PensBurgh: FanPosts

Feedback wanted on Pensburgh's new look

2009-11-03T19:07:45Z

Hey friends,

I was hoping maybe we could have a thread here for some feedback on the new look to the site. One of the cool parts about blogging on SBN is that the tech guys always have the reader in mind when doing these sorts of updates. The main focus of this one was to cut back on load time which, personally, I think is great. But sometimes for such an enhancement you have to sacrifice elsewhere with the way other things load and generally how they look.

Before I go listing my personal pros and cons, I was wondering what you guys had to say. What do you like? What do you hate? What would you like to see changed?

Keep in mind I plan on shooting this thread over to the tech guys as part of the general feedback, so if you don't like something speak up. A few changes have already been made because users on other sites made some suggestions right off the bat.

Poll

How do you feel about the new look?

Not if, but when

2009-11-03T03:31:53Z

OK folks, so a few weeks into the season there have been some great goals, great saves and great hits. There is nothing in the world like the game of hockey. the NFL is about 1/4 speed, basketball is actually a tall mans version of soccer, and baseball is at its core is about individual achievement (pitcher vs hitter). But the one thing that stands out is the rash of dirty, late, and just ill intentioned hits.

So what can the NHL do about it? Well in an article by SI.com's Darren Elliothe seems to point towards the NHLPA's unwillingness to bend on mandating shoulder pads and elbow pads no longer having the hard plastic end caps on them. Now for those of you folks who haven't played a competitive game, let me just let the cat out of the bag. ITS NOT THE BLASTED PLASTIC CAPS YOU DOLT!

Honestly my jaw hit the floor when i read this and thought to myself "what is this guy smoking because i want some too". But this article did serve a purpose, and i think that it was intended to get everyone thinking about what the NHL should do to prevent hits like

Now look, i have been and always will be a proponent of the "don't skate with your head down" mentality. but with that being said i think its safe to say something has to be done about the "grey area" that exists. It is just mind boggling to me that the NHL in all its wisdom (oxymoron kinda like military intelligence) established what a low hit is, established that going knee to knee is no good, but has as of yet established anything about head shots. Does anyone else find this fascinating? Seriously watching and listening to some of the explanations about why head shots aren't considered is amazing. "You should never skate with your head down". That mind set allows the hitter to do hist work with out any consideration of the consequences. "He had his head down, so i tried to separate it from his neck". Thats what you saw with the richards hit, it really doesnt matter if you look at it in slow mo, super slow mo, or doppler radar homer vision, at full speed he targeted his head. Same think with Panuef. meanwhile, Steve ott literally tried to seperate a guys legs from his hips.

Look, the bottom line is that all the other sports have measure to protect the players. No more helmet contact, no more horse collars, no more shots to the head, no more late hits on the qb. You plunk a guy in baseball, you better be read to get a fastball in the ear hole. So the question is not if, but when.....

When someone gets killed, will the nhl do something then? It nearly happened in the ohl. Lets stop beating around the bush here. You hit someone in the head, your suspended for 25 games. You board some one, 25 games, and if someone is injured because of your illegal hit, 35 games plus 1 game for each game that player misses. you end his career, you just ended yours.

problem solved

the truth about kunitz

2009-10-27T22:12:41Z

Ok folks, over the past few weeks I have seen something that I did not expect to see on this thread. The over the top kunitz bashing is getting a bit….passé. From my personal observations as well as statements from Bill Guerin and Sidney Crosby, Chris Kunitz is doing his jobs extremely well. "What job, he is supposed to score goals?!" you say, well lets really look at what his job is.

First and foremost Kunikazi is a battering ram with feet.

His job is to jar puck’s loose, play a sound defensive game, and grind the puck out of the corners. Those are his primary responsibilities. Simply being on the first line does not by any means demand that he be a 30g a year guy. It is obvious that some of you folks have never played a competitive game simply due to the whole "hes on the first line, he makes big money, he should be getting 40g+ and the end of the year" mindset. Guys it doesn’t work that way. Kunitz’s job in laymans terms in the offensive zone is to get the puck to sid, sid then set’s up bill, or scores on his own. Now would having Kunitz’s pot thirty to 40 this season help out the cause? Yes of course it would, however being 9 – 2 I wouldn’t be so worried about it. Let us not forget, it was kunitz who set the tone in virtually each and every playoff series last year. It was not the scoring of sid, geno, billy and max. That scoring was a byproduct of kunitz’s tenacity and wicked bad hitting game. Will he get on track, sure he will and quite frankly I would rather have hime start the season slow and come on strong late during the final playoff push and into the playoffs then have him start hot like he did last year and peter out in the playoffs.

how quickly we forget it was kunitz's hussle and tenacity that set-up the stanley cup clinching goal in game 7

Just some food for thought....also known as take a chill pill and relax.

