An Open Letter To Evgeni Malkin

Dear Geno,

You freaking rule.

It's not that I didn't already know that. After all, you're a scoring machine, and you have the skills of a master. Over the past year, you have done so many things that have made me (and other Pens fans, no doubt) stand back and say, "WOW!" But it is what you do off the ice that prompted me to write this. I could fill up the Blogger servers with page after page of reasons why I think you're a great hockey player, but I want to address a few reasons why I think you're a great human being.

For starters, there was that contract renewal this past summer. You, like your team's captain, chose to sign a long term deal with a team whose players are a fantastic group of guys and whose loyal followers absolutely adore you rather than shop around looking for the big time money you undoubtedly could have commanded. The fact that your contract is equal to Sid's contract was a clear sign of your mutual respect for one another. That's very admirable in a world where most athletes' egos are bigger than their over-inflated paychecks.


Then watching you at the skills competition at the All Star Games yesterday opened my eyes to what kind of person you truly are. The look on your face when you realized you were the winner of the accuracy was priceless. In the interview you gave afterwards, you were so humble - genuinely humble - much more so than I would have ever expected. It was very endearing. :) As underappreciated as you are outside of the Pens' fan base, it would have been understandable if you had used the moment to sell yourself a bit, but instead you attributed your win to luck. (Just so you know - anyone who has ever seen you play in even one game knows that it was something more than luck that propelled you to that win!)

Most telling is how well you got on with Alexander Ovechkin. You, sir, are a much bigger person than I! After all that has happened between the two of you on the ice, you were able to set it all aside and not just work with the guy for the sake of appearance, but actually be friendly towards and have real fun with him. It's clear that you don't take any of that stuff personally, nor do you hold any kind of grudge (which also would be more than understandable if you did). At the risk of sounding cheesy, that is something from which I can take inspiration to try to make myself a little better person. I know the "in" thing for athletes to say is, "I'm not a role model!" but that's just not true. Being a role model goes with the territory, and you are a good one, Geno, and it seems like you're a good one without even really trying to be.

Anyways, I just wanted to mention it and say thanks for all you do. Good luck tonight, Geno. Not that you'll need it. ;)

How Can You Not Love This Guy???

With thanks going out to Friends of The Show Ali and Julia for hooking us up with the link, here is Geno Malkin's first English FSN Pittsburgh commercial:



I just want to take a second and offer my sincerest thanks to all of you for your support over the past week. The service was awful but in a twisted way, it was also beautiful. There was actually some laughter through the tears as the speakers related some silly stories about what nicknames he had, how he was somehow always Mr. Fix-it, and how his then-future-father-in-law didn't like him at first because the first time they met Fred told him he was going to marry his daughter. He was loved and it showed. I will return to The Show full-time tomorrow with a recap of the game, and over the weekend I'm going to go through the backlog (including SO MANY Roaming Penguins pics!) in my inbox and hopefully get it all posted.

Thank you all so much for your kind words and your patience. :)

PROOF!!!

This came to me a few minutes ago courtesy of Friend of The Show Sooska:

I took a screen shot from the HERE a few minutes ago and photoshopped it only to draw a line and circle and add the text. The rest of the image is unchanged. Go to the site and see for yourselves. On Geno's page the menu is in the lower left. The file of the screen shot is attached. Please note it says GENO- not Gino. Nike says it is Geno, therefore God Gary says it is Geno.

(CLICK TO ENLARGE)

I think we can safely put this controversy to rest and concentrate on the rumors of his trade. Pensgirl told me last night she had been alerted to a rumor that our boy Geno had already signed with a team from Tokyo for all-you-can-eat-sushi. This rumor has credence since we all know for a fact, as he stated it openly on Inside Penguins Hockey, that his favorite place to eat in Pittsburgh is Umi in Shadyside.

That's very difficult to argue against! Looks like it's CASE CLOSED for good on the Geno v Gino issue! :) And speaking of Geno's alleged possible relocation, it turns out that Ray Shero was actually listening to some of the offers being sent his way, though he ultimately didn't accept any of them. Check out this article that details what Geno's agent has to say about the coveted star's future:

Sidney Crosby cracked the door open last July.

