No Despes and No Fleury Against Montreal

Pittsburgh Penguins take on the Montrael Canadiens tonight, the two best teams in terms of points in the Eastern Conference. The Pens will be without Evgeni Malkin who continues to skate while listening to the Rosetta Stone. Paul Martin will also be out of the lineup for a lower-body injury.

In a stunning move head coach Dan Bylsma has put Mark Eaton in the lineup and will keep Robert Bortuzzo in the lineup instead of Simon Despres. I guess he either didn't read my blog post about how Simon Despres has made the lineup so much better. That or he didn't like it and is doing all of this out of pride.

Not playing Despres is the stupidest thing I have ever seen done by a coach. Did Despres do something personally against Bylsma? What the F*ck is going on with this situation. Bylsma will continue to say that Despres has a bad attitude or that he's not physical enough even though his hits per game is actually pretty good, about the same as Kris Letang's. Despres is one of their six best defensemen. And he's not getting any playing time even though everyone seems to agree that Despres should be in. #FREEDESPRES

Then Bylsma tops not playing Despres by not playing Marc-Andre Fleury against the best team in the conference on the road. Despite Tomas Vokoun being 1-2 with in his last 4 starts, and giving up 16 goals in those 4 starts. Fleury gave up 4 goals against Carolina but the goals nor the loss was really his fault. Why is he being punished? Fleury loves playing against Montrael.

The Canadians are the best team in the East, Fleury loves playing in Montreal. So let's play are old and struggling backup again. Apparently Bylsma made the goalie schedule two months in advance. Ok? So that means you have to go by the schedule? It's set in stone and no changes or adjustments can be made? I don't even know why I asked that, Bylsma and making adjustments does not go together. The only adjustment Bylsma knows is putting Crosby and Malkin on the ice together sometimes. Other than that it's the same old shit.

Pens are now 5th in the NHL in minor penalties. I guess we can't blame Bylsma for that either? 1 playoff series win in the last three seasons. Three straight playoff series losses. Tick Tock.

HOPE I'M WRONG ABOUT ALL OF THIS AND THE PENS WIN TONIGHT. GO PENS

Roethlisberger Signs Restructured Deal

By Ed Bouchette / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Steelers have completed another restructured contract, with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger signing a new deal this morning that will clear nearly $6 million of cap room for the 2013 season.By restructuring, the team takes most of the player's salary and roster bonus, if any, and turns it into a signing bonus. For salary cap purposes, signing bonues are prorated over the life of the contract in equal annual amounts.

Read the rest from Bouchette here:  http://www.post-gazette.com/stories/sports/steelers/steelers-roethlisberger-agree-on-restructured-contract-677298/#ixzz2MDMWqfF8

So now everyone will praise Ben right? No. No one will. He had no choice in this town. What's even worse is they didn't even extend his contract, so they'll have to work on that in the next few years. Now they should work on restructuring Troy Polamalu's contract. 

Mike Milbury Goes Hard On Alex Ovechkin

Mike Milbury is usually one of my least favorite people in the world and I hate when he speaks. But he is right about Alexander Ovechkin. Ovechkin is probably the most overrated athlete in the NHL and maybe pro sports right now. Ovechkin signed a 13-year $124 million contract with the Washington Capitals a few years ago. Last year Ovechkin failed to average a point a game which is appalling considering he makes $9 million a year.

Flacco Might Now Be Elite But He's Not Better Than Ben

A cute subject came up on the NFL Network about who's better: Ben Roethlisberger or Joe Flacco? Now after what Flacco just did in the playoffs, throwing 11 tds and 0 picks, along with winning the Super Bowl, he's in my top seven elite quarterbacks list. I have Flacco at number seven, after Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Eli Manning, and of course Big Ben. 

Why No Simon Despres?

The Pittsburgh Penguins lost to the Florida Panthers by a score of 6-4 to fall to 13-7 on the year. The Pens took a billion penalties in the game and got outplayed and out-coached. Dan Bylsma's club played with desperation and showed some good resilience but I still think a lot of his coaching decisions are questionable at best.

One thing I can not for the life of me figure out is why he continues to not play Simon Despres. Despres was a healthy scratch for the third time in the last five games. In the three games without Despres the Pens are 1-2 and have given up 15 goals. The Pens are 4-1 in the last five games Despres played in and only gave up 10 goals in those games.

Now I'm not going to say that's all Despres because it's not but he's a really talented player who is a +6 on the year. Despres also has five points in 15 games this year. He's a former 1st round pick who was really starting to play really well.

Now Bylsma has been switching Despres in and out of the lineup with Robert Bortuzzo. Byslma said Bortuzzo adds a more physical aspect tot the game. Bortuzzo was credited with 1 hit against the Panthers. Despres had 18 hits in 15 games, which was tied with Letang coming into the game against Florida, despite playing one less game. Despres is 6'4, 215 lbs, I think he's physical enough to play with the big boys.

Why does Deryk Engelland get to stay in the lineup? I would continue to play both of these young guys over Engelland. They both have way more upside. It's not like Deryk Engelland is Scott Stevens out there, he's a 6th defenseman at best. Unless he's punching people in the face on a consistant basis I think his spot in the lineup should be looked at.

Now apparently Despres has had a bad attitude at practice.

The Pens are actually shopping Despres according to Rob Rossi: -Simon Despres has not dressed for two straight games, and the Penguins have let inquiring clubs know he is available for the right price. The Penguins are targeting a young winger, much like Neal, who can be part of the long-term future. They want a player whose rights they control and one who can grow into a prime role in Pittsburgh. It will take that type of player to get Despres.

There are players who have been linked to the Penguins in exchange for Despres, but none of those players meet the requirements the Penguins believe are necessary to move their first-round pick from the 2009 NHL entry draft.

I for one do not support trading Despres at all. I think he could develop into a all-star caliber defensman. Isn't defense the main problem for the Pens right now. Do the stats not say that the Pens are better with Despres in the lineup than when he's not in the lineup? It's bullshit and his absence is hurting the Pens.