Superstitions that "help" the Pens

2009-10-25T12:14:04Z

I've kinda wanted to do this anyway, but it seems more appropriate somehow after a loss. This is just to ask, do you have any superstitions that you adhere to in order to "help" the Penguins win? A lucky jersey, a certain place to sit, a phrase you say at a certain point in the game, a preferred drink? Also, when it doesn't work, do you go on using the same thing for luck, or do you try to switch things up?

Here are some of mine that I've had. This is not a comprehensive list--I am superstitious enough to make Sidney Crosby shake his head.

I eat something black and white before the game, even if I can't watch. I prefer a mini black and white cookie or vanilla ice cream with dark chocolate sauce. I have eaten Oreos in a pinch, but only if nothing else is available.
During the quarterfinals, I realized that I'd worn Ed Hardy's "Love Kills Slowly" perfume (yes, I know, it was a gift and it actually smells good on me) during the first two games when the Pens beat the Flyers. I wore no other perfume on game days during the rest of the playoffs. On a related note, I often wear Lucky You, but find that, ironically enough, it is not lucky for athletes that I like.
Also during the playoffs, I kept a desktop wallpaper showing Crosby scoring a goal up on my work computer. This was mostly to annoy Rangers fans, but since I didn't want to mess with success, it stayed up until the Pens won the Cup.

Your turn now!

PENS FANS WHO R GOING TO KINGS OR DUCKS GAMES

2009-10-23T20:58:51Z

penguins fans who live in L.A and Anaheim area if you want to get routy and combine our PENS PRIDE drop me a email games are NOVEMBER 3RD against DUCKS and NOVEMBER 4TH against KINGS . We plan to arrive early to tailgate for ducks games and maybe get lucky and see the penguins bus arrive. mustang_trouble@yahoo.com drop a email or contact me on myspace at myspace.com/lildvlfuentes LETTTTTTTTTTTSSSSS GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO PENSSSSS LETS GO

ALL PENS FANS WITH DIRECTV READ

2009-10-21T18:50:26Z

Yeah like most of you I have DirecTv.

Which since I live in Florida this of course means that I have NHL Center Ice. Since directv cant get their contracts together and the NHL decided to place there league in the hands of comcast, I dont have versus anymore. So I was starting to get pretty pissed off. I called direct and did everything I could to try and find the game. Well i'm here to let all of you know that there is indeed to watch every single Pens game on versus in the comfort of your own home. A friend called me last night and told me about it. It's called channelsurfing.net. Try it out I watched the entire Pens game even though it wasnt on my tv. You can watch everything from NBA preseason basketball to the KHL. It's free it doesnt require any sign up and most importantly WE CAN FINALLY SEE THE FREAKIN PENS. Not a hoax or scam i'm being serious it actually works.

Possible Islanders move can create a solution for the much maligned division alignment.

2009-10-15T21:33:43Z

Wang is in Mario's shoes, the council of Long Island has till now been very reluctant to approve (or even disapprove) the "Lighthouse Project" the ambitions plans for a new multifunctional stadium. He is now threatening with relocation, just like Mario was a couple of years ago. But what if they move? Depending on where they move to, this could solve some problems that the current divisions face. Especially in the west.

Some possible destinations that have been named multiple times this summer is Seattle or Portland: In the NW US in other words. A team there could go to the NW division, Minnesota then could join the central making their traveling schedule much lighter and also relieving the West-Canadien teams a bit. Then one of the only two teams in an eastern time zone in the western conference could move east. These two teams are Detroit and Columbus. An old agreement from the nineties would see detroit go east. The simplest solution would be to move detroit in the atlantic but that would create the division from hell. Another option is to move Buffalo into the Atlantic and Detroit into the NE. What are your preferences should a scenario like this happen. Detroit, Columbus or Buffalo instead of the Islanders?

Poll

Who would you rather see in the atlantic instead of the Islanders?

Detroit

15 votes

Columbus

60 votes

Buffalo

49 votes

124 votes | Poll has closed

What’s good for the goose…..

2009-10-10T02:29:44Z

Ok so now that I’m good and fired up its time to really touch this subject.

