Steigerwald's Thoughts on the Upcoming Season

The official Pittsburgh Penguins webpage features an article by Paul Steigerwald today. Something about being excited for the upcoming 2008-2009 season (WHO ISN'T?!)!

“From an entertainment standpoint, there’s not a team in hockey that even comes close to the Penguins. For our city and our fans – and for me as a broadcaster – that makes this is a very exciting time.”

“We’ve obviously had a lot of great times with hockey in this city, magical moments, but there’s something that’s going on right now – the relationship between the team and the fans the region – that I don’t think I’ve ever seen before,” Steigerwald said. “Penguins hockey is pervasive. The fan base has grown and grown, and it’s reached out to a new generation, to the point that Penguins hockey is now really a part of the fabric of this town.

“In the whole history of the Penguins, I can’t ever remember such a feeling of stability,” Steigerwald said. “We’ve got an ownership group that’s made a huge commitment and is virtually spending to the cap. We’ve got a hockey operations staff, led by Ray Shero and Chuck Fletcher, that has shown it is very capable of operating in the NHL’s brave new world. Our coach, Michel Therrien, has been here for three years and we’ve gotten better every year. The talent of the players is obvious. And the fan base is one of the very best in hockey.

“After what we had to go through in the early part of this decade, and through the lockout … it’s great to see it all come to fruition. Everybody feels like they played a role. I go back to that game in the conference finals against the Flyers. Sitting there in the stands, it felt like one solid group – the fans, the players, the coaches the staff. It was one big family in the building that day.

“And there’s more to come. I can’t wait to get started.”

To read the entire article, click here.
(it's a LONG ONE!)