Jordan Staal Turns Down Offer

According to multiple reports, Jordan Staal has turned down a 10 year mega offer to stay in Pittsburgh. Not much is known right now but there are reports that he will not sign before Friday's draft.

Penguins Acquire Rights To Vokoun

The Pittsburgh Penguins have traded their 2012 7th Round Pick to the Washington Capitals in exchange for the rights of Tomas Vokoun. Right after, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced that they have signed the pending UFA to a 2 year - $4M contract. This is a significant blow to teams looking for goaltending as he was to be one of the best goalie UFA's available.

Wild, Penguins, Canadiens, Red Wings All Interested in Brunner

The Minnesota Wild, Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, and the Detroit Red Wings are all intersted in Swiss international Damien Brunner. The forward scored 60 points in 45 games for Zug in the NLA. This is eliteprospects.com 's analysis of Brunner,"A slick offensive forward who can shoot as well as pass the puck. Has great wheels and hands. Plays a gritty game. (EP)"

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NHL Tampering, Award Finalists, Luongo Trade Rumors, and More!

Quick Notes from the day:

• Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo has told reporters that he will waive a NTC if the right situation comes.
• There are reports from multiple people that he has submitted a list with teams he would be willing to waive his NTC for. There are also reports that this list does not exist.
• @Aportzline is saying that the Blue Jackets may be interested in Luongo, but his monster deal is making him a last ditch resort.
• His contract: $5.33 Million cap hit all the way to 2021-2022 and his clause is as follows, NTC (player can supply five-team trade list following final game of 2013-14, valid through July 15, 2014; if player does not submit trade list at that time, team can request a five-team trade list following final game of 2017-18 season, valid through Sept. 1, 2018). If player submitted a trade list in 2014 and was not moved, team loses right to request trade list in 2018. (Source: Capgeek.com)
• Ray Shero is not sure he can re-sign both Jordan Staal and Sidney Crosby and feels that the CBA and their willingness to stay will be a determining factor if they can be re-signed. He also gave a vote of confidence to coach Dan Bylsma saying  “I think Dan Bylsma is the right coach for our team”.
• @dchesnokov reports that Leafs' Mikhail Grabovski gave an interview to goals.by saying that there was another offer besides the offer from the Leafs he eventually accepted. 
• We are pretty sure that the offer did not come from an NHL team due to the tampering rules in place. Our only explanation is it is from a KHL team.
• @dchesnokov is reporting maybe Minsk? or he said too much....
• Bill Masterton Finalists:
• D.Alfredsson (OTT)
• J. Lupul (TOR)
• M. Pacioretty (MTL)
• GM of The Year Finalists:
• D. Armstrong (STL)
• D. Poile (NSH)
• D. Tallon (FLA) 

Sorry for the lack of posting recently guys, we've just been watching so much hockey!
8 Days, 8 Suspensions/Fines

• Byron Bitz, Vancouver Canucks: Headshot to Kyle Clifford. Two Games.

• Matt Carkner, Ottawa Senators: Punching Brian Boyle when Boyle was not ready. One Game

• Carl Hagelin, New York Rangers: Elbow to Daniel Alfredsson's head. Three Games.

• James Neal, Pittsburgh Penguins: Two hits to Sean Couturier and Claude Giroux to the head. One game.

• Aaron Asham, Pittsburgh Penguins: Cross Check to Brayden Schenn's upper chest followed by a punch to the back of the head. Four games.

• Nicklas Backstrom, Washington Capitals: Cross check to the face of Rich Peverley. One game.

• Shea Weber, Nashville Predators: Smashing the face of Pavel Datsyuk to the boards. $2500 fine.

• Raffi Torres, Phoenix Coyotes: Shoulder to the face of Marian Hossa. Suspended indefinitely.  Pending hearing on Friday. Hearing 10-20 games.

Playoff Teams decided

After yesterday's matchup, 16 teams have clinched playoff spots. It's been a long time since all the playoffs spots have been taken before the last day of the regular season. Here are the playoff teams in order of rankings.