So some of us watched with a sense of disbelief, others just had the "there go the flyers again" mind set when Richards bulldozed flower and the melee ensued. Mike Tyson and Evander Holyfield were said to have made an appearance during this fracas in the forms of Chris Letang and Scott Hartnell. But this issue is bigger then the Flyers I think. This message sending issue is what the league has said they will "crack down" on. Good job there.

None of us are naive enough to believe that there hasn’t been times in seasons past, or won’t be times this season where the pens pull the same number. I think most of us hope not, but seriously there will be games where bad blood boils over and next thing you know you have the Hanson’s running around like goobers. Now the real problem isn’t that some fans support this with the mind set of "let’s make them pay for coming into town one way or the other". It’s the fact that there are still players on every roster that are on the roster for specifically this purpose. Why has the supposed "crack down" been ineffective, and why is it that blatant issues go with out suspension?

"If it bleeds it leads". That’s the philosophy that the NHL has taken in this mess as usual. The only time anything really happens disciplinary wise is when Ovechkin, Crosby, Malkin, or Datsyuk is injured. That’s why guys like Hartnell, Carcillo, Colton Orr, and so on are in high demand. More people come to the games to see the shenanigans then stay away from it. Remember when Todd Bertuzzi broke a guys neck when he decked him away from the play? That was a story for about 10 minutes. The NHL handed down their suspension and that was about it. Donald Brashear vs Marty McSorely, Tie Domi vs Ulf Samuelsson. The list goes on and on. So where is the straw that broke the camels back? Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying eliminate fighting, I am saying lets make things 100% clear, after the whistle any kind of shenanigans get you a 2 minute minor, second time in a game you get a game misconduct. You wont be able to eliminate fighting, but the fact is continuing on this path will only drive fans from the seat now.

The coaches have got to get a handle on their players. That has to be reinforced from the top down. But there are a lot of old school coaches out there that love to make each opposing team pay every time they play. Guys like Jim Schoenfield, The Mullet, and Mike Keenan are no longer with any organizations’ and I say good riddance, Hockey is fast, its fancy, its intended to showcase the great talents. Guys like Simon Gange, Richards, Crosby, Malkin, Staal, Alex Ovechkin , Pavel Datsyuk, Bobby Ryan, Tavares, Getzlaf. The game has passed the likes of Carcillo, Orr, and their comrades, its time we do too.

And now a poll.

Poll

do the extracirricular activities put more bodies in the seats, or drive them away?

Hell's Yeah i wanna see blood!!!!

15 votes

Nah its just stupid men doing stupid things...see david letterman

18 votes

While i love the game, I wont take my kids to one because of these retards!

2 votes

35 votes | Poll has closed

The Elephant In The Room

2009-10-09T23:37:35Z

So thus far the Penguins look pretty decent, going 3-1 in their first four games, seemingly picking up where they left off last year. The defense hasn't shown any huge breakdowns yet, and the penalty killing simply needs to mesh better. Crosby and Malkin's relatively slow starts surely are aberrations and it won't be long until they start challenging Ovechkin for league lead in points again. Yet there is something wrong, something obvious, something that everybody knows but nobody wants to address. The answer after the jump.

After it became clear that the Penguins were not going to resign Petr Sykora (likely a mistake, given that his decreased performance at the end of last season was due to an admitted shoulder injury rather than a perceived inability to fit into Bylsma's system), management was forced to determine how it would go about finding a scoring winger for Geno's line, especially once Talbot went down for the first few months of the season. The initial word was that perhaps this would give the club's prospects a chance to establish themselves and get some experience in the NHL, à la Letang, Kennedy, and Goligoski. Then, the more sober projections emerged, in which Pascal Dupuis would be the candidate to plug the line in Talbot's absence. Then, at the beginning of training camp, we began to hear how wonderfully Kennedy fit with Geno and Feds, but it soon became apparent that Bylsma was unwilling to break up a good thing with the extremely reliable third line. So we've been forced to make excuses for Dupuis looking bewildered on the second line, while Bylsma attempts to throw other wingers on the line whenever he can, even adapting Jordan Staal for the line and sacrificing one of the major elements which has made the Penguins one of the best teams in the league over the past couple years: their strength down the middle.

At every turn, everyone has made excuses and tried to fit a square peg into a round hole by breaking up one of the league's best third lines and trying to force offense by shuffling around the team's resources. This leaves us with Adams centering the third line, and Godard getting ice time. Not to mention, even when Talbot comes back, is he likely to score at the same pace he did in the playoffs?

