Victoria Times Mailbag

Believe it or not, we don't get a terribly vast amount of e-mail, so when we get some, I like to answer it right away. Today, I got some from my friend AJ, whom you may remember. Anyways, he's in Pittsburgh and asked the following question about the Penguins moves at the deadline:

Alight Ryan, I am depending on you for some good NHL trade deadline analysis. How good is Hossa. I have to admit I have not been very good at following the NHL outside of Pittsburgh lately so I have no idea how good he is. The Pens gave up a ton for him. Erik Christensen was a good young forward who has come up big for us in a lot of shootouts, Colby Armstrong is another good young player who has been on our first line most of the last two years. Colby also happens to be Sid's best friend on the team and one of the most beloved players in the city, he is always out doing PR stuff for the team (like charity events, radio show and tv shows), people know him better then almost anyone on the team. The prospect they gave up Angelo Esposito was suppose to be really good too. Since Hossa's contract is over at the end of this year, it seems like the only reason to bring in Hossa is that they think they can win the cup with him this year. Do they really have a shot with him?

Wow. Wordy. First off, let's take a look at what smarter people tell us. They seem to be pretty ok with the deal. The way I see it, Hossa was the best player available and the Pens went out and did what they had to to get him. Now, there was concern that Hossa will just be a rental, and he likely will be, but the Penguins definitely have the talent to make a run deep into the playoffs. The addition of Hossa gives a veteran presence among the forwards and someone to draw attention while on offense. So, yes. I do think the Pens have a shot with him. I would worry about adding Dupuis, however...