What or more correctly who is Mr. Hockeyburgh? Mr. Hockeyburgh is that Penguins player who over the past year caused the fans to roar. Mr. Hockeyburgh is that Penguins player who plastered an opponent into the boards when the game look lost and swung the momentum. Mr. Hockeyburgh is that Penguins player who makes the big save. Mr. Hockeyburgh is that Penguins player that is a leader of his teammates even if he doesn’t have a “C” or and “A” on his sweater. Mr. Hockeyburgh is the superstar that rises to the occasion and carries the team on his back. Mr. Hockeyburgh is the gritty role-player that steps up and takes charge. Mr. Hockeyburgh is the grizzled veteran whose leadership is unquestioned. In short, Mr. Hockeyburgh can be any player that suited up for the Pittsburgh Penguins in the past season.

In honor of the new site as well as the Penguins fabulous Stanley Cup run, which I understand is still causing curses and fits in Detroit, I am instituting a new award this year called the Mr. Hockeyburgh Award. I pick the nominees and you, the readers, vote on the winner. It’s that simple.

So without further ado your 2009 nominees for the soon to be annual Mr. Hockeyburgh award are in no particular order …

Marc-Andre Fleury

Marc-Andre Fleury (aka the Flower) still has a lot of growing to do but one thing is for certain; he is an elite goalie already. The young net minder for the Penguins still misplays pucks behind his own net, gets dangerously out of position while aggressively taking on shooters and has the occasional brain fart that makes the fans at the Igloo groan. But more often than not he gets the job done when the job needs getting done. And while many Penguins fans may loose site of what he did for the Penguins during the regular season when he posted a 2.67 GAA and a respectable save percentage of .912 while backstopping the team in 35 wins including many down the home stretch to even make the playoffs, it is undeniable that his 16-8 record in the playoffs with a .908 SV% and 2.61 GAA while playing against teams like Washington and Detroit was superb.

Tyler Kennedy

Mister (Tyler) Kennedy (aka TK, aka Turbo) has a lot of nicknames but one that he doesn’t have but should is “sparkplug.” Undersized and sometimes underappreciated earlier in the season for what he has brought to the team, Tyler Kennedy has quickly grown into a fan favorite at the soon to be retired Igloo. Playing with determination and controlling the puck in the offensive zone as well as Crosby or Malkin he is no longer easily overlooked playing on a line with Jordan Staal. Without a doubt Tyler Kennedy is the energy guy the Penguins need on the ice when everyone else seems down and unable to generate offense. He might have only scored 15 goals and 20 assists (he was also good up and down the ice posting a +/- of 15) during the regular season but everyone one of those goals was memorable and caused the crowd to erupt awaiting the inevitable video of Misterrrrrrrrrrr Kennedyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy to be shown. His contributions during the playoffs of 5G and 4A helped power the Penguins to the Stanley Cup this year.

Evgeni Malkin

How do you spell MVP? You spell it G-E-N-O no matter what the fans in Washington might say. Without Geno’s offensive output during the regular season where he showed that he is the finest all round offensive force on the ice the Penguins would have never made the playoffs. He shoots, he passes and he scored the impossible goal. Heck, he’ll even throw a punch or two. Malkin kept his foot on the gas in the playoffs as well netting 14 goals and adding 22 assists in an offensive display that made it mandatory Detroit to key on him in the finals and leave other players free to chip in.

Rob Scuderi

Now a Los Angeles King due to the realities of free agency, Rob Scuderi continued to play hockey like few defensemen can. His skill at blocking pucks and getting his stick in the passing lane as well as his ability to hound the opposing team’s star players makes him one of the elite shut down defensemen in the league. While offensive defensemen like Gonchar and Letang get most of the highlight reel footage, any hockey aficionado worth their salt appreciates and admires the role Scuderi filled while on the ice. His performance in this year’s Stanley Cup Playoffs was at another level all together. He even stepped up and played goalie when Fleury found himself out of position in the waning moments of Game 6 of the finals against Detriot.

