Pens Offseason thread

[Legacy User]

Burkle and Mario looking to sell according to TSN. Can't say i'm surprised. You don't build the type of house like Mario has in Montreal to be used as a part time dwelling. It might actually be a good thing to get some new blood in there.

But Dejan is saying Burkle has no intention to sell at the moment, but confirms that Mario is looking to sell but would like to "stay involved in some form, possibly ownership". I take that to mean Mario will, at most, hold a small minority stake if he keeps a piece.

http://www.tsn.ca/talent/lemieux-burkle ... s-1.299085

Pittsburgh Penguin owners Ron Burkle and Mario Lemieux have hired Morgan Stanley to explore the possibility of selling some or all of the NHL franchise.
It doesn't mean Burkle and Lemieux are necessarily getting out but they are looking at various options. It's believed Lemieux, perhaps more than Burkle, may have an interest in getting his equity share out of the ‎franchise.
Even if Lemieux and/or Burkle decide to sell, it's believed they have some interest in retaining some involvement or connection with the team.
Morgan Stanley is the same company that facilitated the sale of the Buffalo Sabres to Terry Pegula.

Dejan posted part of a statement from Mario that will be in the upcoming presser by the team:

"Our goal all along was to solidify the franchise both on and off the ice. Our star players are signed to long-term contracts and they’ve got a deep and passionate fan base to support them, and I believe the Penguins are well-positioned for the future. Regardless of what happens, I plan on staying involved with the team in some capacity, and Ron and I plan to retain an ownership stake.”

You mean you finally agree with what a post or few of mine suggested in April? Trolling and my banning? It's big business after all. I posted a story and that pic too. This will be my only post here.

It was Crosby btw. viewtopic.php?f=5&t=3237&p=122551&hilit=Mario#p122551

Not sure what you're trying to say, here. I never denied the possibility that the Lemieux and Burkle could sell the team. In fact, my direct response to you saying so was this:

If they do, then someone else will come along and buy them....and Philly STILL won't have any championships since 1975.

But tell me again how consistent the Flyers have been in the regular season! You must be SO proud!

...which is still true. So again, not sure what you're trying to convey here.

[SteelWIll]

Mario's home: Jesus H. Christ....I live in Fairfield County, CT---one of the most wealthy counties in all of the US, and there are very few homes here that look like that...

[Nick79]

Burkle and Mario looking to sell according to TSN. Can't say i'm surprised. You don't build the type of house like Mario has in Montreal to be used as a part time dwelling. It might actually be a good thing to get some new blood in there.

It could be a great thing, if they can find some billionnaire who has enough money to just have a team as a toy not a primary business, just for EGO, to spend big and sit in his owner's box and brag. It would be fun for once to have a Pittsburgh team that didn't have to say "we can't afford..." as the answer to every financial issue.

[Legacy User]

Burkle and Mario looking to sell according to TSN. Can't say i'm surprised. You don't build the type of house like Mario has in Montreal to be used as a part time dwelling. It might actually be a good thing to get some new blood in there.

It could be a great thing, if they can find some billionnaire who has enough money to just have a team as a toy not a primary business, just for EGO, to spend big and sit in his owner's box and brag. It would be fun for once to have a Pittsburgh team that didn't have to say "we can't afford..." as the answer to every financial issue.

There's a hard salary cap in hockey. The Pens were so far up against it they had to play shorthanded for the final couple games of the season because they couldn't even sign a no-name off the street to play.

Spending hasn't been a problem for the Penguins at all.

[Nick79]

Burkle and Mario looking to sell according to TSN. Can't say i'm surprised. You don't build the type of house like Mario has in Montreal to be used as a part time dwelling. It might actually be a good thing to get some new blood in there.

It could be a great thing, if they can find some billionnaire who has enough money to just have a team as a toy not a primary business, just for EGO, to spend big and sit in his owner's box and brag. It would be fun for once to have a Pittsburgh team that didn't have to say "we can't afford..." as the answer to every financial issue.

There's a hard salary cap in hockey. The Pens were so far up against it they had to play shorthanded for the final couple games of the season because they couldn't even sign a no-name off the street to play.

Spending hasn't been a problem for the Penguins at all.

There's more to any salary cap than just the hard numbers. The Steelers complaint was often that they can't give the big bonuses like richer owners could. Cap or no cap, a richer owner is an advantage at some point.

[Legacy User]

It could be a great thing, if they can find some billionnaire who has enough money to just have a team as a toy not a primary business, just for EGO, to spend big and sit in his owner's box and brag. It would be fun for once to have a Pittsburgh team that didn't have to say "we can't afford..." as the answer to every financial issue.

There's a hard salary cap in hockey. The Pens were so far up against it they had to play shorthanded for the final couple games of the season because they couldn't even sign a no-name off the street to play.

