COMEAU: IT WAS NEVER PERSONAL
Plus: No news on the goalies…yet
1:05 pm - Blake Comeau played his first 19 games of this season in the minors and the next 17 in the NHL with the Islanders. Throughout the entire ordeal, Comeau says it was never unfair, never improperly handled, and never personal between the 22-year old forward and his head coach Scott Gordon.
“No, people should know that we have a good relationship - we did when I was in Bridgeport, and we do now,” said Comeau, who has 3 goals and 4 assists in those 17 games and was given 17 minutes of icetime in last night’s loss to the Rangers.
“Was it frustrating at times? Absolutely,” he said. “But I never thought it was about anything other than trying to help me become a better hockey player, and a better fit for what Scott’s trying to instill here.”
So what exactly was the problem? What was it that Gordon wanted you to change about your game?
“It wasn’t just one thing. People know part of my game is a tendency to hold on to the puck and look to make the play. Scott wants us to keep going to the net. It’s not like Scott was looking to change everything. Most of all, I know he wants me to play to my strengths.”
You went to Bridgeport, and over time your game got better and better. There was a period of time when other players were being recalled. Did you ever feel the process was unfair?
“The bottom line is that Scott kept his word. We agreed there were some areas I needed to work on, and when the time came when I was consistently one of the best players in my AHL games, I would get the call. The more and more I became confident in playing within the system, the better I did for the Sound Tigers.
“There were some frustrating times, but I never felt like the whole situation was unfair to me. Nothing was being handed to me and that’s the way it should be. I’m proud of the fact that we had a lot of team success when I was in Bridgeport. Jack (Capuano) was great with me. He told me his job was to get me back to the NHL. Stuff like that means a lot.”
What’s your working relationship with Scott been like since being called up?
“It’s good. We meet pretty regularly. We go over video together. It’s a chance to see the things that I still need a lot of work on. The communication has been real good.”
Now that you’ve been with the Islanders for a while - even with that one healthy scratch - do you feel you’re here to stay?
“(Laughs) I can’t have that attitude. Believe me: I’m not taking anything for granted.”
He shouldn’t. Unlike Kyle Okposo, Josh Bailey and the rest of the kids, Comeau is still living in the team-assigned hotel.
*
COMEAU OFF THE ICE
Last Movie in the Theatres: Traitor with Don Cheadle. “I give it 3 and a half stars.”
On the iPod: Collective Soul, Live, Tom Petty
Girlfriend? “Yes, from Kelowna.”
Hockey Idol: Steve Yzerman
Restaurant: TOKU in Manhasset, Buddakan in Manhattan
Parents: “Dad was a project accountant and Mom was a secretary at Millar Western, a pulp mill in Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan.” (That’s it, below).
ETC: No word from the Islanders on the health of Joey MacDonald or Rick DiPietro, or the identity of the team’s other goalie when the Islanders host Boston on Thursday night. Scott Gordon said he hadn’t spoken with Garth Snow yet, but he probably is as this is typed at 1:00 pm.
Said Gordon: “Come tomorrow night, there’s going to be two goalies.” Looks like Yann Danis will be the starter, while Wade Dubielewicz, either of the two Bridgeport goalies (Nathan Lawson or Peter Mannino) or a mystery free agent will be the backup.
Trent Hunter and Sean Bergenheim were given the day off the ice.
Comments.
86 Responses to “COMEAU: IT WAS NEVER PERSONAL
Plus: No news on the goalies…yet”
Please Wait
Great read on Comeau. Thanks so much.
Let the lambasting of Comeau by certain posters begin….
Guess what? I’ve got a Tavheduch fever, and the only prescription… is more loses!
Did he say Dubie?
Macch - the only prescription, EVER, is more cowbell, unless you’re talking about that guy with the gold wig who used to bang the cowbell.
I like Comeau, I wish him well in the NHL, but on some levels I think Gordon was right. You saw a few times yesterday that Comeau holds the puck a bit too much rather than confidently making the play. We’ve clearly seen he HAS game, and as he continues to work on that, he’ll get better. Same with any young player. Bailey needs to trust his shot more in order to open up more ice for him to use his vision and passing. Campoli needs to improve his strength on the puck and when taking the man. Earlier in the season, I wanted to add “Okposo gets beaten along the boards” to the list of things that would trigger shots, but he’s worked on it and isn’t making that mistake anymore. It’s a process.
