Posted by Rich DeLeo
on 11/20/2003, 10:55 am
Board Administrator
Here's a message to all Penguins fans out there....Start looking for another team to root for. The team is currently without Mario Lemieux, for another week at least, they have only won one time with him out of the lineup, they have scored the fewest goals in their division, and now they are seriously toying with the idea of sending their number 1 draft pick and sometimes starting goalie, Marc Andre Fleury to the junior league. Why? Money, of course. The Penguins are purposely keeping Fleury out of games as to not to enact a clause in that contract that if he plays 20 minutes in 25 games this season, his contract incentives will kick in to the tune of about $5 million, as much as Lemieux himself. That is not the whole issue. What is at issue is why did the Pens draft this kid number 1, put him on he roster, name him the starting goaltender on opening night, then say, well, we can't afford to play him in so many games, because we don't have the money to pay him. THEN WHY THE HELL DID THEY SIGN HIM TO ANY CONTRACT IF THEY CAN'T AFFORD TO PAY HIM? I am not a person who is up on all the legal mumbo jumbo that goes on with contracts, but I do know this, if you don't have the money to pay someone, then don't sign him to a contract that you cannot honor!! It's that simple. It has come to that for the Penguins, that they can't even afford to pay the guys they sign. They are playing with a roster full of no name players, or players that are at the end of their careers, and Lemieux. This is a bad mix, and it is only going to get worse. The season is a month and a half old, and the Pens have 4 wins. That is not going to put a lot of people in those high priced seats. Which is another reason that attendance is droppng like a stone from the Empire State Building. High ticket prices, poor performance, no name players, Lemieux on the shelf, their number 1 pick and sometime starter possibly being demoted to junior hockey. This sound like a molitoff cocktail waiting to explode. Does this sound like hockey may be on its last leg in the Burgh? I would think so! The money issue is what really baffles me. They are crying about lack of revenue, yet they sign Fleury to a pricey contract for an 18 year old kid, who if I remember correctly, demanded to be paid his fair market value, as the number 1 pick. Which unfortunately gave him some leverage, and put the Pens in a precarious situation. I really don't have a good feeling about this whole situation in Pittsburgh. The franchise is struggling, and eventually Mario will retire, for good. And when that happens, you can probably start to wave goodbye to the Pens franchise. If and when that happens, we will all see and realize that this truly was a franchise that depended solely on one man, and that its collapse was due to a fact that all of us will realize someday, we get old and can't do the job anymore. And if the franchise heartbeat is spelled Lemieux, then it may stop beating by this time next year. Mike Lange says, "it's a hockey night in Pittsburgh", but when the clock strikes the bewitching hour for the Pens, it will be a sad day in Pittsburgh!
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