what a way to fucking win it
Party on Fifth Ave.
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redsox907
- Posts: 3136
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
Party on Fifth Ave.
what a way to fucking win it
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Count
- Posts: 1964
- Joined: 19 Dec 2018, 08:38
Party on Fifth Ave.
The cup 
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 5790
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 5790
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
Party on Fifth Ave.
State of the Iceberg - The Penguins are Stanley Cup Champions, What Happens Now?
By Josh Yohe
June 10, 2025
The confetti has been swept off the ice, the champagne has been drank, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have pulled off the unimaginable and won the 2024-25 Stanley Cup championship over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 overtime. The Penguins' three-headed monster - captain Sidney Crosby, playoff MVP Evgeni Malkin, and franchise leader in all defensive statistics, Kris Letang - have claimed their fourth Stanley Cup together. Multi-time winning Norris Trophy winner as the league's best defenseman Erik Karlsson finally adds champion to his resume. Newcomers Brock Boeser and John Gibson played key roles once they were added to the Penguins around the trade deadline, and have been richly rewarded.
However, it is important to remember why the Penguins were doubted so soundly before the season began: they feature one of the oldest rosters in the NHL. Crosby turns 38 years old in a few months. Malkin and Letang are both a year older than him and retirement for the two of them aren't entirely out of the picture. The Penguins only featured six players on their championship roster that were 25 years old or younger.
General Manager Kyle Dubas - despite being ecstatic that the Penguins managed to ultimately win the Stanley Cup - was adamant that the job isn't finished. That his job is to make the Pittsburgh Penguins a sustainable success. How does he go about doing that? Let's take a deep dive.
Upcoming free agents
The Penguins are going to have their work cut out for them from the get-go, and according to the philosophy that has been presented by General Manager Kyle Dubas, it is not a foregone conclusion that the team is going to open up the cheque book and spend to bring back the boys for one more go around the sun.
Forward Brock Boeser and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk are the two leading names looking for new contracts this summer, and both are expected to reap some big deals after their outstanding seasons, respectively. Boeser led the Penguins in playoff scoring with 21 points and scored 13 key goals, including two keys goals in Game 7 on the teams' way to a 3-2 overtime victory. His time on Crosby's line watched him catapult from elite goal-scoring talent to arguably Crosby's most talented linemate since Jake Guentzel played on his left side.
Grzelcyk had above and beyond a career-year with 13 goals and 44 points in his first full season with the Penguins after spending his career with the Boston Bruins. His previous career highs were when he scored a comparatively meager four goals and 26 points for the Bruins during the 2022-23 season. Whether Grzelcyk intends to cash out as a 31-year-old left-handed defenseman looking to build on his highest offensive output remains to be seen. The team may be looking at letting him walk and favoring young defenseman Owen Pickering taking that next step and taking over his spot as their number one defenseman on the left side.
Other players looking for new deals include key depth forwards like Philip Tomasino and overtime hero Emil Bemstrom, who are both restricted free agents who analysts both believe will be eager to negotiate deals to return to Pittsburgh.
Do Crosby & Malkin have enough left in the tank?
Assuming both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin decide to keep it going (Crosby seems like a given, considering the season he just had and is overall attitude towards the game of hockey, Malkin - not so much), Crosby has two more years left off his deal to the tune of his customary $8.7 million cap hit. Malkin will be a free agent at the end of the next season, with a $6.1 million deal that he signed when it was widely expected he would test the market along with fellow veteran defenseman Kris Letang.
Crosby returned to form with 46 goals and 109 points this season - the most goals he scored since he led the whole league in scoring during the 2009-10 season. It was his first return to scoring 100+ points since the 2018-19 season where he scored an even 100 points in 79 games played. A fourth Stanley Cup championship is just reigniting the flame for the ultra-competitive Crosby to continue to deny Father Time and compete with this new wave of generational superstars that he continues to outpace. With a Winter Olympics on the horizon, it would appear unwise to doubt Crosby, even with his entering the next season at 38-years-old.
Malkin was awarded the Conn Smythe as the Playoff MVP for the second time in his career over teammates Crosby and Brock Boeser, as well as Oilers captain Connor McDavid. When Crosby went down with injury, Malkin held things together as best as he could. This season was also a return to form for the Russian legend, scoring 39 goals and 81 points, almost touching the 40-goal mark for the first time since he scored 42 in the 2017-18 season.
One has to wonder if Malkin has it in him to keep it going. It isn't uncommon to see Russian stars retire a year or two before their skills diminish and finish their careers back in their homeland of Russia in the KHL. Malkin's contemporary, Washington Capitals captain and the NHL's all-time goal-scoring leader, Alex Ovechkin, has been expressive about heading to the league upon his retirement. One has to wonder if Malkin would follow suit.
Malkin has remained mum on whether he intends to finish out his contract and return to the Penguins or instead opt to ride out into the sunset as a champion on a high.
