Left Handed Larceny

Trade Deadline: Penguin Fireworks

by Eric Berkenpas

Photo cred pittsburgh.cbslocal.com

It was March 13, 2007. Hockey fans in Pittsburgh had been biting their nails for weeks and months wondering what the fate of their hockey team would be. Many fans were wishful and believed wholeheartedly that the Pens were staying in the Burgh but the reality of the situation was that the Pens were headed to Kansas City. Then everyone remembered "oh yeah, Mario Lemieux, who bailed out this franchise twice already isn't gonna let them go". Before their game against the Buffalo Sabres started, Lemieux, owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins, came onto the ice with an important announcement for fans. This is what he had to say "Tonight I'm proud to announce that your Pittsburgh Penguins will remain right here. Thank you, Pittsburgh and have a great night!". Lemieux uttered these words with glee and confidence but had no idea what this would truly mean for the team in the coming years.

Photo cred www.examiner.com

Well now it's 2013 and almost exactly 6 years later and it is truly astonishing where this team who was almost bankrupt finds themselves. After having not made playoffs for 4 straight seasons, the Pens found themselves in the playoffs in the 06-07 season and have yet to not make the playoffs. In the 07-08 season, they came just short of winning a cup, falling to the Detroit Red Wings. Just one year later, Sidney Crosby led his team back to the finals for a rematch against the Wings and was a large part of a different story that unfolded. The Pens won the cup under first year coach Dan Bylsma and Sid became the youngest captain to ever win a Stanley Cup. Over the next several years, the Penguins were plagued by injuries to many of their top players, not the least of which being their two superstars Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin. This year, there was a ton of hype in the elongated offseason over this Pens squad who, though they lost their dynamic center, Jordan Staal, would be returned a 100% healthy Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin to the ice. The Pens were preseason favorites to win the cup but were quickly drowned out of the headlines by the lightning start of the Chicago Blackhawks.

Photo cred www.zimbio.com

Once March hit, the Penguins became a new team and seemingly grew tired of playing shootout hockey and winning games by scores of 7-6 and 6-5. They tightened up the D and began ripping off win after win. With the trade deadline approaching, it was a pretty big mystery what would actually happen and which teams would make a big splash. With the likes of Martin St. Louis, Lubomir Viznovsky, Ryane Clowe, Jarome Iginla, Brenden Morrow and Ryan Whitney all coming up on the last year of their contracts, the potential for major trades was sky high. The Penguins GM, Ray Shero, has been known to nail down big deals at the trade deadline, the latest and greatest being Marian Hossa in 2008. Shero had been quiet in the years to follow and lost out big time in the offseason on Zack Parise and Ryan Suter. Shero was not going be outdone this time and began working out some big time deals that would rock the NHL headines.

Photo cred blogs.thescore.com

On March 24, the Penguins received news that the biggest name in trade talks, Jarome Iginla, had chosen Pittsburgh as one of four teams that he would accept being traded to. Oddly enough, this spurred Shero to strike a deal with the Dallas Stars for their captain Brenden Morrow. Just hours later, Shero nailed down a deal with the San Jose Sharks for bruiser defenseman, Douglas Murray. After these two deals, Penguins fans though Shero had foregone Iginla and went a different direction with his team. Didn't take long before Shero shocked the country with another blockbuster deal. March 27 as everyone was going to bed, Iginla appeared to be for all intents and purposes a Boston Bruin. Even Boston GM Peter Chiarelli thought Iginla was coming his way. The only wild card in the equation was Iginla's no trade clause which basically gave him power to choose where he would go. Early morning on March 28 around 2 in the morning, Ray Shero and Calgary GM Jay Feaster finalized a deal that would send a 2013 first round pick and two high school prospects to Calgary for their all-star captain, Jarome Iginla. If Morrow and Murray didn't make Pens an immediate favorite to win the cup, Iginla most definitely did.

The Penguins were clearly not in need of any help as they had been on a 13 game win streak without these new guys and for the most part without Evgeni Malkin. But Shero had said early on that if he had a chance to land Jarome Iginla, he would go for it. That is exactly what he did. So now what do the Penguins look like going forward and what can be expected from these players? Well keep reading!

