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Morning one and all! 43 days till puck drop.
During the summer, different NHL players take to different activities as far as staying in shape. We all know about Sid and his famous workouts, currently taking place in LA. Kris Letang is also known for hitting the gym hard. A flavor of what his training sessions with Jonathan Chaimberg, a former wrestler turned respected strength coach and trainer, at the Adrenaline Performance Center in Montreal, is featured on the Pens website (Kris Letang Summer Workouts).
Not to be outdone, Pens teammate and another Canadian Olympic hopeful James Neal has been working hard. At BioSteel Pro Hockey Camp in Toronto he was joined by Steven Stamkos, PK Subban, and several other NHL players this week (Neal Hopes to Impress at Canadian Olympic Camp).
Over at PensNation, they made a list of Top 5 Ray Shero Trades. For my money, the Hossa + Dupuis trade would have been #1 ever had Hossa elected to stay. Such as it is, we only enjoyed the full benefit of that trade for a little while, although the subsequent emergence of Pascal Dupuis as the top line winger was a revelation.
Here is something I know very well - we fans are very bad at judging coaches. Which is to say we are very good at criticizing them. Oilers Nation takes a look at just how well we do this. In the end they conclude what I already knew before reading it - Scotty Bowman is a cut above the rest (We're Bad at Judging Coaches).
In a flashback of Penguins history we go back to New Year's Eve 1988. In a game against the New Jersey Devils, Mario Lemieux scored 8 points and became the only player in NHL history to score a goal in all five possible game situations in the same game: even-strength, power-play, shorthanded, penalty shot, and empty-netter.
Mr. Dreamy Blue Eyes himself is back in NYC and talking NYR extension. Apparently, just in case you're wondering, his next contract will be about more than just money, it will be about winning. Ray Shero, your direct path to the special place inside my heart has just been illuminated. (I love you too, Flower, but not that way.)
Speaking of Flower, it's widely assumed the 2003 draft class was as good as any in recent history. With the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, how would you re-order these guys today?