The Penguins pulled off the blockbuster deal of Deadline Day with their acquisition of Marian Hossa, the talented Slovak winger who came at a high price, not so much in current payroll ($7 million), but in terms of bodies sacrificed and risk assumed.
"Yes, it's a risk, no doubt about that," said Pittsburgh general manager Ray Shero, who is less than two years on the job as the Penguins' makeover artist. "But, you know, there's a risk in making a deal of that magnitude, but there's risk if you do nothing, too."
Just over 48 hours later, with the Penguins on Causeway Street to face the Bruins, there was the realization of an unexpected risk - Hossa felled in a collision with Glen Murray. Hossa wrenched his right knee and will be out about a week, perhaps longer, which will make things even more of a challenge for the Penguins, already without star center Sidney Crosby (high ankle sprain).
"We want to be long-term contenders," said Shero, underscoring his comfort level in making the move for Hossa, which meant yielding two roster players (Erik Christensen and Colby Armstrong), top prospect Angelo Esposito, and a first-round draft pick. "With some of the kids we have, we believe we are well-positioned for the next 5-10 years."
To that end, said Shero, the Penguins have Crosby, one of the game's elite talents, under contract for five more years. Fellow star Evgeni Malkin, only 20 years old, has an entry-level deal that expires after next season, but he won't reach the unrestricted free agency threshold until he's 27. Having other top young performers, such as Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, and Ryan Whitney, as well as some promising draft picks, deepened Shero's belief that dealing for Hossa was a risk the organization could assume.
Hossa remains signed only through this season, and when Shero cut the deal, there was no guarantee that the ex-Thrasher would re-up with Pittsburgh. He remains free to walk as of July 1, with the Penguins not offered so much as the right to match.
"A consideration, for sure," noted Shero. "And you always get that question, whether it's about this player or, say, [Brian] Campbell [dealt from Buffalo to San Jose at the deadline].
"But this wasn't a situation where I had an opportunity to talk about what happens after this year. The whole thing came together in the last half-hour [prior to Tuesday's 3 p.m. deadline]."
Look for Hossa to go to market July 1, and it's a sure bet the Bruins, who stayed engaged in the Hossa trade talks for a few weeks, will take a stab at reuniting him with close pal Zdeno Chara. It would be no surprise, in fact, if Hossa were to give the Bruins first dibs. With upward of $39 million already committed in next season's payroll, and the cap estimated to be around $53 million, Hossa's salary could be all but impossible to assume, unless old friend "Z," with three more years to go at $7.5 million, can convince him that the Hub of Hossa is the place to be and he accepts something in the $6 million-a-year range. Not likely.
Meanwhile, the Penguins have Hossa to hold at least until the end of their playoff run, which could last through early June. They gave up a lot of assets to work within that tight a range.
According to Pittsburgh insiders, Christensen wanted out because the Penguins are deep in the middle, and he projects as a No. 2 pivot. Esposito, also a No. 1 or 2 center, was shifted to wing with his junior club (perhaps explaining his subpar numbers). Armstrong is a decent player, and Crosby's best friend, and it could be that latter point that makes him the most profound of the losses. The first-round pick, the ultimate sweetener in big swaps, for now remains somewhere between a superstar and a forgotten part. In other words, pot luck.
It's a good bet Hossa won't rush back to the lineup, not with a mega-payday in July potentially hinging on his ability to pass a physical. If he's out 10 days, he'll be able to suit up for the Penguins' final dozen regular-season games, followed by the playoffs.
"I had a sense that it was more than one other team in it right to the end," said Shero, asked if he felt Boston was the only other serious bidder down the stretch. "And in the end, I had to be satisfied that we were prepared to give up what we gave up - and I can live with that. It's the price of doing business. We were in a position to do it. We'll be fine."
Not that Shero professes to have made the deal without some measure of anxiety. He trained for years under David Poile, the Nashville GM who last year pulled off a similar swap for Peter Forsberg. The Predators were rubbed out by San Jose in only five postseason games.
