Entries with the tag: gary+roberts

Afternoon Line

by Paul on 08/13/08 at 12:01 PM
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“At one point I thought I wasn’t going to play again,” he said. “I decided that, after the way things went in the playoffs, that I wasn’t ready to quit.”

“People say, ‘Oh, you’re old, you can’t play anymore,’ but I truly believe it was kind of a fluke season,” Roberts said. “Everybody has a year once and a while with injuries. I’m close to being 100 percent and really feel good coming in this year and having a good season.”

-more on Gary Roberts from Erin Chenderlin at TampaBayLightning.com…

Malone & Roberts Officially Signed by Lightning

by Alanah McGinley on 06/30/08 at 09:24 AM
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From TSN,

Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts are officially members of the Tampa Bay Lightning, and defenceman Dan Boyle might be the player in the team’s cross-hairs.

Malone has agreed to a seven year, $31.5 million contract, while Roberts agreed to terms on a one year contract that pays him a base salary of $1.25 million plus $10,000 for every game that he plays in the 2008-09 NHL regular season. So if Roberts were to play in all 82 games, he would earn $820,000 in bonuses, which could make his total income for the season $2.07 million.

continued... plus some speculation on Dan Boyle’s future

Report- Bolts Sign Malone and Roberts

by Paul on 06/29/08 at 01:45 PM
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via Sportsnet,

A day after trading for their rights, The Tampa Bay Lightning are close to signing Ryan Malone to a long-term year deal that will exceed $30 million and Gary Roberts to a one-year year deal that has the potential to reach $2 million, Sportsnet has learned.

An announcement could come as early as Monday.

Update 3:57pm ET (alanah): From Eric Duhatschek at the Globe & Mail,

...and one source, who doesn’t represent either players, but was monitoring the situation, predicted deals would get done for both players before noon on July 1, when they would otherwise hit the open market.

And Erik Erlendsson of The Tampa Tribune is also monitoring the situation on his blog.

Update 4:30pm ET: From Damian Cristodero at Lightning Strikes,

If things keep going at the current pace, the Lightning could announce contracts for both Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts by later today. If that happens, give the Lightning credit for turning a tide that, for a while, seemed to be going against it.

Update 6:39pm ET: Again, from Damian Cristodero,

Mike Liut, the agent for left wing Ryan Malone, said his client has not signed a contract but a deal with the Lightning “is going to get done. ... I think we’ll finish it today.” That doesn’t mean it will be announced today, of course.

Update 9:29pm ET: The deal is signed, says TSN. Their headline currently reads, “MALONE INKS SEVEN YEAR DEAL WITH LIGHTNING”

Ryan Malone has agreed to a seven year, $31.5 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Malone, who would have drawn considerable interest from around the NHL as an unrestricted free agent, will earn between $7 and $8 million in each of the first two years of the deal.

Sign Roberrts

by Paul on 06/26/08 at 07:28 AM
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from Don Brennan of the Ottawa Sun,

First Ray Emery, now Brian McGrattan.

In less than a week, the Senators have sent two of Jason Spezza’s best friends packing.

As a trade-off, it’s only right that GM Bryan Murray now brings in one of Spezza’s Toronto buddies.

That Gary Roberts guy would work just fine.

continued

Roberts Moving On

by Paul on 06/24/08 at 07:02 AM
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from Dave Molinari of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Rick Curran, who represents Roberts—a veritable folk hero in his season-plus with the Penguins—said yesterday that Roberts will continue playing, but not in Pittsburgh.

“He very much enjoyed his time there,” Curran said. “But he understands that Ray [Shero, the Penguins’ general manager] has a number of items on his agenda that would take priority.”

read on

added 7:59am, from Empty Netters,

We can’t recall any player in Penguins history or even Pittsburgh sports history quite like Gary Roberts. We don’t remember fans falling in love so deeply with a player in such a short period of time. Sure people adored Mario Lemieux or Sidney Crosby right off the bat but that was because they were proclaimed saviors of the franchise in one way or another.

continued with numerous videos…

Laraque is Running the Show—Off the Record

by Alanah McGinley on 06/23/08 at 04:21 PM
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From Channel Canada:

Pittsburgh Penguins forward Georges Laraque drops the gloves and calls the shots when he slides into the main chair as guest host of Off The Record (OTR), tonight at 6 p.m. ET on TSN.

Not one to back down from a good fight – or a good debate – Laraque will ask the hard-hitting questions to the show’s guests, which include Penguins teammate Gary Roberts, who will be featured in-studio during the Up Front and Next Question segments of the show. [...]

The other guests on tonight’s show will include Detroit Red Wings Senior Vice-President Jim Devellano. Together, Laraque and the guest panelists will take on the key newsmakers and hottest sports topics of the day, including NHL free agency.

In nearly 2,600 episodes, Laraque is the first NHLer to ever host the show.

