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Penguins’ Signing of Comrie makes Training Camp Verrry Interesting
by Tony on 09/03/10 at 08:42 PM ET
Comments (5)
You youngins just Google “Arte Johnson” for translation.
It’s funny, it was only a couple of days ago when I posted Part II of our Penguins Roundtable discussing the forwards. We probably had twenty different line combinations between the seven of us.
But that was before today’s signing of veteran forward Mike Comrie, and there’s already talk that not only will he skate as a top-six forward, but that he may very well be a winger on Sidney Crosby’s first line. That throws the rest of the forward lines into quite a tizzy, and if they’re paying attention, should have some veteran forwards quite nervous.
At first glance, some may look at Comrie and think he’s merely yet another ham-n-egger that should be battling it out on the 3rd or 4th lines. Who knows, that may end up to be true. But history shows that when Comrie is healthy, he can light the lamp, and do it with regularity. He scored 33 goals for the non-playoff Oilers in ‘01-‘02 and 30 goals for the non-playoff Coyotes in ‘03-‘04.
Thing is, health has always been the asterisk in Comrie’s resume. He only played 43 games last season, missing 30 games because of mononucleosis, scoring 13 goals. He has played more than those 43 games only once since the ‘05-‘06 season, when he played 76 games for the Islanders in ‘07-‘08.
Whether Comrie works out on Crosby’s line, if that is indeed where he will start, will be known in due time. Scoring lines are juggled so much in training camp, maybe he jells with the Malkin/Staal line, it’s a crapshoot at this time.
But what Comrie’s signing really does is create a “no room for error” training camp. No, not for top dogs, they’re safe. With Comrie on the roster the Penguins now have 13 regular NHL forwards, and that’s not even counting any minor leaguers with previous time in a Penguins uniform such as Chris Conner, Dustin Jeffrey, Nick Johnson, Mark Letestu, Tim Wallace and especially Eric Tangradi. Comrie’s signing sparked a Twitter feud today between those who believe Tangradi is ready to assume a roster spot and those who believe he needs more seasoning at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.
So even if you disregard all of the Baby Penguins, which of course is extremely unfair to all of them, you still have one extra regular NHL forward that must be scratched every night. The “easy” pick would be enforcer Eric Godard, but that won’t be the case every game. It might not be the case on Opening Night Oct. 7th, as a matter of fact. Even with Mike Rupp and Arron Asham, do you scratch Eric Godard against the Flyers? The Rangers?
But I believe it would be a mistake to assume that Godard will automatically be a scratch, assuming the roster stays as is, barring injuries. The real juggling is going to now take place between the forwards not named Crosby, Malkin or Staal. Comrie, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis, Matt Cooke, Tyler Kennedy, Max Talbot, Craig Adams, Rupp, Asham and Godard will be battling for any of those nine remaining forward spots. With the exception of a couple of those names, the majority of those forwards have been thrown around with at least the top three lines at one time or another.
Will Dupuis get first shot at Crosby’s other winger? Or Kunitz? Who gets to play on the 2nd line with Malkin and Staal once he’s healthy? Cooke? Kunitz? Dupuis? Who will be considered for their “checking line”? How will HCDB employ their three enforcers?
Many, many options available to HCDB. It’s going to be verrrry interesting to see how things work themselves out.
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Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Comments
Laugh In aired before my time, but I saw the reruns… 
I was a little shocked by this signing, but this should create a very competitive training camp. Competition is a good thing, complacency and entitlement - not so much.
Posted by DigitalGypsy66 on 09/03/10 at 09:02 PM ET
I remember Laugh in !! Rowan & Martin Goldie Hawn, Arte Johnson & the rest
Posted by Evilpens on 09/03/10 at 09:34 PM ET
Scoring lines are juggled so much in training camp, maybe he jells with the Malkin/Staal line, it’s a crapshoot at this time.
That’s assuming there will be a Malkin/Staal line. It could be the end result, but I don’t see that as a certainty. Especially when adding a top-6 capable player like Comrie.
There are quite a few possible line permutations, plus a couple of talented youngsters vying for a roster spot at the expense of the previously certain, which makes for a very interesting camp.
Posted by Moq from Denmark on 09/04/10 at 02:59 AM ET
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Posted by Paul from Motown Area on 09/03/10 at 08:52 PM ET