Evgeni Malkin wants to rip it from its hinges next month to allow teammates - specifically impending unrestricted free agent Marian Hossa - a clear path toward long-term futures with the Penguins.


Malkin's agent, JP Barry, said Friday his client would follow the precedent set by Crosby last summer and sign a long-term extension at less than his presumed market value to provide the Penguins salary cap space necessary to remain a Stanley Cup contender.

I believe the words you're looking for are "BOO" and "YAH." But, as they say, you've got to take the good with the bad: Unfortunately, talks with Marian Hossa have broken down. He has decided to decline the Pens' offer for a longterm deal in favor of trying his luck in free agency. (>_<) Evidently, "[Ray] Shero said he is 'not optimistic and not pessimistic' about keeping Hossa." Okaaaaaay...

Sid will definitely still need a winger if Hossa leaves, but I'm so glad Geno wants to stay!!! This photo of Geno comes courtesy of good Friend of The Show Teka of Talk Hockey To Me. She took the photo in Philadelphia when the Pens met the Flyers on 11-10-07.

Oh, and in HOLY SCHMIDT news, the Philadelphia Flyers traded Pittsburgh native Penguin killer R.J. Umberger to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Here are the details of that trade:

The Flyers received the Blue Jackets first round pick (19th overall) and third round pick (67th overall). The Blue Jackets also received the Flyers' fourth round pick (119th overall) in the deal.

Umberger, a graduate of Plum High School, was a restricted free agent that the Flyers were having difficulty re-signing because of the salary cap. The Blue Jackets will now have exclusive negotiating rights with Umberger until July 1, when other teams can make a contract offer that the Blue Jackets would have to match or risk losing him.

Umberger and the Saint play in Philadelphia on 01-13-07.

Umberger ...was a restricted free agent that the Flyers were having difficulty re-signing because of the salary cap.

Hmmm, do you think that had anything to do with the fact that the Flyers had no money to spare after shelling out $10 million to Danny Briere?

Finally, in draft news, the Pens picked up right wing Nathan Moon, and goaltenders Alexander Pechurski and Patrick Killeen in the 4^th, 5^th, and 6^th rounds, respectively. Don't forget to keep working on our TSCS Summer Project! I've already gotten some really good ones. :)

Big thanks go out to Friends Sooska (for sending in the PROOF! screenshot) and Teka (for the shot of Geno).

Geno's Not Going To Russia

Poor Geno. Everyone in the media seems ready to put him on the next train and ship him out of Pittsburgh. This morning, I was greeted by emails with links to this article from Sportsnet.ca:

Russia's Continental Hockey League is hoping to make Pittsburgh Penguins star Evgeni Malkin the world's highest-paid hockey player to the tune of $15 million per season according to a Toronto newspaper.

That's a lot of freaking cash!!!

According to the Toronto Star, several teams in Russia's revamped hockey league are prepared to offer Malkin a multi-year deal worth $12.5 million a season. The offer would be equivalent to at least a $15 million per year in the NHL, where players have to pay state (or provincial) and federal taxes.

$15 million a year?!! I don't think any one of us would have blamed him if he'd chosen to go after that kind of cash. But there's one problem: The IIHL has just released a statement saying, in short, that the offer was NOT made to Geno and this story is just B.S. (from the Pens' website):

Although the International Ice Hockey Federation does not usually issue statements following unsubstantiated media reports, the IIHF finds it principally important to address the newspaper story (Toronto Star, June 20) that reports about the Russian league allegedly preparing an offer to Pittsburgh Penguin player Evgeni Malkin, who is under contract with the NHL-club.

Geno scores in Russia. Imagine actually seeing this in person. AMAZING!

...we are confident that the report is not substantiated.

