2011 National Hockey League (NHL) offseason assessment: Pittsburgh Penguins
The 2011 National Hockey League (NHL) offseason for Eastern Conference franchise, Pittsburgh Penguins, did not go fully according to the team management’s plan. There were up’s and down’s throughout, but mainly, since acquisitions were not a big part of
their offseason, it did not really mean much.
Pittsburgh’s offseason mainly rotated around the fact that captain Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin were on their way to making a full recovery. It is safe to say that both are looking well and are ahead of plans which mean that both definitely will rejoin
the roster when the new regular season begins in October.
During the offseason and free agency, team general manager, Ray Shero, worked hard to re-acquire legendary forward, Jaromir Jagr, as he announced making a comeback into the league. Pittsburgh was his original draft team which picked him as their fifth overall
selection during the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. He played 11 seasons with Penguins, and played in the North American league lastly with New York Rangers in 2008.
Pittsburgh offered the 39-year-old a one-year contract worth a reported, $2 million, but anxiously waiting for a reply, Jagr refused the offer and signed on with divisional rival, Philadelphia Flyers, for one-year, $3.3 million.
GM Ray Shero was not shocked, but termed it as just a lost offer.
"We made our best offer from the start, given our salary cap structure, in an attempt to facilitate a deal. But now, after several days, with an extended time frame for making a decision, and additional teams getting involved, we have decided to move in
a different direction. It was never our intention to get involved in a free agent bidding war, and we have to focus on our team", Shero said after learning of Jagr signing on with Flyers.
Additions made to the team during the offseason were Steve Sullivan, a veteran left winger from Nashville Predators, Steve MacIntyre and Alexandre Picard.
During the offseason, Pittsburgh lost the following players, Maxim Talbot, who signed on with Philadelphia after becoming a free agent, Mike Rupp to New York Rangers, Chris Conner to Detroit Red Wings, Alex Kovalev, Eric Godard to Dallas Stars and Mike Comrie.
Steve Sullivan might be 37-year-old, but he remains one of the leagues’ highest scorers. Having a slump season last year with Nashville, Sullivan managed to score only 22 points in 44 games, but if he remains healthy, he can easily manage 50-60 plus points
per season.
Adding Sullivan to the mix has reimbursed Penguins for the loss of Maxime Talbot as he left to Philadelpgia. MacIntyre and Picard on the other hand have inked themselves to a two-way contract, which means that they will be used primarily as recalls from
the minor leagues.
Eric Tangradi, a 22-year-old forward, who was acquired by Philadelphia after being drafted by Anaheim Ducks as the 42nd overall in round-two of the 2007 NHL Entry Draft, has appeared in two seasons with Pittsburgh for a total of 16 games played.
In this year’s development camp, Tangradi has really impressed the management with his improved and matured playing abilities. The Philadelphia native is expected to have more time on the ice this season if he can manage it.
Pittsburgh might not have made a big impact on the offseason in preparation for the next regular season, but it should be kept in mind that Penguins still have the two biggest additions awaiting their return, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin.
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