Spending hasn't been a problem for the Penguins at all.

There's more to any salary cap than just the hard numbers. The Steelers complaint was often that they can't give the big bonuses like richer owners could. Cap or no cap, a richer owner is an advantage at some point.

Hockey is a lot different than football. You can't manipulate the cap anywhere near as easily in the NHL. The Pens have spent all they possibly could. That is not an issue with this ownership group. The issue has been how the money was spent, not how much.

Research it.

[Legacy User]

The troll bait is at a critical level in this thread...

[Nick79]

The troll bait is at a critical level in this thread...

I don't know, seemed like a legitimate conversation to me? How can any of this seem to be trolling? Wishful thinking on your part? True, I know little about the NHL cap and, no matter how that is structured, having more money can't hurt, that's only logical.

Mario originally got this franchise because he was owed a lot of salary by a bankrupt team, right? Then he brought in investors. He was a rich man, but not rich enough to own an NHL team on his own. any way you cut it, if Mario and his partners sell, having the team bought by a seriously wealthy owner is a best case scenario. So when they do clear the cap situation up, they can spend on some talent.

[Legacy User]

The troll bait is at a critical level in this thread...

I don't know, seemed like a legitimate conversation to me? How can any of this seem to be trolling? Wishful thinking on your part? True, I know little about the NHL cap and, no matter how that is structured, having more money can't hurt, that's only logical.

Because of this crap:

It would be fun for once to have a Pittsburgh team that didn't have to say "we can't afford..."

The Penguins have had zero problem affording anything. They've spent as much as possible on players salary, have a brand new arena, are building a state of the art practice facility, and have been quite generous in building things such as DEK hockey courts all around the city (just one example).

But instead of researching this stuff, or at least asking about it first, you instead throw down one of your Nick Facts (TM) that has zero basis in reality.

[Legacy User]

Latest from DK:

"I know this much. And by that, I mean I really know it: Burkle loves being part of the Penguins, and that means a big part. His preference is to remain that. The man’s got mountains of money and is in zero financial difficulty, again no matter what else you might hear or read somewhere else. A billionaire is a billionaire, and he’s a billionaire. His original investment in the Penguins was $22 million. To suggest he’d need that cash to cover any sort of issues is utter insanity."

That would imply that Burkle isn't the one who wants out, and that Mario likely recouped all the money the Pens originally owned, then made enough of a profit afterwards to be happy with he's got and is ready to go to Montreal and retire.

Honestly, if true, I don't consider that to be a huge deal. Mario's always kind of been the figurehead of the ownership group, but the checkbook was always Burkle's, so payroll isn't likely to get hurt by this.

[Legacy User]

The troll bait is at a critical level in this thread...

I don't know, seemed like a legitimate conversation to me? How can any of this seem to be trolling? Wishful thinking on your part? True, I know little about the NHL cap and, no matter how that is structured, having more money can't hurt, that's only logical.

Mario originally got this franchise because he was owed a lot of salary by a bankrupt team, right? Then he brought in investors. He was a rich man, but not rich enough to own an NHL team on his own. any way you cut it, if Mario and his partners sell, having the team bought by a seriously wealthy owner is a best case scenario. So when they do clear the cap situation up, they can spend on some talent.

They do spend money you idiot. Crosby,Malkin, Letang, Fleury, etc etc. Must be something you hear on the radio?

Its not that they don't spend money, its the way they spend it. Hasn't Crosby been telling you this for over a year?

[Nick79]

They do spend money you idiot.

Now this is more like trolling. And name calling.

[Legacy User]

Sometimes you just have to admit you're wrong, and in this case Nick, you're wrong, as has been stated, the Pens spend and usually dont have much, if any, room under the cap. Also, like was stated, there is no cap "wiggle room", like in the NFL.

This really isnt big news, the Pens are under lease for many years to come and arent going anywhere.

Mario wants to step back, I cant blame him, he's done his part and really doesnt seem to want anything to do with hockey operations or front office management.

Burkle is super rich, so if he's out I hope whoever takes over is also super rich, because if we keep spending to the cap, and not going further in the playoffs, they will lose money, and then we might see a team imposed cap. Thats just speculation, but a possibility, I just hope whoever they sell to is a hockey person and not another businessman

[fractalsteel]

BTW, Burkle is a billionaire almost three times over.
The Pens do spend to the cap limit, they just didn't manage it worth a shit this year, plus all the injuries factored in.

I wonder if Lemieux is going to move to Canada full time? I know he took on a US citizenship but I believe that was for his children's sake I believe.
It wasn't too long ago that Lemieux owned three homes around Pittsburgh but the story that Captain shared says he has the one now-maybe he is leaving the US for good.

