Wednesday, January 23rd, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Crosby’s absence could be vital to Pens’ development
Pittsburgh still seems to be in a catatonic state over the injury of Sidney Crosby. It is time to wake up. Stuff happens, the world still turns, Martin Brodeur still plays 78 games a year, and the season still continues. The Penguins, however, have been afforded a unique opportunity, one that could be huge for the future success of the franchise; they know that they have a superstar, but have the opportunity to see what kind of team they can be without two key young parts (Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury . . . wow, he has been out so long that it feels weird typing his name).
If the Penguins can come together under the leadership of Sergei Gonchar and Petr Sykora and the play of Evgeni Malkin, the absence of Crosby could prove to be a huge positive. Yes, I am painting an overly rosy picture, but one of the major issues with the team this year has been that wingers such as Jordan Staal (5 goals), Eric Christiensen (6 goals), and Colby Armstrong (6 goals), along with the recently dispatched Mark Recchi, who were expected to contribute on a regular basis have failed to do so.
To put those goal totals into perspective, Tyler Kennedy (eight goals) has outscored all three forwards. Kennedy has been with the club for 31 games, while Staal has played in 48, Christensen has played in 39, and Armstrong has played in 41.
A partial cause of this may have been that when Crosby is in the lineup, he was expected to make the plays and the other players were able to benefit his creativity. I am not saying that this is at all a negative; he is one of the best players in the world and should be given space to create opportunities for others.
The issue is that these others sometimes appear more like bystanders, expecting to be given an opportunity to observe Crosby’s talent and to occasionally score, than NHL players. Now, these players are going to need to create their own opportunities if they expect to score, as Evgeni Malkin can only play on one line. A player like Ryan Stone or Jonathan Filewich has a legitimate chance to make a lasting impact on this team, particularly if he steps up and takes some of those absent points, while a player like Christiansen or Staal is going to be very much in the spotlight and must begin to produce for the team to be successful.
With that said, Ray Shero should not panic and pull the trigger on a trade for some name player, jeopardizing the team’s future in order to “salvage” this season. He should allow the current group of young players, which is currently even more youth-oriented than usual, to coalesce as a unit and learn what the are really capable of, both individually and as a team. If he wants to add another part, like what Gary Roberts was last year, that is okay, but trading for a Marian Hossa just because Crosby is injured would be absurd.
Every Penguin should be viewing this period as a live tryout, a chance to see what the team can do whenever it is decimated by injuries (as well as Crosby and Fleury; Gary Roberts, Mark Eaton, and Adam Hall are out; and Kennedy and Armstrong who are not really healthy). If the team can develop non-Crosby leaders and make the plays necessary to win over the next six to eight weeks, it will have a certain swagger about it that will make it that much more dangerous after Crosby and Fleury return.
And if they can develop that swagger, then those preseason prognostications of playing deep into the playoffs may just come true and an injury to the Face of the NHL may have been the cause of it all.
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