What nobody seems prepared to acknowledge is that something must be done for Malkin's right wing. When the Penguins failed to resign Sykora (and the Wild picked him up for an extremely affordable price which the Pens could have managed if they had wanted to do so) I figured they had a backup plan. But after no free agents were signed, after it was decided that Kennedy would not stick on that wing, after all the prospects were sent to the minors, and now after Dupuis has proven to be overextending himself in the role he was given, it is becoming increasingly obvious that one cannot simply lose a 25+ goal scorer on Geno's wing and replace him with someone who has never broken 20 goals or who is inexperienced. Fedotenko is a good player but he won't be potting 25 anytime soon, so who does Geno have to work with? What of the days of Malone and Sykora? Does Shero have a plan? Because the roster right now is quite clearly missing a component. The forwards are spread too thin and the line combos keep having to be tweaked.

What do you think Shero should do?

Join or die

2009-10-07T01:58:06Z

Hey Pensburgh! If you missed out on the blog league, or you don't like the team you have and want to get another one, well, today's you're lucky day, maggot! I'm commisioning my own fantasy hockey league on the side, and you're invited. It's set up to imitate real-life rosters, as PIM, faceoff wins, and shooting % are all counting stats. Teams have 23-man rosters, with 20-man starting rosters (4 C, 2 LW, 2 RW, 4 W, 6 D, 2 G). There are two conferences, each with six teams - and if you were wondering, the conferences have their proper names: Prince of Wales and Clarence Campbell. I'm planning on making it a keeper league, as well. If you're interested, email me at wg1of5@yahoo.com. I'd like to have it started by the end of the week. Thanks!

Kings Ransom: What if Crosby demanded a trade.

2009-10-06T10:18:46Z

What if I demanded a trade?

Hello there.

I just finished watching the superb ESPN documentary "Kings Ransom" about the Wayne Gretzky trade to Los Angeles.

Watching it I realized that I had totally forgotten about the fact that Wayne Gretzky initially stated that he only wanted to play for two teams. Los Angeles or Detroit.

That made me wonder. What IF The Penguins were faced with cirumstances where they had to trade Sidney Crosby. Let's say he demanded a trade for whatever reasons. (I'm not saying that he ever will, I'm just speculating what if).

Edmonton traded Wayne Gretzky, Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski to Los Angeles for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989 (later traded to back to the New Jersey Devils for Corey Foster), 1991 (Edmonton selected Martin Rucínsky), and 1993 (Nick Stajduhar) and $15 million in cash.

"The Trade" from Wikipedia's Wayne Gretzky Entry.

"Two hours after the Oilers won the Stanley Cup in 1988, Wayne learned from his father that the Oilers were planning to deal him to another team. Walter had known for months, but kept it from Wayne so as to not upset him. According to Walter, Wayne was being "shopped" to Los Angeles, Detroit, New York, and Vancouver. According to Wayne, Pocklington needed money as his other business ventures were not doing well, and had gone "sour" on Wayne and wanted to move him. At first Gretzky did not want to leave Edmonton, but he later received a call from Los Angeles Kings owner Bruce McNall while on his honeymoon asking permission to meet and discuss the deal. Wayne informed McNall that his prerequisites for a deal to take place were that Marty McSorley and Mike Krushelnyski join him as teammates in Los Angeles. After the details of the trade were finalized by McNall and Pocklington, one final condition had to be met: Gretzky had to call Pocklington and request a trade.

On August 9, 1988, in a move that heralded significant change in the NHL, the Oilers traded Gretzky, along with McSorley and Krushelnyski, to the Los Angeles Kings for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, $15 million in cash, and the Kings' first-round draft picks in 1989 (later traded to the New Jersey Devils—New Jersey selected Jason Miller)*, 1991 (Martin Ručínský), and 1993 (Nick Stajduhar). "The Trade", as it came to be known,upset Canadians to the extent that New Democratic Party House Leader Nelson Riis demanded that the government block it, and Pocklington was burned in effigy outside the Northlands Coliseum. Gretzky himself was considered a "traitor" by some Canadians for turning his back on his adopted hometown, his home province, and his home country; his motivation was widely rumoured to be the furtherance of his wife's acting career."

Which team or teams would have a realistic shot at aquiring Crosby?

Would Gary Bettman and The NHL get involved? Would they try to make sure he's traded to a big U.S market to be able to promote him as one of the Chosen ones?

What would Crosby be worth?