[V DUB]

BTW, Burkle is a billionaire almost three times over.
The Pens do spend to the cap limit, they just didn't manage it worth a shit this year, plus all the injuries factored in.

I wonder if Lemieux is going to move to Canada full time? I know he took on a US citizenship but I believe that was for his children's sake I believe.
It wasn't too long ago that Lemieux owned three homes around Pittsburgh but the story that Captain shared says he has the one now-maybe he is leaving the US for good.

I'd think he's tired of being the face of the franchise by now. Mario is extremely savvy with his public image, & the longer they go without a championship, with him being what the fans view as owner, the more he's going to take a hit. Popularity is king, he'd be smart to take a back seat while he's still viewed as the Pens saviour.

[Nick79]

Sometimes you just have to admit you're wrong, and in this case Nick, you're wrong, as has been stated, the Pens spend and usually dont have much, if any, room under the cap. Also, like was stated, there is no cap "wiggle room", like in the NFL.

This really isnt big news, the Pens are under lease for many years to come and arent going anywhere.

Mario wants to step back, I cant blame him, he's done his part and really doesnt seem to want anything to do with hockey operations or front office management.

Burkle is super rich, so if he's out I hope whoever takes over is also super rich, because if we keep spending to the cap, and not going further in the playoffs, they will lose money, and then we might see a team imposed cap. Thats just speculation, but a possibility, I just hope whoever they sell to is a hockey person and not another businessman

Read it, I did admit I was wrong, in that I am not knowledgable about the hockey cap. On the other hand, I would say that I am not wrong in the generic observation that getting a new owner with really deep pockets is a positive. The point to that being that just IMO you want an owner who has outside interests, the team is a hobby, and he cares more about winning, than making money from the team, because he has enough money outside the team.

I don't think the owner has to be a "hockey person", just as long as he hires a "hockey person" to run it. Like Paul Allen is no "football person", he's a computer geek, but the Seahawks have been succesful, he hired "football people" and has the money to back them.

[Nick79]

BTW, Burkle is a billionaire almost three times over.
The Pens do spend to the cap limit, they just didn't manage it worth a shit this year, plus all the injuries factored in.

I wonder if Lemieux is going to move to Canada full time? I know he took on a US citizenship but I believe that was for his children's sake I believe.
It wasn't too long ago that Lemieux owned three homes around Pittsburgh but the story that Captain shared says he has the one now-maybe he is leaving the US for good.

I'm sure he'd probably keep a home in Pittsburgh, he can afford it. And he's spent over 30 years there, plus his kids are more rooted in Pittsburgh than Canada. I'm sure he won't be a stranger even if he sells the team.

[Legacy User]

Pens sign a couple of college kids for WBS, one of them being Troy Loney's kid.

http://wbspenguins.com/articles/penguin ... dam-krause

[V DUB]

BTW, Burkle is a billionaire almost three times over.
The Pens do spend to the cap limit, they just didn't manage it worth a shit this year, plus all the injuries factored in.

I wonder if Lemieux is going to move to Canada full time? I know he took on a US citizenship but I believe that was for his children's sake I believe.
It wasn't too long ago that Lemieux owned three homes around Pittsburgh but the story that Captain shared says he has the one now-maybe he is leaving the US for good.

I'm sure he'd probably keep a home in Pittsburgh, he can afford it. And he's spent over 30 years there, plus his kids are more rooted in Pittsburgh than Canada. I'm sure he won't be a stranger even if he sells the team.

WTF does this even mean? Can someone translate? So deep pockets don't matter if you live inside city limits...has to be an LA playboy that does this shit on the side, with no vested interest, to stop your moaning?

Hang on, let me get Tony fucking Stark on the phone. I'll let him know you're interested in his interest...although...there's still that Cap thingy.

[Legacy User]

http://www2.tsn.ca/bardown/Story.aspx?Jarom%25c3%25adr%2BJagr%2Bhas%2Ba%2Bstory%2Bon%2Bwhy%2BMario%2BLemieux%2Bcame%2Bout%2Bof%2Bretirement%2B&id=542444

Cool story about Mario, although I'm pretty sure most knew that he came back because he wanted his son to see him play, but not specifically the conversation between his son and the equipment guy

[Nick79]

BTW, Burkle is a billionaire almost three times over.
The Pens do spend to the cap limit, they just didn't manage it worth a shit this year, plus all the injuries factored in.

I wonder if Lemieux is going to move to Canada full time? I know he took on a US citizenship but I believe that was for his children's sake I believe.
It wasn't too long ago that Lemieux owned three homes around Pittsburgh but the story that Captain shared says he has the one now-maybe he is leaving the US for good.

I'm sure he'd probably keep a home in Pittsburgh, he can afford it. And he's spent over 30 years there, plus his kids are more rooted in Pittsburgh than Canada. I'm sure he won't be a stranger even if he sells the team.

