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Boston Bruins Blogger •
You've got to hand it to General Manager Ray Shero and the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the second consecutive year, the Pens are the Eastern Conference Champions, thanks largely to their late-season acquisitions. Deadline day is a hectic race against the clock as teams seek out the players with the right resume, experience and skill-set, while trying to avoid toying too much with team chemistry or exceeding the salary cap. Often times someone who seems like a perfect fit, be it an established star or grizzled playoff vet, flops (see: Cole, Erik...unless of course you view zero goals in 18 playoff games as a "success"). Somehow, Shero and company have managed to steal the show on back-to-back deadline days.
Last time around, the Penguins surprised everyone by plucking UFA-to-be Marian Hossa away from the Atlanta Thrashers, along with forward Pascal Dupuis. Hossa didn't come cheap either, as the Pens shipped them forwards Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong, as well as prospect Angelo Esposito and a 1st round pick in 2008. While Hossa's conclusion to the regular season in Pittsburgh, initially delayed due to an injury suffered in his first appearance, wasn't spectacular by any means, the highly sought after RW followed it up with the best postseason performance of his career.
The Slovakian winger had 12-14-26 totals in 20 playoff games. He was a constant threat from game one of the opening round, all the way up until his unsuccessful attempt to tie up game 6 of the finals in the closing seconds. Deadline Day of 2008 was a fairly quiet one, especially compared to this season. However, it certainly didn't lack marquee names. Brian Campbell headed to San Jose, Brad Richards went to Dallas, Brad Stuart departed the west coast and headed to Motown and Cristobal Huet made his way to DC. While Stuart may have outlasted Hossa, the Penguins' pickup certainly had the biggest impact of all of the players moved on February 26th.
This time around Shero took a vastly different approach. Rather than forking over a king's ransom for an elite superstar, he parted with a 3rd round pick for veteran Bill Guerin. While more threatening offensive forces like Olli Jokinen and more playoff experienced players like Penguins retread Mark Recchi went elsewhere, Pittsburgh took a gamble that the 38-year-old Guerin could come through under the playoff spotlight, and gel with the young superstars in the Steel City. Remember, it was just two springs prior when the San Jose Sharks envisioned Guerin filling a similar role, only to see him fizzle, as he was held without a goal in nine postseason games.
Heading into the 2009 playoffs, Guerin, a native of Wilbraham, MA, had just three goals in his last 23 postseason games. To say he's exceeded many expectations this spring is an understatement. With his 2nd period goal last night, which gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead and helped propel them to a 4-1 victory to finish off the Hurricanes, Guerin boosted his playoff totals to 7-7-14 through 17 games. Five of those goals have come in the last eight games, and Billy G. will enter his first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1995, back when he was just 24, on an absolute tear.
Looking back on deadline day, Guerin has made it further in the postseason than any player involved in the 22 transactions that went down. Some didn't even qualify for the postseason (Dominic Moore, Ales Kotalik), some couldn't escape the first round (Nik Antropov, Olli Jokinen), while others helped their new teams win a round or two but fell short of the ultimate goal (Mark Recchi, Erik Cole). While it could be argued that Guerin finds himself in the finals thanks largely to joining a red hot team with dominant, extraordinary players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, there's no denying that #13 has proven to be the most impactful deadline day acquisition.
For that, Shero can add another feather to his cap, reigning supreme as the king of the trade deadline for the second consecutive season. Undoubtedly he hopes, this time around, that his masterful March maneuvers have enough magic left to take his team one step further, and capture Pittsburgh's first Stanley Cup since 1992.
JC
Shameless Twitter Self-Promotion:
Last time around, the Penguins surprised everyone by plucking UFA-to-be Marian Hossa away from the Atlanta Thrashers, along with forward Pascal Dupuis. Hossa didn't come cheap either, as the Pens shipped them forwards Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong, as well as prospect Angelo Esposito and a 1st round pick in 2008. While Hossa's conclusion to the regular season in Pittsburgh, initially delayed due to an injury suffered in his first appearance, wasn't spectacular by any means, the highly sought after RW followed it up with the best postseason performance of his career.
The Slovakian winger had 12-14-26 totals in 20 playoff games. He was a constant threat from game one of the opening round, all the way up until his unsuccessful attempt to tie up game 6 of the finals in the closing seconds. Deadline Day of 2008 was a fairly quiet one, especially compared to this season. However, it certainly didn't lack marquee names. Brian Campbell headed to San Jose, Brad Richards went to Dallas, Brad Stuart departed the west coast and headed to Motown and Cristobal Huet made his way to DC. While Stuart may have outlasted Hossa, the Penguins' pickup certainly had the biggest impact of all of the players moved on February 26th.
This time around Shero took a vastly different approach. Rather than forking over a king's ransom for an elite superstar, he parted with a 3rd round pick for veteran Bill Guerin. While more threatening offensive forces like Olli Jokinen and more playoff experienced players like Penguins retread Mark Recchi went elsewhere, Pittsburgh took a gamble that the 38-year-old Guerin could come through under the playoff spotlight, and gel with the young superstars in the Steel City. Remember, it was just two springs prior when the San Jose Sharks envisioned Guerin filling a similar role, only to see him fizzle, as he was held without a goal in nine postseason games.
Heading into the 2009 playoffs, Guerin, a native of Wilbraham, MA, had just three goals in his last 23 postseason games. To say he's exceeded many expectations this spring is an understatement. With his 2nd period goal last night, which gave Pittsburgh a 3-1 lead and helped propel them to a 4-1 victory to finish off the Hurricanes, Guerin boosted his playoff totals to 7-7-14 through 17 games. Five of those goals have come in the last eight games, and Billy G. will enter his first Stanley Cup Finals appearance since 1995, back when he was just 24, on an absolute tear.
Looking back on deadline day, Guerin has made it further in the postseason than any player involved in the 22 transactions that went down. Some didn't even qualify for the postseason (Dominic Moore, Ales Kotalik), some couldn't escape the first round (Nik Antropov, Olli Jokinen), while others helped their new teams win a round or two but fell short of the ultimate goal (Mark Recchi, Erik Cole). While it could be argued that Guerin finds himself in the finals thanks largely to joining a red hot team with dominant, extraordinary players like Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, there's no denying that #13 has proven to be the most impactful deadline day acquisition.
For that, Shero can add another feather to his cap, reigning supreme as the king of the trade deadline for the second consecutive season. Undoubtedly he hopes, this time around, that his masterful March maneuvers have enough magic left to take his team one step further, and capture Pittsburgh's first Stanley Cup since 1992.
JC
Shameless Twitter Self-Promotion:
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