An Admission

For as excited as I was about the possibility of a marquee player such as Paul Kariya coming to Pittsburgh to play alongside Sidney Crosby, here's an admission: As much as I liked the idea of Crosby having a legitimate top line playmate, I didn't think Kariya would necessarily have been a perfect addition for the Penguins.

Here is the thing about Kariya. The Penguins already have players who play a little like him. The Penguins already have artists. In fact, the Trifecta are basically pure artists. They are hockey players who compete and compete hard, but they are otherworldly skilled. While a team can never have enough skill, a team can have too much of the same kind of skill. (See why the '92 Pens traded Paul Coffey and Mark Recchi for toughness and grit in Rick Tocchet and Kjell Samuelsson, and yes, I'm aware Ken Wregget was involved in that deal as well.) For as wonderful as it would have been for Crosby to have a wing not named Malone or Recchi, idealistically, I would prefer another type of winger, in a different mold.

My admission: I wanted Brendan Shanahan to play with Crosby. Even at his advanced age, Shanny is still a power forward. Shanahan is a natural wing. And more importantly than that, Shanny brings a different skill set to the table than that of the skillful artistry of a player like Paul Kariya. Shanahan brings checks and banging and dirty rebound goals and a proven ability to play in the playoffs. Shanahan would bring the presence of a scoring winger in the power forward mold, and he would bring a different skillset sorely needed by a young Pens team led by the Trifecta and Ryan Whitney--wondrously skilled, but all, at this point of their careers, primarily artists. (Gretzky, Mario, and Bobby Orr are also all players I would classify as artists. I don't mean soft by the term "artists," but rather a specific style of skilled play.)

Now, of course, I already know how ridiculous, outlandish, etc, it is to hope for Shanahan to sign in Pittsburgh. Shanahan has already said he won't play for a team other than the Rangers. And even if Shanahan could be persuaded to change his mind (unlikely), he would cost money. And yet the idea of a cap hit for a year or two, well, when it comes to Brendan Shanahan, let me say that money spent would be a far better use of cap space than would have been a longer term deal with a player like Paul Kariya, who would only bring more of the same style of skillset the Pens already have in abundance.

Given that I know that Shanahan is unlikely to sign in Pittsburgh, well, I'd rather Ray Shero scour the free agent market for players in the mold of Shanahan--players who, perhaps playing with Crosby, could net 30 goals in a season. A "poor man's" power forward for today's game, so to speak. (Saying a "poor man's" Brendan Shanahan just should, frankly, never be uttered.)

And for fans distraught about losing out on Kariya--a part of me wonders if the Pens have an internal option in their most recent first round draft pick. While I highly doubt Esposito can stick next year, if we're talking about the style of skilled artists, Esposito fits that mold, and, on an entry-level contract, at a far cheaper price than Kariya. (Caveat: Please. I'm not saying an unproven junior player and a proven NHL commodity are equal; that's hardly the case. I am saying that the smaller size--for Kariya, height, for Esposito, weight--and speed--are just "traits" those two share at this particular juncture.) Still, expecting Esposito to play on Crosby's wing next season is way too much of an unrealistic stretch for me for next season, and even if Esposito might stick on the team, I still must conclude...

One of the hurdles the Pens must clear to jump from "young and promising" to "serious contender" is a legitimate goal scoring winger. As the Pens seek to develop or find, by trade or free agency, that goal scoring winger, they'd be advised to seek a player who is more of a bull than an artist. A goal-scoring bull, mind you. But we have have enough artists. Bring me a bull who will crash, bang, and put the puck in the net, and you know, perhaps, on the power play or on the first line, skate alongside two artists in a dizzying display of diverse and effective talent wielding its' power over the opposition.