I think they can let Blake move into the house with Bailey and Okposo
This kid can play. Needs more work - but has good hockey sense and while he made one dumb play last night - I hope he learns from it. While I do not consider him an “untouchable” ( if we want to make deals and teams ask for him - this might be his biggest value to the team as trade fodder) - I do consider him as a part of the SOLUTION to this mess…….and we should invest time and energy (from our coaching staff) and give this guy every chance to succeed.
Also, is a player fans will like.
Nice article Chris.
Pat
I think the best part is that Comeau has the right attitude. He hasn’t pouted, and he’s worked on what the coaching staff says he needs to work on. You can’t ask anything more from a kid who could be very good.
Never question Bruce Dickinson.
it is quite amazing how the thought of tavares has totally surpassed the notion that half a season is left and the islanders have 2 or 3 wins in the last 20 games.
i am all for it, play danis, we need a comfortable lead for the last place. 3 to 8 points behind is too close for comfort.
You know…Tavheduch, im as excited as anyone to have a shot at John Tavares. But upon gracing the Ontario Hockey League’s website and checking out how hes doing, i saw a familiar face TIED with him in points. JUSTIN DIBENEDETTO is TIED with JT in points. tavares is 28-29-57. Justin is 29-28-57. OK now JT has played 5 fewer games, and Dibenedetto is lucky to be half the player that tavares will be, but thats nice to see that we drafted someone in the 6th/7th round who is performing at a high level. Just thought I would throw that out there. Hope he keeps up the good work. Long live Tavheduch!
b-ri - I noticed that about DiBo also. I wonder how much of his sucess has to do with the fact that he is an overager.
I would say all of it - I’m not putting any stock in DiBo as a potential blue-chipper until he does something at a higher level.
B-ri, I wouldnt get your hopes too high. Dibenedetto is an overaged junior player much like Luciano Aquino who put up great junior numbers but never made it to the show
I don’t buy into the “Tavares Fever” that’s taken hold among Isles fans. Who knows if the Isles will finish last? Who knows if they will win the lottery? Who knows how Tavares will actually play on an NHL roster? Sure, it’d be great to draft a high-end prospect in this year’s draft, and even greater if the prospect develops into a legit talent, but it really feels like we’re pinning all of our hopes on a guy who (a) may not even play here, and (b) may not live up to all the hype. With the expectations people already have for the kid, I’m not sure he ever CAN live up to the hype.
Geez….nice interview by Comeau….
Reads like he was properly coached ahead of time by the Isles PR guy.
Said all of the right things.
Well done Blake.
UIF - He’s still a sniper and thats what this team really lacks. If DP is done for the season, and we have a firesale at the deadline, I thinks its almost a lock that we get the 1st pick.
IF WE BRING BACK DUBIE, YOU CAN KISS JT AND HEDMAN GOODBYE…..I LIKE DUBIE VERY VERY MUCH, BUT NOT ENOUGH TO LET HIM RUIN OUR CHANCES AT THE TOP 2 PICKS
Where is that team-assigned hotel, and how ritzy is it? Do the Islanders pay for that nice bachelor pad that Okposo & Bailey live? Inquiring minds want to know!
Barring a major winning streak in the last half of the season, the Islanders are guaranteed one of Tavares, Hedman, or that Duch guy. What could go wrong??
I would relax Dino - The islanders had a much better team in front of Dubie when he stole all of those games for us
there is no such thing as a lock for 1st pick.
Hey Max you are right, but there is such a thing as a lock for the 1st or 2nd pick lol
With the Isles’ “luck”, they’ll finish last and NOT win the lottery for the 1st pick. Let’em make the balance of the season “entertaining”.
*This might be the islanders goalie if they need someone for tomorrow - his contract is 650K which is already half paid.
Curtis Sanford is put on waivers
By Botchford 01-14-2009
Canucks Nation – Vancouver Canucks blog
Curtis Sanford’s agent Todd Diamond confirmed the goalie has been put on waivers.Diamond said Sanford is disappointed but “he’s a big boy, he can deal with it.”Diamond said there is some interest from a couple of teams, believed to be Dallas and Columbus. But he’s not sure if a team will take a flyer on the former Canucks back up.Sanford lost the Vancouver backup job to Jason LaBarbera, who the Canucks acquired two weeks ago from the L.A. Kings.If Sanford clears by 9 a.m. tomorrow, he will be re-assigned to the Manitoba Moose.
