First, I want to start with an email that I got in response to what I wrote about the Penguins. I got several, and this is by far the best and most interesting one I recieved. I also want to point out that when I said the Penguins were not getting the support I needed, I didn't mean fan support, I meant support from their city. Anyways, here is the email :
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CJ - I'm a big follower of your blogspot, and have been since the tail end of thelockout, keep up the good work. I'm emailing you to respond to your blurb about the pens and them being up forsale. Being from pittsburgh - i grew up not far outside the city, and i currentlygo to school in the city, i've been around this franchise at its greatest - andnow its worst - times. As people may (or maynot) know, the fate of the penguinsrests with the state of Pennsylvania. The state recently legalized gambling, andthere will be several of these liscenses awarded across the state, one being forthe city of pittsburgh. With no funds left in the city or state to fund a newarena for the pens, Mario and company have made a deal with a major slots company- Isle of Capri Casinos Inc. whom will pledge 290 million dollars that is neededfor the new arena - this is the only money the pens would get out of the deal,they would not be making any money off of the gambling. In addition, the pens, this gambling company, andNationwide developent have created a package that will pretty much revolutionize oneof the worst areas of the city by building a new arena, a slots parlor, andredeveloping the surrounding areas. Nationwide did the same thing for the BlueJacket's arena and surrounding area. Basically what it comes down to is this - thepens will be in pittsburgh IF AND ONLY IF their group wins the gambling liscense forthe pittsburgh region. It appears that mario is out as owner, reguardless. Thereis an offical agreement that binds the team to the city if they win the slotsliscense, reguardless of ownership, otherwise, they are free to do as they wish. In a city who's economy is struggling, the absence of an NHL team and all therevenue that it creates city wide would be terrible - we experienced how it would beduring the lockout, and several studies indicated that the city lost 10s of millionsof dollars in economic power. I wasnt sure how well known this saga is outside the confines of the three rivers,so i figured i'd attempt to spread the word of how crazy and unnecessary this wholething is. There should be no contest that the pen;s and their group should beawarded the liscense, as it keeps one of the most historical teams in the NHL in itshome town, helps the city with a new venue in a new arena, helps stablize the localeconomy, and it redevelops part of the city AT NO COST TO THE TAXPAYERS. all mario, the pens, and the city can do is just play the waiting game...... once again, i really enjoy your site and the blog, and here's to hoping i stil have a team to cheer for in a few years!
LETS GO PENS
thanks
- JOE , Pittsburgh, PA
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Thanks to Joe for that. If anyone has anything to add or respond to that, please email me and I will pass it on, or if it's worth it, I will post it up on the blog. I want to get our readers more involved around here. Lets get to some news and rumours shall we?
As many of you already know, Nedved was dealt to the Flyers yesterday. I don't like this deal, only because I think he was brought in when he really wasn't needed. The Flyers are playing great hockey, and Nedved isn't. I think the cap room could have been used on something a lot better, and I just don't see Nedved being a good fit on this Philadelphia team. Lets see if he proves me wrong...
As I reported on the forums late last night (if you havn't joined the forums, I suggest you do, as most breaking news is posted there before anywhere else!), I talked to a good source , and the Leafs are really trying to get rid of Belfour. What many people do not know is that, yes, Belfour's contract is up after this year, but there is an option for next year, which the Leafs will not pick up. However, if they do not pick it up, they actually buy Belfour out for 1.5 million, which counts towards the cap. The Leafs would love to move Eddy by the deadline, and make that 1.5 million someone else's problem. The asking price is VERY low for Eddy. That being said, the Leafs would like to move him closer to the deadline. Goalies rumoured to be replacing him? Curtis Joseph and Evgeni Nabokov are the two I have heard. One more Leaf rumour for you? Bill Watters on Mojo Radio yesterday suggested Sundin could ask for a trade....I've been saying trade Sundin all year, but if you deal Sundin, they can't deal Allison. Interesting times in Leaf land...
Aaron Miller to Buffalo rumours are heating up again, as are Doug Weight to Ottawa rumours. Miller would be a good fit in Buffalo, but I think Ottawa would be stupid to pick up Weight, I don't think he'd add much to their already powerhoused offense.
Some site news for you. As you know, we're working on a new site. For the meantime, I plan on doing some additions to the current site today. No promises, as me and HTML don't work that great together, but I really want to add a new rumours section, as well as a "TradeLeaks" section, where all the trades from here to the deadline are listed. We'll see how this works out...if the site goes down at all today, it's my fault! :)
Also, we're working on getting several Q & A's with players, so that could be something to look for. And I am speaking with Blueline Hockeytalk Radio (Check them out, link is on the main page at hockeyleaks.com) about going back on their show, which would give us another media piece to add to our site. If any of you would like to work with Hockeyleaks.com, or be a writer for us, please contact me at cjohnson202@hockeyleaks.com. We are expanding and could always use extra help. Have a good Saturday everyone, I'll talk to you tomorrow (unless something big breaks today). Sunday is usually a great day for rumours...