There you have it. No matter what anyone in the media says, I continue to believe that Geno won't be going anywhere. If - I said IF, people! - a trade was in Geno's future, I can't possibly imagine a good enough reason why Ray Shero would do it this summer. I find it extraordinarily difficult to believe that Shero would give up one of the best players in the world while he still costs under $1 million per year.

Where you goin'? Nowhere!

I'm not trying to poke any bears here, but I would think if Shero was looking for a way to save some room in the salary cap by unloading a center, he might want to look at trading Jordan Staal. (See? This is why I'm glad I'm not Mr. Shero!) Don't get me wrong - I like Staal well enough and he's a freaking beast on the penalty kill, but if money is going to be an issue, I'd MUCH rather part with the Gronk than Geno. Staal is good - good enough to demand millions. But Geno is elite. Without Geno and Ty Conklin, the Pens wouldn't have had a snowball's chance at even getting into the playoffs. And up until the Stanley Cup Finals, Geno along with the dynamic duo of Sid and Marian Hossa were the team's offensive one-two punch. If I was Shero, I'd be doing everything in my power to keep both Hossa and Malkin right now. And my bet is that he's doing just that.

I took this at the 04-02-08 Pens v Flyers game.

Now to lighten the mood a bit, our main man finds himself in TWO top 10 lists today! :) He came in at number 6 in the Wall Street Journal's Top 10 Athletes of 2008. (Noticeably absent - one hockey-hating golfer named Tiger.) The Saint earned the top spot in AskMen.com's Top 10: Athletes Under 21. Another great thing about the AskMen list: three spots are occupied by NHL'ers! :)

He tops our list!

Thanks go out to Friends of The Show Aisha V. and Vanny V. for the Sportsnet link, Daily Su for the Pens' website link, and to commenter Alyssa for the WSJ link.

Did Shero Offer Geno to the Kings?

Have you heard this one yet? From The Ottawa Sun:

The Penguins are trying to make a blockbuster move before tomorrow night's NHL draft at Scotiabank Place.

League sources say Pittsburgh GM Ray Shero offered all-star centre Evgeni Malkin to the Kings for the No. 2 overall pick in the draft and a player, possibly centre Mike Cammalleri.


While many NHL executives refused to believe the Penguins would trade the 21-year-old Malkin because he has one year left on his entry-level contract at a bargain $984,000 (all terms US), the indications are that Shero wants to sign winger Marian Hossa before he becomes an unrestricted free agent -- a deal that could cost Pittsburgh upward of $8 million a year.

If the Penguins retained Hossa, signing Malkin next year could be dicey because of salary cap considerations.

[devil's advocate] As unpleasant as this move would be, it would also have its benefits. Releasing Geno now for a top draft pick would give the Pens an opportunity to get another highly skilled and low cost player to save some room in the salary cap. That would free up a significant amount of cash over the next few years that could be used in salaries for guys like Hossa and Marc-Andre Fleury.


The extra cash would also increase the possibilities of retaining Ryan Malone, Brooks Orpik, Jarrko Ruutu, Georges Laraque, and Mark Eaton. (It should be mentioned that, because he seems to be injury prone, we might be able to keep Eaton - who is one helluva defenseman when he's healthy - for a discounted price anyways.) Don't forget that Jordan Staal's entry level contract is up soon, too, and my guess is that he'll be asking his bosses for a substantial raise.

The benefits of keeping Geno are more than obvious, but I can see some benefits to letting him go, too. And I don't see how the Pens have much of a chance at another Stanley Cup run in the immediate future without key players like Bugsy and Orpik. And it's not as if Geno is our franchise player. Add to that the fact that we'd be getting the #2 draft pick this year, and it seems like the deal would actually make some sense. [/devil's advocate]


The part that has me puzzled, though, is that all this comes only days after Geno released a statement he'd be willing to give Shero a rather significant hometown discount (recall that he said he didn't need to exceed or even meet Sid's $8.7 million, 5 year deal). This is why I just find this particular rumor very difficult to believe. I'm not the only one wondering about that - Puck Daddy Greg Wyshynski is confused by the timing of this one, as well:

Perhaps Shero is infatuated with flipping his Russian star for the next Scott Niedermayer or the next Pavel Bure, and saving major coin in the process. Maybe he knows something we don't about Malkin.


