SB Nation - Mike Zigomanis

Tuesday link roundup: Pens, MAF are good, twitter fights, interviews with Potash and Grant

Hooks Orpik — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:15:09 -0000

Somewhat vanilla "Penguins have been good this year" article. [The Hockey News]

Cool interview with a cool dude, Dan Potash [Pens Universe]

Pens' rookie Alex Grant (currently with ECHL Wheeling) gives an interview with Hockey's Future. [Hockeys Future]

Rob Zombie's got a great idea: let's kick up hockey marketing and glorify how badass it is. Add Rob to the millions of people with better marketing ideas than the NHL actually implements. [The Hockey News]

Why wouldn't you want to read about 21 observations about Las Vegas and hockey? [Puck Daddy]

Who would have guessed that the TSN power-rankings in mid-October would go NY Rangers, Pittsburgh, Phoenix as #1-2-3? [TSN]

Pens prospect Nathan Moon was having a rough season in the OHL with just five points in 11 games, not great numbers for an offensive player. Moon's an over-ager and should be dominating, especially if he wants to earn a professional contract. He had 5 assists the other night, perhaps a turning point for him. [Faceoff Factor]

Everyone loves a twitter war and this one's shaping up to be a doozy: "The Chief" from Kuklas Korner takes on Denver writer Adrian Dater. It's like 11 year olds crying over who gets the last cookie. (And yes I'm just mad I'm not in on it). [Kuklas Korner]

Boston power forward Milan Lucic out 4-6 weeks after surgery on a broken index finger. Might seem a little excessive, but it's hard to play when you can't hold the stick. [TSN]

Speaking of Boston, they now have a whole host of early draft picks after dealing Chuck Kobasew to Minnesota. They definitely have a lot of potential trading chips for near the deadline if they want to use them. If Ilya Kovalchuk doesn't re-sign with Atlanta expect this rumor to really make the rounds as [ESPN/Hradek]

The Florida Panthers say they have no intentions of trading Nathan Horton [Sun Sentinel]

The Baby Pens "completed phyiscal testing prescribed by Pittsburgh's staff". Sounds like fun, huh? [Penguins Insider]

Finally, "The Great" Mike Zigomanis signs a professional tryout with the Toronto Marlies. [Our Sports Central]

(Link round ups are an occasional feature here....To enlighten us about a blog story you might run or find interesting, hit up pensburgh at gmail dot com and hooksorpik at gmail. Thanks and good day)

Toronto Marlies Sign Mike Zigomanis to a Profession Try-out

PPP — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 18:42:58 -0000

From The Toronto Marlies:

Jeff Jackson, General Manager of the Toronto Marlies, announced today that the club has signed forward Mike Zigomanis to a professional try-out contract.

Zigomanis, 28, skated in 22 games last season for the Pittsburgh Penguins, registering two goals and four assists for six points. The Toronto, Ontario native has appeared in 189 career NHL games with Carolina, St. Louis, Phoenix and Pittsburgh, collecting 39 points (21 goals, 18 assists) and 85 penalty minutes.

Zigomanis was drafted by the Carolina Hurricanes in the second round, 46th overall, in the 2001 NHL Entry Draft.

Mike Zigomanis

#15 / Center / Pittsburgh Penguins

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Jan 17, 1981

In a perfect world this move is being made because a number of Leafs' forwards without waiver eligibility have had their bodies donated to science and the Marlies need depth to replace the call-ups of Tyler Bozak, Jiri Tlusty, and Christian Hanson. If I was a complete fraud I might call this the first domino but honestly it's hard to envision it as anything more than giving the Marlies options with their own roster.

2009-10 NHL Season Preview: Pittsburgh Penguins

James Mirtle — Sat, 26 Sep 2009 12:00:17 -0000

by Gene J. Puskar - AP

View full size photo »

Who's in: Nate Guenin, Brent Johnson, Chris Lee, Jay McKee, Mike Rupp
Who's out: Philippe Boucher, Mathieu Garon, Hal Gill, Miroslav Satan, Robert Scuderi, Petr Sykora, Mike Zigomanis

Outlook: Another top team tight against the salary cap and forced to watch some incumbents leave for big paydays, the Penguins had to settle for bargains in the summer to replace the bodies lost.

