Well....

The season is over. We had a massive improvement in ppints over last year.

Staal came through better than anyone had expected. He became the bestpenalty killer in the league. Tops in short-handed goals, tops in shooting percentage. He is my pick for Calder.

Malkin had a great season. Scored 85 points, could have had many more if not for a few blips during the year. Like Therrien told him though, you can't live in the shadows of Crosby, you have to be Evgeni Malkin and play like you can. Hopefully Malkin will learn from this year and keep improving.

Marc Andre-Fleury. Well he kept the team in there all season. He won a tonne of games for the team and had a retty good record. His skills have improved immensly he's not making nearly as many mistakes as we have seen in years past.

Ryan Whitney. This guy will be a #1 defenseman. I would say he can reach top 10 in the league. He is good defensively, well improved. Great offensive defenseman.

Sidney Crosby. What can you say that hasn't been said before. He won the Art Ross, probably the Hart but stiff competition there. He is the leader of this team, by his play on ice and in the media and locker room. He will wear the C next year. You can complain all you want about his talking to the ref 's but he is 19 and takes more crapthan any player in the league. He will settle down over time and become one of the greats.

Mark Recchi. The Recchi-ng Ball is amazing still. He has showed he can still play in the league. What he brought to this team is great. he picked up in the leader department where Mario left off.

But the MVP of the season for the Pittsburgh Penguins is none else than? (Can you guess?)


Mario Lemieux. This man is owed a debt of gratitude by all Penguins fans and hockey fans in General. Has there ever been such a Great Owner in the history of the NHL. I know i may be exagerating in that department but lets take a look at some of what he's done for the team financialwise. Full Career Timeline HERE

1984 - Mario Gets drafted, fan interest in Pittsburgh rebounds and the Team is saved financially by having him there. Wins Calder Cup.

In the 90's when the team was going through money issues again he defers his salary so that the team can pay the bills.

September of 99 Mario uses his deferred salary and other partners to buy the team from Bankruptcy, with well over $100 Million in principle debt.

Over the next few years Mario and Owners repay all the debt that was owed at the time of Purchase. In the early part of the 00's the Penguins actually turn a profit through some business moves and a poor product on ice.

2006/2007 Mario finally plays hardball with the Gov'ts and gets his arena that was promised to him when he bought the team. This process is more than any owner I think would have done to keep a team in one city. Most owners would have taken the KC deal and left on the first plane. But Mario and his Dedication to the City of Pittsburgh came through.

Well God Bless Mario. you are still my favorite of all time and may the Arena turn a good profit for you so that we can get a great team on the ice and keep the good young players we have now.