June 10, 2025
The confetti has been swept off the ice, the champagne has been drank, and the Pittsburgh Penguins have pulled off the unimaginable and won the 2024-25 Stanley Cup championship over Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers in Game 7 overtime. The Penguins' three-headed monster - captain Sidney Crosby, playoff MVP Evgeni Malkin, and franchise leader in all defensive statistics, Kris Letang - have claimed their fourth Stanley Cup together. Multi-time winning Norris Trophy winner as the league's best defenseman Erik Karlsson finally adds champion to his resume. Newcomers Brock Boeser and John Gibson played key roles once they were added to the Penguins around the trade deadline, and have been richly rewarded.
However, it is important to remember why the Penguins were doubted so soundly before the season began: they feature one of the oldest rosters in the NHL. Crosby turns 38 years old in a few months. Malkin and Letang are both a year older than him and retirement for the two of them aren't entirely out of the picture. The Penguins only featured six players on their championship roster that were 25 years old or younger.
General Manager Kyle Dubas - despite being ecstatic that the Penguins managed to ultimately win the Stanley Cup - was adamant that the job isn't finished. That his job is to make the Pittsburgh Penguins a sustainable success. How does he go about doing that? Let's take a deep dive.
Upcoming free agents
The Penguins are going to have their work cut out for them from the get-go, and according to the philosophy that has been presented by General Manager Kyle Dubas, it is not a foregone conclusion that the team is going to open up the cheque book and spend to bring back the boys for one more go around the sun.
Forward Brock Boeser and defenseman Matt Grzelcyk are the two leading names looking for new contracts this summer, and both are expected to reap some big deals after their outstanding seasons, respectively. Boeser led the Penguins in playoff scoring with 21 points and scored 13 key goals, including two keys goals in Game 7 on the teams' way to a 3-2 overtime victory. His time on Crosby's line watched him catapult from elite goal-scoring talent to arguably Crosby's most talented linemate since Jake Guentzel played on his left side.
Grzelcyk had above and beyond a career-year with 13 goals and 44 points in his first full season with the Penguins after spending his career with the Boston Bruins. His previous career highs were when he scored a comparatively meager four goals and 26 points for the Bruins during the 2022-23 season. Whether Grzelcyk intends to cash out as a 31-year-old left-handed defenseman looking to build on his highest offensive output remains to be seen. The team may be looking at letting him walk and favoring young defenseman Owen Pickering taking that next step and taking over his spot as their number one defenseman on the left side.
Other players looking for new deals include key depth forwards like Philip Tomasino and overtime hero Emil Bemstrom, who are both restricted free agents who analysts both believe will be eager to negotiate deals to return to Pittsburgh.
Do Crosby & Malkin have enough left in the tank?
Assuming both Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin decide to keep it going (Crosby seems like a given, considering the season he just had and is overall attitude towards the game of hockey, Malkin - not so much), Crosby has two more years left off his deal to the tune of his customary $8.7 million cap hit. Malkin will be a free agent at the end of the next season, with a $6.1 million deal that he signed when it was widely expected he would test the market along with fellow veteran defenseman Kris Letang.
Crosby returned to form with 46 goals and 109 points this season - the most goals he scored since he led the whole league in scoring during the 2009-10 season. It was his first return to scoring 100+ points since the 2018-19 season where he scored an even 100 points in 79 games played. A fourth Stanley Cup championship is just reigniting the flame for the ultra-competitive Crosby to continue to deny Father Time and compete with this new wave of generational superstars that he continues to outpace. With a Winter Olympics on the horizon, it would appear unwise to doubt Crosby, even with his entering the next season at 38-years-old.
Malkin was awarded the Conn Smythe as the Playoff MVP for the second time in his career over teammates Crosby and Brock Boeser, as well as Oilers captain Connor McDavid. When Crosby went down with injury, Malkin held things together as best as he could. This season was also a return to form for the Russian legend, scoring 39 goals and 81 points, almost touching the 40-goal mark for the first time since he scored 42 in the 2017-18 season.
One has to wonder if Malkin has it in him to keep it going. It isn't uncommon to see Russian stars retire a year or two before their skills diminish and finish their careers back in their homeland of Russia in the KHL. Malkin's contemporary, Washington Capitals captain and the NHL's all-time goal-scoring leader, Alex Ovechkin, has been expressive about heading to the league upon his retirement. One has to wonder if Malkin would follow suit.
Malkin has remained mum on whether he intends to finish out his contract and return to the Penguins or instead opt to ride out into the sunset as a champion on a high.
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redsox907
- Posts: 3136
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
Party on Fifth Ave.
we getting one more!?!
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 5790
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
Party on Fifth Ave.