But on the surface -- and with the very important [author of the article Bruce] Garrioch grain of salt -- hearing Evgeni Malkin being shopped weeks after declaring he'd give the Penguins a Crosby discount is absolutely stunning if true.

I don't think "stunning" is quite a strong enough word. Just remember - this is still purely rumor and speculation. But even so, I'm curious as to what you all think: If you were forced to make a choice, who would you rather see come back in a Pens sweater next season, Geno or Bugsy & Orpik? Why? (I know - it's like Sophie's Choice for Pens fans.)


Thanks to longtime Friends of The Show Mike @ Japan and Allison Y. for the links! :)

'Cause There Ain't No Cure For The Summertime Blues

Today seemed like a good day to dig into some of the stuff I've been holding and/or didn't have a chance to get to during the playoffs. But first (I PROMISE this is the very last time I'm going to bring this up) I have to reopen "The Great Malkin Debate." Now we've got two items that suggest we need to go back to GENO over GINO. First, Pengylady sent me this:

For what it’s worth . . . . After he scored the goal last night – the arena Jumbotron was flashing GENO. And I don’t think that article from the official site was by Penguins staff – it had an NHL.com byline.

Now I've seen "GENO!!!" flash on that Jumbotron with my own eyes (several times!), and yet I have no idea why it never occurred to me to refer to that when we were trying to determine how to spell Malkin's nickname.


Then, Pensgirl sent me this:

Not to drag out the Geno/Gino debate, but I happened to look over at my computer just now and the attached file was going by on my screen saver. It's one of the 'comic book' wallpapers the Pens put up on their official website. Talk about muddying the waters - if the Pens themselves are the best source, we now have both spellings coming from them!

This is the wallpaper she was referring to:

Click it to enlarge it.

This is another thing - I have this cycling through my Webshots so I've seen it probably hundreds of times, yet it never occurred to me to refer to it, either. GEEZ!! Anyways, since "GENO" is how the actual Pens staff is spelling it (and since "GENO" is preferred by the majority of you), it will remain GENO on TSCS unless and until I actually see Malkin himself writing it differently. CASE CLOSED, haha! ;)

Aisha V. sent me this hilarious video of Mad Max Talbot and Big Georges Laraque talking about Game 3.

Lexie101 was at the Mellon when BGL and Mad Max were taping that interview:

Max was nice enough to stop and give her an autograph and take a picture with her.

Stephanie S. sent in pictures of herself with her beloved Dallas Stars' goaltender Marty Turco as well as one of her standing beside hockey's Holy Grail:

Haha, Marty's kind of skinny. I wonder if he's got stems like our Flower! :P

Christine sent me an article that eased my mind a bit. Evidently Marian Hossa wants silver more than salary:

"If I wanted to make a couple more dollars, I would probably just re-sign with Atlanta," said Hossa. "...There's always a limit, but I'd rather take a little less and play on a good team, definitely."


...captain Sidney Crosby made it clear that he does not want to enter next season the way he did this one -- without a high-scoring winger to make best use of his talent as a set-up man.

Crosby, whose five-year, $43.5-million extension begins this fall, said yesterday that he is willing to drop his tag as the team's highest-paid player in order to keep his right-hand man in Hossa. [snoop: Another reason Sid is the Saint...]

"I want to play with him," Crosby said. "He's a great player. I hope it works out that he's able to stay. He's a great person. He works hard. I enjoy playing with him. As we played together more and got used to each other, things started to happen, and it was a lot of fun out there. It would be a lot of fun to keep playing with someone like that. I hope it works out."


...[Hossa said,] "Sid is an incredible player and even better person. But there's lot of players to be signed. We'll see what's going to happen. I'm sure Ray's going to do everything he can to keep everybody together."

