THN Archive: Penguins Perfect Problem
The Pittsburgh Penguins were faced with a perfect problem regarding their stars in 2008.
Heading into the 2008-09 season, there was a real question being asked whether or not the Pittsburgh Penguins would be able to keep both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin as long-term solutions.
Just coming off of a loss in the Stanley Cup Final and the promise of a new arena, the Penguins were certainly going to try and keep the two headed monster around for as along as possible.
As we sit and take in the 2023-24 season, Crosby and Malkin are both on the other side of 35-years-old and carry three Stanley Cup rings on their fingers.
The Penguins not only found ways to keep two superstars around for almost two decades, but they grew Kris Letang into another main feature and all three are still at the top of their game.
This edition of The Hockey News Archive dives into the state of the Penguins in 2008, from the roster, to the salary cap, to that new arena the team still calls home today.
Pittsburgh has two franchise players, but only one franchise. How long can they keep Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin and the rest of the best young Penguins together?
MAN, ARE THEY EVER GOING TO NEED a lot of windows. But hey, when your future is this bright, no sense in hiding behind a bunch of concrete, is there?
Yup, things are rolling along just splendidly for the Pittsburgh Penguins these days. While they were cooling their heels waiting for their Eastern Conference final series to start, the guys who wear the expensive suits – the same ones who were scouting out a new building in Kansas City a little more than a year ago – learned that the city’s planning committee had finally approved the final design for the (Name Of Highest Corporate Bidder Here) Arena, a $290-million taxpayer-funded structure on which the Penguins hope to break ground shortly after the Stanley Cup parade this summer.
The city’s planning committee asked for a couple of modifications, given that taxpayers are putting up a vast majority of the dough for the new building and a lot more of those hardworking folks will see the outside of the building than the inside. So, they changed a few things up. But the building, which is scheduled to open in time for the 2010-11 season, will still have a stunning glass atrium that will face downtown Pittsburgh and a lot of room for future development and storefronts, which translates into multiple revenue streams.
“Everything is falling into place,” Penguins CEO Ken Sawyer told the media after the vote. We weren’t there, but we can just imagine Sawyer drumming his fingers together the way Mr. Burns does on The Simpsons.
On the ice, they’ve parlayed years of futility and high draft picks into an embarrassment of riches in terms of player personnel and a potential dynasty…or at least a legitimate contender for the foreseeable future. Off the ice, they’re building a home that will go a long way toward guaranteeing their long-term future and prosperity.
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