Two of the team's top four minute munchers in Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill both signed lucrative free agent contracts elsewhere, while bit parts like backup Mathieu Garon and forwards Petr Sykora and Miro Satan were not offered contracts. The good news was that GM Ray Shero was able to re-sign a couple of his key cogs, reupping with both Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko for a combined $3.8-million on one-year deals.

Replacing Scuderi and Gill on defence was another matter, however, and the only newcomer on that front is veteran shot block king Jay McKee, who signed for a song after being bought out by the Blues. As a result, expect to see a lot of youngsters Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski on the back end and some growing pains on the penalty kill without Scuderi's steadying influence.

In terms of offensive gains, a full season of Chris Kunitz, Guerin and Sergei Gonchar in the fold should be enough to replace Sykora and Satan's dwindling contributions, while the if it ain't broke mentality makes sense when it comes to loading the minutes up on Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal.

There may be a small Stanley Cup hangover given they've lost some depth, but expect the Penguins to be in the thick of the Eastern Conference title race all season nonetheless.

X-factor: Kris Letang

For a more in-depth Penguins preview, visit PensBurgh
For more NHL analysis, check out the McKeen's Hockey Yearbook

Poll

Where will the Pens finish in the Eastern Conference this season?

1

92 votes

2

73 votes

3

72 votes

4

58 votes

5

16 votes

6

6 votes

7

0 votes

8

0 votes

9

0 votes

10

0 votes

11

1 votes

12

0 votes

13

0 votes

14

0 votes

15

14 votes

332 votes | Poll has closed

2009 NHL Free Agency / Teams by Cap Space / Unsigned UFA's and RFA's

Robert L — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 19:19:41 -0000

This is a listing of NHL teams by order of remaining cap space as of July 4. The Islanders top the list with approximately $23M left to spend. The Sharks have just under $2M remaining. The list is helpful in determining which team are closest to filling out their 2009-10 lineup. As one can see, there is much work to be done at both ends of the spectrum. The numbers figures are based on totals given by NHL Numbers.com.

1 - New York Islanders: $23.265 (18)

UFA: Andy Hilbert C 28, Dean McAmmond C 36, Mike Sillinger C 38, Thomas Pock D 27, Yann Danis G 28, Joey MacDonald G 29.

RFA: Nate Thompson C 24, Jeremy Colliton C 24, Jamie Fraser D 23, Jack Hillen D 23.

2 - Phoenix Coyotes: $21.972 (18)

UFA: Brian McGrattan R 27, Dmitri Kalinin D 29, Ken Klee D 38.

RFA: Nigel Dawes L 24, Joakim Lindstrom C 25, Enver Lisin R 23, Scottie Upshall R 25, Daniel Winnik C 24, Keith Yandle D 22.

3 - Atlanta Thrashers: $19.599 (15)

RFA: Eric Perrin C 33.

UFA: Kari Lehtonen G 25, Colby Armstrong R 26, Jim Slater C 26, Boris Valabik D 23.

4 - Nashville Predators: $17.913 (16)

UFA: Radek Bonk C 33, Scott Nichol C 34, Greg de Vries D 36.

RFA: Ryan Jones R 25, Antti Pihlstrom L 24,.

5 - New York Rangers: $16.436 (13)

UFA: Blair Betts C 29, Mark Bell L 28, Patrick Rissmiller C 30, Paul Mara D 29, Derek Morris D 30.

RFA: Christopher Higgins R 26, Ryan Callahan R 24, Brandon Dubinsky C 23, Lauri Korpikoski L 22, Nikolai Zherdev L 24, Corey Potter D 25.

6 - Anaheim Ducks: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Rob Niedermayer F 34, Todd Marchant C 33, Francois Beauchemin D 29, Bret Hedican D 38.

RFA: James Wisniewski D 25.

7 - Tampa Bay Lightning: $14.295 (17)

UFA: Matt Pettinger L 28, Wade Brookbank L 31, Jason Ward R 30, Marek Malik D 34, Josef Melichar D 30, Cory Murphy D 31, Noah Welch D 26.

RFA: Martins Karsums R 23, Radek Smolenak L 22, Matt Lashoff D 22, Matt Smaby D 24, Mike Lundin D 24, Karri Ramo G 22, Mike McKenna G 26.

8 - Columbus Blue Jackets: $13.313 (20)

UFA: Chris Gratton C 33, Manny Malhotra C 29, Michael Peca C 35, Jason Williams C 28, Christian Backman D 29.

RFA: Jiri Novotny C 25, Marc Methot D 24, Ole-Kristian Tollefsen D 25.