Photo cred blogs.dallasobserver.com

Brenden Morrow
Brenden Morrow is a big bodied muck and grind forward who through injury and under-performance found himself on the 4th line of the Dallas Stars and in need of a serious revival. Ray Shero saw a perfect fit and stepped up to the challenge of reviving a once very potent player. Morrow prefers to play in the "dirty" areas of the ice, the most prevalent being the front of the net. He is one of those players that will drive goalies crazy because his body is always impeding their vision of the puck. Morrow also plays a very physical brand of hockey which becomes very important come playoff time. I see Morrow fitting like a glove with Malkin and Neal. The success of Malkin's line last year has a ton to do with Kunitz being on that line. Kunitz tends to play a similar style as Morrow and likes to crash the net. Morrow will fill that role perfectly and has played with Neal before so he should be pretty comfortable off the bat. If anyone questions if there will be chemistry issues, well right away maybe slightly, but Morrow is a seasoned veteran and will know how to fit in. Chemistry will not be an issue.

Douglas Murray

Photo cred www.cbc.ca

Douglas Murray is one of the larger players in the NHL and has played a very physical brand of hockey in San Jose. One of the Penguins biggest weaknesses on defense has been protecting the front of their net. The constantly let players camp out untouched and are extremely vulnerable to teams who like to throw the puck at the net and crash the net looking for rebounds. Brooks Orpik will be physical but he generally excels along the boards and tends to take penalties when he clears the front of the net. This is where Douglas Murray will be a huge help for the Penguins. He is extremely effective in clearing the front of the net legally and knows how to get into shooting lanes as he was leading the Sharks in blocked shots before being shipped to Pittsburgh. Along will all that, Dan Bylsma quickly realized how much hockey smarts Murray has which is a testament to why he has been able to be such an effective defenseman regardless of his mobility issues. The addition of Murray to the Penguins' core of defensemen who have really tightened it up will be a huge help and will help them to remain stingy through the end of the year and into the playoffs.

Photo cred sports.gearlive.com

Jarome Iginla
Last but certainly not least, Jarome Iginla. To many, he was the nail in the coffin in propelling Pittsburgh to Stanley Cup favorites. Iginla has spent the entirety of his NHL career in Calgary. In that time, he has quite the collection of awards: 1 Art Ross, 1 Ted Lindsay, 2 'Rocket' Richards, and 7 all-star appearances (3 of those being first-team). He is a 2 time 50 goal scorer and led the Flames to a Stanley Cup final appearance in 2004 only to lose in 7 games. Iginla is one of the most respected players in the league as well and has shown that he has incredible leadership abilities, which is the thing the Pens lacked. I can see Iginla fitting in on Crosby's line as his right wing since he has experience playing with Sid on team Canada and let's face it, he came to Pittsburgh to play with Crosby. Aside from his skill and goal scoring ability, Iginla has always been a very physical presence on the ice and is not afraid to drop the gloves if he needs to (he has fought 59 times in his career). There really isn't much that needs to be said about Iginla because his reputation and skill precedes him. His impact for the Penguins is going to be noticeable and it's just one more top grade player that opposing teams need to worry about.

Photo cred raleighdurham.about.com

Ray Shero and Dan Bylsma have been saying this year, and especially in lieu of these 3 trades that they want their team to be very hard to play against. These moves will certainly accomplish that. Not only do these three players bring skill, but they bring grit and toughness which will wear teams down. Pittsburgh has immediately become one of the most physical hockey teams now but they also have a ton of skill. There is really no good way to match up with this team from top to bottom and it will take a ton of discipline and good game plan if anyone wants to take these guys down. At this point, the only real weakness, if any, is the goaltending. No one is going to forget what happened to Fleury in the playoffs last year and I'm sure Fleury will be the last to forget it. With the defense playing how it has been and with the addition of Murray, both goalie's jobs should be made much easier, but there will always be question marks until Fleury proves otherwise. Also, the addition of two more captains to this team will give them veteran leadership which will help Crosby grow into a stronger leader and will help the younger players in the same way Bill Guerin helped in the Pens last cup run. I do think the Penguins are now heavy favorites for the Cup, but that in no way assures that they will win it. There are never any guarantees in the NHL and the Penguins are going to have as tough a road as anyone due to the huge target on their back now. I think the Pens will prevail and eventually take home their 4th Cup but it certainly won't come easy and their biggest threat comes from the West in the Chicago Blackhawks, who definitely have the skill and depth to match up with the Penguins.