Trade Deadline Roundup

[RuthlessBurgher]

I took the kids to Disney World last week (had to listen to the 3rd period of the gold medal game on the radio during our drive to the airport...my wife thought I was crazy when I screamed while driving following the tying U.S. goal with under a minute to go...found out that Sid scored the game winner in OT as I was passing through the security checks).

Anyway, from that point on, I was completely away from hockey for the week, and totally forgot about the NHL trade deadline until I got home this Monday.

Here's what happened:

Pens acquire defenseman Jordan Leopold for a 2nd round pick.

Pens acquire left winger Alexei Ponikarovsky for Luca Caputi and Martin Skoula (who the Leafs sent to Jersey shortly thereafter).

Leopold is an upgrade over Skoula for sure, giving us a strong 7 man blueline rotation down the stretch. Ponikarovsky is a legit winger for Malkin, who trails only our big 3 centermen in scoring on the team now.

I'd imagine that when everyone is healthy, Crosby will center Guerin and Kunitz, Malkin will center Ponikarovsky and Fedotenko, Staal will center Cooke and Kennedy, and Adams will center some combination of Dupuis, Rupp, Talbot, or Godard. If any of the forwards on the top 3 lines are injured during the playoff run, Dupuis, Rupp, and Talbot have shown that the each have the ability to move up and fill in as needed.

I have not seen either Leopold or Ponikarovsky play in a Penguins sweater yet, since tonight will be the first Pens game since I have been home. Any input on how the new additions have meshed with the team so far? Thanks, guys.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Ponikarovsky looked strong tonight when he replaced Malkin on the top power play unit after Geno got injured...he impeded Niittymaki's vision enough to allow Gonchar's slapper to go in. It is interesting that they had Leopold out there as Gonch's partner on the blue line as well at that point.

On a side note, how about the putrid officiating in the past couple of games, eh?

Adams gets 5 minutes and a game misconduct for his "charge" against the Devils while Downie gets 2 minutes and no misconduct after intentionally trying to injure Crosby. :wft Not to mention the non-call when Zajac whacks Fleury's glove on the Kovalchuk goal (he was in perfect position for the save if not for that interference). There was also a pretty obvious boarding call in this Tampa game that wasn't called at all. I'm not one to whine about officiating all the time, but it's been pretty crazy in the past few games.