Cale Makar wins historic Hart Trophy as league MVP, Crosby finishes 4th in voting
By Josh Yohe
June 10, 2025
With the season now wrapped up with a neat bow, the NHL has officially hosted its annual awards show in Las Vegas, NV. For the first time in 25 years, the league's MVP - the Hart Trophy Winner - will be a defenseman as Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar won the award after his transformative season leading the Colorado Avalanche to the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top performing team.
Makar, 26, led the Avalanche in scoring with 18 goals and an eye-popping 98 assists for a total of 116 points - just pushing past teammate and reigning MVP, forward Nathan MacKinnon and his 65 goals and 107 points - to lead the league in assists and finish second to former teammate and current Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen and his 118 points, good to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's scoring champion. He also took home the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the goal-scoring champion with an impressive 67 goals.
Makar marks the first time in 25 years that a defenseman has won the trophy, the last time being in 2000 when St. Louis Blues star and current Hall of Famer Chris Pronger won the trophy. Since then, every MVP except two (goalies Jose Theodore in 2002 and Carey Price in 2015, both for the Montreal Canadiens) has been a forward.
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby finished fourth in voting behind Makar, Rantanen, and MacKinnon for MVP. He finished just ahead of Connor McDavid.
Unsurprisingly, Makar also took home the James Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman; his second victory in the last five years. The remainder of the trophy winners is listed below.
Awards Winners
Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP) - Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Art Ross Trophy (Scoring Champion) - Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Defenseman of the Year) - Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Best Sportsmanship) - Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) - Mackie Samoskevich, Florida Panthers
Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP) - Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vezina Trophy (Goaltender of the Year) - Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche
William M. Jennings Trophy (Fewest Goals Scored Against) - Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Best Exemplifies Perseverance) - Jacob Trouba, Anaheim Ducks
Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year) - Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals
Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward) - Bo Horvat, New York Islanders
Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding Player) - Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
Maurice Richard Trophy (Goal Scoring Champion) - Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
June 10, 2025
With the season now wrapped up with a neat bow, the NHL has officially hosted its annual awards show in Las Vegas, NV. For the first time in 25 years, the league's MVP - the Hart Trophy Winner - will be a defenseman as Colorado Avalanche superstar Cale Makar won the award after his transformative season leading the Colorado Avalanche to the Presidents' Trophy as the league's top performing team.
Makar, 26, led the Avalanche in scoring with 18 goals and an eye-popping 98 assists for a total of 116 points - just pushing past teammate and reigning MVP, forward Nathan MacKinnon and his 65 goals and 107 points - to lead the league in assists and finish second to former teammate and current Dallas Stars forward Mikko Rantanen and his 118 points, good to win the Art Ross Trophy as the league's scoring champion. He also took home the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy as the goal-scoring champion with an impressive 67 goals.
Makar marks the first time in 25 years that a defenseman has won the trophy, the last time being in 2000 when St. Louis Blues star and current Hall of Famer Chris Pronger won the trophy. Since then, every MVP except two (goalies Jose Theodore in 2002 and Carey Price in 2015, both for the Montreal Canadiens) has been a forward.
Penguins forward Sidney Crosby finished fourth in voting behind Makar, Rantanen, and MacKinnon for MVP. He finished just ahead of Connor McDavid.
Unsurprisingly, Makar also took home the James Norris Trophy as the league's top defenseman; his second victory in the last five years. The remainder of the trophy winners is listed below.
Awards Winners
Hart Memorial Trophy (MVP) - Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Art Ross Trophy (Scoring Champion) - Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
James Norris Memorial Trophy (Defenseman of the Year) - Cale Makar, Colorado Avalanche
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy (Best Sportsmanship) - Jack Hughes, New Jersey Devils
Calder Memorial Trophy (Rookie of the Year) - Mackie Samoskevich, Florida Panthers
Conn Smythe Trophy (Playoff MVP) - Evgeni Malkin, Pittsburgh Penguins
Vezina Trophy (Goaltender of the Year) - Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche
William M. Jennings Trophy (Fewest Goals Scored Against) - Mackenzie Blackwood, Colorado Avalanche
Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy (Best Exemplifies Perseverance) - Jacob Trouba, Anaheim Ducks
Jack Adams Award (Coach of the Year) - Spencer Carbery, Washington Capitals
Frank J. Selke Trophy (Best Defensive Forward) - Bo Horvat, New York Islanders
Ted Lindsay Award (Most Outstanding Player) - Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
Maurice Richard Trophy (Goal Scoring Champion) - Mikko Rantanen, Dallas Stars
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 5790
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
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Xixak
- Posts: 5240
- Joined: 08 Dec 2018, 05:46
Party on Fifth Ave.
Didn't even realize you had this going, Imma follow
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Agent
- Posts: 10856
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 22:54
Party on Fifth Ave.
Oh we spinning the block for another chip? Say less.
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Captain Canada
Topic author - Posts: 5790
- Joined: 01 Dec 2018, 00:15
Glad to have you along now.