NHL News and Notes: PA Style

FINGOLD'S FINANCES FALL SHORT
Sam Fingold, the Hartford-based fancy lad hoping to buy the Pittsburgh Penguins, apparently doesn't have the scratch, so he's lost the exclusive negotiating rights to purchase the club. Fingold, we hardly knew ye. Now go get your shinebox.

Mmm, Boo Berry

The new front-runner to buy the team is rumored to be Jim Balsillie, a Canadian billionaire who like invented the Blueberry or something. So does that also mean he invented the Booberry? That would be sweet. Hell, I'd play hockey for that dude.

Anyway, Balsillie originally wanted to buy the Pens and move them to Hamilton, Ontario. Once he found out how difficult such a move would be, not only in getting the Birds out of the Burgh but also in appeasing neighboring franchises Toronto and Buffalo, Balsillie reportedly gave up the pipedream. When contacted in recent days, he denied having any interest in purchasing the team, but the rumors persist. Time will tell.

In their quest to get a new arena, the Penguins remain partnered with the Isle of Capri, a casino willing to donate a $290-million arena to the city of Pittsburgh if it's awarded the city's slots license. Such an outcome would also contractually bind any new owner to stay in Pittsburgh. So as long as Isle of Capri gets the slots license, everything is golden.

Unfortunately, politicians are weasels. State and local government are likely to spurn the Isle of Capri plan, which is clearly the best for the region, simply to line their already fat pockets. If that happens, the aforementioned weasels have concocted a Plan B, which is supposed to ensure the Pens a new arena no matter what. The only catch is it wouldn't be free, and the Pens will have to contribute to the overall cost, something that could anger incoming owners.

Gary Bettman

The NHL has said it would not allow the Penguins to leave town so long as there's a viable plan to get a new arena. That would be more reassuring if the NHL wasn't the most incompetent sports league on the planet. Gary Bettman doesn't exactly inspire confidence, unless you're trying to learn to count to 10.

WHAT A COUNTRY
On Friday, a Russian tribunal issued a court order prohibiting Evgeni Malkin from playing for the Pittsburgh Penguins. After its ruling, the tribunal searched in vain for a rat's ass, finding no one willing to give it one.

Don't worry, Penguin fans, Russian tribunal rulings don't pull much weight in America. If they did, Yakov Smirnoff would have won an Oscar years ago. It's just Metallurg Magnitogorsk's futile attempt to grab some headlines. Malkin's former club is still hoping for some sort of financial compensation for losing its prized pupil. The next step will probably be to file a lawsuit here in the United States against the Penguins and the NHL. Good luck with that.

MALKIN POTS A PAIR
Obviously not shaken by the news of the Russian tribunal's ruling, Malkin made a strong impression at Penguins training camp, scoring a pair of goals in the team's first scrimmage. By all accounts, Malkin looked awesome, continuing to remind everyone of a young Mario Lemieux, even banking a shot from below the goal line off Dany Sabourin's pads for one tally. His other goal came on a penalty shot, piping a wrister over Marc-Andre Fleury's shoulder.

Malkin's goals paced his black team to a 5-3 victory over Sidney Crosby's white squad. Crosby also scored on a penalty shot during the scrimmage, going backhand five-hole. As incredible as it sounds, Crosby reportedly looks to have gotten even faster, if that's indeed possible.

OTHER CAMP NOTES
* Jordan Staal is also supposed to be looking really good at camp. Don't rule out Staal making the team. There's talk he could he shifted to left wing.

* Of course, there are still rumors Staal could get shipped to Carolina for defenseman Jack Johnson, who continues to irk the Hurricanes by refusing to leave college. Johnson is good buddies with Crosby and would be another strong addition to the rapidly improving Penguin blue line.

