For Pittsburgh Penguin fans, they have to be slapping themselves for not realizing that Jarimor Jagr was capable of making the move he did on Friday afternoon. Earlier in the week, the Steel City was abuzz about the idea that Jagr was very interested in signing with the Pens in his return to the NHL. On Wednesday, Pittsburgh expected Jagr to make a flight into New York City, hop on a plane to Pittsburgh, and agree to a one year, $2 Million deal. To top it all off, all the Pittsburgh affiliates would have had coverage of the live broadcast of Jarimor receiving his "68" jersey on a jersey different from the one he wore a decade ago with the team, and shaking Mario Lemieux's hand and possibly a "bro-hug."
For all of us, our alarm clocks awoke us from that wonderful dream while Jagr's whereabouts remained unknown from Wednesday night into Friday afternoon. The Penguins and Red Wings both patiently waiting to hear on his decision, finally pulled their deals an hour before free agency began. Pens fans showed some disappointment, which turned into anger once the afternoon rolled around. The news that Jagr not only turned Pittsburgh down, but then the news that he took $1.3 million more to play for the Philadelphia Flyers.
For those of you who have never watched hockey or followed it, the Penguins and Flyers hate each other. There was more love between Biggie and 2Pac than there is between these two teams. So you can see why your friend the Penguin fan may have had steam coming out of their ears yesterday.
Well, unless Jagr doesn't know the Flyers schedule, he will have to face the crowd that once loved him long ago three times, and maybe even in a playoff series in the spring. So it is going to be interesting to see the fans reaction to Jagr when he takes the ice on December 29 at CONSOL Energy Center. Hopefully for him, the fans are still in the Christmas spirit, and the Pens are at the top of the Atlantic and East. While it won't be like Lebron James' return to Cleveland, it will be a hostile environment, especially since Pittsburgh is still pulling the knife out of their back which Jagr dug deeper this time.
So what did we learn from all of this? Jarimor Jagr is in it for the money. OK, lesson learned, but to go to an arch rival that the Penguins despise with a passion leaves fans feeling that this was the nail in the coffin for any reconciliation of Jagr and the Penguins. This may not bother Ray Shero as much, but what about a guy like Mario? A man who reached out to him when he could have said "sorry, but we're not interested in your services anymore." So put your Jagr jersey back in the closet or into your bonfire this 4th of July weekend, it'll be a collectors item down the road or good firewood.
Back in February, the Penguins were suffering injuries left and right. With captain Sidney Crosby out with a concussion, and several other players suffering injuries, losing Evgeni Malkin for the rest of the season seemed to be the injury that would throw the Penguins into a free-fall that would destroy their chance at a Stanley Cup run.
The mindset of several hockey analysts and those critical of Crosby and Malkin's teammates without them left Pittsburgh up the creek without a paddle, some saying that the Penguins couldn't win without both of their superstars, along with injuries to other players like Chris Kunitz and Mark Letestu. Those who were skeptical of the Pittsburgh Penguins never took a look at what the Penguins had that other teams don't have, a supporting cast with experience.
When you look at the other players on the Penguin roster, you see experience and chemistry that other teams don't display. The Pittsburgh Penguins roster has 12 players on their roster who were a part of the 2009 Stanley Cup Winning team. It's a moment like this when other general managers envy the work of Ray Shero when it comes to keeping the core of a team together. You can see it through players like Crosby and Malkin taking lower pay to stay together and other players taking smaller contracts with fewer years in them. The Penguins received experience with a former teammate in Alex Kovalev, who may not be the same Penguin he was in the late 1990's, but he does bring the same experience Billy Guerin and Gary Roberts brought to the team from 2008-2010.The Penguins also received James Neal and Matt Niskanen from Dallas. These two are still getting used to the Penguins system, but Neal has been present in shootout situations and Niskanen has integrated well into an already strong Penguin defense.
The man between the pipes deserves a lot of credit for the Penguins current position going into the playoffs. Team MVP and possible Hart Trophy candidate Marc-Andre Fleury has stood on his head several times this season, especially when the Penguins offense became anemic at times with all the injuries. Fleury's performance against Florida on Sunday showed why he is the MVP of the tem this year. Brent Johnson has been on his game as a back-up and proved that he doesn't take garbage from anyone.
It would be wrong to not recognize the work of the players in the Penguins farm systems in Wilkes/Barre Scranton. The Baby Penguins are in the run for the Calder Cup and will walk away with the best regular season record in the American Hockey League. Dustin Jeffrey, Ben Lovejoy, Joey Vitale, Tim Wallace, Ryan Craig and Brett Sterling have all answered the call for the Penguins and player like Jeffrey and Lovejoy have become regulars for the Pittsburgh Penguins. An NHL team needs a good farm system to provide reinforcements and the Penguins have that.
The Penguins sealed a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference on Saturday with a Carolina Hurricane lost. While it looks like the Penguins are guaranteed the fourth seed and home ice in the first round, they still have a shot at the Atlantic Division title and home ice throughout the Eastern Conference playoffs. They currently sit 2 points behind the Philadelphia Flyers, who they play on Tuesday for the final time in the regular season at Consol Energy Center. The Flyers do have an extra game to play but a Pittsburgh win would make the final two weeks in the season interesting in the Atlantic Division. But when you think about Pittsburgh's situation, it is amazing to think that they not only can get home ice in the first round, but they could possibly finish at the top of the East, without Crosby and Malkin playing together since January. So, with Crosby back at practice, with his return still up in the air, can the Penguins go far in the playoffs without him, and what are their chances if he does return come Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals?
Anybody who follows hockey or occasionally watches hockey knows that the game is both fast and physical. When it comes to the physical part of the game, everyone knows that if someone on the ice rubs somebody the wrong way, the gloves will drop and a fight is the most likely outcome.