"David said to me that when you make a deal of this magnitude, your hands are shaking," said Shero. "And having been through it now, I'd say that's probably correct. I know we're a better team because of it, but I also know the game's not played on paper."
Cup of coffee was enough
Dan Lacouture returned to Centerville early last month, his stay in Switzerland (Lugano) abbreviated by a torn shoulder labrum that he had repaired at Newton-Wellesley Hospital Feb. 7. The 30-year-old former Bruin begins rehab tomorrow, and has designs on finding an NHL job for 2008-09.On the whole, Europe just wasn't his thing.
"I love to wake up in the morning and go to Dunkin' Donuts," said Lacouture, who began this season in Anaheim's training camp, and ultimately gained his release to sign overseas. "My heart and mind weren't totally into it over there, and when I got hurt, that was enough.
"I've got buddies who say to me, 'Oh, what a great experience to be in Europe.' And I just say, 'Yeah, good, you can do it.' I'm a Boston guy."
Fellow ex-Bruin Anson Carter was a teammate in Lugano.
"He hasn't played a lot - a foot injury, I guess," said Lacouture. "But I know he likes it over there. He and his wife have a little girl now, and when you play in Europe, you're home every night. He loves being a homebody."
Landon "Of the Lost" Wilson, another ex-Bruin, is also back with Lugano this year, overall his third season in Switzerland.
"He's been hurt a little, too," said Lacouture. "I'll tell you, Landon, he's been injury-prone, but when he plays, he scores - he scores at will."
One skater had an unmatched flair for originality
Martin Lapointe, one of the many failed moves in a Boston rebuilding process now 15 years along, was dealt from Chicago to Ottawa at the trading deadline.Originally a Red Wing, the 34-year-old Lapointe for the first time is not employed by an Original Six team. Following Detroit, he signed with Boston as a free agent in 2001, then moved to the Blackhawks as a UFA in August '05.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Vic Lynn, who played here in the early '50s, is the only NHLer ever to wear the sweater of all Original Six clubs.
Lynn, a left wing/defenseman, opened his NHL career with one game for the Rangers in 1942-43, then played with Detroit in 1943-44 and Montreal in 1945-46. He then found steady work with Toronto, winning three Cups ('47, '48, and '49) in four years, and finished with the Bruins and Black Hawks. He played his last 11 games with Chicago in 1953-54.
Five other players have suited up for five of the Original Six, and among active NHLers, three guys have suited up for four:
Etc.
Drawing comparisonsLittle-known stat among the Thorntonologists out there: Bruin winger Shawn Thornton, with three strikes over nine games, has scored more goals lately than San Jose's Joe Thornton, who had only a pair of goals in his last 18 games entering last night. Jumbo Joe, still among the league's most successful peripheral players, went minus-7 over those 18 games, and he had failed to win 40 percent of his faceoffs in five of the last seven games. Worst of the bunch: a Feb. 20 game in New Jersey, when Thornton won only 4 of 14 draws (29 percent). His old nemesis, John Madden, gobbled up 10 of 15 (67 percent).
He has things well in hand
Ex-Bruin Sergei Samsonov has "really found some confidence" in Carolina, reports agent Neil Abbott, and contrary to persistent rumors the last few years, is not experiencing lingering hand or wrist issues related to surgery he had here in the Hub of Hockey. "The surgery came before he was traded," noted Abbott, "and remember, he had that great playoff run with the Oilers [4 goals, 15 points in 24 games] after he was dealt. No, hands and wrists are fine." Entering last night's game, Samsonov had 9 goals and 22 points in 46 games.
