Who needs a prior relationship?

From Shelly Anderson of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Despite Therrien's 94-51-19 record in his two full seasons with the Penguins, there has long been speculation that Shero would at some point bring in his own coach.

"When the manager doesn't hire the coach, it's easy to say that," Shero said. "But going into our third year together, the results have been there."

Read the entire article here.

Good on Shero for giving Therrien a fair shot from the outset and deciding to keep him for the foreseeable future. The former Habs coach has earned the right to a contract extension.

Penguins still look good for foreseeable future

From Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

On the sixth day of July, with the season still some three months away, the Penguins are not as good a team as they were when they lost the sixth game of the Stanley Cup playoffs in early June.

Gone, most notably, are Marian Hossa and Ryan Malone, the team's best wingers, who were lost in free agency. In their place, both signed to one-year deals, are Miroslav Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko, two wingers who are less productive and older.

Based on this evidence, it would be easy to cite general manager Ray Shero as having been derelict in his duties. But that's not the case at all. Shero had a masterful grand plan in place that would have made the Penguins just about as good a team as they were at the end of the season and a team far better suited to contend for years ahead.

Read the entire story here.

Smizik is exactly right. While Shero wasn't able to sign Marian Hossa, he has done a terrific job of signing all his young and important RFAs. Additionally, he has left space on the cap to sign Jordan Staal after next season. The Penguins should easily be Cup contenders for the next five/six years.

The pressure is on Ray Shero

From Bob Smizik of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

And so the question of the day is this: Will Penguins fans ever get to see their team raise the Cup? Will they some day get to wonder who captain Sidney Crosby will turn to first?

For the moment the answer to those questions rests not with Crosby or Evgeni Malkin or Marc-Andre Fleury or even coach Michel Therrien. The fate of the franchise left their hands Wednesday night around 10:45 and was passed to general manager Ray Shero. It will be the decision-making ability of Shero, steeped in hockey knowledge but an inexperienced GM, that will impact the team's future the most.

Read Bob's entire article here.

Smizik covers all the important decisions that Shero is going to face this summer. Personally, I think it will be extremely difficult for the Penguins to re-sign Marian Hossa. With both Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal up for free agency next season, and Fleury up for free agency as of July 1st, how are the Penguins going to have enough money to afford Hossa and still have anything close to a serviceable supporting cast? I guess this is why the pay Shero the big bucks, to make decisions like these.

NHL Morning Papers: Stanley Cup Finals Edition (Friday)

Here are the morning papers for the Stanley Cup Finals which begin tomorrow night:

Detroit Red Wings (1) versus Pittsburgh Penguins (2):

• Helene St. James of the Detroit Free Press has a full scouting report and, of course, her prediction on who will take home the cup. NBC Analyst and former NHLer Ed Olczyk likes the Wings to defeat the Penguins. In injury news, Wings winger Johan Franzen has been cleared to practice, however, his status is doubtful for Game 1. Dallas Drake has a chance to win his first championship since 1991.
• The Penguins march behind Sidney Crosby, writes Shelly Anderson. Ron Cook talks about how winning the Stanley Cup changes a player's life. Dave Molinari re-examines Ray Shero's acquisition of Marian Hossa. In practice yesterday, Gary Roberts was not on the top four lines.

For Illegal Curve, I'm Richard Pollock.

Email your thoughts, ideas or suggestions to illegalcurve@gmail.com