Commentary
Money does indeed matter to the Penguins
Everything changed for the Pittsburgh Penguins on July 8, 1995. That was NHL draft day and the big story wasn’t the selection of Aleksey Morozov in the first round.
The Penguins made a trade, sending defenseman Larry Murphy to Toronto for defenseman Dmitri Moronov and a second-round draft pick. That deal made July 8, 1995 a pivotal date in the franchise’s star-crossed history.
It became the day the Penguins quietly admitted the party was over.
The deal was the first acknowledgment that money did indeed matter and that while the Penguins had enjoyed maxing out their credit cards, paying the bills they’d run up was becoming a problem.
Every major transaction that came after that was done with an eye to financial concerns.
They were coy about it at first. They’d make deals that would add some cash considerations.
They’d find trades in which the exchange of salaries was at least equitable. They’d spurn free agents, saying nothing was a good fit.
Meanwhile, the former ownership was so far behind on the rent that the landlord threatened to padlock the Arena.
That unhealthy financial climate didn’t stop previous ownership from signing Jaromir Jagr to a budget-busting contract extension on Jan. 27, 1998.
Less than nine months later, the franchise filed for bankruptcy protection.
It’s been downhill since then and the latest evidence is last week’s giveaway of Alexei Kovalev for four spare parts, a bundle of cash and salary relief.
The Penguins didn’t get any good players in return because the New York Rangers were paying a different kind of price for Kovalev – they provided nearly $4 million in cash and took on the bad contracts of useless defensemen Janne Laukkanen and Mike Wilson.
In the last five years, the Penguins have watched three future Hall of Famers depart – Ron Francis, Jagr and Kovalev – and the return has been marginal players and cash that was quickly spent.
If the NHL had any sense of responsibility, it never would have allowed the Penguins to sign Jagr to the extension knowing what a mess their books were.
Had the Penguins traded Jagr then, before his salary was prohibitive, they would have found a more receptive market and would have had a better chance to get a fair return.
Instead, they were saddled with a salary of almost $10 million and only two teams were even willing to talk about a trade.
Mario Lemieux says the team was not in danger of missing a payroll before the Kovalev deal but there’s no question if the situation isn’t dire, it’s at least critical.
It’s been headed in that direction since July 8, 1995.
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People have been complaining for years about the Rangers’ seemingly unlimited budget.
Give thanks for it this time. The Rangers gave the Penguins exactly what they needed – financial relief.
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All General Manager Craig Patrick had to say about the trade was, “This is the reality of our situation.”
He certainly doesn’t mind giving vague answers.
That would have been so much better than insulting people by claiming the trade made the Penguins a better team.
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The most ridiculous spin on the trade came from longtime broadcaster Mike Lange, who tried to draw a parallel to the 1991 deal that sent John Cullen and Zarley Zalapski to Hartford for Francis and Ulf Samuelsson.
While trading the high-scoring Cullen may have been unpopular with some fans at the moment, the Penguins acquired valid NHL players in return.
Samuelsson was a legitimate NHL defenseman with a reputation for big hits.
Francis had played in All-Star games and the Canada Cup, had been Hartford’s Most Valuable Player four times and had a 101-point season. He was leading Hartford with 76 points when he was traded to Pittsburgh.
The only thing Ron Francis and Rico Fata have in common is a monogram.
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Pittsburgh Pirates chief announcer Lanny (Hi, Friends) Frattare said some comments he made on the team’s caravan were misunderstood and he has no intention of retiring anytime soon.
Darn it.
Sports correspondent John Mehno can be reached at: Johnmehno@lycos.com.