Malkin to have season ending surgery

[CAmmon 2]

Not like this one was a surprise to anyone but now it's official.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6105360

I'm hoping they dont mortgage the future to fill his void right now.

[hamstercaster 2]

Not a Pens fan so I don't really care if they make the playoffs or not but with Malkin out for the year and Crosby reportedly out at least till March, it's a good thing they have a 13 point lead on Carolina.

[Fire0nIce228 1]

Not like this one was a surprise to anyone but now it's official.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=6105360

I'm hoping they dont mortgage the future to fill his void right now.

Agree. With half of the two headed monster on the shelf and the other shaking the cobwebs out of his head, I hope they don't do anything crazy with Gogo or any of the picks..although this is a weaker draft so maybe not such a big deal this year, but I mean there is not much down in the cupboard even though WBS leads the AHL.

I understand that their is only so many years to make attempts at a Cup with your core players in their prime, and that this years version of the Pens have their best defense in a long long time..but they have locked up the defense for next year too, which is great news (Martin, Michalek, Letang, Gogo, Engelland, Lovejoy all signed) and hopefully the greak PK and defensive game can continue. Personally hearing names like Arnott and Hemsky don't get my pulse up at all... The only guys I'd like the Pens to take a look at would be Radim Vrbata or maybe Jussi Jokinen if they think they could fit them in for next year as well.

Here is an artile I really enjoyed and agree with completely.

In the end, the Penguins success will be determined by the health of Crosby and his ability to be the best player in the game. Simple as that.

If he returns to the lineup and is 100 percent and plays like the pre-concussion Crosby that was running away with the league scoring title the Penguins will, in fact, be a force to deal with in the postseason. If the Penguins are confident that can happen then they will absolutely be in a position to swing for the fences on (or before) deadline day (something Shero has shown he's willing to do in the past).

If he's not able to do that, or the Penguins aren't confident it can happen this season, it doesn't matter who or what they acquire on deadline day, it's going to be a major struggle to make a deep playoff run without Malkin and a healthy, dominant Crosby. If the latter situation turns out to be the case -- and this is all hypothetical at this point, and it's really only a discussion because Crosby is likely to miss almost two months, far longer than anybody anticipated -- why do anything major?

Why mortgage a number young assets or draft picks for a deadline rental that, in the end, won't be enough to push the team over the top this year? Sure, you can give up a pick for an upcoming free agent like former Penguin Alex Kovalev, a shell of his former self, but why give up early picks and top prospects for a bigger player that still won't likely be enough if Crosby is still struggling in the aftermath of his concussion (and that's the key) and without Malkin?

The Penguins core and nucleus is young enough, and locked up for enough years, that this isn't a make-or-break season. They can stand pat, attempt to make a run this year with what they already have (because they'll still be a playoff team, just not anywhere near as dangerous), and take another re-loaded run in 2011-12 with a fully healthy Crosby and Malkin. You need impact players to win the Stanley Cup, and for the Penguins, that's Crosby and Malkin. You also need an influx of young, cheap talent from year-to-year, and a team's farm system and draft choices are, of course, vital to that.

Just a few paragraphs, the article is much longer. But, pretty much in my opinion he hits the nail on the head with these few paragraphs.

http://nhl.fanhouse.com/2011/02/08/sidney-crosbys-health-should-dictate-penguins-trade-deadline-st/

[t6lock 24]

Picking Malkin 6th overall in my pool has destroyed me

[Machinehead2k5 32]

Agree. With half of the two headed monster on the shelf and the other shaking the cobwebs out of his head, I hope they don't do anything crazy with Gogo or any of the picks..although this is a weaker draft so maybe not such a big deal this year, but I mean there is not much down in the cupboard even though WBS leads the AHL.

They did do something crazy.

[Hradsky 1]

They did do something crazy.

Neal is a solid player though....