Staying in Steel City

I didn't think it would get done but when push comes to shove, an agreement for almost anything can be hammered out.

Recently, the Pittsburgh Penguins announced they would be staying in Steel City after it was revealed an agreement on a new $290 million arena to replace Mellon Arena was reached.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Pens will pay $3.8 million per year toward construction and will add another $400,000 per year for capital improvements. The team will remain in town under a 30-year lease.

Admittedly, I would have liked to have seen the Penguins move, and if you have been reading my blog or know me, I lobbied for Winnipeg, Kansas City and Quebec in that order. Does that mean this is a bad deal? Of course not.

What Gary Bettman should do is let teams explore relocation. In some cases, it's probably needed -- Florida and Phoenix are two teams that need to have the moving vans hit the loading docks. E.J. Hradek of ESPN.com recently wrote that he believes the NHL will expand by two teams to 32 in the next five years.

He believes Las Vegas will get one franchise and a "major Western city" -- Seattle, most likely -- will get the other. I cannot see that work in either place. Las Vegas is currently home to the ECHL's Wranglers, but the idea that the city can support a pro team is like baseball saying that Scranton/Wilkes-Barre or Omaha can do the same.

As for Seattle, I would think that a team would play initially in KeyArena -- the same building the NBA's SuperSonics are likely vacating for Oklahoma City. Again, not a good fit at this time.

Bettman should look north again instead of making more inroads to the Sun Belt. Somehow, I don't think New Mexico-Mississippi has the same cachet as Montreal-Toronto.

STAYING CLOSE TO HOME: When the Chicago Blackhawks want to raid their farm system next season, all they need do is get on the Tollway.

The inactive Cincinnati franchise -- which was to be known as, of all things, the RailRaiders -- has been sold and will be relocated to the Rockford, Ill.

The Rockford IceHogs also will be the Blackhawks' top farm team for the next 10 seasons.

Rockford will be one of two new teams in the AHL next season, joining the Lake Erie Monsters. That team, which will play in Cleveland, will the top affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche.

With the Blackhawks leaving their top farm team in Norfolk, Va. behind, that could end up being the new home for Tampa Bay's top minor leaguers. The Lightning announced Monday that they were ending their affiliation with Springfield, Mass. after this season.

AND THE PAYOFF ...: Future Tank Johnson apologist Chris Altruda has been paid off. A week ago Sunday, dinner was served at the Chicago Chophouse. Dinner, with tip, $120. Thanks, Lasse Kukkonen. Hope you choke on a funnel cake.

Slam the hammer down

On Saturday, Chris Simon explained to NHL officials why he went all First Nations on Ryan Hollweg.

On Sunday, the NHL answered by handing the Islanders forward the longest suspension in league history -- 25 games -- for his two-handed chop on Hollweg during a home loss to the New York Rangers on Thursday night.

Simon will sit for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs, should the Islanders advance. If the Isles play fewer than 10 playoff games, the suspension will carry over next season.

Simon has been suspended six times in his career -- three for stick-swinging incidents.

Justified? Absolutely. Fighting was, and always will be, part of the game but what Simon did would earn him a criminal record. While what Simon did was horrific, I may in the minority when I say it wasn't nearly as bad as Marty McSorley's chop to Donald Brashear's head in 2000.

Simon's slash also came on the three-year anniversary of Todd Bertuzzi's on-ice mugging of Steve Moore that broke his neck and ended his career.

Anyone who thinks this kind of play will go away, especially in the post-lockout NHL in which more emphasis is placed on skill, take a look at the boxscore from the Blackhawks' 7-5 win over Phoenix on Saturday night.

David Koci, a 6-foot-6 bruiser from the Czech Republic, played less than three minutes in his NHL debut. Three fights, a charging major and a double game misconduct adds up to 42 penalty minutes.

It's been a while, yes ...

No problems. No issues. Just been busy with work and lazy with this.

So, the trade deadline came and went last ... not so you would have noticed. Just a slew of deals -- 31 of them -- over the final 48 hours and before the final bell at 3 p.m. ET this past Tuesday.

Almost every team did well, all but one.

WHO DID WELL...

N.Y. ISLANDERS -- Getting Edmonton's leading scorer Ryan Smyth for a pair of former middle-of-the-first-round picks and a future No. 1 will almost assuredly land the Isles in the postseason.

Getting a player with recent finals experience is also a bonus. Smyth helped lead the Oilers on an improbable run from eighth seed to Western Conference champion to fall one win short of the Stanley Cup.


ST. LOUIS BLUES -- Yes, they gave up a lot and don't have much immediately to show for it.

Leading scorer Bill Guerin was sent to San Jose after second-leading scorer Keith Tkachuk was shipped to Atlanta. What they got in return was a pair of No. 1 picks this (to go with their own lottery pick) and No. 1 in 2008.

This is where president John Davidson's hockey intelligence comes into play, though. The Blues will not make the postseason for a second straight year, but the rebuilding isn't going to take long either.


PHILADELPHIA FLYERS -- I would've put this down below based at first glance on deal that sent Peter Forsberg to Nashville. Scottie Upshall never has lived up to his billing as a top six draft pick while with the Predators -- 11 goals in 77 games over three-plus seasons.

So far with Philadelphia, he's had three goals including a game-winner to beat the Bruins in overtime. If Braydon Coburn, the eighth overall pick in 2003 by Atlanta and picked up for Alexei Zhitnik, pans out then the Flyers make out real well.

Oh, and getting Martin Biron from Buffalo gives them a reliable starting goaltender for years to come. Just an added bonus.


AND WHO DIDN'T...

EDMONTON OILERS -- Actually, despite their unexpected success last season, that was when the trouble started: they gave up a No. 1 pick to get goaltender Dwayne Roloson from Minnesota.

After he led them within a win of the Stanley Cup, Edmonton signed Roloson for three years and $11.25 million. They should have focused on keeping Smyth, who was in the final year of a two-year deal. The face of the franchise since being picked sixth in 1994, Smyth was the heart and soul of the Oilers in the post-Messier-Gretzky-Kurri glory years era up north.

Reports said both sides were just a couple hundred thousand dollars apart on a deal that would have paid No. 94 more than $5 million a season. I find it hard to think that both sides couldn't have hammered out a deal when they're that close supposedly.

Smyth gave a tearful press conference before leaving Edmonton in which he said he will try to help the Isles win the Stanley Cup so he can bring it back to the city. He's an unrestricted free agent come July 1, but I think the sting of being dealt will still be too fresh.

How messed up would it be if the boy from Banff signed with Calgary?