WTF does this even mean? Can someone translate? So deep pockets don't matter if you live inside city limits...has to be an LA playboy that does this shit on the side, with no vested interest, to stop your moaning?

Hang on, let me get Tony fucking Stark on the phone. I'll let him know you're interested in his interest...although...there's still that Cap thingy.

It just means that even if he sells the team, I would beleive that Mario would be no stranger to Pittsburgh, JUST THAT. It's not a comment about the team or it's future, just saying he'd probably still be around sometimes. Doesn't matter but s what?

[Legacy User]

For the love of God, please allow Nick79 to have the last word. Thanks.

[V DUB]

Sometimes you just have to admit you're wrong, and in this case Nick, you're wrong, as has been stated, the Pens spend and usually dont have much, if any, room under the cap. Also, like was stated, there is no cap "wiggle room", like in the NFL.

This really isnt big news, the Pens are under lease for many years to come and arent going anywhere.

Mario wants to step back, I cant blame him, he's done his part and really doesnt seem to want anything to do with hockey operations or front office management.

Burkle is super rich, so if he's out I hope whoever takes over is also super rich, because if we keep spending to the cap, and not going further in the playoffs, they will lose money, and then we might see a team imposed cap. Thats just speculation, but a possibility, I just hope whoever they sell to is a hockey person and not another businessman

I would say that I am not wrong in the generic observation that getting a new owner with really deep pockets is a positive. The point to that being that just IMO you want an owner who has outside interests, the team is a hobby, and he cares more about winning, than making money from the team, because he has enough money outside the team.

I don't think the owner has to be a "hockey person", just as long as he hires a "hockey person" to run it. Like Paul Allen is no "football person", he's a computer geek, but the Seahawks have been succesful, he hired "football people" and has the money to back them.

I quoted the wrong post, it gets confusing when I can only display one post of yours at a time. I should've just not opened either...curiosity killed the cat.

So going by this post, you want an owner with never ending pockets, who has no interest in the team to hand his bank account info over to the Pens GM to do whatever they like with it as long as they trust the FO to not royaly fuck up his ROI. Ohhhhhhh Kaaaay.

[Ice]

Confusing is right, Van. I was interested in the rumors of the Sharks sniffing around Malkin a while back.

[V DUB]

Confusing is right, Van. I was interested in the rumors of the Sharks sniffing around Malkin a while back.

Any teeth to that rumor? First I've heard of it. Any rumored details about what they were willing to give up?

[Ice]

It was rumored a while back. I haven't heard much since, but SJ has some pretty interesting pieces to send back in return. It got batted around on a couple of other boards, and was a little intrigued by the possibilities. Probably wouldn't happen, but made for some fun pre-draft chat. I couldn't really decide where I stood. Geno's my guy, but the playoffs in general left a bad taste in my mouth.

Edit: My brother in law is a Sharks fan, and he was on board from their perspective. They have a couple of younger top 6 wingers and some vet top sixers as well. If you could unload a bad contract or two, maybe.

[V DUB]

It was rumored a while back. I haven't heard much since, but SJ has some pretty interesting pieces to send back in return. It got batted around on a couple of other boards, and was a little intrigued by the possibilities. Probably wouldn't happen, but made for some fun pre-draft chat. I couldn't really decide where I stood. Geno's my guy, but the playoffs in general left a bad taste in my mouth.

Edit: My brother in law is a Sharks fan, and he was on board from their perspective. They have a couple of younger top 6 wingers and some vet top sixers as well. If you could unload a bad contract or two, maybe.

I'm close to abandoning the C model we have...I think either of Sid/Geno would command a kings ransom, making the Pens much stronger overall. I just can't make the decision of which I'd part with...both are injured equally, both have dominance depending on matchups. If we didn't fuck up the draft so bad I might be more inclined to stay with the current model & draft wing help. Sadly that doesn't seem to be an option at this point.

[Ice]

Pavelski, Couture (possibly untouchable), Hertl, Burns, there's some interesting pieces, some pretty good prospects on the farm, draft picks to be had. Hate to give up either C, but the way the league seems to be moving, trying to collect the best offensive players in the league, and pay the cap to keep them, doesn't look like the road to a Cup as much as it did in 2009.

[Legacy User]

Maybe there was interest by the Sharks, but I think the Pens have zero interest in trading Malkin, and from what Ive read, Malkin has zero interest in leaving.

What was the source of the rumor?

There have been unsubstantiated Malkin trade rumors every offseason recently, and they've all been speculation and fabrication.

I think it would be a big mistake to trade Geno, all he wants to do is win, and has said that he wants to win with Sid whom he considers his best friend.

[Ice]

The Sharks owner apparently threw his name out there.