9 - Dallas Stars: $13.193 (19)

UFA: Sergei Zubov D 38, Brendan Morrison C 33, Joel Lundqvist C 27, Mark Parrish R 32, Landon Wilson R 34, Tobias Stephan G 25, Darryl Sydor D 37.

RFA: Mark Fistric D 23.

10 - St. Louis Blues: $12.295 (22)

UFA: Trent Whitfield C 32, Dan Hinote R 32, Jay McKee D 31, Manny Legace G 36.

RFA: Brandon Crombeen R 23, Chris Porter C 25, Steve Regier L 24, Roman Polak D 23, Jeff Woywitka D 25, Marek Schwarz G 23.

11 - New Jersey Devils: $12.129

UFA: Brendan Shanahan L 40, Kevin Weekes G 34, Niclas Havelid D NJ.

RFA: Travis Zajac C 24.

12 - Toronto Maple Leafs: $12.022 (20)

UFA: Brad May L 37, Bates Battaglia L 33, Andre Deveaux C 25, Boyd Devereaux C 31, Jeff Hamilton C 31, Kris Newbury C 27, Ben Ondrus R 27, Jay Harrison D 26, Jamie Heward D 38, Martin Gerber G 34, Olaf Kolzig G 39, Curtis Joseph G 42.

RFA: Jeremy Williams R 25, Justin Pogge G 23, Jaime Sifers D 26, Ryan Hollweg C 26.

13 - Chicago Blackhawks: $11.797

UFA: Aaron Johnson D 26.

RFA: Cam Barker D 23, Troy Brouwer R 23, Ben Eager L 25, Colin Fraser C 24, Kris Versteeg R 23.

14 - Colorado Avalanche: $11.654 (15)

UFA: Joe Sakic F 39, Ben Guite R 30, Brian Willsie R 31, Andrew Raycroft G 29.

RFA: Kyle Cumiskey D 22, David Jones R 24, Cody McCormick C 26.

15 - Montreal Canadiens: $10.454 (16)

UFA: Alexei Kovalev F 36, Saku Koivu C 34, Alex Tanguay L 29, Robert Lang C 38, Mathieu Schneider D 40, Tom Kostopoulos R 30, Mathieu Dandenault D 33, Patrice Brisebois D 38, Francis Bouillon D 33, Marc Denis G 31.

RFA: Tomas Plekanec C 26, Matt D'Agostini R 22, Guillaume Latendresse R 22, Kyle Chipchura C 23, Gregory Stewart L 23.

16 - Los Angeles Kings: $10.285 (21)

UFA: Derek Armstrong F 36, Denis Gauthier D 32, Kyle Calder L 30.

RFA: Jack Johnson D 22, Teddy Purcell R 23.

17 - Washington Capitals: $9.720 (15)

UFA: Viktor Kozlov C 34, Alexandre Giroux C 28, Bryan Helmer D 26, Brent Johnson G 32.

RFA: Jeff Schultz D 23, Shaone Morrisonn D 26, Milan Jurcina D 26, Eric Fehr R 23, Boyd Gordon R 25.

18 - Buffalo Sabres: $8.976 (16)

UFA: Matt Ellis L 24, Dominic Moore C 28, Andrew Peters L 29, Teppo Numminen D 40, Maxim Afinogeno F 29,

RFA: Andrej Sekera D 23, Drew Stafford R 23, Clarke MacArthur L 24, Patrick Kaleta R 23.

19 - Florida Panthers: $8.405 (18)

UFA: Ville Peltonen L 36, Richard Zednik L 33, Jassen Cullimore D 36, Nick Boynton D 30.

RFA: Anthony Stewart C 24, Steve Eminger D 25, Tanner Glass L 25.

20 - Carolina Hurricanes: $8.083 (18)

UFA: Ryan Bayda L 28, Dennis Seidenberg D 27.

RFA: Tuomo Ruutu C 26, Anton Babchuk D 25.

21 - Vancouver Canucks: $7.282 (18)

UFA: Mats Sundin C 38, Jason Krog C 33, Rob Davison D 29, Ossi Vaananen D 28, Curtis Sanford G 29, Michel Ouellet R 27.

RFA: Shane O' Brien D 25. Kyle Wellwood C 26, Jannik Hansen R 23.

