Pens Tidbits

[83-Steelers-43]

Penguins Pick up Laraque....

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=197887&hubname=

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The only reason I could see Shero parting with Welch is because he feels Kris Letang will be ready to compete for a job next season, as he is currently their top prospect on D. Regardless, it's still a bad trade not just because of his age, but also because I don't believe he really wants to be here anyway. It just smells like a Craig Patrick deal to me.

[83-Steelers-43]

Also just in Dominic Moore to Minnesota for 3rd round pick.

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=197895&hubname=nhl

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OK, now I know Shero has been hitting the bong. Why the hell would he trade Moore? He's the best faceoff man we had, not to mention the fact that his line had been pretty damn good for a few weeks. Just friggin unbelievable!

As for Laraque...blah. I don't understand how anyone can get excited about this. Laraque ain't no enforcer anymore - why else would he fall out of favor so quickly after Gretzky went all-out to bring him to Phoenix? If he comes in and actually does the job he gets paid to do, I'll gladly eat crow. But I'm not getting my hopes up.

[83-Steelers-43]

So up to this point IMO....

Roberts deal: Still don't like no matter how much some want to sugarcoat it.

Grade: F

Laraque deal: I'm not terribly upset over nor am I thrilled. As long as it wasn't our #1 and Carcillo. At least Laraque can hang around on this team for a few more years. I'm not sure the same can be said for Roberts.

Grade: C+

Moore to Wild: My only explanation is that we might use that #3 in a package deal for somebody else? Besides that, I have no idea why we got rid of Dominic Moore.

Grade: Still pending but if it says the way it is right now I would have to give it an F.

[83-Steelers-43]

Penguins make two more trades
Tuesday, February 27, 2007

By Dave Molinari, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Penguins were wrapping up two relatively minor deals as the NHL's trade deadline approached.

They were planning to send a fourth-round draft choice to Florida for defenseman Joel Kwiatkowski and a seventh-rounder to San Jose for minor-league goalie Nolan Schaefer.

Kwiatkowski, who is 29 and 6-foot, 202 pounds, has five goals and five assists in 41 games with the Panthers, and is expected to join the Penguins after the deal is finalized.

Schaefer, a 27-year-old who is 6 foot 2, 195 pounds, was 5-1 in seven appearances with the Sharks last season, but has not played in the NHL in 2006-07. He is expected to join the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre.

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/07058/765373-61.stm

[Killer]

Laraque leaves Coyotes for Pens

Some in the hockey world were calling for the Pittsburgh Penguins to acquire an enforcer to help "protect" star Sidney Crosby.

Wish granted.

Phoenix's Georges Laraque waived his no-trade clause to facilitate a trade to the Penguins for forward Daniel Carcillo and a future draft pick.

"Teams know that to beat the Penguins, you have to hit Sidney Crosby, hit Evgeni Malkin, hit Jordan Staal,'' Laraque told Canada's TSN sports channel. "I'm up for the challenge to [protect them]. I'm real excited. ... I know I'm going to be a lot busier and have more responsibility. They have more than one guy to target."

The 30-year-old Laraque is signed for $1.3 million for next season, and he would have to waive his no-trade clause again for Pittsburgh to trade him.

"I'm excited to go help the Penguins," Laraque said of a much-improved team that is contending for the first time in six seasons and recently gained points in 16 consecutive games, going 14-0-2.

With two new forwards arriving, the Penguins freed up ice time for them by dealing forward Dominic Moore to the Minnesota Wild for a third-round draft pick.

Crosby, on the verge of his second 100-point season in the NHL, has been increasingly singled out for physical attention. Islanders forward Jason Blake closed out a game by spearing an unsuspecting Crosby in the stomach and Montreal's Maxim Lapierre drilled him the stomach immediately after an opening faceoff.

Laraque is best known for fighting and drawing penalties -- he has 878 penalty minutes in 546 games _ but can also score an occasional goal. He has five goals and 17 assists in 56 games this season.

The gritty Laraque has 878 penalty minutes in 546 games over nine NHL seasons.

http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2781438

[83-Steelers-43]

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Penguins Georges Laraque:

Colton Orr vs Georges Laraque on Thursday night? That would be interesting.

[SteelCityMan786]

Originally Posted by 83-Steelers-43

Welcome to the Pittsburgh Penguins Georges Laraque:

Colton Orr vs Georges Laraque on Thursday night? That would be interesting.

that's for sure. Definantly interesting.

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My feelings on today's trades?



That is all.