Zybnek Michalek willing to move his non-trade clause via Mark Madden

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According to Mark Madden of 105.9 the X, Zybnek Michalek is willing to waive his nonmovement clause with the Pittsburgh Penguins. For the sake of the Pittsburgh Penguins and their fans, I hope Madden is wrong, which wouldn't be a big surprise.

Madden often spews off nonsense for ratings, and I don't know when to take him seriously. Madden suggested that Michalek was not happy with the Penguins system and that he would be willing to move his nonmovement clause to go to a different team.

Personally I think it would be extremely dumb of Pens if they were to move Michalek. For anyone that saw the Pens play in the first round of the playoffs the defensive play sucked. The Pens let up goal after goal after goal. Actually I think the Flyers just scored on the Pens again.

Michalek had the best +/- out of the Pens defensmen. Michalek has also led the Penguins in blocked shots in the regular season, each of his two seasons that he has been in Pittsburgh. Have you watched the rest of the Stanley Cup playoffs? Blocking shots is the name of the game. To trade your best shot-blocker on a team that struggles defensively would be moronic.

Instead, the Pens need to focus on fixing their system to fit their player's best attributes. That means head coach Dan Bylsma needs to put his players in situations that they can succeed . He did not do a good job of that in the first round loss to Philadelphia.

If the Pens are going to move any defenseman, it has to be Paul Martin, and that $5 million cap hit. I know it is not going to be easy to do, but someone out there will take Martin, his skillset, and his minutes. Think of a team like the Florida Panthers or Columbus Blue Jackets for examples.

Michalek needs to stay. Madden needs to find better ways of being relevant. I'm sure the guy who runs Tim Horton's at the Consol Energy Center has been his source for his Jordan Staal rumors. Jackpot!