The Penguins got the most talented winger available.

To Pens

• F - Marian Hossa, F - Pascal Dupuis

To Thrashers

• F - Colby Armstrong, F - Erik Christensen, F - Angelo Esposito, 1st Round Pick

To Pens

• D - Hal Gill

To Leafs

• 2008 2nd Round Pick, 2009 5th Round Pick

The 2008 Penguins are better after these deals. The “Get Crosby A Winger”, broken record can go back on the shelf for at least the rest of the ’08 season. How the Hossa trade effects the team in the long run is, obviously, yet to be seen. Now the Penguins have two absolutely deadly scoring lines. Plus, neither the Senators, Habs, or Devils acquired Hossa.  

I wish the trade could have been completed with Colby or Dupuis staying put.  I really wish that happened. This is bitter sweet, but Hossa is sick. 

Gary Roberts is probably out for the season.

Assuming no more Roberts, when Crosby and Hall come back, the lines will look something like this:  Malone-Crosby-Hossa…Sykora-Malkin-Talbot/Staal…Kennedy-Talbot/Staal-Ruutu…Laraque-Hall-Dupuis/Taffe. If Roberts can come back by the end of March, the Pens will be unstoppable in the playoffs, provided either Conklin stays hot or Fleury returns to form.

If you believe the Pens should keep Malone on Malkin’s line, move Talbot with Crosby, and have Staal center Kennedy and Ruutu.  What a wonderful dilemma.

I don’t know what the Pens will do for tonight’s game, or how Therrien will configure the lines before Crosby returns. I guess Staal and Hossa play together, or Malone-Staal-Talbot, and Hossa-Malkin-Sykora.

Initially, I thought they gave up a lot for a player they might only have for the stretch run. I’m starting to come around, Hossa will score playing along side Crosby.  Now, the Malkin-Sykora line won’t face the opposition;s top checking line and D-pairing every shift. These are the kind of deals teams make if they expect to make a run. With the state of the Eastern Conference this season, the Pens have now pulled ahead of the pack.

When I heard the news I immediately called my sister, the biggest Colby Armstrong fan I know.  She was devastated.

Five Stages Of Grief. 1. Denial and Isolation. 2. Anger. 3. Bargaining. 4. Depression. 5. Acceptance. …

            “I thought you should hear this from me…” I broke the news.

 “No way would they trade Colby. Atlanta, shit. How am I going to stalk him now? I just left the south. I want to be alone” She said.

“It will all be worth it if the Pens win the Stanley Cup,” I said.

            “We can win it with Colby, this is crap. I want Colby back!”

            “Recchi came back like 3 times, he might be back.” I said.

            “I’m going to kill myself,” she didn’t.

            “Well, at least we have Staal, and Ruutu.” She sighed. “I’m going to see if they’ll be my friends on Facebook.”

I then called my parents and told them to keep Liz away from sharp objects. My dad is thrilled the Pens got Hossa, we talked line combos for a minute while my sister screamed her disapproval in the background. She took the phone from my dad,

            “Is there anyway Colby comes back before next year?”

            “No, Liz. I’m sorry.”

I’ll like the Hossa deal a lot more if one or both of the following things happen:             A) The Pens at least make it to the Stanley Cup Finals                                              B) The Pens resign Hossa.

If Hossa leaves and Esposito turns into a 30-40 goal scorer I’ll be upset, but it’s worth the risk.  I was happy with the Esposito pick when it happened.  He was highly touted, once considered the best talent in the draft, and it looked like the Pens got a steal with the 20^th pick in the draft. Still, he’s a natural center and the Pens are not short on centers, or first round draft picks.

Objectively, I really don’t think there is a huge drop between Tyler Kennedy and Colby Armstrong.

The Penguins are now without 1^st and 2^nd round picks this season, but that could change. It’s also possible those two picks could have been busts, had the Penguins kept them. 

Christensen needs to play center on the top two lines to reach his potential, he would never have gotten that chance in Pittsburgh.

The Thrashers could roll out a line of Recchi-Christensen-Armstrong when they play the Penguins on Sunday.   That wouldn’t surprise me at all.

The Capitals got better, they acquired Sergi Federov from Columbus, and G, Cristobal Huet from Montreal. Washington will probably win the Southeast.  I still think Federov is good, mostly because of my affinity for NHL ’94, and the dominant Red Wings teams of the 90’s who always got trapped to death by the Devils. 

The Flyers got Prospal, I hope they miss the playoffs entirely.

I hope the Penguins somehow reacquire Armstrong.  Colby was a great 3^rd line guy, I love the way he plays the game. I love watching him hit guys skating with their heads down. Because of Colby, I’m almost a defacto Thrasher fan now, I hope they move to Winnipeg and switch conferences then I can root for them until they play the Pens in the finals. 

Gill is a big physically defenseman, he’ll add some depth and bring a mean streak to a defense corps that isn’t terribly intimidating. He is kind of slow, but he’s a good penalty killer.

I’d trade Gill for Armstrong straight-up.