Eastern Conference                                      Western Conference

New York Rangers                                        Vancouver Canucks
Boston Bruins                                               St. Louis Blues
Florida Panthers                                            Los Angeles Kings
Pittsburgh Penguins                                       Nashville Predators
Philadelphia Flyers                                        Detroit Red Wings
New Jersey Devils                                         Chicago Blackhawks
Ottawa Senators                                           San Jose Sharks
Washington Capitols                                      Phoenix Coyotes

The East standings are pretty much secured with only a Ottawa lost and Caps win on Saturday that could change the playoff matchups. The West however is more difficult because of the home-ice advantage situtation.
The Pacific Division is a mess with any of the three teams having the possibilities of taking the third seed. All in all, all 30 teams will see action Saturday. The game to watch will definitley be the Pens-Flyers game as it will be a preview of their playoff matchup and especially after the huge fiasco in their last meeting.

Letang and Lovejoy News.

It was announced today that D Ben Lovejoy will be out for 3-4 weeks after undergoing arthroscopic surgery on his right week. Also, Coach Bylsma said that D Kris Letang will be out for Tuesday's game against the Islanders. However, it was said it was not the concussion that sidelined hime earlier in the season.

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Crosby's return overhyped?

Was Crosby's return last night over hyped? The entire league was there and reporters when they saw Crosby get on the ice looked like they just saw aliens. They were just so amazed. We all know what he's been through and we all know what happened last time he came back. He got two assists on his return. That's pretty good for pretty much every other player, but he's Crosby. This reminds me sort of like a bad sequel of a movie. Sort of like the Hangover and Hangover II?

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Sidney's return

Sidney Crosby made his return yesterday against the Rangers. The pens went on to win their 10th in a row.
But he was shifted around the lineup, playing with the likes of Staal and suivillan. He did pick up an assist on Chris Kunitz goal and shows that he's coming back. not as showy as his last comeback ( 4 points)

Just on a side note, he also picked up another assist after review on Dupuis goal.

Sid The Kid is Back!

It has been announced by the Pittsburgh organization that superstar Sidney Crosby will be back on Thursday against the New York Rangers. In 8 games this year, he has posted 2 goals and 10 assists. He has been on the Injured Reserve since December 8th after feeling Post Concussion Syndrome.

Sidney Crosby Cleared for Contact

Sidney Crosby has recently been cleared for contact in practice by the Penguin's medical staff. However, there is no timetable for his return to the NHL.

Crosby revealed that he had been symptom free for a few days but he reminded reporters that practice with contact was the first step and he still has a long way to go before returning to the Penguins.

“I just want to make sure I get through these days fine and that would be a great decision to make if I get to that point,” Crosby added.

He mused about his return on Sunday but he didn't guarantee it because it would be "total guesswork."

The NHL superstar has only played 8 games this season, but recorded 12 points, including 4 points in his first game. Getting Crosby back for the postseason would boost and help the Penguins a lot and make them favourites to win the Cup.

In the past 15 months, Crosby's career has been jeopardized because of multiple concussions and Post Concussion Syndrome, the first one happening in January 2011 during the 2011 Winter Classic. He returned on November 21 and played for 8 games before that fateful night where he got elbowed by David Krejci and his own teammate Chris Kunitz. The Penguins initially thought he wouldn't be out for long but it has been 3 months since then.

Crosby has been looking for other injuries that might have induced the symptoms and while in Los Angeles, the doctors found a soft tissue neck problem which they resolved and Crosby said that he felt better.

“The neck stuff certainly helped,” Crosby said. “With this stuff, it’s always trial and error. There’s no specific treatment that everybody knows is going to work, but you try to do what’s related to what you feel. I definitely felt like I saw some improvement in my neck, with getting that loose. Was it everything? I don’t know. But it certainly helped, so that’s something I’ll continue to do and stay on.”

Kris Letang Out with Another Concussion

Sidney Crosby may have another new friend in the press box.

Kris Letang, a powerful two-way defenceman for the Penguins, has concussion-like symptoms after Pittsburgh's 4-3 shootout win over Dallas.

Dan Bylsma, the head coach of the Penguins, released a statement saying that Letang had the symptoms and that he would not play against Colorado on Saturday.

“He did have symptoms today,” Bylsma said Thursday in Denver.

This could be Letang's second concussion this season, the first one happening from Nov. 26 to Jan. 11, and that would be a huge blow to Pittsburgh's offence and overall game play.

The hit happened during the first period, where Letang was hit in the head by the right arm of Eric Nystrom. He immediately fell to the ice, where everybody could see that he was in pain.

