Thank God for sanity! An arbitrator ruled this week that the NHL was right to void the recently penned obscene contract between the Devils and Kovalchuk which would have been for 17 years and $102 million.
Hey, I am all for players getting what they can but when you sign a contract in bad faith, which is what the Devils and Kovalchuk did make no mistake about that, to try and circumvent a league’s salary cap I am sorry but you need to be smacked down. The deal would have had Kovalchuk playing until he was 44 years old. While not unheard of for players to play into their 40’s it is rare and quite frankly players who play at that age are almost always hardly worth the spot on the bench they occupy.

During the final five years of the contract Kovalchuk would have earned $550,000 each year. The structure of the contract in its entirety however was clearly designed to circumvent the cap and lock up Kovalchuk for a smaller hit each year than he would normally have counted for. This whole situation was made difficult because for years the NHL has sat by and allowed other players to flirt with similar contracts in terms of length and salary without much of a peep if any. Kovalchuk and the Devils were probably right to assume that they would be able to get away with this latest bizarre contract. But they did not.

Now it is back to the drawing board and it will be interesting to see what these two parties have up their sleeves as “Plan B.” There will probably be another long term deal hashed out but not as obscene as 17 years. But it will still, most likely, be a deal that is designed to circumvent the cap as best as both parties think they can get away with. They have other long term deals already accepted by the league to draw on and can always use the excuse that the league accepted those.

I honestly do not care if Kovalchuk ends up with the Devils or not when this all shakes out. In his stint with the team last year he proved a pretty ineffective part of the team and for the Devils to use him effectively they would have to reword their tried and true strategy for winning. I do not think that Kovalchuk makes the perennially dangerous Devils any more dangerous. He might make them dangerous in a different way but nothing more than that.

If you are a Penguins fan and don’t like Sergei Gonchar then there is something really wrong with you and your brain is not wired right. I remember when the Penguins signed Gonchar a few years back too many people ballyhooed about the acquisition because they knew so little about the skill Sarge brought to the blue line. They remembered he was a Capital and hated him because of it.

But like it or not for the better part of his career in the NHL Sergei Gonchar has been one of elite offense defensemen if not the cream of that crop and the cherry on top too. Especially where the power play was concerned there was no finer player to quarterback the slaughter. His offensive prowess has never been in doubt except to those uninitiated in the finer points of hockey.

This year however things seem different. Perhaps it is age and two grueling seasons on a team who went deep into the playoff playing a demanding offensive style that has taken its toll on Gonch. Perhaps it is just an off year. Perhaps it is just misconceptions about exactly what he has accomplished. But right now, with Sergei Gonchar looking for a new contract things just don’t seem to rosy for one of the top offensive d-men to ever play the game.

In 62 regular season games Gonchar had 11 goals and 39 assists. Unfortunately he was also a -4 but he was tied for third in scoring on the team. And the guy he was tied with, Alex Ponikarovsky did most of his scoring elsewhere before joining the Penguins. In the playoffs Gonchar had 2 goals, 10 assists and was +4 in 13 games. I’ll take that from a defenseman any day of the week and twice on Sunday. So it cannot be his offensive stats that are the problem. What does seems to be the problem is that his offensive output is leading to a defensive lapse. That’s not good even for an offensive defenseman.

Probably though the biggest reason people are down on Gonchar this year is the power play which was pathetic 26th. Gonchar is an easy target considering that he plays most of every power play for the Penguins. But so too do Crosby and Malkin. I think the problems with the man advantage are deeper than Gonchar although he is an easy scapegoat. I still maintain that it is long past time to split up the dynamic duo and have them each run their own unit because it is obvious that both Sid and Geno want to play the same spot on the ice making it very easy to defend. And teams have defended it well. But this is not say that Gonchar is not blameless either.

I like Gonchar. I bought a number 55 jersey when he joined the team. My friend John liked the acquisition of Ziggy Palffy that year better. Good thing he didn’t invest the money in a #33 sweater.

But even though I like him it does not mean that I am interested in giving him the farm to stay. Gonchar made five million this past year. That is a hefty sum and one that he has been worth. But this year, especially with the power play faltering, the Penguins cannot really afford to invest in a multiyear contract for Gonch at that rate. Hate to say it but I think age is catching up to him. He is still a way above average offensive D-man but I do not know that he is the same guy I drafted quickly and often every year in fantasy hockey because of his skills.

Is he worth what Letang just got? I’d say yes for two years. But it would be a pay cut to what Sarge would likely get on the open market.

Honestly I don’t care what Gonchar does. If he wants the money he wants the money. Can’t fault him for that. But what if he takes that money and doesn’t win? I don’t know about you but being a richer loser doesn’t seem like much fun when you can be a slightly less rich winner.

If I were the Penguins the deal would be three years at an average of 2.75 million a year (3 mill this year, 2.75 next and 2.5 in year three). Take it or leave it. Time is not on Sarge’s side. He’s 36 and I think he’s got three good years left in him. Not great years, but good ones. Plus as long as he is on the bench I have a feeling that Letang and Goligoski will never get the ice time they need to develop in the Power Play quarterbacks they can become.

Messaged delivered to the Montreal Canadiens – the Pittsburgh Penguins are not the Washington Capitals.  Everything about game 1 last night at the old Igloo was a contrast to how the Canadiens had succeeded to down the “best” team in the NHL.  At least the “best” team based on record anyway.