That is freaking awesome. Of all the players set to become UFAs this summer, I hope Ray Shero can find a way to keep Hossa, Ryan Malone, and Brooks Orpik. They are my top 3. If Shero can pull out the magic pixie dust and keep them all, well, that would be FANTASTIC! But realistically, we should be preparing ourselves to say goodbye to a few of them... Leave your top 3 UFA "keepers" in the comments section below.

Finally, this one is for our Red Wings loving Friends. Our Friend Daily Su keeps a blog over at NHL Connect where she writes under the name MotleySu. Here's an interesting story she found:

WDIV sports babe in hot water! WDIV sports reporter Katrina Hancock is embroiled in controversy among Detroit sports fans.

Hancock followed the Red Wings to Pittsburgh to cover game six of the Stanley Cup finals. While there, she allowed herself to be interviewed by a KDKA reporter. He stated that she was the only reporter from Detroit willing to admit that Penguins fans are better than Detroit fans. She then admitted to that on camera.

Dissing your viewers is not exactly a smart thing to do...

The KDKA reporter followed her remarks by saying he had to promise Hancock the interview would never run in Detroit (I guess he never heard of the internet).

Internet bulletin boards and sports talk radio shows have exploded with fans calling for her head.

Interesting...

Seriously, even if she only has limited knowledge of modern technology, how could Hancock think that no one from Detroit would find out about this?! Haha, I can't wait to hear her mea culpa. :P

OH!!! One last thing before I let you go - I know most of the regulars here have already checked out RaleighSkyline.com (aka: the site with the stunning pictures of the Stanley Cup). BUT YOU HAVE TO CHECK IT OUT AGAIN!!! At some point between when I first linked it and now, Matt Robinson added an absolutely unreal closeup photo of the Penguins' spot(s) on the Stanley Cup. It's amazing.

Many thanks to Friends of The Show Pengylady, Pensgirl, Aisha, Lexie101, Stephanie, Christine, and Daily Su for the assistance with today's post!!! :) :) :) :) :) :) :)

Looks Like We've Got Ourselves A Cowboy

After more than 24 hours, I'm still bowled over by Petr Sykora's stunning announcement to Pierre McGuire that it would be he that scored the game winning goal - and then actually doing it. Here's what Syko said about his prophecy (from the Pens' website):

Sykora's teammates said he told them he was going to end the game.

"And about the shot, just between the periods, something stupid I said, just 'Guys, I'm just going to get one. So just don't worry about the game. I'm going to get a goal,'" Sykora said. "And luckily, I got a great pass from 'Gino.' I missed it one time before, probably by 20 feet. And it was kind of a lucky play. It hit the ref and went behind the net and 'Gino' got it, made a beautiful pass. I tried to put it upstairs, and the puck went in."


"Gino," the struggling Evgeni Malkin, was desperately looking for something to go right in this series, and got his wish, making the pass out from behind the Detroit net to Sykora as he skated into the right circle. Sykora's rising shot went over the glove of Chris Osgood to send the Penguins to not only an improbable victory, but another home game, Wednesday night at Mellon Arena.

Oh, and did you notice how author Phil Coffey spelled Malkin's nickname? Since this article is from the Pens' website, that's almost as good as getting him to write it himself, so GINO it is from now on.

Friend of The Show Bobby T. sent in this picture he took yesterday. Now, I'm no psychic, but do you think the hockey gods might be sending us a sign? Take a look at the street name, then follow the One Way arrow to the sign in the background:

(Click to enlarge)

Regardless of what happens tonight, this is the last home game until autumn. If you're going to be there, MAKE IT COUNT. I don't want to be able to hear Doc and Edzo all night!!!

DO IT.

GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

GINO v GENO

I know this issue I'm about to present is trivial, but I can't help it - I'm antsy and therefore I'm probably overthinking it... (I guess this is what happens when there's still 20ish hours left until the biggest series of the postseason starts.)

