Kovalev to Rangers

[Mr. Poopypants]

I have been a fan of the Penguins since I can remember. They have whipped out some pretty stupid trades, Marcus Naslund for Alex Stojanov, the Jagr deal, but now this takes the cake, How the hell do the Penguins expect to trade off such an exciting player and still sell seats? Anyone else who follows hockey knows that recently Craig Patrick has let the team go to poop, and here we are again. Sorry, I just had to vent.

[fennrysha]

Unfortunately, they had no choice to cut payroll.And they aren't "filling the seats" now so dumpingKovalev's multi-million dollar salary helps.The hilarious think is that the Rangers STILL won'tmake the playoffs.I'm sorry to say that the future of the Penguinsdoesn't look too great right now. Lemieux is going tohave to sell the team in the not-to-far-off future andunless they get a new arena (and they probablywon't) I can see them moving.The same goes for a whole bunch of Canadian teams.

[Mr. Poopypants]

It is true that the Pens have not been selling many seats but this will make even less people want to go to the game. They could have resigned Kovalev if Lemieux wasn't paying himself $5M a year. I do agree that it is funny that the Rangers still won't make the playoffs. I really hope the Pens don't move. I am still mad about the Nordiques, Jets, Whalers, and North Stars.

[Mr. Poopypants]

It's because Craig Patrick is a moron. I would like Kovalev back in OUR lineup.

[Mr. Poopypants]

I personally am rooting for Ottawa. I know there is no way that the Pens will make the playoffs, GO SENS!!!

[Stang2Vibe]

While you won't find me cheering for Ottawa, I do share in some of your feelings. The Pens badly needed to dump some payroll. Kovalev has been mediocre here at times and the stupidity of some of his turnovers in our own end was astounding. Overall, he is a top-notch player and the Rangers were able to get him basically for a song and a dance. This kinda sucks because it was the same deal with the Jagr trade. We could have gotten half of just about any team in the league for Jagr, but we couldn't afford to sign anybody so we took 3 unknown players and a bunch of money.As for the stadium issue, I think that we will be getting a new arena for hockey here if the team commits to a long term stay in the city and foots part of the bill. Our new idiot Governor, Ed Rendell, wants to put a new tax on everything from having a grandmother to sugar cubes. He has a specific stadium tax plan that would use the revenues collected to help the Pens fund a new stadium. I am torn in the issue myself. I love the Pens and want them to stay and would like to see a new arena because the Civic Arena is now the oldest building used in the NHL. On the other hand, I don't want to fund a third new stadium in Pittsburgh in 4 years, especially if the team can't afford decent players let alone make payments on a new arena. I can see the Civic Arena from my apartment and most of Duquesne's campus and I like the building, but it is time for it to go. They are supposed to be holding the public hearings downtown next week where people can go and testify as to the building's historic status to have it declared a historic landmark. If that happens and the Pens get a new building, this city will not be able to afford 4 stadiums, including one that is basically empty and useless. The last thing I want to see is for our idiot mayor Tom Murphy to bulldoze the arena to make another parking lot so the city can charge people $10 per hour to park there. When Lemieux bought the team, he also bought a bunch of the property around the arena, so the parking lot idea probably won't work.

[Mr. Poopypants]

Which apartments do you live in? Chatam? Washington Plaza?

[Stang2Vibe]

No, Citiline. About 3 blocks from Washington Plaza. We're actually on Duquesne's campus but the apartment builing is privately owned and operated, not part of the school.

[Mr. Poopypants]

quote:No, Citiline. About 3 blocks from Washington Plaza. We're actually on Duquesne's campus but the apartment builing is privately owned and operated, not part of the school.I know where that is, when I went to Robert Morris downtown, I used to drive past it every day. One of my friends lived there a few years back.

[Stang2Vibe]

Yep, that's where I am. Top floor (20th) in a corner 2 bedroom apartment overlooking part of downtown and all of the South Side. Great view of the Monongahela River from here. I will really miss this view when I'm done with school.Back to the trades---I don't know who would really take Robitaille, he is much older now, doesn't score like he used to, and will command a high salary. I know we sure can't afford to bring him back here in Pittsburgh. I just wish we could dump off some of our crap-wads on this team and make a real effort at making the playoffs. We have another problem that Andy Ference brought up after being traded. While he is still a punk and made his point in just about the most tasteless manner, he made a good point that the Pens and their minor league affiliates do just about nothing to develop the young talent that we draft and/or acquire. Several big names have come through the organization that played like crap here and got traded, then became strong players. Marcus Naslund stands foremost in my mind. He was a third-liner here who occasionally was a healthy scratch. A great talent that we never developed, he left here and became a scoring sensation.