This is appearing on Canada’s OTR only, not the ESPN version. But it should be available in the online video archives at TSN after the show, for anyone (Pens fans!?) who may be interested.

Gary Roberts Considering Future

by Alanah McGinley on 06/11/08 at 09:09 AM
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From Dan Rosen at NHL.com,

The decision, though, is up to Roberts. He said he would have to take the summer to reassess his situation and his drive only because of the arduous season he has just gone through.

Roberts, as we mentioned before, is the king of fitness, but he has battled a respiratory infection, a broken leg, a high ankle sprain, a groin strain and a mild case of pneumonia this year.

“Well, I mean obviously I’d be lying to you if I didn’t think about (retirement),” Roberts said. “For sure it’s a thought of mine, but it’s nice to have my legs finally. It’s been since Christmas. I’m excited about the way I feel.”

The way he played in the Stanley Cup Final, too.

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Last Stand for Gary Roberts

by Alanah McGinley on 06/02/08 at 11:59 AM
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From Jim Kelley at Sportsnet.ca,

After all, a Pittsburgh loss in the Joe Louis Arena and the Detroit Red Wings are Stanley Cup champions. The kids, well, deep down in their collective hearts, you just know they believe there will be a second chance, maybe even a third or fourth if they can keep the core of the team together.

Not so for Roberts.

“Deep down I know this is probably the last time for me,” Roberts said in the hours before the team plane departed for what could be the last game of the season and possibly Roberts’ career.

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Hits Keep Coming

by Alanah McGinley on 05/31/08 at 10:50 AM
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From John Niyo at the Detroit News,

...afterward Maxime Talbot talked about looking into the 42-year-old Roberts’ eyes “and you’re kind of scared, you know, like, ‘Oh, my God, that guy’s intense!’ ”

“He certainly has provided a spark and some energy,” Cleary admitted. “He’s a gritty guy and he was a big influence on that winning goal. But we have guys that’ll hit and get in there and get dirty, too.”

One of those guys, Dallas Drake, was on the receiving end of a pair of Orpik’s hits in that highlight-reel shift Wednesday. Drake, though, had a shift just like it in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals, and tonight he’ll undoubtedly look to introduce himself to his old friend, Mr. Roberts.

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Answers From Therrien Today

by Alanah McGinley on 05/25/08 at 03:49 PM
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Q&A with Pittsburgh Penguins coach Michel Therrien.

Q. What does Malkin have to do to re-establish himself as a dominant player in this series?

COACH MICHEL THERRIEN: First of all, we still have a lot of confidence in him. He’s a world-class player. He needs to stay focused. He needs to stay on top of his game. He needs to skate. He needs to battle. And if he’s doing those things, good things can happen to him.

Continue Reading »

Roberts Out For Game #1

by Alanah McGinley on 05/23/08 at 06:43 PM
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From Pierre LeBrun at the CP via Yahoo!,

Gary Roberts tried to bite his tongue on the eve of the Stanley Cup final, visibly upset after Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Michel Therrien told him he wouldn’t be in the lineup for the opening game Saturday night.”Obviously, I’m not happy about it but I’m going to let Mike talk about why I’m not playing,” Roberts said.

Therrien was not asked about Roberts during his news conference Friday but later told a reporter that the media would find out after the pre-game skate Saturday whether Roberts was in or not.

Roberts let the cat out of the bag.

“I’ve been told I’m not playing tomorrow night,” said Roberts. “But it’s not the time for me to bitch and complain.”

continued...

Updates From Kukla

by Alanah McGinley on 05/23/08 at 02:40 PM
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Paul is at the NHL’s media event in Detroit (for which we’re hosting the live video feed on the previous post). 

This post will be an open forum from the event, to add photos he sends in and links to audio he’ll be posting on NHL.com later today. 

Updates will be added below throughout the day, with Wings stuff coming in first since the Penguins aren’t yet available.  To start, I’ve put up a couple screenshots from video he’s shot today so far…

Continue Reading »

As Expected, Gary Roberts In the Lineup Tonight

by Paul on 05/01/08 at 12:40 PM
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from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

(Gary) Roberts will take his regular spot at left wing on the fourth line. Adam Hall, who replaced Roberts when he was injured, will probably move to centre on that line to fill in for Talbot, with Georges Laraque at right wing.

While he was not happy about sitting out on Tuesday, Roberts said he understood.

“Obviously, the way this team is playing, it’s a tough lineup to crack,” he said. “Unfortunately for Max [Talbot], he broke his foot and it’s an opportunity for me to get back in and help the team.”

more on the Pens…

Don’t Mess With Penguins’ Chemistry

by Alanah McGinley on 04/29/08 at 01:02 PM
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From David Shoalts at the Globe & Mail,

In fact, the team chemistry is such that head coach Michel Therrien does not want to change it even though veteran forward Gary Roberts is healthy enough to return to the lineup. Roberts, who played a big role in the first two games of the first round of the NHL playoffs before suffering a groin injury, was told in the morning that he will not play in Game Three of the Eastern Conference semi-final against the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

With the Penguins holding a 2-0 series lead and Adam Hall playing well in Roberts’ place, Therrien decided to leave things as they are.