22 - Minnesota Wild: $6.296 (20)

UFA: Stephane Veilleux L 27, Krys Kolanos C 27, Marc-Andre Bergeron D 28, Kurtis Foster D 27, Martin Skoula D 29.

RFA: Dan Fritsche C 23, Benoit Pouliot L 22, Kyle Brodziak C 25, Josh Harding G 25.

23 - Edmonton Oilers: $6.404 (20)

UFA: Ales Kotalik R 30, Dany Sabourin G 28.

RFA: Liam Reddox L 23, Gilbert Brule C 22, Ryan Potulny C 24, Rob Schremp C 22, Denis Grebeshkov D 25, Ladislav Smid D 23.

24 - Detroit Red Wings: $5.554 (16)

UFA: Darren McCarty R 37, Aaron Downey R 34, Chris Chelios D 47.

RFA: Jiri Hudler C 25, Ville Leino L 25.

25 - Boston Bruins: $5.340 (18)

UFA: Stephane Yelle F 35, P.J. Axelsson L 34, Manny Fernandez G 34.

RFA: Phil Kessel F 21, Matt Hunwick D 24.

26 - Ottawa Senators: $4.649 (22)

UFA: Mike Comrie C 28.

RFA: Brendan Bell D 26, Brian Elliott G 24.

27 - Pittsburgh Penguins: $3.137 (19)

UFA: Mike Zigomanis C 28, James Connor L 26, Miroslav Satan L 34, Petr Sykora R 32, Janne Pesonen L 27, Philippe Boucher D 36.

RFA: Paul Bissonnette R 24, Tim Wallace R 24, Ben Lovejoy D 25, John Curry G 25.

28 - Calgary Flames: $3.053 (19)

UFA: Todd Bertuzzi R 34, Andre Roy R 34, Rhett Warrener D 33.

RFA: Dustin Boyd C 22.

29 - Philadelphia Flyers: $2.125 (20)

UFA: Josh Gratton L 26, Boyd Kane L 31, Andrew Alberts D 28, Lasse Kukkonen D 27, Martin Biron G 31, Antero Niittymaki G 29.

RFA: Jared Ross C 26, Danny Syvret D 24.

30 - San Jose Sharks: $1.774 (16)

UFA: Claude Lemieux R 43, Jeremy Roenick C 39, Tom Cavanagh R 27, Alexei Semenov D 28, Mike Grier R 34, Marcel Goc C 25, Tomas Plihal L 26, Lukas Kaspar L 23.

RFA: Torrey Mitchell C 24, Thomas Greiss G 23, Brad Staubitz R 24.

2009 NHL Free Agents: Are Any Effective PK Specialists Left?

The Falconer — Sat, 04 Jul 2009 12:16:15 -0000

The Thrashers PK unit was 2nd worst in the NHL last season allowing 88 Power Play Goals Against! The recent re-signing of Chris Thorburn did not address this pressing problem since he never plays on the PK. As the Free Agent Frenzy continues further along and the top prizes are signed teams will turn to bargain hunting.

If the Thrashers were to look for a Forward who could play on a checking line, which of the forwards left has a track record of helping his team on the PK? To answer that question I looked at all the UFA who played at least 120 minutes short handed in 2009 (I included Mike Zigomanis since he was hurt much of the year, but played a lot of minutes when healthy).

Next I pulled out each players individual Short Handed Goals Against Average. This gives is a very basic measure of which players were out on the ice when their team experienced success on the PK. This isn't a perfect measure since it doesn't adjust for goalie quality, but it can give us a rough idea.

One more draw back to SH GAA is that a couple of "bad" or "unlucky" goals can move the number because of the small number of minutes played. For example, PLAYER X was on the ice for 200 SH minutes and he was on the ice for 20 PKGA for a SH GAA of 6.00. Let's say he had some unusually bad puck luck one season and 3 extra goals found the back of the net giving him 23 PKGA/200 SH TOI which would push his SH GAA by nearly one goal to 6.90. So depending on how much you think luck plays a role the numbers below are either useful or pretty meaningless. Because of the sample size problem I favor looking at two season's worth of data. Why? Because the random luck aspect should decrease as your data sample grows larger.

OK, so how are the most effective PK Free Agents left? Stephane Veillieux and Dan Hinote were the only two guys to post strong SH GAA in back to back seasons. Guys to avoid Dominic Moore, Andy Hilbert and Eric Perrin--these guys were terrible unlucky, have really sucky teammates or they simply are not all that effective. None of these guys is all that famous, but if the Thrashers should add Veillieux or Hinote in the coming weeks you should get excited. Marchant has posted back to back better than average numbers but he has a "reputation" that will likely cause him to be more expensive than Veillieux or Hinote.

