AJC > Sports Thrashers > Blog > Archives > 2008 > February > 26
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Hossa And Dupuis To Pittsburgh For…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today the Atlanta Thrashers made the much-awaited announcement that Marian Hossa was traded away. Having failed in their attempt to sign the soon-to-be UFA, Don Waddell struck a deal with the Pittsburgh Penguins as follows:
Pittsburgh gets: Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.
Atlanta gets: 25-year old forward Colby Armstrong, 24-year old forward Erik Christensen, center Angelo Esposito and a first round draft pick.
Esposito is playing junior hockey in Quebec.
Maybe you can add to what we get in return…”the eternal gratitude of the Pittsburgh Penguin organization and their fan-base”.
To be honest, I was hoping for some help on the blueline…a center maybe…as well as futures. But what Waddell opted for was 3 young “possibles” and a pick. So the real verdict on this deal won’t be fully known for some time. At least on our end.
Meanwhile Sidney Crosby gets to steam into the playoffs with Hossa, his buddy Pascal, Malkin, and, as Hossa said, “a bunch of young talented guys”. He also added, “I’m really looking forward to it”. I’m quite sure he his, who wouldn’t?
It was just five short days ago we were talking about the possibility of being 1 point away from the Hurricanes…with two games in hand…given a win in Carolina that Thursday night. Today, it seems like a lifetime ago.
Maybe in days to come…many days down the road…I’ll look back on this day and smile. Maybe one of these guys will be the 2nd coming of Wayne Gretzky…maybe another Angelo Esposito will turn out to be Philip Anthony Esposito…who knows. Maybe I’ll wake up tomorrow and, with eyes to the future, see things in a little different perspective.
Right now, I’m just not 100% sold on it. If these were young talented defenders…different story.
If the Penguins complete a playoff push that sees them finish atop the Eastern Conference, I certainly do hope they send Don Waddell a “Thank You” card, because they got a couple really good players.
Come to think of it, weren’t we just saying that in reverse just a few months ago after the Mark Recchi acquisition?
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