What would the salary cap implications be for both teams?

Again, I'm not saying that Crosby will ever demand a trade. This is just a post to try to get a good discussion going.

Ingmar

A Look Back and a Look Ahead

2009-10-06T01:00:54Z

A final "hey the season has started. LETS GET IT ON!

A Look Back and a Look Ahead

So here we are, once again at the start of another glorious NHL season. Some teams have improved, some have not, and everyone knows the road to the cup runs through Pittsburgh. Teams like the Flyers and Leafs have improved dramatically on paper. The Flyers are still stinging from their 1st round exit. Taking a gamble on Emery, and not so big of a gamble on Progner.

via blog.pennlive.com

via philatude.files.wordpress.com

The Leafs failed to make the playoffs, and have added some more punch on the wing side of the house with the addition of Kessel.

via a.espncdn.com

Washington has added Kunble but still has their hopes pinned on Theodore and Varlamov. Varly may be good, but only time will tell and with his outstanding performance during last years playoffs, one can only expect more of the same.

via www3.pictures.gi.zimbio.com

Then there are the Pens. The outsider wouldn’t think of Geno Malkin as a tough customer, but then again his throw down with Zetterberg and his constantly sticking his head in front of shots last year says otherwise.

via images.dailyradar.com

One wouldn’t think of Sid as a great leader at the ripe age of 22. But then again they didn’t have to ride the pine in game 7 of the finals due to injury, not wanting to cost his team the win.

via cache3.asset-cache.net

via www.vancouversun.com

One wouldn’t think of a guy they call "flower" as one of the most clutch goalie’s in the league. Back to back one goal games following a 5 goal drubbing says different.

via www.nationalpost.com

His coach said he has no offensive skill, some say his coach went on at length about how is offensive skill was offensive. But Max Talbot says heart matters more.

via cdn.picapp.com

The road to the cup still runs through Pittsburgh, and to those other teams out there thanks. Thanks for getting in the way, thanks for forcing the Pens to find out what it means to have heart, be tough, and learn to lead through trial by fire. Now you want the cup??

via sports.stanjames.com

Come and get it sucka

NHL Gamecenter Discussion

2009-10-03T22:35:29Z

As a Pittsburgh Penguins fan that once had access to DirecTV's NHL Center Ice package, my new living situation has stripped me of all ability to enthusiastically watch games at my leisure. I'm now fully employed as a corporate mercenary, and am renting a tiny room in a dysfunctional house far away from home during the week. My hopes and dreams of watching the Penguins defend their Stanley Cup were logistically crushed. Except for NHL's Gamecenter Live thingamajig I just found out about while watching the NHL network yesterday. It looks like an online equivalent of the Center Ice package, and is promoted at the same price point, with similar marketing materials. I was wondering if anyone else had experience watching Gamecenter, and if it was worth shelling out $159 for it?

Here's a screenshot of the product (and of Crosby scoring an own goal?):

More info here.

Poll

Have you heard of NHL Gamecenter Live before?

Yes, I've heard of it.

14 votes

No, Gary Buttman does a horrible job marketing the NHL.

2 votes

16 votes | Poll has closed

Watch GameCenter subscription closely...even if it's over

2009-10-02T12:22:46Z

Last season, my brother and I signed up for NHL.com's GameCenter LIVE. We had used it the season before and enjoyed the service. Last season, however, I found myself repeatedly frustrated with it as Penguins games were often blacked out for no reason (that I could find), and unlike the season before, I could not watch any of the Penguins' post season games. Other post season games came in fine - but no Pens. Needless to say, I was not amused.

Long story short, the season ended and I relaxed with the thought that I would not be dropping any more money on a headache for this season. Imagine my surprise when I found they had billed me the full amount for this season's services. Turns out, they have an automated annual renewal service inacted without any kind of notice to the person paying. It really is my own fault - I should have spotted it earlier. So now I'm dealing with having to canel the service to get my $160 back, as well as having to call a phone number to cancel the resubscription 'service'.

Moral of the story? Make sure something's really gone before you toss it from your thoughts.

See you when the gloves drop.

EASHL, a thread for both the box and the ps3

2009-10-02T02:09:35Z

well since everyone seems intrested in this lets get it down officially

ok guys, below please post your platform and gammer tag for online play.

me....why i'm grumblybig ald on xbox. can play any wing or d. if your looking for a be a pro player. I havent really decided if im going to do online franchises or anything but im open for sugestions as im sure you guys are and now my final words to meet the minimum posting requirements

Pensburgh League A Trade Thread

2009-10-01T20:49:09Z

Thought this might be a decent idea for our little fantasy experiment going on.

