Comments on: Ryan Whitney’s got something to prove.

By: Kutdacheez

Kutdacheez — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 14:37:40 +0000

I thought I’d throw my 2 cents in on the Naslund/Stojanov trade for what it’s worth: Trades are made for reasons and when Patrick traded Naslund for Stojanov the rumors were that Penguin players led by Mario felt that Naslund just didn’t fit in and was too soft for the NHL.
Stojanov, however was a bad-ass and the 1996 trade is brought up often as one of the worst ever made. In Patrick’s defense, Stojanov rolled his Ford Explorer outside of Youngstown and screwed himself up so bad that he really just couldn’t compete at the NHL level. I personally know that he couldn’t lift his arm up over his head for years. He went on to play about 5-years in the minors, I think the last team was the New Mexico Scorpions and the last I heard was training to be a firefighter. One of his best quotes came on a Toronto broadcast where he asked that no one feel sorry for him that he had no regrets whatsoever and that he still feels blessed for having played with Mario Lemieux. The accident never let the trade play out to jusged fairly and IMO Stojanov gets a bad rep for that. Same as for Craig Patrick.

By: Lucky Pierre

Lucky Pierre — Wed, 29 Apr 2009 00:08:17 +0000

In the big picture Tangradi is the real key to the Whitney trade. I agree with Jesselvis on the comment about Naslund. Even after that trade happened way back when and Naslund had success in Vancouver I can honestly say I never really regretted that deal. Even though the Pens received virtually nothing in return. (Alex Stojanov) (( or however you spell it)).I never saw Naslund as an important ingredient to a real winning team.
We will find out about Whitney soon enough but right now I feel the same way about him.

Kunitz will continue to prove his value as the Pens continue to advance and I feel much better about having him on the team instead of Whitney.

Ducks/Pens would be an interesting final now wouldn’t it???

P.S. The thing that makes this site a cut above the rest is knowing that writers like Phil Krundle are willing to go the extra mile to get inside information like Whitney being harrassed at his own apartment building. That is cutting edge stuff that you won’t get anywhere else.

By: PENZRGR8

PENZRGR8 — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 16:23:02 +0000

The trade has definitely benefitted the Penguins. You have to remember, Whitney stepped up in the playoffs last year as well. However, it seemed he was always underachieving here in Pittsburgh. No ill will sent towards him. Would love to see him crush the Red Wings. Comparing him to Naslund, I guess time will tell. However, I have a lot of hopes placed on Tangradi. I also like our defensive squad as it is now.

GO PENZ!

By: GotMalkin

GotMalkin — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 15:12:39 +0000

This trade may look unsuccessful on paper, luckily I can’t read. The reason this trade, and the Guerin trade look good to me, is the way it allowed the Pens to restructure their forwards to create an incredible mismatch for other teams 3rd and 4th lines. Dupuis and Kennedy shine bright in a role where they can dump and chase, then grind it out on the forecheck. Both are hard-nosed, but also quick and crafty. Not to mention that while Kunitz is struggling on the score sheet, he brings a tenacity and checking ability not seen in many forwards, especially at his size. I will be rooting for Whitney to bring down the Red Wings, but this trade sparked the entire team and made this season worth watching, and I’m still confident Kunitz will light up the score sheet in the series to come. Either way, his presence is felt, ask Kimmo Timonen, he’ll probably decline to answer.

Go Pens!
Got Malkin?

By: PenguinSteve-O

PenguinSteve-O — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:32:04 +0000

Whitneys fight last night was humorous. Lets hope he makes a few runs at Hossa and/or any other player on the wings.

By: Jesselvis

Jesselvis — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 14:20:55 +0000

Just like there was no room for a soft player like Naslund under Lemieux & Jagr, Whitney and how much he was being paid was squeezed out by Letang and soon Goligoski.