Nystrom was given a minor penalty for roughing, but there will be no disciplinary action towards him.

Letang has nine goals and 22 assists, good for 31 points in 40 games.


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James Neal Extension

The Pittsburgh Penguins have resigned F James Neal to a 6 year $30Million extension. He has been an instrumental player for the Pens when both Crosby and Malkin were injured and out.

Joe Vitale Resigns

The Pittsburgh Penguins have resigned forward Joe Vitale to a two year $1.1 Million dollar contract. Vitale was the Penguins last pick (195th overall) in the 2009 draft. He is a third/forth line player in the future. Is currently playing 3rd line in Pittsburgh.

Cal O'Reilly Claimed

Cal O' Reilly has been claimed on Re-entry waivers by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was on the Coyotes re-entry waivers. Cal O'Reilly has been dynamic in the AHL, yet he never has been that dynamic in the NHL. Time will tell since the Penguins need the scoring.

You heard it here first! Check back for updates!

Sidney Crosby Injury Update

Today, Penguins captain, Sidney Crosby, was diagnosed with a neck injury while in Los Angeles. Over the next 48 hours, specialists will analyze Crosby's CAT scans and MRIs to determine the full extent of the injury.

To recap, Crosby had just come back from a concussion obtained from a hit by Lightning's defenseman Victor Hedman on January 5, 2011. He played in 8 regular season games in the 2011/12 season until he was sidelined again after experiencing concussion-like symptoms after a collision with Bruins' forward David Krejci.
Crosby is still expected to play with his club this season but there is no timetable for his return.

Ovechkin Suspended

Alexander Ovechkin, captain of the Washington Capitals has been suspended by league disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan for his hit on Zbynek Michalek of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Ovechkin has been suspended three games and is eligible to return on February 4th. He is still able to play in the All Star game though.

The hit on Michalek was pretty brutal and Shanahan stated that the hit was the main reason for the suspension. The fact that Ovechkin is a repeat offender also factored into the suspension.

This is Ovechkin's third suspension of his career, the first coming from a knee on knee hit on Tim Gleason and the second being a reckless hit on former Blackhawks defenceman Brian Campbell.

This is bad news for the Capitals, who are already missing Nicklas Backstrom and Mike Green. Now they lost their captain for 3 games. How will the Caps fare? Let us know in the comments!

Leafs Rumors + Sidney Crosby Update

Sidney Crosby will be skating on his own in the next Penguin's roadtrip. It's great news for all Penguins fans and Canadian hockey fans as well. However, don't expect him to play for a little while. It is promising news ,but not great news.

If the Toronto Maple Leafs make a trade within the next few days, don't be surprised. Talks about them are intensifying extremely and they are intense. Management knows that the team can't be on the bubble like that for the playoffs and don't mind making a trade. The names that are mentioned the most are Luke Schenn, Clarke McArthur, and Cody Franson. I talked with my sources and they confirmed what everyone is saying. The Leafs either want a veteran goalie or a top six forward. There were talks about a Schenn for Schenn trade ,but personally I just don't see that happening. Brayden Schenn is an elite talent with first line potential, don't get me wrong, but the Leafs still love Nazem Kadri and a Brayden Schenn type player would just take Kadri out of the equation.

Pittsburgh Panic Mode?

With Crosby, Letang, Staal, Neal, and Adams all injured, should the Penguins be in panic mode? The marquee players they have left are Evgeni Malkin and Marc-Andre Fleury. This blogger thinks that the next few games will tell GM Ray Shero what to do up till the trade deadline. If the team seems capable, Shero should just relax and lets his team work. However, if the team seems to tank, panic mode should be put in and Shero needs players who can score. What happens waits to be seen.

Team Canada: Most Impressed

So far after two games who impressed the staff the most?

Scott Wedgewood: Shutout plus an assist after two periods? Yes. Drafted in the 3rd Round? Even better.
Ryan Strome: 11 Points in a game and two periods? He's something special. The Islanders have something special going.
Scott Harrington: He's not the flashiest player or the player who gets the points but he's hardworking. You won't see him that often unless you focus on him. If I were a new GM and I need to draft a team, he's definitely on it. Not that he's the guy who will get you points ,but the character leader of the team.

Who's impressed you the most? COMMENT BELOW!