The truth hurts
Shoot the Messenger 101: Wild GM Doug Risebrough used fan ire over his acquisition last week of Chris Simon as the means to chastise the local media for not properly informing the public about the big guy's soft side, or the fact that Simon has three young children, or that Simon's ugly cheap shots really haven't ever hurt anyone. Ouchamagoucha, Doug. Let us not forget that Simon, now suspended eight times, was tagged with 30 games for using a skate blade to chop at a leg of the fallen Jarkko Ruutu (no angel he, by the way). Simon also served 25 games last season for slashing Ranger forward Ryan Hollweg across the head. Really, the media's fault for passing along only half the story? Simon has proven to have serious, serious control issues, which had Islander fans booing him during his first game back at Uniondale days before the trade deadline. Wild fans are entitled to their dismay, and their voice. As we've asked of Simon many times, we now ask of Risebrough: What were you thinking?
Up in arms over this prospect
Waving his arms like a petulant kid on the ice has earned St. Louis prospect David Perron a stay in the press box, even while the Blues are starved for goals. "David's like a young colt that's frisky, running around," team president John Davidson noted to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. "He's got to learn some structure." Teammates who muff his relays get the immature Perron's arms flailing. "You're going to go like that to Keith Tkachuk?" said coach Andy Murray. "You've got to be careful." Perron had sat out four of six games entering last night, and the Blues had lost five in a row. "He's a great kid," said Davidson, "but he's got to learn." Perron, 19, was chosen 26th overall in last June's draft.
A Star is born
Only 48 hours after being dealt to the Stars, ex-Lightning Brad Richards collected a career-high five assists (tying a Dallas record) in a 7-4 thumping of the Blackhawks Thursday. Both Chicago and Columbus made bids for the $7.8 million-a-year Richards, whose presence allows the Stars to roll four lines much the way the Sabres did last season. Richards, on a line with Niklas Hagman (first career hat trick Thursday) and Antti Miettinen, leaves Mike Modano the No. 3 (read: checking) center, with Steve Ott and Jere Lehtinen. The win over the Hawks was the 13th for Dallas in 15 games.
Loose pucks
The Hawks figure Martin Havlat, his left shoulder banged up again, is likely done for the season. If so, he will have played only 91 regular-season games (of a possible 164) in two years with Chicago . . . Christopher Bourque, son of Bruins icon Ray Bourque, was called up again by the Capitals for a game last week (0-0 -0 in 9:48), but he was returned to Hershey (AHL) Thursday morning . . . Brandon Bochenski, who bulked himself up and out of the Boston lineup (dished to Anaheim for Shane Hnidy), got dumped again last week. He'll try to resurface with Nashville, the fifth franchise to own his rights . . . According to a report out of British Columbia, ex-NHL center Len Barrie could put in $20 million or more for a piece of the Lightning, joining hands with lead investor Oren Koules (part of Hollywood's Slash Pack). Barrie made his dough off the ice, as owner-operator of the Bear Mountain Golf and Country Club near Victoria, B.C. "It would be a fun thing to do," Barrie told the Victoria Times Colonist, "as long as the team wins." . . . Among the things I would do if I were Boston's general manager: 1) extend goalie Tim Thomas's contract by one year, through 2009-10; 2) ink Glen Metropolit to a two-year extension. Both have proven vital to the club's success, and both come at bargain prices . . . The Sharks tried mightily to deal Patrick Marleau, but found no takers for a guy who, despite great wheels, can't seem to get out of his own way - not to mention that he's on a deal that pays him $6.3 million for each of the next two seasons . . . Worcester and Springfield squared off in an AHL tilt in Worcester last week, and the clubs were hit with matching too-many-men-on-the-ice infractions in the first period. "I've never seen that," said Sharks scout Cap Raeder. "Goes to show, if you watch long enough, you'll see everything." Sardonic scribe Fluto Shinzawa, informed of the oddity, offered, "Wow. Lewie [ex-Boston coach Dave Lewis] must have been handling both benches."
Kevin Paul Dupont can be reached at dupont@globe.com; material from personal interviews, wire services, other beat writers, and league and team sources was used in this report.