Bill Guerin

Bill Guerin is a guy that any hockey fan enjoyed watching for years. But when he became a Penguin he was automatically adored by fans in the ‘Burgh from day one despite some who moaned about the Penguins acquiring yet another aging veteran to play along with Sid. But Billy is no John LeClair or Mark Recchi. Not by a long shot. He has always been a complete hockey package with a ton of grit but the ability to net 30 or 40 goals a season in his younger days. But he can still pop 20 or so in even at 38 years of age. His hockey savvy cannot be underestimated and he was languishing on a terrible New York Islanders team before coming to the Penguins. In just 17 regular season games Billy tallied 12 points along side Sid (5G & 7A) and in 24 playoff games he added fifteen more points and was a huge plus 8 constantly driving the slot and the net and proving that he can beat any goal tender in the league with his still speedy shot.

Honorable Mention:
Ruslan Fedotenko

It was hard to leave Fedotenko out of the finalists for this year’s inaugural award considering how he stepped his game up in the playoffs and turning in a plus 18 ranking during the regular season. But there are only so many nominations one can give out and in the end I just couldn’t put Fedotenko ahead of those that I actually nominated in the end because he did exactly what was expected of him. He had his wow moments though. He’s a great role-player and I am glad to see him back for one more year.

Craig Adams

I think that Craig Adams doesn’t get the respect that he deserves for the role he fills on the team. He’s not a guy you count on to score goals (although he chipped in more than expected during the playoffs) but the pounder you expect to head into the corner and fight for pucks. When the Penguins went to putting Crosby and Malkin on double shifts and used them to man the fourth line after Gonchar’s injury Adams looked like a guy you could expect more out of if only he were given a chance to play with that sort of talent. But that’s not enough. Although enticing the opponent to score into their own empty net off a face off win certainly was enjoyable to watch.

Sidney Crobsy

Yes, it is true. I didn’t put Sid among the finalists which will dismay many that the team’s Captain got snubbed. Sid had a great regular season and a great playoffs but when we get down to brass tacks Sid, like Fedotenko, did exactly what was expected of him. While that means wowing the fans nightly when I started to look at who to slot as finalists for the Mr. Hockeyburgh Award it came down to either Sid or someone like Guerin or Kennedy getting the nomination. Sid gets recognized all the time for his leadership and ability even by me. But sometimes there are just people more deserving of recognition because they played above their ability level instead.

Sergei Gonchar

My main man, the man who I have drafted every single year in my fantasy hockey leagues even at the expense of taking him three or four rounds early just to put him on my roster because of his underappreciated skill, sadly did not make the cut this year. I hate how ever year Sarge doesn’t get the respect he deserves as one of the greatest offensive defensemen to ever done skates and take to the ice. This year when he gritted through an injury late in the playoffs to return to the ice and help power the Penguins to the championship just made me even more respectful of him as a player.

It was hard not to include Gonchar in the final ballot but just something about how the power play struggled this season even with him in charge bothered me enough to pass on putting him up there.

So, there you have it! Voting will remain open until August 14th at noon (Eastern). The winner will be crowned Mr. Hockeyburgh 2009. To vote visit our poll in the right sidebar of this site or vote below.

 Loading ...

14,000 Full Season Ticket equivalents … that is how many how many seats are basically already sold, once again, before the Penguins will take to the ice on October 2^nd to hoist their Stanley Cup banner. Same as last year. The Mellon Arena, the Igloo, holds 16,940 or 17,132 IF you count standing room only, etc.

With the Penguins reporting season ticket renewals at 98%, that means that for this upcoming season roughly only about 280 sets of tickets became available for those on the waiting list which has now grown to over 3,000. You do the math. If Full Season Ticket equivalents remain capped at 14,000 even after the new arena is operational and barring any lean years for the team where fans desert the team in droves, this puts the season ticket waiting list at almost 11 years (10.71 years to be exact) long if those sorts of numbers hold up.

Not bad for a team that a couple years ago was threatening to leave without a new facility. Not bad at all. Well, unless you are one of those fans without season tickets and having to buy them on Ticket Exchange or from season ticket holders for a premium that is.

The gauntlet that is the 2009-2010 Penguins schedule has been released and it opens Friday, October 2nd at home against the New York Rangers where the Penguins will raise their Stanley Cup Champion Banner! The season ends April 11th at New York against the Islanders.

