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Around The League - 2023-24 Regular Season

Actually, I have never minded the Pens. I find I have often favoured them over the years, in games against most teams. That said, they don't deserve another generational superstar just yet.
 
east coast said:
Actually, I have never minded the Pens. I find I have often favoured them over the years, in games against most teams. That said, they don't deserve another generational superstar just yet.
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The thing is, Pittsburgh has never been a good franchise. they almost went bankrupt 5 minutes after the franchise started playing, they scuffled for over a decade as a bottom feeder and in the early 80's when they were this close to going out of business they tanked for Lemieux, who it was alleged "saved" the franchise. They became elite, won a couple of Cups and....5 minutes after Lemieux was gone they were teetering near bankruptcy again. Lemieux wound up owning the team because they couldn't afford to pay him the money he was still owed. Then they tanked and got Crosby, who also "saved" the franchise.

To me, this is less about saving the team from bankruptcy and more like a stay of execution. Unless they can grab a generational player every 15-20 years the Pens are a risk to be insolvent. And those 5 Cups don't seem to buy much goodwill with the fans, either.
 
Yes. No one can doubt they used the stupid rules to their advantage and tanked big time prior to the Lemieux draft. They were giving away good hockey players (such as Randy Carlyle) in the year or two leading up to the draft. They again went down to the barebones in the years prior to the Crosby draft, making no attempt to field a competitive team as they were essentially broke, while adding key picks like Fleury and Malkin.. Then they lucked out with the Crosby draft as well.

Few may remember Michel Briere now. He came to the Penguins in their third year of existence. He and Bobby Clarke broke in the same year, 1969-70, and that year were the first two notable draft picks of the expansion-era teams. I remember they were often mentioned together, as hope for the future of those teams. Maybe he would have been a star,or maybe not. But he was quite highly regarded that year I remember, and a key part in Pittsburgh rising several places in the standings. Then fate intervened. Briere was injured in an auto accident just after the end of the season, went into a coma, and died months later. We know what happened to Clarke.

Maybe things sometimes balance out a little re luck, life,etc.
 
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I'm more salty that a team that had Lemieux, and still a strong team with a Jagr, had poor assistance and had to be bailed out, only to be rewarded by another round of superstars in Crosby and Lemieux. Pens' fans are super entitled too. It's a bit of jealousy for sure but I'm always happy when they lose or are in trouble.
 
GrandWazoo said:
I'm more salty that a team that had Lemieux, and still a strong team with a Jagr, had poor assistance (attendance) and had to be bailed out, only to be rewarded by another round of superstars in Crosby and Lemieux (Malkin). Pens' fans are super entitled too. It's a bit of jealousy for sure but I'm always happy when they lose or are in trouble.
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Fixed.
 
TheCountofMonteCristo said:
Lemieux went full Judas in 2005 and stabbed his fellow players in the back by supporting Bettman's lockout. His reward was 87.
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Every pro sport not named MLB has such Judases. The star players want to keep the taps open and they know that under any system they will always get their money. They'll willingly toss lesser players under the bus for personal gain. In the NBA, playoff bonus money isn't even equally distributed among the players on the championship team. The stars get a bigger slice of the pie. There is never even the pretense of equality among the players. Lemieux was only notable in that what he did, while common in football and basketball, is not normally done by "good Canadian boys" in the NHL.
 
McJebus, proving once again that he was, is, and always will be exponentially better than Matthews, got #60 last night. Nugent-Hopkins also has 88 points and counting.
 
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