A whole freekin year....

It's amazing that we were able to keep this up for a whole year... From weekly standards like "Fact of the Week" and "Picture of the Week," to one of the greatest campaigns since spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos put a country boy who cheats on his wife in the white house (you know i can only be talkin about FUMT). We had our failed campaign to FREE JANNE, but as we all know our first season culminated with one of the greatest playoff runs in the history of Pittsburgh. If I had to pick one season to start a blog, this would have been the one. Though we know that every season cannot be as successful as this one, we here at PATP hope to stay on the roller coaster ride of the NHL season for many more years.

Though our namesake has been a flop, we can only assume that we will latch onto another struggling player and turn him into an unappreciated Folk Hero (that should give those youngins some motivation going into training camp)...

I could sit here and ramble for another few paragraphs about how great this season was, about how janne never got his shot, how sidney crosby has huge lips and malkin is ugly, but our history is on the right sidebar, so it seems kinda a waste...

Only another month until training camp...



In other news the Janne jesus movie has been removed from youtube

Now that looks like a hockey player

Brian Strait is not gonna play in the NHL this year, maybe not next year... But when I look at this kid all I can think is, "this guy looks like a hockey player." They are calling him Pittsburgh top Defensive-minded prospect in their system, and his 6 foot 1 200 lb frame makes him a promising guy... Who knows what will happen...

All I know is that for the first time in a while the Penguins prospect pool is starting to really look promising... I cannot wait to get my ass back out to WBS to watch some of these future stars play.

Hilarious...

Taking joy in maid marian's misfortunes will never get old...

7 days...

Off season has been slow, our dreams have been crushed, but in 7 days there will be much rejoicing...

If Obama played hockey...

A Great day for...

New and improved video with all your favorite moments from the playoffs...

Come on Glen Pull Harder...

Just a thought, is there any way we could invite the Craps and Cryers to join the Rump Rangers?

Nothing would be greater than rubbing the faces of the trio in the Penguin Poop as the banner is raised to the roof of the Igloo. I guess the Rangers will have to watch in awe, as the 3rd banner hits the rafters.

Maybe we could make Glen Sather be the rope man in the ceremonies. Pencil in Oct. 2ND ...one last thing Vince and I is looking for a volunteer to give Maid Marian a call to make sure he is watching.

As if we didn't already know...

According to a trustworthy source of mine, it seems that the dream of seeing Janne light the lamps in a Penguins uniform will not be coming to fruition... According to a Finnish newspaper:

It looks like Janne Pesonen will not be signing with the Pens for next season. Getting a contract looks like unreal at the moment even though his good numbers while in WBS. "I don't believe that that there would be place for me anymore for next season because of the full roster", says Janne. Pesonen who is an unrescricted agent at the moment and is free sign with any team at the moment. His goal is to get a one-way contract with an NHL team for next season."There are many NHL-teams at the moment who are interested in me, but let's wait and see who is really serious and who is not. European teams are also an alternative for me", he continues.

Though not a surprise to most of us, it is still sad to see somebody with so much potential leave the organization without really getting a chance. If this was a year ago, I could see Janne getting a chance over signing somebody like Miro Satan, but with the solid team we have right now there really just isn't anywhere for him to go. We here at PATP and the rest of the Pesonation hope that Janne is able to sign with a team who will appreciate his abbilities and give him a fair shot at being a successful winger in the NHL....

To our readers, though our namesake may be leaving the organization, both Kevin and I had such a good time sharing our opinions and hearing yours that we are not planning on letting this be the death of our blog and we will continue to cover the Penguins next season... For our Finnish readers, we are all here still hoping to see janne have success here in North America, and you can count on us to keep you in the loop if he decides to stay in the united states (unless he signs with the Capitals or the Flyers, then he is dead to us)...

Also keep an eye out for a poll on which obscure player we should become obsessed about next season...

Kevin's take:
Can't believe it is over so soon, though as one door closes, another opens. I'm going to be returning to the Outer Banks, NC this weekend where Vince and I spent alot of time hashing out this site. Maybe it will be the old addage, back to the drawing board. Who will step in? I just want to say to all of Finnish readers and esp. Janne, Thanks and Good luck.