Notable games that I will plan on attending are:

• Both Toronto games at home (December 27th and March 28th) because I do so enjoy the way the fans from up north down the alcohol and get rowdy.
• The Detroit game on Sunday January 31st
• Both Montreal games at home (October 28th and November 25th) for the same reasons as I will be at the Toronto games
• Every Philadelphia game this season just because I do so hate the Flyers (December 15th, January 7th and March 27th)
• And of course I will be going to the March 20th game against Carolina to celebrate my birthday

The new baby (Magnus Wayne) is due early in October so I will have to see how many games I will be able to make with two kids.  But I have already told my wife that she is forbidden from going into labor on October 2nd.  Before or after is fine, but not on the day we raise the banner to the rafters!  I don’t care if we have to rush to the hospital right after the game, just hold him in there honey!

To download a copy of the complete schedule click here.

Something happened between July 1st and today to make Ruslan Fedotenko give up his demands for a multi-year deal and return to the Penguins on a one year contract. What exactly happened will only be a matter of conjecture but I have a feeling it has something to do with the inevitable salary cap pinch all teams are feeling for the coming year. This is made more likely by the stinging fact that while Ruslan made $2.25 million last season he will only make $1.8 million under the terms of the new contract.

A pay cut was certainly not warranted based on his production in 08-09 so the only reason is that the market has dried up fast as teams have inched closer and closer to the cap since free agency began. In 65 games Feds racked up 16 goals and 23 assists missing some time with a broken hand suffered during a fight. Fedotenko’s return will keep one of the most dangerous and feared lines in all of hockey together for one more season.

I am glad to have Feds back but I hope that he doesn’t feel as though he got screwed over by accepting less money and doesn’t play up to his potential.

The Penguins also signed Defenseman Nate Guenin, a Pittsburgh native, to a one year contract as well today. Guenin has been with the Flyers since 2006 but appeared in just 12 games.

Rob Scuderi is now a Los Angeles King and he went there for the money let’s not deny it. Let’s also not begrudge him for that. For some people money is just that important and I can understand a 30 year old defenseman who gave everything he had during a Stanley Cup run wanting to cash in. But now rumors are circulating that perhaps even though Scuds wanted to return to the Penguins, that became practically impossible simply because he waited too long.

In an article today by Rob Rossi of the Tribune Review we see evidence of this:

Not that Scuderi ran to the Los Angeles Kings, who signed him to a four-year deal at an annual salary of $3.4 million yesterday afternoon.

According to some teammates, Scuderi waited too long before choosing the Kings over the Penguins, who are thought to have offered a five-year deal worth $10 million total.

“They’re probably right,” Scuderi said. “I thought I held out for a while, but with respect to L.A. you just can’t … look, it was time to make a decision.

“I always had always hoped maybe something could be worked out (with the Penguins). It was strictly a numbers thing, not a lack of need or want.”

Probably the fact that Scuds had never had teams throwing oodles of money at him in the past and his inexperience in the matters of contracts could be blamed, but what about his agent? Was it Scuds or his agent looking for a bigger cut that convinced Scuderi to keep looking around when several teams including the Penguins had made him offers or he was at least in negotiation with them? Teams like according to reports the Wild, the Rangers, the Lightning and the Stars were all reportedly interested.

Scuderi’s comment about it being time to “make a decision” was probably the most telling of the article. Because while he waited teams were signing free agents left and right making less cap room on their rosters available for someone like Scuderi. Some teams probably even had to withdraw offers or modify them as other players were signed and Scuds no doubt saw his potential paycheck dwindling so he pulled the gun. His comments seem to indicate that he is not happy about heading to the Kings but the paycheck he will be getting will ease that discomfort somewhat as more than likely he will be sitting at home next spring watching some of the teams he held out on making a run for Lord Stanley’s Cup.

Rob Scuderi proved today that it really was all about the money as he took a 4 year deal worth about $3.4 million per year with the perennially bad Los Angeles Kings. I understand wanting to make money and like I said before I do not begrudge Scuds for seeking it but really? The Los Angeles Kings? Guess one Stanley Cup was enough as the former Penguins blue liner becomes the latest Penguin over the last few years to head out for teams that to call them marginal contenders for the playoffs would be generous.

Even I was surprised by this as never once did the team from the left coast come up when discussing who was in the hunt for Scuderi with people in the know.

Speaking from personal experience I don’t understand how someone can simply take money and go to a team that would be a failure. I have had many opportunities to work for many companies for more money and turned them down to take a better job for slightly less money with a stronger one. We all knew that Scuds was not going to fit under the cap but again … the Kings?

I hope Scuds is happy with his new home. And look on the bright side … there is no pressure to win when you are a member of the Kings.