Dino, I gotta believe that if Dubie resigns here he certainly isn’t enough to get this squad out of the basement. Decent backup, nice feel good story but not a season changer.
Get off Comeau’s back.
He’s still a rookie and rookies make rookie mistakes. It’s going to happen a lot with a lot of kids.
Cut em slack. They deserve it. They’ve been busting their a$$e$ here.
Dubie wasn’t exactly a brick wall in Russia. Don’t look for any miracles this time around.
BTW: Another groin strain… remember though, don’t blame the training staff. It’s simply conicidence.
Loungo pulled his groin and Broduer ripped his bicep. Injuries are a part of the game.
I have a hard time believing that the training staff is not a little to blame when we have lost 263 man games to injury to the Rangers 10. That is a little lopsided to merely call it bad luck!
Yeah, it’s the training staffs fault when a player blocks shots and gets hit by cheap shots.
Islanders should pickup sanford and platoon him with mcdonald or danis. Also we should start making some major trades soon!!!
CB love the way you are dialed in to what we are discussing. Excellent job! Makes me like Comeau even more hopefully he can turn into a servicable second/third line winger for us!
Hey lets just be happy that we have the injury bug when the team stinks instead of having a really good team and then being hit with the bug
That was a nice interview on Comeau. As for other topics at hand, I can’t even begin to make sense of anything this franchise is doing these days, so many things goin on from all sides.
At this point, the season for us may not be “technicially” over..yet it is! At this stage the trade an draft are what we need to hold some hopes for.
And speaking of hope, I hope DP stays out, I hope Joey Mac Heals and gets well soon, I hope the dynamic duo of Garth and Gordon pull it together and manage to get us out of things so that next season the fans will see signs of hope for better years ahead, everything gets worse before it gets better, I honestly don’t see how much worse things could get for us, so I gotta believe better days are coming, maybe not around the corner or as fast as we’d all like, but they’re coming.
Hm, Sandford played against NJ last night, didn’t look like a disgrace to me, except for that odd giveaway behind the net. I did like how he kept playing the puck like normal, however, and didn’t get away from his game. That would be an interesting decision by the Isles, and being last, they would absolutely get him if they put in a claim.
BTW, interesting article from Steve Ovadia at the Puck Update Blog… I’d be interested to hear everyone’s take on it. There may be something to the theory that the Isles (and the fans!) are afraid to dream, considering how every dream for the past 15 seasons has come up snake eyes for us - Ron “A River Runs Through Him” Hextall, lousy drafts, disastrous trades, bizarre front-office work (trying to declare the Coliseum unsafe to break the lease?), Spano AND Kumar, the dirty bastard Leafs beating the Isles in ‘02, the Smyth trade and the subsequent inability to land ANY impact free agent, to the current fretting that they’ll finish last and still lose the lottery… At this point we’ve got the fan equivalent of PTSD, everything makes us jump and presume the worst. If we watched video of the ‘80 Finals, we’d expect Nystrom would somehow hit the crossbar.
That all being said, the Isles are hardly in a position to pick up Khabibulin from Chicago, make a push for Kovalchuk, or reasonably expect to sign a big-name guy like Bouwmeester. It’s may not be a matter of “scared to dream” but of not being able to afford dreams just yet.
Thoughts?
Going back to Dibo…I’m not gonna tell you OH GOD he’s a future first liner! because that is just rediculous. But there might be something there, just I don’t know what. 2 years ago he was 28 35 63. Last year he was 39 54 93. Now, those 2 years he was with Stamkos, and I would be among the many saying lets see him do it without Stamkos. Well he is doing it. Is he older than some others, yes…but how many others are sent back to junior to develop. Look, i’m a realist and know not to expect much if anything out of Dibo, but god that would be nice if he did do a little something. Campoli was 20 when he was drafted out of junior, and he’s in the show now, though he could be playing better, but hey he had a goal last night!