“We want Gary Roberts back in the lineup but we want him back at the right time,” Therrien said. “If we bring him back, who are we going to take out? We have great chemistry right now.”

more...

The Heart & Soul Is Back In Pittsburgh

by Paul on 04/10/08 at 09:26 AM
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from David Shoalts of the Globe and Mail,

“Last year, I think we were in shock after Game 1 in Ottawa. They came out and battled us so hard,” said Roberts, who tried to aw-shucks his way around his role in last night’s win. He said luck was the big factor since he is still not in prime shape because of the injury layoff.

“Hopefully, I’ll feel as good tomorrow as I do right now,” he said. “I didn’t have a lot of jump in my legs out there. I was just fortunate to be in the right place at the right time.”

Perhaps. But Roberts had enough left in the tank to score his second goal with 1:35 left and swat around a couple of Senators who tried to rough up the Penguins at the end of the game.

Watching Roberts show the way for his youthful teammates must have gone down especially bitterly with Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. He has long believed, as have the team’s fans, that Roberts is just the kind of heart-and-soul player the team lacked.

more

Update 2:02pm ET: From the Stats Wizards at Elias Sports Bureau, more on Roberts—

Continue Reading »

Gary Roberts Still Not Ready For Return

by Paul on 03/24/08 at 07:45 AM
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from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette,

Roberts, who hasn’t played since breaking his leg and getting a high ankle sprain when Buffalo center Tim Connolly fell on him Dec. 29, aggravated his ankle problem when he stumbled while skating at Madison Square Garden in New York Tuesday.

He has stopped skating and is not expected to get back on the ice until at least mid-week.

Roberts’ oft-stated goal has been to dress for the Penguins’ final five regular-season games, but that would entail returning for the New York Islanders’ visit to Mellon Arena Thursday, which looks to be pretty much out of the question at this point.

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Gary Roberts Out With Broken Leg

by Paul on 12/29/07 at 09:44 PM
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via the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review,

Veteran forward Gary Roberts left the game between the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres at Mellon Arena tonight after a collision with Buffalo forward Tim Connolly during the second period.

Roberts was diagnosed by team doctors with a broken left fibula, and it is unknown how much time he will miss. Roberts will be re-evaluated by team doctors in the coming days.

Melrose & Hradek Give Props To Roberts & Savard

by Paul on 12/13/07 at 11:46 AM
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The young Penguins can learn from Roberts, and Savard continues to lead the Bruins.

If Crosby Is Gretzky, Malkin Is Messier

by Paul on 12/06/07 at 09:12 AM
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from Jim Matheson of the Edmonton Journal,

“I think he does fly under the radar,” said Penguins general manager Ray Shero. “Sid’s the one who has to do all the press conferences. Yeah, we’re pretty fortunate to have two guys like them.”

Malkin is a massive man, just like Joe Thornton of the San Jose Sharks. But he’s faster. He’s also a better shooter, but not as a silky smooth a set-up man as Jumbo Joe, but still very clever.

“Very creative. He could make plays in a phone booth,” said Penguins winger Gary Roberts.

“Gino (Malkin) doesn’t get as much attention as Sid,” said former Oilers forward Petr Sykora, his linemate. “But on any other team he’d be the guy.”

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Recchi Still A Top Six Forward

by Paul on 12/06/07 at 08:41 AM
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from the Globe and Mail,

Roberts, who signed with the Penguins last season after getting a call from Recchi, let his feelings be known on the release of his friend. Recchi cleared waivers Wednesday and the Penguins now have the option to send him to the AHL or negotiate a buyout of his $1.75-million (U.S.) contract.

“He brought this team together last year,” Roberts said. “I think he’s still a top-six forward on any team. Unfortunately, they [the Penguins’ management] didn’t think so.”

more on the Crosby show in Edmonton…

Out With The Old

by Paul on 11/19/07 at 08:09 AM
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from Mark Madden at the Beaver County Times,

But the feelings of veterans shouldn’t matter when a team is based on youth. Unless the Penguins arrive a bit early, Recchi, Roberts and Sydor will almost certainly not be around when the team wins its next Stanley Cup. So who cares how they feel? Respect them. But don’t placate them. Don’t treat them with kid gloves when they play badly.

If anybody feels Roberts is still worth anything, Shero should trade him. Try calling north of the border, Ray. If his misguided raging-bull style on the ice is any indication, Roberts is not handling his decline well.

Recchi and Sydor can still help in lesser roles. Just make sure they have lesser roles.

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