* Speaking of the defense, Micki DuPont and Kris Letang are both opening some eyes. The two are smallish, quick defenders who excel at moving the puck, making them perfect for the new NHL. Ryan Whitney, Noah Welch, Sergei Gonchar, Brooks Orpik, and Mark Eaton have locked up the top five spots on the depth chart, and Eric Cairns will likely hang around to bash skulls, but the sixth spot is up for grabs. Incumbents Rob Scuderi and Josef Melichar would seem to have a leg up, but don't be surprised if DuPont or Letang make the final roster, although Letang might be more of a stretch. He's just 19 years old, and if the Pens get any younger they'd have to contend with child labor laws.

* It should be noted Ryan Malone skated the left wing on Malkin's line during the scrimmage. People were expecting big things out of Malone last season when he skated the left side for Lemieux and Ziggy Palffy in the preseason, but he delivered a whole lot of nothing when the real games started. This year could be a different story. Not scoring on a line with Malkin is a virtual impossibility. Rob Brown and Warren Young are thinking about coming out of retirement.

* Head Coach Michel Therrien has outlawed fighting during training camp. He feels it's pointless and just wastes valuable coaching time. Sadly, Andre Roy still managed to lose two fights.

PRIMEAU HANGS 'EM UP
On the eastern side of the state, Keith Primeau was forced to retire, unable to fully recover from a series of devastating concussions. The Flyer captain finished his career with 266 goals and 619 points in 909 games.

When I think of Primeau, a few things come to mind. First, he fought his own brother. So that's pretty cool. On April 7, 1997, Keith, then a member of the Whale, dropped the gloves with his brother Wayne, then skating for the Sabres. And they were both throwing bombs. They pretty much fought to a standstill and were immediately sent to their rooms without dinner.

Primeau's most memorable goal came as a Flyer in Game Four of the Eastern Conference Semifinals against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 4, 2000. With the score tied 1-1 in a ridiculous fifth overtime, Primeau skated in on right wing, cut inside on LCS hero Darius Kasparaitis, and blistered a wrist shot over Ron Tugnutt's left shoulder for the game-winner, ending the third-longest game in NHL history. There was much rejoicing. Except in Pittsburgh, where it all kind of sucked.

But I'll always remember Primeau as a tough, hard-working, character guy who gave everything he had for his team. While he was often cast as a second-liner, he could honestly be one of the best third-line centers in the history of the game. He was perfect for the role. He had size, he loved to hit, he'd fight at the drop of a hat, he chipped in his share of offense, he was airtight defensively, and he was dominant in the face-off circle.

He probably never scored as much as some people expected, but he was a complete hockey player. If I was picking an all-time team from just players I grew up with, he'd be my third-line center. Okay, well, maybe he'd be my fourth-line center, behind Lemieux, Peter Forsberg, and Joe Sakic. But Primeau would definitely be on the roster.

Wow, now I'm thinking who else would be on that team. Hmm ha. That'll give me something to write tomorrow. Feel free to play along.

FORSBERG IN CHARGE
With Primeau retired, Peter Forsberg will be the new captain in Philly. Despite being one of the best players of his generation, this will be Forsberg's first captaincy, as Joe Sakic held the honor in Quebec and Colorado. Forsberg isn't a real vocal guy, but his talent, work ethic, and courage exemplify everything a captain should be. He'll do the orange and black proud. Assuming, of course, he doesn't get injured when they stitch the C on his sweater.

RICHARDS GETS NEW OLD MATES
As the Flyers open camp, Mike Richards is centering Jeff Carter and newcomer Kyle Calder. The trio found success skating together for Team Canada at the World Hockey Championships, so the Flyers are interested to see if the magic still exists.

In doing so, they're switching Carter from center to right wing. The move opens the third-line center gig for R.J. Umberger. A natural center, Umberger found his stride last season while skating the wing for Carter. But Ken Hitchcock wants to see what Umberger can do in the middle.

Now that Primeau is officially out of the picture, and Michal Handzus is in Chicago, the Flyers are nowhere near as physically strong as they once were up the middle. But at least they have numbers. Mark Cullen, Marty Murray, and Randy Robitaille were all signed over the summer. Petr Nedved is also still hanging around. For the time being, Nedved is skating the right wing on Umberger's line, with Geoff Sanderson on the left side. Was Umberger even born the last time Nedved and Sanderson were good?

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