Comeau will def be a solid 2/3rd liner prob projects like hunter. Solid player not spectacular. 40-60 pts max. Good 2way player but comeau is a better skater!
these are dark days for a team that has seen its share of dark days. cb - nice article on blake, always have been a fan of him, i really hope that he can breakthough and become that 20 - 29 goal scorer we need him to be. love his work ethic and determination.
sanford looks like a very interesting option, and in my opinion would be much better than going back to dubie. i loved dubie when he was here, but after the snow handled it and then to take him back after a BUY OUT from a KHL team… this is not a good option. it has NEW YORK ISLANDERS written all over it. please garth, look elsewhere to solve this problem.
you know, for having a goalie as a GM and a goalie as a coach… what’s up with all of this?! DUNHAM stretching to play last night?! YIKES.
I too suffer from that fever. Last night at least they showed up and Blake will be a very good Islander imo.
No its not their fault when they block shots or get cheap shotted. I think it maybe their fault when you have probably half their injuries being groin strains or muscle tears. That can be a result of poor training which CAN be the fault of the training staff. You can say its Gordon’s system all you like but doesn’t the responsibility of preparing the players for that very system fall in the hands of the training staff? I believe so. It has been an on going problems for years with the Isles and should be looked into IMO.
I think the Isles should at least give Danis a shot. The guy has been a career backup, but that’s no guarantee he’s never going to be a decent goaltender.
In sports these days, it seems like anyone can become a superstar if they have the talent and desire and are given a chance to succeed. Tom Brady is a perfect example. Knicks fans can point to Wilson Chandler. Even Henrik Lundqvist was backing up Kevin Weekes (!) before he got the chance to start when Weekes was injured, and he hasn’t looked back.
IMO “playing the kids” should include Yann Danis; we need to see if there’s anything there. The Islanders have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Suppose he goes on a hot streak and the Isles can move him somewhere for prospects.
Segue on to the trading block…the Isles have some great kids but the vets need to be shipped out of town. It’s pretty clear that Brendan Witt doesn’t want to be playing in Gordon’s system, and mark my words, move him to a Western Conference contender and he will be an absolute beast. Richard Park, as much as I would hate to see him go, is one of the most underrated players in the conference if not the entire NHL. Guerin, Weight, Martinek…get prospects, prospects, prospects.
Lastly, Kyle Okposo is showing shades of the Real Deal…he is one of the strongest Islanders on the puck I’ve seen in decades. Immovable; you know he’s coming out of the corner with the biscuit.
cool interview. it owuld be cool if guerin does go to boston. that late first rounder would only help
CB thanks for the great article on my favorite player BC. I really do hope they continue to commit to him like they’ve done over the past few weeks giving him quality ice time on thee top line and PP/PK. As for Dubie, I’d love to see him back. He was certainly a fan favorite and played well in his time here. I don’t think he’s going to steal too many games for us but at least he might keep it close. Lastly, the injuries have to be more than bad luck especially with the abundance of them being groin injuries and not just to the old guys. A product of the system perhaps more than the fault of the trainers? Just an idea
cb -do you have a photo of dunham with half gear on last night
that would really crack me up
If they bring back Dubielewicz, will I be able to unretire my Dubielewicz 34 jersey or will he have to wear a new number?
Quickly looking over ESPN’s NHL injury report for the season so far, there have been well over 30 players (not counting any of the Isles), including at least 3 goalies, who have been out at one point or another because of groin issues. I guess there must be a lot of incompetent training staff around…
You can’t blame the training staff. Gordon didn’t come on board till right before training camp. How could the training staff know what type of system an unnamed coach would be playing? And to top it off it’s the Go-Go style. The players were not used to it, see Sillinger’s groin strain, Comrie’s hip, etc. This summer, the players will have a completely different regimine to make sure they’re good to Go-Go for the season. We will not have as many injuries as last year. In addition, I recently saw an article out of Montreal that stated that the new stiffer skates are a reason for so many groin problems.
@cgs - You must have never been to a home game if you don’t know what the team assigned hotel is. I see it every time I come off the Meadowbrook Parkway.
What is the rule for when you can sign a player whose rights you own out of Juniors? In DiBo’s case, do the Islanders have to wait until the end of the OHL season or can they sign him at any time? I think they at minimum have to get him to Bridgeport to see what he can do against older players. I remember Aquino, but I don’t recall whether he was at the top of the scoring leaders like DiBo is now. Again, let’s see what he can do at Bridgeport. We’re due to get lucky with late round draft pick, aren’t we?
