Poll Results
Question: Which team do you expect to challenge the Penguins for the most points in the Eastern Conference?
The New York Rangers rang up four times more votes than any other Eastern Conference squad. The Rangers collected 62 percent of votes while runner-up Philadelphia finished with 15 percent. New York ended up with one more point than Pittsburgh (109 to 108) in the 2011-12 regular season. Boston came in third with seven percent. The remaining 11 Eastern Conference teams each had two percent of the votes or less.
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Keven Veilleux suspending for racial slurs, the
Wheeling News-Register reports.
"I'm horrified and I'm disgusted,'' Wheeling alternate governor Tim Roberts said. ''It will not be tolerated.''
It’s been a hockey career of missteps for Veilleux, who actually reminded me of Mario Lemieux (physical-build wise) during the 2009 rookie camp. He had two goals and six points in 11 games split between Wheeling and Wilkes-Barre. Here are his
career numbers.
While he’s been suspended by Wheeling, the Baby Penguins have not decided whether to honor that suspension in the AHL or not.
Jonathan Bombulie @CVBombulie
John Hynes said it was too early to say whether WBS/Pittsburgh would honor Keven Veilleux's suspension by the Wheeling Nailers ...
In either event, time is closing in on the soon-to-be 24-year-old and his prospect status is running out.
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Ray Shero talks about potential personnel moves in the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. If you click on the link, see if you can read it without activating the Office Depot spam rollover advertisement. I can’t.
"We've been involved just a little bit, just to make sure what's going on around the league," general manager Ray Shero said later Sunday. "There really hasn't been that much. It's been so quick. We got the memo [Saturday] night maybe around 10:30 or so that everything was agreed to.
"Everyone will be in full gear this week. There have been some roster moves and trades. It should be interesting with waivers and other trades, other roster moves by the time you have to set your roster by Friday at 3 p.m."
Dave Molinari states the team has eight defensemen who need to pass through waivers, with Simon Despres the lone exception. Those on Twitter might remember several of Molinari’s tweets in recent days, like this one saying the team has nine waiver-eligible blueliners. That goes to show it’s preseason even for Hall of Fame writers like the great Mr. Molinari.
Dave Molinari @MolinariPG
Penguins have nine waivers-eligible defensemen, and that doesn't include Simon Despres. Logjam on their blue line has to break in next week.
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Neal’s expectations high in shortened season, the
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
"I guess you can have high expectations or high goals. That's fine," the Penguins right winger said of the lockout-shortened season that begins Saturday. "But I'm just looking forward to getting going. It's been a long layoff. It's been tough."
A big question is who will be Neal’s linemate along with Evgeni Malkin. Eric Tangradi will get first crack, but somehow the team will find a way to give others a look, too.
Neal lobbied for Chris Kunitz.
"[Kunitz] brings everything," Neal said of the hard-working veteran. "He hits. Skates. Shoots. Scores. Fights. If you were going to make a hockey player, you might make a Chris Kunitz.
"Those are tough hockey players to find, who have all those abilities, but we've got some capable guys."
Line combinations from Sunday are pretty much meaningless without Malkin in town, but Dustin Jeffrey and Eric Tangradi skated with Neal.
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The article from the
Ottawa Sun a couple weeks back made for fun conjecture, but the Sens defensive situation is less stable than that of the Pens. It’s unlikely Ottawa would move Gonchar unless the team was out of the running at the trade deadline.
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I’d be lying if I said I read the
new CBA agreement in its entirety, but I did notice the team playoff takes have doubled.
Playoff Pool
Effective immediately, the Playoff Pool will be increased from $6.5 million to:
• $13 million for 2012/13 and 2013/14;
• $14 million for 2014/15 and 2015/16;
• $15 million for 2016/17 and 2017/18;
• $16 million for 2018/19 and 2019/20; and
• $17 million for 2020/21 and 2021/22
These amounts will continue to be included and counted as “Player Benefits” pursuant to CBA 50.3.
Minimum Salaries
Will be set at:
• $525,000 for 2012/13;
• $550,000 in 2013/14 and 2014/15;
• $575,000 in 2015/16 and 2016/17;
• $650,000 in 2017/18 and 2018/19;
• $700,000 in 2019/20 and 2020/21; and
• $750,000 in 2021/22
The “little guys” will be getting a pay raise, too – just not quite as much as Zach Parise and Ryan Suter.