I'm torn about how The Show should handle the "GINO" v "GENO" issue. I still think that logically it should be "GENO" because Evgeni is the Russian equivalent of Eugene. And just a few hours ago, I got another reason to support why it should be "GENO" (I'm posting it in its entirety in case you've missed it in the comments section):

Pensgirl said...

You know, just because his stick says "Gino" doesn't mean that's the correct spelling. You don't know who's responsible for putting the nickname there. I say that as a person whose real name is misspelled All. The. Freaking. Time.

So until the person who gave him the nickname (Colby, I think) states officially that it's spelled "Gino," I'm going to continue to assume it's "Geno."

Here's why.

Hmmm... I before E?

There was this Caps video I saw a few months ago (living in Baltimore I get the Caps' local broadcasts) where they asked the players to give out some underground hockey lingo. Each term was subtitled on the screen.

Turns out, there's a little-known slang term that means "goal."

It's geno.

Anyone else think that mighta been the real source of his nickname? I don't know why they wouldn't just say that, but it sure makes sense.
May 23, 2008 7:54:00 PM

As a victim of misspellings myself - Jodie (← correct), Jodi, and Jody, and don't EVEN get me started on the butchering of my last name - I know all too well that this scenario is a distinct possibility. Sooooo, I've decided to let it up to you. Vote for which spelling you think The Show should use. I'll check the results tomorrow before I begin the SCF Game 1 recap, and I'll use the spelling you guys pick. I know, I know - it's silly. Buy hey, what else are you going to do to pass the time until that puck drops???

And since it IS his Show, here's a picture of Sid from Friday's practice (click to enlarge for wallpaper size - the Malkin picture is huge, too):


GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Work = Insane

I'm sorry I didn't post yesterday - I've been trying to get things squared away at work so nothing interferes with my ability to savor watching the Pens go for the Cup next week. (Can you believe that we've only got one more day until this battle gets underway??)



A few quick things for you:

• The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a new round of cheer cards. (My personal favorite it the "Octowuss" one...)
• Empty Netters wonders if a 2008 Stanley Cup win would lessen the glory of the Pens' prior wins.
• WWGRD? Celebrate his 42^nd birthday today! (← Wouldn't that be the sweetest present EVER?!)
  
• The Mellon Arena will be open for Games 1 & 2. Tickets cost $5.00 and all proceeds will benefit the Mario Lemieux Foundation.

This is the cover of a special section in the Post-Gazette.

On May 8, 2008, I received the following email from Good Friend of The Show Eighty-Two:

I noticed Malkin's sticks have GINO on the label (during Game 5 telecast). Do we have official word on whether he's GENO or GINO?

I sent him this response:

Are you serious about GINO?! Uh oh. All of Pittsburgh is in trouble then, hahahahaha! I think we all assumed it was GENO because Evgeni is Russian for Eugene... I think all of us (from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette to the fans) spell it that way. Think of how confused the poor guy is trying to learn English anyways - now we're all spelling his name wrong!!! LOL

I must go hunting for a photo of this stick... If you find one, send it to me.

After a bit of searching, neither of us could find a picture of Evgeni's stick. Enter ThePensblog.com (well, Allison R. from Commentorblog). She obtained the photographic evidence:

OOOOOOHHHHHHH.

Um, whoops! From now on, Mr. Malkin will be identified on The Show by the correct spelling of Gino. Feel free to call me on it if I mess it up now and then. And I must say - big props to Eighty-Two for the good catch! :)

All of today's pictures (unless otherwise noted) came from yesterday's practice. This weekend, their quest resumes.



GO PENS!!!!!!!!!!!!!

"How's It Going, Baby?"

Check out this video of the Pens leaving the ice, um, "interacting" with the Flyers fans following Tuesday's win. BGL and RUUUUUUUUU have a little physical fun with the fans, while Friend of The Show Kate M. and I are pretty sure that Geno screams, "How's it going, baby?!" Sid, ever the mature one, is seen at the end of the clip ducking in with his head down:



Leave a comment and let us know what you think Geno said. :P BIG thanks to Kate for sending in the video!