Pens Are All In, Now The Pressure Is On

Evil Shero 

Ray Shero and the Pittsburgh Penguins are "all in". The Pens have traded Joe Morrow and a 5th round pick for Brenden Morrow and followed that up with trading a pair of second round picks for ruthless defenseman Doug Murray from the San Jose Sharks. 

Both of those moves are excellent moves for a number of reasons. One, the Pens needed a tough-stay at home defenseman and Murray is a guy who can bring it. He'll be excited to play with a team that actually has a chance to play for the Stanley Cup. B. Morrow is a tough two-way forward who can score goals. Morrow has had some knee problems but I think he'll be fine. And for those of you who were mad about not getting Jarome Iginla; A. The Pens are still in play for Iginla, and B. Morrow has just two less goals on the season than Iginila. He'll be perfect for Evgeni Malkin and James Neal. 

Murray is a huge replacement for Deryk Engelland, who in my opinion is the weakest link on the Pen's blueline. Murray can flat out hit people, he's a beast, maybe he'll help Brooks Orpik get his balls back. The Pens gave up a good prospect in Joe Morrow but they have a plethora of young defenseman who many consider better than Morrow. Scott Harrington, Robert Bortuzzo, Olli Matta, Derrick Pouliot, and Brian Dumoulin. Joe Morrow won't be missed, Brenden Morrow brings grit, scoring, and leadership to a team that desperately needed that more than a good prospect for the future. 

This is a grand slam by Shero. The guy could sell a ketchup popsicle to a lady wearing white gloves. Why would the Dallas Stars even answer calls from Shero anymore? Shero is arguably the best GM in pro sports right now, at the very least the best in the NHL. When you look at these moves, getting Sutter and Pouliot for Jordan Staal, signing Fleury, Crosby, Malkin, Neal, all long term. The trades for Neal, Marian Hossa & Pascal Dupuis, Gary Roberts, and Bill Guerin, he's amazing. Pure genius. 

You have to give up to this class organization. From top to bottom they give great efforts. The owners, the GM, hell even the trainer. The Pens are the best sports organization in Pittsburgh and they're on their way to being the best organization in pro sports. This team is once again set up to win a Stanley Cup. 

But now the pressure is on more than ever. Every game and more importantly, every loss will be quantified. Most of that pressure on head coach Dan Bylsma and goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury. If this team gets upset in the playoffs and bounced early again, both of these guys will share blame almost no matter what. I wouldn't even have to watch the games to know who everyone would blame. 

I think the pressure is on Bylsma big time. This team is stacked from top to bottom. You'd have to think that almost any coach would die to get a chance to coach this team. Crosby, Malkin, Neal, Fleury, grit, leadership, franchise goalie, my god. At this point, anything less than a Stanley Cup championship would be a disappointment. This team is already the favorite to win it all. They're the team to beat. Bylsma's pressure stems from  the fact that he's only won one playoff series in the last three seasons. I think a deep playoff run is crucial for his job security. Lets go Pens- Let them eat cake.