Not pointing fingers, but the Isles having 263 man games lost to injury v. 10 for the Rangers is really mind - boggling!
Hasn’t been mentioned much - but thought Nate Thompson played a real solid, aggressive game last night. Hope that he can find a way to stay injury - free the rest of the way. In his limited time - he’s contributed.
If the Isles resign Comeau, I’m getting his jersey.
#44 - ok, so of 30 teams, more than 30 players went down with groins (sounds normal). But on the Islanders at least 6 have sat for a groin issue - Weight, Thompson, Sillinger, DP, Meyer, J-mac (and I’m probably missing one)So no, it’s not incompetant training staffs all around, just possibly here.
#45 Gordon was hired Aug 12th, and made it quite clear what his style was from day one. Did somebody forget to tell the training staff? That’s the only way they wouldn’t know. Funny you should mention hips too… Comrie’s Torn labrum was before this year, so was Silly’s and BOTH of DP’s.
Yes injuries happen, but when the same injury happens over and over, it is fair to question why. Ask Brian Cashman.
Yeah but not 30 players on one team. Come on give me a break are you the only person that can’t see there is a problem here? Let me repeat what CB pointed out;
Rangers=10 man games lost to injury
Isles=263 man games lost to injury
Doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out there is more than bad luck there. We have been in the top of the league in injuries for quite a few years and if you haven’t noticed that you haven’t been paying attention.
I apologize if anyone else has already covered this but Van waived goalie Curtis Sanford today. He might be a good pick up.
The Isles medical, conditioning and training staffs have definetly not been up-to-par for at least two years. Two years in a row we have record setting injuries. You can’t say anything about what happened to Sutton’s foot, that was a non-preventable injury (but his longer then expected recovery, needing surgery weeks into recovery….sounds a bit like Rick’s situation).
The stuff we can really gripe about is the handling of Rick DiPietro’s (THE FRANCHISE) health and all these groin pulls. Well conditioned teams don’t have these problems and most guys aren’t injured skating in practice.
You know I’d like to buy an Islander jersey myself but none of the styles impressive me enough to buy one.
How do waivers work, if we picked up Sanford would he be able to decline?? The silence on the Goalies is deafening.
Nope, if they claim him off waivers he has to report and the Isles are responsbile for whatever his contract is.
Waivers go in order of how the teams drafted last year, so the Isles only have four teams who could claim him before.
Forgot to mention… This was a great read CB (as usual). Apologies for the off topic injury comments.
Solid effort last night. If we are ging to lose, do it with the yunsters playing well and dont get blown out. That was achieved last night.
In regard to these groin injuries, 2 are for goalies which is not a result of the system. 2 others (Weight and Silli) are for guys who are over 36. Lets not start blaming the Trainers please!!! You want to blame anyone, blame the doctors who medically cleared DP about a week ago. How could we be going from medically cleared to shut down for the season without playing him inbetween???
Look at the Yankees a couple of years back when the team had a bunch of hamstring injuries. Who was the blame and what did they do? Like a few posters already mentioned, you can’t blame them for certain injuries (Sutton, Frans, and I am sure a few others) but with all the groin strains and especially the handling of our biggest bright spot (Ricky), one has to question what is going on.
I know this is off topic, and I am sorry for that CB, but has anyone seen the article on http://www.newsday.com that talks about the 2010 Winter Classic possibly being at the new Yankee Stadium? Other locations that are being thought about are Boston and Penn State (Flyers vs. Pens). I don’t want to jinx it but if the Isles are lucky enough to land JT and make a decent FA signing or two (Komi, Sedin twins) then maybe we can land this game vs. the Rangers and be on our way back to where we are supposed to be.
#50 - Fair enough comment, but the Wings have had four different guys out with groin issues. As an aside, it’s interesting to note that the Oilers have had four different guys out with concussions.
Four concussions for the Oilers? I say fire the equipment guy. Obviously their is an issue with improper helmut maintainence.
Just kidding
Blake Comeau is the second coming of Bryan Trottier… a wing version of Bryan Trottier…
DOC
OK but the Isles have had way more then four guys suffer groin pulls. Yes, injuries are up all over the NHL (not the NYR)but this is two years for the Isles. Interestingly I believe it was two years ago the new training and conditioning staffs were hired.
