On trade deadline day the guys on the Penguins wanted to play a prank. (remember, this team is kind of like a college fraternity because the largest demographic on the team is players between 19 and 24 years of age... pranking is normal on any NHL team, i'd say it is Very common on the Pens, though...)
At the game the day of the trade deadline it was said that all of the players planned a prank to play on Colby Armstrong where they packed up all of his stuff to make him think he’d been traded...turns out he was and he was crushed. There was a pic of Army in the Pittsburgh news that showed him tearing in the dressing room. No press conference. No interviews. On the bus and straight outta town.... None of the players ever thought that a guy who could be considered their heart and soul would be shipped out.
He was clearly the lifeblood of the Penguins. Not anywhere close to his prime, but neither are Malkin, Crosby, Fleury or Letang... It showed in the way they played that night as they had nothing to show for except an empty win in a game that against a tanking Islanders club that didn't put up much of a fight.
Pittsburgh plays Atlanta today at 3pm... the 1st since the trade.
I miss him on the Pens. Without him, Jarkko and Max Talbot are less of pests, the team lacks grit (hits down 70% 3 for 2 games after trade compared to 4 prior...) and, the bench looks alot more serious... Which, for a group of such young guys, looks uncharacteristic of them.
The only reason this trade happened is because in Sidney Crosby's signing a cap-saving contract, the team promissed to get him a 100pt capable scoring winger. That contract cost him his best friend and roommate. I can only wonder how Crosby will play when he returns... Sure he'll get over it, and yes, the team probably did improve quicker via the trade. But, this is not the Penguins that I have become accustomed to. The last 2 games they weren't hard to play against... except for their skill, which is always hard to handle... but, the pre-trade team did display toughness- not top in the league toughness, but an emerging toughness that would do well in April...
At the game the day of the trade deadline it was said that all of the players planned a prank to play on Colby Armstrong where they packed up all of his stuff to make him think he’d been traded...turns out he was and he was crushed. There was a pic of Army in the Pittsburgh news that showed him tearing in the dressing room. No press conference. No interviews. On the bus and straight outta town.... None of the players ever thought that a guy who could be considered their heart and soul would be shipped out.
He was clearly the lifeblood of the Penguins. Not anywhere close to his prime, but neither are Malkin, Crosby, Fleury or Letang... It showed in the way they played that night as they had nothing to show for except an empty win in a game that against a tanking Islanders club that didn't put up much of a fight.
Pittsburgh plays Atlanta today at 3pm... the 1st since the trade.
I miss him on the Pens. Without him, Jarkko and Max Talbot are less of pests, the team lacks grit (hits down 70% 3 for 2 games after trade compared to 4 prior...) and, the bench looks alot more serious... Which, for a group of such young guys, looks uncharacteristic of them.
The only reason this trade happened is because in Sidney Crosby's signing a cap-saving contract, the team promissed to get him a 100pt capable scoring winger. That contract cost him his best friend and roommate. I can only wonder how Crosby will play when he returns... Sure he'll get over it, and yes, the team probably did improve quicker via the trade. But, this is not the Penguins that I have become accustomed to. The last 2 games they weren't hard to play against... except for their skill, which is always hard to handle... but, the pre-trade team did display toughness- not top in the league toughness, but an emerging toughness that would do well in April...