Player	2009 Team	2009 SH TOI	2008 SH GAA	2009 SH GAA
Todd Marchant	ANA	273	5.92	5.78
Eric Perrin	ATL	256	7.13	8.46
Rob Niedermayer	ANA	249	6.24	7.00
Blair Betts	NYR	241	5.98	3.51
Manny Malhotra	CBJ	217	6.35	6.42
Ville Peltonen	FLA	197	7.58	4.38
Travis Moen	SJS	193	5.59	7.75
Dominic Moore	BUF	187	6.82	10.65
PJ Axelsson	BOS	187	6.61	5.36
Michael Peca	CBJ	184	5.18	6.92
Andy Hilbert	NYI	180	6.54	8.45
Stephane Veilleux	MIN	170	5.10	3.87
Stephane Yelle	BOS	165	7.46	6.48
Taylor Pyatt	VAN	158	6.07	4.64
Mike Grier	SJS	154	5.15	6.74
Tom Kostopoulos	MTL	145	6.06	5.03
Dan Hinote	STL	129	3.30	4.68
Ryan Bayda	CAR	126	6.41	5.75
Mike Zigomanis	PIT	2:51	5.70	6.15

Pittsburgh Penguins will not re-sign Mike Zigomanis

FrankD — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:15:47 -0000

News of the recent re-signing of Craig Adams had more than a few Pensburghers assuming that Mike Zigomanis was a goner. Turns out we were right. Dave Molinari of the Post-Gazette confirmed such today:

Zigomanis' agent, Kurt Overhardt, said this afternoon that "I think it's a fait accompli" that he will not have any additional discussions with the Penguins about them retaining his client.

Post-Gazette

In the grand scheme of things it doesn't hurt the Pens all that much. While it may be hard to find a fourth-line center with Ziggy's faceoff skills, it's just as easy to promote from within via Wilkes-Barre Scranton or find a more durable and consistent fourth liner on the free agent wire.

Should the Penguins re-sign Mike Zigomanis?

FrankD — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 15:48:35 -0000

Mike Zigomanis

#15 / Center / Pittsburgh Penguins

Height: 6-1

Weight: 200

Born: Jan 17, 1981

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2008 - Mike Zigomanis	2	4	6	-2	27

Mike Zigomanis put in 22 games with the Penguins during the regular season before an injury and surgery left him off the ice for the remainder of the season Ziggy's role was simple - get on the ice, win faceoffs and chip in where you can.

Up until a should injury took him off the ice following the December 3 game against the Rangers, Ziggy was doing just about all you could've expected from him. His win percentage on faceoffs floated around the 62% range. He wasn't afraid to get dirty or stand up for his teammates when the situation called for it (Nov. 22, 15 PIM including a game misconduct) and ice time rarely fell below 10 minutes per game. All in all he posed as a consistent third/fourth liner, killed off a few penalties and lived up to the title of faceoff specialist.

One glance at the salary situation in Pittsburgh is just about all management needs to see when making decisions on certain players. Ziggy's cap hit of $650,000 in 08/09 is the least of the team's problems. Should the Penguins make Zigs an offer, it will likely be a bit lower than last year's, especially when you factor in the 60+ games he spent injured. Yet even at, say, $500 - $600K, Ziggy could pose as a much-needed role player and chip in on the PK similar to the role of Pascal Dupuis, a guy a lot of Pitt fans have recently talked about unloading due to cap issues.

Mike Zigomanis - where do you stand Pens fans?

Poll

Should the Penguins re-sign Mike Zigomanis?

Yes, he's cheap and a solid roleplayer

966 votes

No, they could use the money elsewhere

78 votes

Maybe, but guys like him aren't hard to find

113 votes

1157 votes | Poll has closed

Early injuries may have been a blessing in disguise for the Penguins

FrankD — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 21:27:25 -0000

In light of the recent parade through the streets of Pittsburgh, it's easy to forget that things didn't exactly take off in the right direction for Pittsburgh back in October. Or maybe we just choose not to remember. Two of the team's top defensemen, Ryan Whitney and Sergei Gonchar, were out with injuries. Petr Sykora battled through an upper-respiratory infection and groin pull before he even played his first regular season game. By November/December, Philippe Boucher, Mike Zigomanis and Tyler Kennedy hit the injury list, in addition to a one-month layoff for Marc-Andre Fleury. Things looks rather dark for the team. A playoff berth, let alone the Stanley Cup, was the immediate goal.