For the backup/backup/backup goalie - I’m pretty sure there’s an Itech sales rep who’s itching to get into a game…. Anyone remember the team that signed him for a night last month?
Timms was hired in Aug of ‘05, not sure about anyone else
Well he has been doing a fabulous job! Give that man a raise. Maybe we can have a drive for 5 the year after next see if we can lead the league again!!!!
Doc, post #61 with all due respect you are pinning some high hopes on the guy don’t you think…..well i hope you r right.
anyone have any idea why corey trivino our steal in the second round doesn’t play at all at BU?
I think he was kidding
As a BU season ticketholder for many years and someone who still watches most of their games online, I can speak to that. It’s 2 reasons:
1. He needs to gain about 20-30 pounds in order to improve his strength on the puck. Kid’s a rake.
2. BU is very deep at center (see Wilson, Colin)
He’s very fast and has offensive skills. I saw him score a great goal against BC, so he does have skills around the net. For a player like Trivino, college is the best place to go to bulk up his strength and work on deficient parts of his game. Look for him to play a bigger role the next 2 years, especially when Wilson likely signs with Nashville this off-season.
And the Isles should just pick up Sanford and be done with it.
What is Witt worth in a trade. Could we get a No 1 pick for him?
witt is prob worth 2 #2s or maybe a #1 . He could also be worth a #2 and decent prospect.
cb said a little while ago he would assume witts worth 2 #2 picks.
i would take a no. 2 and a decent prospect for him. After the deadline we could end up with 5 2nd rounders…lol
keep in mind that mannino and bpt had a game tonight, thus if he was getting the call up tomorrow, he wasnt here today, b/c he had a game tonight..
I don’t mind trading the vets for getting some picks/prospects that don’t fit with other organizations. But let’s say any few of Guerin, Comrie, Weight (assuming he can be moved if he is healthy), Witt, Martinek, etc are moved, don’t we have to stay above the salary cap floor? I don’t know how the numbers work mid season.
You gotta love it!!!Check this mock draft out…
http://www.mynhldraft.com/NHL-Mock-Draft/
Comeau need to use his slap shot more often. The kid can score. He just need to believe in himself. He is good enough for 1st liner. No doubt, he’ll learn. I wish KO and Blake could play with Nielsen instead Comrie in their trio. Comrie is a good positional center with smart ideas, but with no speed. He makes plays sometimes wich looks smart, but not to many teammates can read them. Or maybe there is a lack of communication.
As for Dubi-Dubi-Do, I have no problem to see him in Isles uniform. He is not gonna still games for us with this defense we have, but (you gotta agree with me) he is a lot of fun to watch.
tavares injured his shouled in tonight’s chl all star game. didn’t see the game but going by what’s being said on message boards, it might be serious. apparently he took a monster hit.
Well he’ll fit right in around here….Hope he’s OK.
As for Witt, CB himself said it earlier - with Rivet the precedent is 2 2nd round picks. Some Oilers fan on a different board offered Schremp for Witt, and if they threw in a draft pick I think I’d bite.
Isles need to pick up Sanford off waivers…its a no brainer
#79 id be happy with schremp and a #2 for witt. I might even do schremp and a #3. And then id hope hes not another papineau. LOL
Just read about Tavares …I mean it’s crazy he would even want to play in that game. Sounds like it was a clean hit. Hopefully he’s OK, because I want the Islanders to draft him so badly it actually hurts. With the Isles luck they’ll draft him and he’ll have problems with this shoulder ….
Here’s to hoping that a great young player isn’t hurt too bad - regardless of who drafts him …
I have been a big Comeau supporter and fan since last season.
However… I was being completely tongue in cheek with my “Comeau is a wing version of Bryan Trottier” remark in response to a certain someone on here who is always bashing him.
DOC
I read that the Isles may deal Weight to Columbus for Pascal Leclaire. The thinking being that D-P is done and the Isles could send Pascal to a contending team with an injured #1 goalie at the deadline. Any thoughts?
thanks nick classic on bu.
doc sorry about not recognizing the humor. my laugh meter is way down these days.
With the Islanders on the brink of extinction… theres no way the league will not let the islanders get the #1 pick. Didnt pittsburgh get crosby but only because of the lottery… just so happens pittburgh was in the same position as us that year… something was def up to allow the pens to get crosby and save the franchise…