Everyone who's played any fantasy sport before knows how hard it is to get trades done, right? Well, since we're based around this wonderful blog here, I figured that perhaps we could use the blog to send back-and-forth trade offers, and perhaps have NHL-style bidding wars, etc. If everyone likes this idea, then we could essentially use this thread or something like it as an interactive trading block. Of course, I'm basically a rank-and-file grunt here at Pensburgh, so if somebody up top like this, but can expound upon it further, that would be great. Anyway, here we go.

Hello all!

2009-10-01T18:52:58Z

I just found this site. Just wanted to post some thoughts here on the upcoming season and hear some opinions. First of all what a summer! I am still celebrating the wild and crazy game 7 victory over the Red Wings!! The offseason was great as the Pens were able to keep the roster relatively intact. The only major loss was Rob Scuderi but I believe they can overcome that loss. It will be difficult I think for the Penguins this season as they have had their second consecutive short summer and now they have a huge target on their backs. With the Olympics interrupting the season that will also pose a significant challenge for them as wll since their key guys will be competing. The Flyers and Caps have improved at least on paper and will be eager to get their shots against Pittsburgh. Hopefully at the very least I'd like to see a strong start. I don't think they can afford a repeat of last year. I'd like to see Sidney Crosby regain the Hart and Art Ross. Hopefully Fleury will learn to be a little more consistent this year as well. I think teh Pens should win the division then after that it will be a crap shoot since the Eastern Conference as always will be very tight.

Penguins Receive Stanley Cup Rings

2009-09-30T01:37:09Z

Well, the Penguins website has released images of the Pittsburgh Penguins 2009 Stanley Cup Championship rings. You can see them here. My thoughts and description after the jump.

Personally, I think they look gorgeous. I have always been a fan of the white gold rather than the yellow gold look. The rings are very simple and classy, with the skating Penguin logo featured prominently on the front of the ring, with an outline of the Stanley Cup in the background. The face of the ring is covered almost entirely in diamonds, save for the Penguin logo. The logo itself seems to have used the more yellow gold for the golden triangle from the early 90's, rather than the Vegas gold used on the uniforms today. The white chest area of the Penguin features one large, teardrop shaped diamond.

There is no photo of the detail of the side panels yet, but the website describes them thusly: "The left side of the ring features the player’s name and number as well as a list of the team four playoff series victories. The right side of the ring has the year 2009 split with three Stanley Cups, adorned in diamonds. The two outer Stanley Cups are inscribed on top with 91 and 92, paying homage to the Penguins’ two previous championships."

Overall, I think the rings are very classy, and befitting of a classy organization such as the Pittsburgh Penguins.

So how much Pittsburgh's in PensBurgh?

2009-09-30T01:28:00Z

There's no rule saying you can only follow your own home teams, especially not with today's technology. I suspect this is particularly true of Pittsburgh's teams. (Or maybe my feelings are colored by the fact that I am, as I state in my profile, a "Florida Cracker who moved to New York City for love.") But some Pittsburgh Penguins fans actually have to be from, you know, Pittsburgh, right? This isn't another "How did you become a Penguins fan?" thread, just a small and self-explanatory poll.

Poll

Which of these applies to you?

I currently live in or near Pittsburgh.

25 votes

I used to live in or near Pittsburgh.

21 votes

I have family in Pittsburgh, but never lived there myself.

9 votes

I don't have a connection to Pittsburgh.

12 votes

Other (please explain in comments)

3 votes

70 votes | Poll has closed

Pens Sign Ryan Bayda to a 1 year two-way contract

2009-09-29T01:52:46Z

From Penguins.com:

Monday, 09.28.2009 / 7:21 PM / News
Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Ryan Bayda to a one-year contract, it was announced by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Bayda, who attended the Penguins’ 2009 training camp on a professional tryout, earned a two-way contract from the club.

The 5-11, 195-pound winger played parts of five seasons with Carolina after the Hurricanes drafted him with the 80th overall pick (third round) in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft.

Bayda, 28, has tallied 40 points (16G-24A) in 179 career games. Last season, he posted 12 points (5G-7A) in 70 games and four points (2G-2A) in 15 post-season contests, which included four games against the Penguins in the Eastern Conference Finals.

The Saskatoon, Canada native played three collegiate seasons at the University of North Dakota.