Of course by now you've likely read countless articles and comments suggesting that no one could've predicted the Penguins would rebound from the mounting injuries and go on to win the Cup.

But that's not what this post is about. Let's talk a bit about the team's depth and how it not only supplied the Penguins with an immediate solution but also provided some insight into the future of the team.

Injuries to the blue line allowed highly-touted prospect Alex Goligoski a chance to play a bit for the parent club. And by "a bit" I mean 46 games. In his first game in the black and gold, GoGo scored his first-career NHL goal in the dying seconds of a 3-1 loss to Ottawa that prevented an early season shutout. Over the remainder of the season, before being demoted to Wilkes-Barre in March, Goligoski posted the following over 46 games:

	G	A	P	+/-	PIM
2008 - Alex Goligoski	6	14	20	5	16

It's not what you'd call Sergei Gonchar replacement material, but it did provide some invaluable insight into how he carried himself on the professional level. Fast forward three months and the Penguins up his contract to three years.

When Marc-Andre Fleury went down with an undisclosed lower-body injury back in November, head coach Michel Therrien experimented with Dany Sabourin a bit. When that didn't pan out exactly like he wanted it to, prospect John Curry got the call. Curry's first appearance came on November 26 as mop-up duty for Sabourin. He stopped all 11 shots faced and kept Pittsburgh in the game, one that ultimately led to a five-goal rally by Pitt to win 5-3.

Two nights later Curry received his first start against the Buffalo Sabres, but dropped that game 4-3. In his last appearance on December 11 (once again against the Islanders), Curry gave up two goals en route to a monstrous 9-2 win. That game is likely better known for hat tricks from Sykora and Pascal Dupuis.

With that last victory, and Fleury's healthy return, Curry was sent back down to the AHL. Although he currently holds a 2-1 record with Pitt, his final 2008/09 record - 33-15-1. Impressive numbers for a youngster with very little NHL experience.

	GP	MIN	W	L	T	EGA	GA	GAA	SA	SV	SV%	SO
2008 - John Curry	3	150	2	1	0	0	6	2.40	69	63	.913	0

As the league edged toward free agency we run a solid chance of seeing some of the dominant players in the Stanley Cup run go elsewhere. That's just one aspect of the game that will never change. Unless of course the NHL follows suit with the MLB and loses the salary cap (Gary B, if you're reading - please don't.) Yet the confidence we can take, and something I'm sure the front office will consider in their future dealings, is how the farm guys showed up for the club during the regular season. GoGo got his deal. Will John Curry get his? We'll touch up on the back-up goaltending situation a bit tomorrow as well.

A brief history of the roller-coaster ride known as the 2008-09 Pittsburgh Penguins

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 12:30:08 -0000

Quite simply, as we all know-- this is the end of the line for the season. And what a season it's been:

Coming off a 102 game season where they fell just short of the Stanley Cup, everyone said it'd be Hangover City for the Pittsburgh Penguins with the "curse" of losing in the Finals. But the only Hangover here is the one in in theatres.
Pens fans have been around 251 days since this season began back in early October 2008. We've seen fall, winter, spring and while not officially summer -- it sure feels like it. A full circle of the seasons.
We've watched them play in three countries, two continents and in 22 different cities and five different time zones through 105 games.
We've gone through two coaches, four goalies and 36 different skaters lace 'em up.
We've seen injuries, trades, rumors and everything in between. In the course of this season alone, we've waved goodbye to old friends in Ryan Whitney, Darryl Sydor and Dany Sabourin. And we've welcomed Philippe Boucher, Chris Kunitz, Bill Guerin, Craig Adams, Mathieu Garon and Mike Zigomanis to the squad, in varying roles.
We've braced when Sergei Gonchar was hurt in the pre-season, but welcomed the contributions of Alex Goligoski and the continued development of Kris Letang.
We've watched the Penguins be absolutely dominant for shifts, periods and games at a time and we've seen them be absolutely dreadful for the same stretches. The Penguins were mired in the bottom half of the standings all the way up to February.
We endured the dismissal of Michel Therrien, a stern but necessary taskmasker who out-grew his time and the blossoming of Dan Bylsma, who before this season had exactly 0 games of head coaching experience. Not that you'd know it by watching.
We've witnessed Evgeni Malkin win his first Art Ross Trophy, the 13th in 21 seasons for Penguin players.
We've cheered them as they gritted their way into the playoffs and then dispatched Mike Richards and the hated Philadelphia Flyers in six physical, gruesome games.
We watched Sidney Crosby and Alex Ovechkin go toe-to-toe for seven magnificent games until the Pens depth in net and defense carried the day. Marc-Andre Fleury robbed Ovechkin in Game 7 and that turned everything around, enabling the Pens to blow out the Caps 6-2 on the road in the deciding game.
We then braced for the Hurricane from the challenge of the "Cardiac Canes". It became obvious they couldn't match Crosby and Malkin and the Pens shrugged them away in four straight hard fought but decisive wins.
And then the rematch everyone was waiting for against Detroit. Marian Hossa, the treacherous dog who thought he had a better chance of winning with the Red Wings, but ironically ensured Pittsburgh's place in the Finals by allowing them the salary cap space to sign or acquire Brooks Orpik, Miroslav Satan and the veteran Bill Guerin. The six mainly back and forth even games (save one) that saw the home team prevailing each time so far. With the decider to come.
And it doesn't even mention all the big goals and huge smiles from Max Talbot, Jordan Staal, Tyler Kennedy and Matt Cooke....Or the willingness of enforcers like Eric Godard and Paul Bissonnette to drop the gloves ad standup for their teammates with a fight. Haven't mentioned the big hits that Brooks Orpik delivered like free candy on Halloween or the selfless blocking shots that guys like Mark Eaton and Rob Scuderi did every single game out there.
And very little recognition of the captain Sidney Crosby who, for a change, was in the shadow of Malkin. Crosby recorded a very quiet 100 point season but often was the best and most consistent player on the Penguins.

And now here we are. Game 7. 60 minutes (maybe more) that will decide if this season ultimately fades away into obscurity or is the stuff of legend for years to come in Pittsburgh sporting lore.

In the salary cap world, we all know things will never be the same when the final horn has blown. After last season Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Georges Laraque, Adam Hall and Jarkko Ruutu all went on that path away from Pittsburgh. And after tomorrow night Rob "The Piece" Scuderi, Hal Gill, Petr Sykora, Ruslan Fedotenko, Miroslav Satan, Bill Guerin, Philippe Boucher, Mathieu Garon are all unrestricted free agents. And, of course win or lose, most of them will never wear the black and vegas gold again. That's just the way it is.

Before it's all said and done though there's one more game to be played. As Ray Shero's daddy famously said: "Win together today, and we walk together forever". At this point, those words ring more true than ever.

Go get 'em, boys. Go get 'em.

(As a cheesy aside, thank you to all the Pensburghers....It's been an honor to ride on this journey with you all...Win or lose, we've got a lot of material ready to go for the post-season including: draft coverage, prospect updates and season reviews for every significant Penguin player which'll require your input to determine final grades as we close the book on this baby. So don't go anywhere....Even though we're at the end of a season, it's only the beginning for Pensburgh, so do stick around. And, of course, enjoy the last game, it only comes around once in a lifetime.)

Faceoff czar Mike Zigomanis back to the ice soon

Hooks Orpik — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 00:05:14 -0000

Injured Penguins forward Mike Zigomanis might not be out for the season after all...From the official site:

Forward Mike Zigomanis, out of the lineup since early December with a shoulder injury, said that he is ahead of schedule and plans on returning to the ice next week.

"Rehab is going really well," Zigomanis said. "I’m probably head back on the ice next week which has me way ahead of schedule. It’s a lot of hard work and I’ve got it taken care of so that way I can be healthy and 100 percent going here forward."

Even with a possible return to the ice next week, Zigomanis still is some time away from being ready to play.

"I think maybe somewhere in the middle of the playoffs I could probably return," he said. "But it’s going great right now and it will just give the team an option for another player, add depth and that’s all I can really hope for right now."

It's difficult to jump back into the playoffs when everyone's in a high gear, but it might be possible for Zigomanis. His role, as one of the best faceoff men in the game, is somewhat limited and would only play 4th line minutes.

As Ziggy alludes to, even if he just gives the Penguins another option it'll be a good thing. Injuries invariably happen and having a versatile forward would only be a good thing for a playoff run.