2nd half go!

The Penguins haven't made any trades as of yet, but with rumors about Ryan Malone circulating, there is a bit of interest in the air. I've heard of Petr Prucha from the Rangers (who had a snappy night last night), but no other names have been mentioned. Talks continue in trading about Forsberg, who met with Flyers officials this week to make everything as clear as mud. Thanks, Philadelphia.

The first big news in the trade world was Craig Conroy for Jamie Lundmark. The Flames are possibly getting the better end of the deal, if Conroy improves in Iginla's presence. The Battle of Alberta contestants are rumored to be looking at Darcy Tucker from the Leafs (whoever picked that picture of him gets my thanks for an early-morning laugh). Now, while my first thought is, 'Hahahahaa, good luck with him', it is closely followed by the thought that it would be nice to get him the hell out of the Eastern conference. His play hasn't been that great since the beginning of the year, and with his injury, who knows how he'll fair later in the season. Besides, the Oilers need another forward like I need another morning of -20 degree weather. Are you listening, Kevin Lowe?

Out of the trade world, I'd like to take a moment to comment on the event of the father-son trip that the Penguins just took for their tour down south. This is a great idea, and I'm glad it went over so well...but what about the hockey moms? I am glad that the teams try to get the family involved, I think it makes for a more cohesive team, support group, and functioning 'hockey family', so to speak...but the only events I see the women of hockey involved in are things like the Penguins Christmas ornaments, dinner events, or something that involves children. I am using the Penguins as an example, but as far as I know, no other team has made an effort to reach out to the hockey-loving women that support the men who play.

The only females I see portrayed with any regularity in hockey are cheerleaders (and those are tasteful for what I've seen), or players/wives that are done up pretty and usually have some sort of children around. What happened to the women who like hockey, not just the men who play it? Maybe players just like women who don't care about hockey as a way of getting a break from the game, but it just seems strange to me that there aren't more ladies involved in the NHL (although things are certainly better than they were 15 or so years ago). At least the fanbase seems to include a healthy and growing number of intelligent female fans. Just spare me the pink jerseys.

Some other NHL stories:

-The Habs retire Ken Dryden's 29. Always nice to see one of these ceremonies, especially from one of the 6.

-Stevie Y gets to ride as Team Canada's GM for the World Hockey Championship this spring.

-Speculations on the awards already out. While I'm not a big fan of following the awards, it would be nice to see Sidney come away with a Hart after being denied the Calder last year.

-Mayor Ravenstahl adds to my ulcer by upping the tension with a reminder about the Pens deciding their future this week sometime. Mario said a month...



Pens are tied for 7th in the East with the Lightning and the damn Rangers, 54 points each. People don't believe me when I tell them that every game is important. They obviously aren't watching the same league that the rest of us are.

Penguins v Panthers tonight at the Mellon, 7:30pm. Go Pens!