Players Websites
This issue shall be referred to the Owner-Player Broadcasting/Marketing Committee for discussion during the term of the CBA.
I’m not sure what to make of the player website nomenclature. I have yet to bookmark an NHL player’s website. If there’s a worthy one out there, please let me know.
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Kovacevic: Penguins right to delay Despres, courtesy of the
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
"So don‘t read too much into Despres being paired with Deryk Engelland in the skating session Sunday. By the time the puck drops next weekend, Ben Lovejoy should join Engelland on that third pairing. Shero expects to keep eight defensemen to open the season, and the two extras should be Robert Bortuzzo and Brian Strait. That makes sense for roster management alone: Despres doesn‘t have to clear waivers, and all the rest do."
The last sentence in the paragraph provides all the support the article needs. If GM Shero swings a defensive deal or two during this week, however, all bets are off.
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In case you missed my tweets over the weekend, here's a sample.
John Toperzer @JohnToperzer
Penguins have zero four-game weeks during month of April -- all three-game weeks. Quasi-rested for playoffs, all things considered.
Having zero four-game weeks in April is pretty big. That makes up for the beginning of the schedule, especially with four of the first five on the road.
John Toperzer @JohnToperzer
Did u know? Pascal Dupuis finished w/same # of points (59) as Rick Nash last year despite next to zero power-play time Both played in 82 gms
Just kind of a feel-good tweet for Penguins fans after the Rangers inked Nash. What’s interesting is that Dupuis did his damage mostly without Crosby or Malkin. Click
here.
John Toperzer @JohnToperzer
Brooks Orpik led all NHL D-men with highest combined total (398) of Hits (259) & Blocks (139) in '11-12 in only 73 games & he's healthy now.
We all know Orpik’s level of play slipped, particularly in the playoffs. Even at age 32, however, he is primed for a big year. His improved overall health after two prior offseasons of sports hernia surgeries cannot be underestimated.
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The Rotowire Staff Fantasy Hockey League ended fairly quickly last night, in just under five hours. With nothing coming out of training camps, teams had to make educated guesses on playing time, line combinations and the like.
I’ll give you my best and worst plays of the night.
Best: “The Hunt for Red October” moment. Remember when the USA sub boss moved his vessel closer to the other sub so the missile wouldn’t detonate? That trick only worked once and I felt that way Sunday night.
Late in the auction, money was tight. One team of seven remaining had more than $3 maximum to spend. David Rundblad, a defensive prospect with Phoenix, came up for $1 bid. Rather than bidding $2 for him, I went straight to my max of $3, thinking I would win. The one team which could say $4 did. Worse yet, my strategy of using $3 to secure a player was wasted on a player I didn’t even get.
Hockey Buzz’s Jan Levine (also a Rotowire writer) then brought up a player and started the bidding at $3, knocking everyone else while getting his player automatically. The one bidder who said $4 on Rundblad was now down to a $3 max bid.
Montreal prospect Alex Galchenyuk was then nominated for $1. Despite a dazed and distant look on my face several hours into the draft, I went to $3 right away, beating the bidder who won Rundblad and could’ve also bid $3 on Galchenyuk. The Canadiens’ prospect might not even make the team. Even if he does, it’s unlikely he has a ton of fantasy relevance but you never know. More importantly, he becomes an instant keeper for seasons to come. By comparison, Yakupov went for $20 and Grigorenko, $13 or $14.
Worst: After the auction is over and the starting rosters are filled, then a draft including 10 reserve players and seven minor leaguers is held. My two starting goalie are Jaroslav Halak and Cory Schneider. I also have Braden Holtby as a protected minor leaguer. In the draft portion, I took Tom Wilson in the first round and then Craig Smith (instead of Brian Elliott) in the second. Elliott would provide a perfect handcuff to Halak. I also could’ve acquired Michal Neuvirth to go along with Holtby but I thought he had been protected prior to the draft. He wasn’t. Varlamov had been a late switch to keeper status, not Neuvirth.
I ended up taking Jonas Gustavsson as a backup. He’s in Detroit and an injury to Jimmy Howard could make him a starter for a good team. I also nabbed Tim Thomas in the second-to-last round of the draft. Who’s to say he doesn’t come back this season if Tuukka Rask falters badly? Unlikely, yes, but you never know. Thomas has already said he wants back in the league next year. We’ll see.
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Treasure Life!
JT
Pittsburgh Penguins Blogger • 
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