Fighting, as we know in our society, is frowned upon. Other sports such as football, basketball and sometimes baseball try to keep fights out of their respected games, and punish players severely for their actions. Hockey on the other hand, has always kept a place for players to drop the gloves, almost like an unwritten rule in hockey. Of course, we see it more in the pros than in college and high school, but it is a traditional just like the hockey stick and puck. There is even a site that keeps record of every NHL fight: HockeyFights.com. Hockey has always had its different category of fighters. There are the enforcers, who will drop the gloves at any given moment when an opponent crosses them. The sometimes fighter, who rarely goes at it, but will fight if are messed with. Then there are the star players like Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby, who are rarely seen as fighters, especially since there are teammates who will usually do the job. At the bottom of this list of potential fighters are the goalies.
The goalie, the most coveted position, the player with the most padding, and the most protected player on the ice, has always been seen differently through the eyes of hockey fans. They stick out like a sore thumb when comparing him to the other five players on the ice. There are times when they may seem vulnerable, especially when opponents do everything they can to put the puck past them. While they may come off like this at times, there is a hidden fire underneath all that extra equipment, a player who is not afraid to get in on the fun of beating an opposing goalies face into the ice.
More recently, there have been two goalie fights this week. Just yesterday, Boston Bruins goalie Tim Thomas and Montreal Canadiens goalie Carey Price joined in on the brawl between these two historical rivals. Thomas skated all the way the Canadiens end and challenged Price. After the referee let them have at it, Price threw Thomas to the ice after nine seconds of grabbing and pulling. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh Penguins backup Goaltender Brent Johnson came to the defense of teammate Matt Cooke after New York Islanders Goaltender Rick DiPietro took a swipe at him. A fight that both goalies wanted resulted in a one punch knock-out by Johnson and sent DiPietro to the Injured Reserve for 4-6 weeks, getting the entire sold-out crowd at Consol Energy Center excited, especially since Johnson was also working on a shutout that night.
Some people may say that the Johnson-DiPietro fight was nothing to sneeze at, and the same can be said for the Thomas, Price fight. Well, they may be right, especially since there have been some goalies in the past 30 years who have defined themselves as instigators who are not afraid of anyone.
I heard about this fight one night from one of my parent's friends, and I immediately went looking for it on TV. He was in Buffalo watching the Sabres face the Ottawa Senators, and guys, this fight had everything! A cheap shot to the head of Sabres captain Chris Drury began a series of fights that lead to an all-out brawl. Even Sabres coach Lindy Ruff and Ottawa's coach at the time Bryan Murray were face to face, with glass separating one another, screaming every obscenity in the English and I guess French dictionary (it's hockey folks). the highlight of this brawl was Ottawa's goaltender Mike Emery, a former boxer and Buffalo's Martin Biron. Emery got the best of Biron and then took on Buffalo left winger Andrew Peters and held his own. I'd watch the full video, it's pretty entertaining!
Anybody who followed hockey in the mid 90's, and especially if you live in Detroit or Denver, remembers the bitter rivalry between the Detroit Red Wings and the Colorado Avalanche. These two teams were in constant contention for the Western Conference Championship and a shot at the Stanley Cup. Avalanche Goalie Patrick Roy was never afraid of a challenge when his teammates would drop the gloves against Detroit. I mean, why not, Claude Lemieux shouldn't have all the fun right? Roy dropped the blocker and glove against Mike Vernon and Chris Osgood during the heated years of their rivalry, the Osgood one in my opinion, being on the more historical fight. Both goalies fighting at center ice at Joe Louis Arena. Patrick Roy truly brought hockey fights back into the spotlight following one Flyers career.
I would be a terrible hockey fan if I did not mention this next guy. The Philadelphia Flyers received the nickname "The Broad Street Bullies" back during their last Stanley Cup years in 1974 and 1975. If you're going to have that nickname, why not have a goaltender who lives up to it? Ron Hextall was that type of goaltender. The man was a Conn Smythe Trophy winner in a losing effort against Edmonton in the 1987 Stanley Cup Final. He also scored a few goals and fought like a enforcer on defense. There is a whole list of fights that Ron Hextall has been a part of. A list can be found here: Ron Hextall's Fighting Record. One of the most memorable fights came in 1989 when Hextall jumped Chris Chelios after an offsides call against Montreal. Another great fight comes toward the end of Hextall's career. Hextall and Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Felix Potvin join in on the brawl.
Of course there are so many more, and the Bleacher Report has made up their own top 10 list of the greatest goalie fights of all time Top 10 Goalie Fights of All-Time.
When we see the goalies fight, it is surprising, yet intriguing. It's almost like we were able to catch Haley's Comet that one time in our lives, and its even better when we see it in person. Johnson and Dipietro's short lived fight makes some think back to the last time they saw two goalies fight. It rarely happens, but when it does, it gets everybody excited. So there is a certain art to a goalie fight. It's a type of art that goes out of the mainstream for a while, but when someone brings it back, people notice and they are interested in what they see. Is it because these players wear so much padding that they seem unfit for a fight? Is it their role on the ice that keeps them out of most altercations? We all know the goaltender does get more protection on the ice than any other player. If an opposing player knocks you down, he gets a penalty. A goalie is also restricted. He can't leave his end of the ice with the puck and he can only play the puck behind the net in his own little trapezoid, or else he gets a penalty, sending one of his teammates to serve the two minutes for him. So I can see why some goaltenders would want to get in on a brawl or just fight the other goaltender if its excepted. For anybody who was able to see the last goalie fight, it might be the last one you see for a while. So remember it well, because when the next one comes, you'll reflect on this current one when it happens.