A glimmer of hope...

I hate taking joy in other peoples misfortunes, but this rumor has been floating around alot lately and I didn't want to discuss it until it was confirmed, but, Max Talbot is out the first 1-2 months of the season for the pens... The pens have a few options here, promote somebody from wilkes barre and see if they can cut it, sign a winger on the cheap, or bring back Janne....

Guess which one we're hoping for?

Gloom and Doom...

Well people, it is starting to look like janne's odyssey in the Penguins organization might be coming to a close... According to shero, janne was somebody they would be looking into if Feds did not sign... Though it is a sad day for us as fans, if Janne does move on and get a chance to actually play in the NHL, we wish him the best... Let's just hope he doesn't sign with the cryers or the crapitals....

Shittank stays a Pen..

The Pens have sign Feds to a one year deal.

It might be looking good for janne...

At this point, I am quite confident that ShitTank will in fact sign somewhere else... During the playoffs he made himself an extra 500 grand that the pens cannot afford to give him. This leaves us in search of another winger for the team... Right now there is alot of mediocre talent that is quite expensive on the market right now... The pens could, rather than pay 2-3 mil for a winger, bring somebody like Janne in on the low... I'm not guarunteeing anything, it might still be a long shot, but you gotta think that logic is on Janne's side...

On a side note, Janne's partner in crime Ville Leino was resigned to Detroit for a 2 year deal, not sure if it is 1 way or 2 way though...

Can you hear them...

Not much else goin on in the pens FA signing....

It's Official...

Pens over Blackhawks for the repeat... you heard it here first....

Vince's Thoughts: Chicago is like one of those girls who thinks they can transform a guy who sleeps around into a one woman man. After watching Hossa whore himself out to the big guns for a few years, Chicago tried to make an honest player out of him... But we all know how these situations end, after a year or so, the man is at a bar, drinking down some Red-Bull and vodka, when a trampy girl walks in the room, and the night ends with her legs in the air and the man thinking to himself "man i can't believe i gave this up"....

July 1st, High Noon is.... Judgement Day....

Well it's finally here... The day we have all been waiting for since the ol' 29er proposed us going down to the river and partying all summer long... Who will stay, who will go, and who will be new... Over at the Penguins insider, Jonathan Bomboulie put together a pretty good list of wingers who are in the Penguins price range...

1. Taylor Pyatt, Vancouver (1.575): Great size. Underachiever. Averages about 16 goals a year the last three years.

2. Jason Williams, Columbus (2.2): Met him at the AHL all-star game in St. John's. Great guy. Goal totals per season since lockout: 19-13-15-21. Pfft.

3. Ales Kotalik, Edmonton (2.33): Goal totals since lockout: 20-23-16-25. Probably out of the price range.

4. Mikael Samuelsson, Detroit (1.20): Goal totals since lockout: 19-11-14-23. And they tried this once before with him.

5. Andy Hilbert, Islanders (0.675): No, I'm not kidding. 7 goals-11 assists in 19 games with Crosby in 05-06. Given the price tag, I can think of worse options.

6. Maxim Afinogenov, Buffalo (3.33): Due for a big paycut after goal totals of 6 and 10 the last two years. Tons of talent though. Can stickhandle in a phone booth.

7. Joakim Lindstrom, Phoenix (0.525): I actually liked this guy in Syracuse and 9 goals in 44 NHL games last year isn't nothing.

8. Alex Tanguay, Montreal (5.25): Could his price fall enough after two dismal seasons with the Habs? Probably not.

9. Todd Bertuzzi, Calgary (1.95): I like Bertuzzi. I even named my dog Bertuzzi. But he doesn't have much left. 44 points last year despite averaging more than 18 minutes a game.

10. Peter Schaefer, Boston (2.3): He did score 20 goals once.
For the full post go here

Anyways, that list isn't that attractive if you ask me... With this, and the chances of Tank walking, Pesonen is looking like a viable option... Who knows, I will post anything of interest as i hear it and get time...