Checking In With an Old Friend

Last night the Anaheim Ducks knocked off the San Jose Sharks, the NHL's top team in the regular season, to earn a second round matchup with the vaunted Detroit Red Wings. Not too shabby for a team that was out of playoff contention at the trade deadline (sound familiar?) At the deadline, in order to shake things up a bit, the Ducks moved one of their most popular players in Chris Kunitz to the Pittsburgh Penguins for an underachieving offensive defenseman named Ryan Whitney.

The only love Whitney received in Pittsburgh over the past year.

Whitney, a one-time top 5 pick for the Pens, was mercurial at best in his time on the Pittsburgh blue line. He was once looked upon as the heir apparent to Sergei Gonchar, but with his recent injury problems, inconsistent play and the rise of up-and-coming players like Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski, Whitney was now a trading chip for Ray Shero that could be used to acquire much-needed depth on the wing. So Ryan Whitney was shipped off to the West Coast, much to the chagrin (I kid) of Pens fans everywhere.

Fast forward to the playoffs. The trade has payed off for both teams. Both the Ducks and the Pens overcame long odds and qualified for the postseason, and both knocked off their first round opponents to reach the next level. Kunitz was huge down the stretch for the Pens , and while he didn't score against the Flyers, his hit on Kimmo Timonen has become legendary.

Whitney has also regained the form that he showed in previous seasons with the Pens. In the six game series, he tallied four assists, to go along with a +2 rating in just over 21 minutes of ice time a game. On a team that already features stud blueliners in Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer, Whitney offers the Ducks another dangerous option from the point. He's even added a little physicality to his game, something everyone in Pittsburgh thought he'd never do.

I know it pains most Pens fans to admit Ryan Whitney could be successful after seeing him plod his way through a disappointing final abbreviated season with the Pens. But you gotta give the guy his due. Maybe he needed a change of scenery to jumpstart his game. It's not like the Pens got screwed in the deal, they added a gritty playoff-tested winger in Kunitz who's instantly become a fan favorite and who's locked up long term. And we haven't even talked about Eric Tangradi, the prospect thrown in on the deal, who's starting to look like a big time prospect. So best of luck to you Mr. Whitney, I know I'll be rooting for you during your next series. Say hello to Marian Hossa for me.

The Ray Shero Love Fest (continued)...

I know BGK just did a post on this, but you cannot give GM Ray Shero enough credit for the work he's done over the past month or so. He has taken a team that was stuck in neutral, going nowhere fast, losing bandwagon fans faster than the car industry has been losing money. Shero was taking shots from all angles, unfairly criticized for overseeing an underachieving team only months removed from a Stanley Cup finals appearance. Shero knew work must be done to turn things around, so he put on his hard hat and went to work.

Can we fix it? Yes we can!

First on the agenda was head coach Mike Therrien. Yes, he did take this team to the Stanley Cup finals only two years after being one of the worst teams in the league. But his trapping, overly conservative system was cramping the style of the freewheeling superstars the Pens employ. So out goes HCMT, in comes Baby Pens coach Disco Dan Byslma.

No more grammar lessons needed at post game press conferences.

Bylsma's first order of business was to unleash the hounds, so to speak. The Pens hit the road and jelled from the start, finishing a five-game road trip with five much-needed victories. During the trip, Shero went back to work, sending off another Pens staple in the process.

The amount of booing heard at Mellon Arena was just cut in half, at least.

Shero sent Ryan Whitney to Anaheim for new fan favorite (and Stanley Cup winner) Chris Kunitz and a stud prospect in Eric Tangradi (yes, he's a Philthadelphia native, but let's give the guy a chance.) He also swung a HUGE deal for Bill Guerin (another Stanley Cup winner, and for a third round pick, at most.) The Pens are 10-1-3 since Byslma took over, and have gained points in eight straight games, sitting in 5th place in the Eastern Conference today, a long cry from the 10th place standing they owned just a few days back. Things are looking up for the Pens, and with the top teams in the East like Boston and Washington losing momentum, I'm foreseeing a bright spring for the Pens once again, all thanks to our main man, Ray Shero.

Whitney=Gone.

Good news MAF...less odd-man rushes are coming your way!

The good news...every Penguins fans' favorite lightning rod for criticism has found his way out of town. Ryan Whitney was traded today to the Anaheim "not so Mighty anymore" Ducks for Chris Kunitz and a prospect. The bad news is twofold...1. Pens fans have to find someone else to blame their problems on, now that Public Enemies #1 and 2 (Whitney and HCMT) have been shown the door. The second reality is that the return was not quite up to par for what you would think the return should be for an offensive-minded defensemen loaded with upside and signed long-term. Kunitz is yet another secondary winger on a team loaded with them. The prospect, Eric Tangradi, was a second round pick by the Ducks in 2007 who's put up 87 points in 52 games in the OHL this season, but that doesn't always translate to success at the NHL level. He was ranked as the Ducks' fifth-best prospect this past year, jumped to their second-best this spring, and is a big-bodied power forward, something the Pens definitely lack. I have to say, I'm not surprised Whitney was traded, but I'm definitely caught off-guard by the return. I think the Pens could have done a little better, but you can't judge the success of a trade mere minutes after it's announced.