In their previous series the Canaidens blocked shots, shut down the power play and Jaroslav Halak stoned the Caps to rebound from a deficit of three games to one and win the series.  Last night however the Penguins were methodical in their shot selection, picked the canadiens apart on the power play and chased Halak from the net.  Although it did not start out that way.

PK Subban (1) scored not even five minutes into the game to give Montreal a 1-0 lead and Canadiens fans were over joyed.  But the Penguins took control by picked apart the Habs defense, drawing penalties and converting on the chances they were given on the power play.  Gonchar (1), Staal (2) and Letang (3) each scored with the man advantage in the first and second period to put the Penguins up 3-1.

Michael Cammalleri (6) cut the deficit to one late in the second but Craig Adams (2) extended the score to 4-2 even later in the same period taking a pass from Pascal Dupuis across the front of the net and beating Halak.  Alex Goligoski (2) added yet another power play goal early in the third to make it 5-2 and chase Halak from net in favor of Carey Price.  Price made several saves and the Penguins missed golden opportunities to stretch the lead even further before Brian Gionta (3) scored for Montreal on the power play to make it a 5-3 contest.

Late it was Billy Guerin (3) putting in an empty net goal to end it all at 6-3.

The game was a wake-up call for the Canadiens who basically had their way with a high powered Capitals lineup previously.  But the game should not be taken in and of itself that this series will be a cake walk for the Penguins either.  Montreal did not succeed in shutting down the Pens in game 1 but game 2 will tell whether or not Montreal learns from the experience and adjusts.

Marc-Andre Fleury was able to hold down the fort with several great saves at times against the Canadiens and had any of those found the net this game could have been a lot different.  In fact Montreal out shot the Penguins 31-24 on the night and netted 12 shots in both the second and third periods; way too many.  Pittsburgh will have to hone its defense to prevent that from happening again.  But they may have to do so without Jordan Staal who is as far as I am concerned the premier shut down center in the NHL.  Staal was injured in a collision with Montreal’s PK Subban.  Staal hobbled to the bench and later left the arena on crutches.  As of this morning the injury was still undisclosed as nothing other than a lower body injury.

Notes:

Where was the Penguins power play during the regular season?  Last night was just another dominating perfromance for a unit that couldn’t seem to hit the broad side of the barn during the regular season.  The power play went 4 for 4 in game one against Montreal.

Three of Pittsburgh’s four power play goals were scored by their blue liners.

Jaroslav Halak faced only five shots when the Canadiens were down a man.  He stopped only one.  Marc-Andre Fleury also faced five shots on the penalty kill.  He stopped four.

Jordan Staal logged 8:49 of playing time before being injured with one goal and was a -1.

The Penguins scored six goals.  Each goal was scored by a different player.  Crosby and Malkin had none of them but had two assists and one assist respectively.

The Penguins are making another run for Lord Stanley’s Cup this year and while they get a lot of credit for their offensive domination of opposing teams, their defense is playing among some of the league’s best hockey heading into the new year.

Pittsburgh’s goal scoring prowess is unquestionable. They are third in the league in goals scored at 124 behind only San Jose (127) and Washington (139). Don’t forget, that was with literally a third of their roster sitting out for the better part of a month due to injuries too including Evgeni Malkin.

But the Pen’s defense was decimated too! Making it all the more impressive that they are 8th in the league in goals allowed with just 97. That differential of +27 is 5th in the league heading into tonight’s action against the Toronto Maple Leafs who are the exact opposite at -27 (109 goals for and 136 goals allowed).

Marc-Andre Fleury is a big reason for those good numbers on defense too. His 22 wins are tied for second best in the NHL and .911 save percentage and 2.39 save percentage are big contributors to the team’s winning.

Quickly approaching the halfway point of the 2009-10 NHL season and the main problem for the Pittsburgh Penguins remains. That problem is an anemic power play.

Ok, since Malkin moved to the left point a few games back there have been signs of a pulse for a unit ranked dead last in the NHL despite having more talent than most teams have on their entire roster. Last night against New Jersey however the Penguins power play was once again a liability going 0-5 and giving teams no reason to fear the unit and not take penalties.

Scoring on just one or two of those man advantages might have turned what ultimately was an embarrassing blowout into an actual contest. But no. Instead Penguins fans were once again left to watch Malkin, Crosby and Gonchar struggle for no apparent reason.

This is getting ridiculous and something serious needs to be done soon. Otherwise, mark my words, the Penguins will end up loosing a round in the play offs if their power play is not corrected.

I think moving Malkin to the point is a good change. But I still think a better change is getting Sid and Geno on separate units altogether. Because as bad as the first unit has been with them both on it, the second unit has been even worse and even less of a threat to opponents.

Tonight is the final home preseason game for the Pittsburgh Penguins on account of the Columbus game which was moved up to avoid the lunacy that is about to descend upon the city with the protesters and the G-20. Yes, this one I am going to since my wife and her mother went to the Columbus game while I watched Charlotte.

Now that the field has been weeded out a little bit we will get to see Malkin and some of the other starters as well as a few of the higher skilled prospects and camp attendees. Mr. Hockeyburgh 2009, Misssssster Kennedyyyyyyyy, will also be in the lineup along with Caputi who is trying to make the club out of camp.

This will be my first live scouting mission this season as, on account of work, I have not been able to make any of the open practices. I am sure that I will have some things to sat afterwards.

In other news, I’ve been looking regularly at the pictures of the construction on the new arena. Looking pretty good. I’ll have my thoughts about that up this weekend.