Eric Knopsnyder | The gamblin’ man

By ERIC KNOPSNYDER
The Tribune-Democrat

PHILADELPHIA May 15, 2008 12:15 am

— The Pittsburgh Penguins were a good team, but not necessarily a great one, when their general manager gambled at the trade deadline.
He picked up a high-scoring forward and a tough, hard-nosed defenseman, both of whom helped lead the Penguins deep into playoffs.
Sound familiar?
It should. The 2008 Penguins are following a scenario that worked out pretty well for them in 1991, when Mario Lemieux and Co. skated off with the Stanley Cup.
This year’s team is just a victory away from getting a chance to do the same thing this year, thanks in large part to a gamble similar to one that Craig Patrick made 17 years ago.
That’s when Patrick sent John Cullen, Jeff Parker and Zarley Zalapski to the Hartford Whalers for Ron Francis, Ulf Samuelson and Grant Jennings.
The move paid the ultimate dividend, as the Pens won the Cup in 1991 and then repeated in 1992.
Current General Manager Ray Shero can only hope that his deadline deals work out as well, but so far he’s looking like a genius for acquiring high-scoring Marian Hossa and speedy Pascal Dupuis from Atlanta and bringing in shutdown defenseman Hal Gill from Toronto.
Shero’s move was a risky one, as Hossa can become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the season and there is always the chance that adding three new players can disrupt the chemistry of what was already a decent hockey team. Plus, Shero mortgaged the team’s future, sending Colby Armstrong, Erik Christensen and Angelo Esposito to Atlanta and a couple of draft picks to Toronto.
But with the Penguins holding a 3-0 lead over Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference finals, no one in Pittsburgh is complaining about those gambles now.
Coach Michel Therrien said Wednesday that the deals did more than add an influx of talent to the Penguins, it also sent a message.
“When you’re able to make those deals, first of all, it gives confidence to the players and to the team that the organization gives a tap on the back and we’ve got your support,” Therrien said. “(It’s like saying) ‘We want to win. We don’t want to win in two, three years.’ And that was big for a young team.”
The deals stunned the players in the Penguins dressing room, who had heard discussions about where Hossa might end up, but never thought it would be at a locker near them.
“Ray Shero kind of got (Hossa) out of nowhere,” forward Max Talbot said. “Nobody really expected it. Everybody thought Marian was going to Montreal or whatever city. When we did the trade, everybody was like, ‘OK, we might have a shot. They trust us and think we can do it.’ ”
As much of an impact as the deals had on the team’s mind-set, they have been even more important on what’s happening on the ice, even if it didn’t look that way shortly after the trade deadline.
Hossa suffered a knee injury in his first game in black and gold and missed more than two weeks. Then a nagging ankle injury sidelined Sidney Crosby, the Penguins’ captain and Hossa’s intended linemate, keeping them from developing any kind of chemistry.
The Penguins went 7-4-1 with Hossa in the lineup during the regular season, but were 3-0-1 when he and Crosby both played. They’ve been even more impressive in the playoffs, going 11-1.
Hossa, who was derisively called ‘Maid Marian’ by some for his previous disappearances in the postseason, has been a force with the Penguins, scoring 15 points in 12 postseason games.
He doesn’t have any answers for why his numbers are so much better in these playoffs, but said he has quickly developed chemistry with Crosby.
“I think since the beginning of the playoffs, I think we’ve been better and better every game,” Hossa said. “And the team’s been better.”
Therrien said that the move to Pittsburgh has Hossa playing the best hockey of his career.
“Sometimes it can be a fit,” Therrien said. “A player will fit well on a team, how they play their system. Do they have the speed players to play with? And I really believe that a guy like Hossa, this is the right fit for him. The way we try to play him, it’s the right fit to play with Crosby.”
The 6-foot-7, 250-pound Gill has been just as effective on the other end of the ice, dominating matchups against some of the NHL’s top offensive players, including New York Rangers superstar Jaromir Jagr in the conference semifinals.
“He’s been great for us. He’s played a huge role especially on the penalty kill,” Crosby said, noting that in road games Therrien can’t match his checking line against the opponent’s top line, putting the onus on Gill and Brooks Orpik.
Gill has also fit in well in the Penguins’ locker room, even if he wasn’t sure how it would work at first.
“It’s always tough to go through a trade, but it’s worked out well,” he said. “It’s fun playing right now. It’s fun being on the big stage.”
With one more win, Gill and the Penguins will be playing on the biggest stage in the NHL, looking for history to repeat itself again. And if it does, they’ll have Shero’s gamble to thank for it.

Eric Knopsnyder is the sports editor of The Tribune-Democrat.