Commentary
Quite a season finish ahead for the Penguins PITTSBURGH – What a finish coming up for the Penguins.
Their last home game of the season is tonight against the Carolina Hurricanes and last place in the overall standings could be at stake.
The Penguins have 63 points after Monday’s 6-1 home loss to Philadelphia. The Hurricanes, who lost at home to Montreal on Monday, have 61 points.
“Right now we’re just trying to play the best we can and hopefully get a couple of wins,” Mario Lemieux said. “It’s been difficult for us the last few weeks. It’s just another game for us on Wednesday.”
Then, he added with a smile, “Should be a good battle.”
The Penguins have two games left and you’re left with the feeling Lemeiux is counting the hours until this season ends and he can decide what his future will be.
He has major decisions to make. Will he play next year? Will he retain his ownership stake?
There are rumors around the NHL that Lemieux would like to divest himself of the ownership share here and play a season or two for a contending team at a price that matches his market value.
Remember – Lemieux took on ownership equity because it was his only chance to recoup the deferred money that the previous ownership owed him. Without that, he would have settled like the other creditors did.
Lemieux could get at least $10 million a season and probably an amount closer to $15 million, given his status as a drawing card.
The other appeal would be a chance to compete for another championship. That isn’t going to happen in Pittsburgh.
“It would nice to see him go out on top,” said Flyers forward Mark Recchi, who was on Pittsburgh’s first championship team.
The idea of Lemieux playing elsewhere seems far-fetched since it seems unlikely anyone would buy the struggling Penguins franchise, which appears to have no solid financing lined up for the new building everyone agrees is vital to its future.
All those issues will begin to sort themselves on Monday, when the Penguins start working on 2003-04 and beyond.
There really is no great incentive for the Penguins to finish dead last. That gives them additional chances in the draft lottery but it doesn’t guarantee them to No. 1 overall pick.
The Penguins had the top choice in 1984 and used it to take Lemieux, which was the first and most important step in their transformation to Stanley Cup champions seven years later.
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How badly have the Penguins fallen?
Consider this case study from the only Pittsburgh visit by the Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings:
A ticket reseller who works regularly on Centre Avenue reports that someone sold him two $120 tickets for a total of $25. That’s $240 worth of tickets for about 10 percent of their face value.
The reseller then turned around and sold them for $40 each. He made $55 and the person who bought them got a 67 percent discount on the face value of the seats.
The only loser in the deal is whoever paid the original price – and that cost was probably absorbed by a corporation.
Even the Penguins make out. They got the money for the ticket when it was first sold. When the second deal was cut on the street, it guaranteed the seat would be occupied by someone who might spend money on food, drink or merchandise.
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It would be foolish to draw conclusions about a football season after one game, much less offer any judgments on a baseball marathon that will go on every day for six months.
That said, you had to like the look of the Pirates in their opener at Cincinnati.
They can actually send up a succession of major league-caliber hitters and appear like they might be able to be able to sustain innings.
More offense will take the pressure off the pitching staff. The pitchers have been working on the slimmest margins, knowing that a run or two might be too many to allow.
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Pete Rose is working on another autobiography.
Does anybody really care at this point?
Sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached online at: john mehno@lycos.com