Originally posted by Julian, certified WEBLEBRITY:
The trade is still asinine -- trade away the future of your second and third line for a rental in a season in which you had no viable, realistic shot to win the Cup. Dumb no matter who does it, and the overwhelming majority of hockey fans who aren't Pens rooters agree.
Still holding tight to that opinion Jules? If so - you'll never get a job writing for the NY Times:
May 6, 2008
The Rangers May Pursue the Player Who Ended Their Season
By LYNN ZINSER
For all of the talk during the Rangers?? second-round playoff series about the Penguins?? young superstars, Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, it is significant that neither one scored the series-winning goal in overtime in Game 5. Instead,
Marian Hossa ended up being the star. The Penguins acquired Hossa at the trading deadline in late February, bringing him in as their hoped-for final piece of the puzzle. At the time, acquiring Hossa came with built-in perils. The Penguins?? identity was its core of young players, a team built from within and largely through the draft.
Hossa, 29, came with significant baggage for a player of his age and skill. He had already been traded in a major deal once, from Ottawa to Atlanta before the 2005-6 season, and he had developed a reputation for disappearing in the playoffs. When the Penguins sent some promising young players to Atlanta for Hossa, an unrestricted free agent at season??s end, even Penguins management acknowledged the gamble.
??I knew when I came here that they were looking for a long run, and that it was risky because you never know how a trade is going to work,? Hossa said.
??So far, it??s working, and it??s a great feeling.?
As it turned out, Hossa became the round peg to fit the Penguins?? round hole. He plays right wing to Crosby??s center and becomes a finisher for many of the scoring plays Crosby starts. It also allows Malkin to play on the Penguins?? second line, giving them two offensive lines that scare opponents. <img src="http://a123.g.akamai.net/f/123/12465/1d/media.canada.com/idl/sasp/20080505/97519-32578.jpg" alt=" - " />
or Fox Sports:
Hossa shines as Pens advance
Inside Hockey
Why the Penguins won: Regardless of whether the Penguins are able to sign Marian Hossa after the season, the 29-year-old forward has more than justified Pittsburgh's decision to acquire him at the trade deadline. In Game 5, Hossa shed the label of being a guy who can't score in the playoffs in dramatic fashion, notching two goals, including the series-winner 7:10 into overtime. or the Canadian Press:
The Penguins are also a different team since trade deadline day. Adding a star player like Hossa gave centre Sidney Crosby the linemate he was missing, giving the Penguins two top scoring lines.
"We had tried so many guys there in the past, to varying degrees of success," Penguins GM Ray Shero said Monday from Pittsburgh. "Hossa really solidified our top-six forwards, no question."
Shero got Hossa and forward Pascal Dupuis from Atlanta in exchange for forwards Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen, former first-rounder Angelo Esposito plus a 2008 first-round pick.
Hossa has 10 points (5-5) in nine playoff games and a plus-3 rating...he led all players in the Eastern Conference semifinal series with four goals and 20 shots. "The way he plays both sides of the puck ... he does a lot of good things for us," said Shero.
Dupuis is no throw-in, either. He's played on a line with Crosby and Hossa, putting up five points (1-4) in the playoffs. In addition to Shero's pickup of defenceman Hal Gill from Toronto at the trade deadline, the Penguins addressed another key area.
"Dupuis and Gill are two guys that helped our penalty killing, which wasn't great during the regular season," said Shero. "And it's been good in the playoffs (ranked second overall) and it's going to need to be good against Philadelphia, that's for sure."
