Bertuzzo
Steve Wagner


Goalies:
Brad Thiessen
John Curry


We're getting down to the nitty gritty at this point. I'm a little surprised at Brett Sterling. He is small but was making a case to stay here. I figured he would go down to the wire. Nobody else really surprises me.

Of the 11 cuts, Sterling, Wallace, Wagner,Curry, Potter, and Conner all must pass waivers. If not claimed, they will report to Wilkes Barre. I got a feeling a couple of them may be picked off. We'll see.

The Pens now have 30 players remaining. 7 cuts must be made before the opener Oct. 7. Of the cuts, most likely it will be 4 forwards and 3 more defensemen.


UPDATE:       all 11 players cleared waivers and were assigned to Wilkes Barre

Reasons why I am optimistic

Over the past couple weeks, I have been becoming more and more excited about the Pens chances in the 10-11 season. I have put together my top reasons why I think the Pens will win the Stanley Cup...

• They are rested. After 2 long seasons and long springs, this year they are rested. They have had time to reflect and reenergize. I look for more hop, more explosiveness than I witnessed at times last season.
• Defense, Defense, Defense...Yes, Gonchar and Eaton will be missed. However, the additions of Martin and Michalek will more than make us forget. These two guys plus our returning core of Letang, Goligoski, and Orpik will make for a very skilled and tough defense to play against

Caps favorites, Penguins runner up

I was browsing google tonight and ran across a site called betus.com. I am not a big betting person, but apparently this site is a frontrunner in the sports world. They are previewing their picks to win the Stanley Cup this year. Well guess what, they have the Washington Capitals going all the way. The same Capitals team that has never won a Stanley Cup and have exited the playoffs the last 3 season below expectations. The same Capitals that have Alexander Ovechkin who disappears everytime his team needs him most. Oh well, because coming in #2 is the Pittsburgh Penguins

According to betus.com, "Pittsburgh Penguins +500 – Former champions Pittsburgh Penguins are just a smidgen larger than the Capitals in the marketplace, which makes them the second favourites to win the Stanley Cup this season. With Sidney Crosby leading the Penguins, what more could you ask for, really?
The Canadian sensation along with Russian teammate Evgeni Malkin is a formidable pair. Admittedly, last year Malkin had a disappointing term though and needs to return this year with a bit more pizzazz. But the pair successfully led the Penguins to the Stanley Cup title two seasons ago, so there is no reason to believe they couldn’t do it again."

Although i hate to see the Capitals ahead of the Pens, I guess this is better than the 13th place Scott Cullen of Tsn.ca gives them.

The Civic Arena (Mellon) just wont die

Last week the Sports and Exhibition Authority voted to demolish the Civic Arena. Most thought this was the beginning of the end for the 30 year old igloo. But rest assured, it's not going down that easy.