It's a SAD Day in Our Neighborhood!!

Yet again, PENS fans take another blow!

Gary Roberts has announced that he WILL return to hockey, but it WON'T be with the Penguins (read more in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette's article)!

Is it just me OR does this team appear to be falling apart at the seams? When I asked my husband that question this morning, he merely chuckled at me and mocked, "oh yeah, Stephanie, the team is crumbling; the Pens are going right down the ol' crapper!"

Afterwards I thought, "gee, what a lucky woman I am!" [sarcastic humor] and then, "maybe he's right."

Hear me out (and allow me to convince myself a little more!):
In the not-so-distant past, the Pens were just an OK team and free agency / trades enabled the team to pick up someone / something they needed; and, being in need of so much, any player they picked up created a Christmas-like atmosphere to Pens fans during those times (which is why, my husband recently told me, it is / was one of his favorite times of the year as a fan).

Just within the past couple of seasons, the Pens have blossomed into an extraordinary team, fitting all the pieces of the puzzle together to make it "complete" -- there really hasn't been a real need for anything since the depth has been so amazing (way down to the 4th line -- players that you can actually count on to get the job done)!! And what they did need, Shero took care of within minutes of the trading deadline this year.

As I've said numerous times before, this team (especially this past season) was special; so we became accustomed and somewhat "attached" to the players (I know, that's such a "girly" word; but I think it's true in a sense). NOW we have what we need (shouldn't we keep it the way it is / why fix it if it ain't broke?), and so we've been spoiled and so has the excitement of free agency.

And it still comes down to the very basic concept once again: the cap was set up to benefit both players and teams alike; when you're set to gain something, it's GREAT, but when you're on the "losing" end, it just plain SUCKS!!

Make sense? After thinking about it for awhile, it makes sense to me (even though it still makes me want to vomit to scratch another player of our UFA list)!! But I suppose we should feel lucky to have witnessed such a great team come together and play if for only a short time! Do you think it would be less drastic losing UFA if we would've won the Stanley Cup? Maybe so.

And let me remind ALL Pens fans:
When Gary Roberts decides ANYTHING, it shall be so!

So to this end I shall say, "Goodbye, Mr. Roberts, it was fun while it lasted and THANKS for all the good memories!! You will be missed!"