According to his agent, Coyotes forward Shane Doan (center) would prefer to remain in Phoenix. AP

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Submitted by: Steve on Thursday, July 19, 2012
With Sullivan also gone, sounds like Kennedy and/or and Duper are Sid's winger's of the future. lol Maybe it's about time they try working a trade for Iginla. ...or maybe the Pens can follow the Flyers lead and risk losing the next 4 first round picks by giving Evander Kane an offer sheet. That actually doesn't sound like a bad idea...might be the only way they can get something done. If not, it might be another decade of so-so signings of aging or baggage carrying wingers. I'll really lose faith in Shero if he can't get one decent winger to sign. They have the money and should have the drawing power with the Pens organization and players to play with as bonuses. Didn't know the Pens were like the Islanders and virtually need to hit players over the head with a frying pan and kidnap them to get them here. Right now, the Pens should drop the whole Doan thing and move onto the next possible candidate. He's not coming. Time to give Sid's biggest fan a call before the Flyers nab him too. "Hi Alex! This is Ray."

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Submitted by: dennis on Thursday, July 19, 2012
Could not agree more with Jared's 10:45 comment. Politely tell agent Bross he can take the Pens off his list. Would like to see Semin signed for 1-2 years if they think it is imperative we get a winger now, otherwise wait til trade deadline. What's the hurry? ~DJ

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Submitted by: Jared on Thursday, July 19, 2012
For those who may be tempted to say that the Pens should rely on the draft to find a winger for Crosby and not take a risk on any free agents...a fast trivia question. Who was the last winger drafted by the Penguins who had a season in whicn he scored 30 goals in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform? Don't look it up...think about it. The answer is...Jaromir Jagr, drafted in 1990. Also known as 22 years ago. They've gone 22 consecutive drafts without picking and keeping a 30 goal winger. They gave one away - Markus Naslund, whom they picked a mere 21 years ago, in 1991, and who scored 30+ a few times for Vancouver. And Ryan Malone (drafted in 1999) came sorta kinda close with 27 goals for the Pens in 2007-08. But their record of growing talent on the wings through the draft is, well, appallingly bad. As a result, they unfortunately have no choice - and have had no choice for decades - other than to take risks on free agents and trades in order to find scoring from the wings.

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Submitted by: Jared on Wednesday, July 18, 2012
I think a respectful "thanks, but no thanks" is in order, then. I love Doan's leadership and intangibles...but he turns 36 basically on opening night (assuming the season starts on time, but his birthday is October 10). From 2003-04 through 2008-09 he was pretty consistently hovering around the 30 goal mark...but since then, he's scored 18, 20 and 22 goals. His average point total in those three seasons is 55, down from 69 in the three prior years, all with comparable games played. He's a career minus player (-25)...although the +/- stat is often overemphasized. From 2003-04 through 2008-09, his shooting percentage was over .100 every season...since 2008-09, however, he hasn't broken .100. In 2010-11, over half of his goals (11 of 20) came on the powerplay, which is a worrying stat for me, insofar as it indicates a player who may be less able to compete 5 on 5 than you would like. He's still a serviceable player as of today...but if the current trends in his play continue, I don't know that you can bet on him still being one in 3 more years, let alone beyond that if that's what the Pens would have to do to get him. From my chair, Alex Semin is less risky...people have drawn comparisons between him and Alex Kovalev...and with some degree of justification. But they always seem to leave out that, when Kovy came to Pittsburgh - a team with playoff experience and more than solid leadership, a bit like the current Pens - and became a complimentary player, he had the best years of his career. I believe that if you give Semin a chance to just be a sniper...which is what he's built for...instead of relying on him to be one of the main two guys on the team, you're much more likely to see the 40 goal player that he unquestionably has the talent to be than the fringe player he ultimately became in Washington. For all the criticism, he's a career plus player (and not just marginally...he's a +65). Semin has scored 89 goals in the past 3 seasons (compared to Doan's 60), and his offensive style compliments Sid's - both are posession machines in the o-zone. His shooting percentage has never been below .100...and he's only 28 (or 8 years younger than Doan). And you can get Semin without giving up anything other than money...so you can keep the whole group of young defensemen that you've been stockpiling and give yourself the ability to more thoroughly evaluate how they fit with the team's needs and other personnel, instead of dealing guys before they really even are turned pro. And the downside to Semin is...what? Do we really credit Pierre McGuire's opinion of the guy? Or Mark Crawford's?!? Do we seriously think that Alexander Semin is capable of singlehandedly turning the Pens' locker room into a train wreck? Washington had leadership issues, team balance issues, and other problems...but they clearly went (and still go) far beyond any one player. And one last thought...if Semin believes that he was unfairly targeted as a scapegoat for Washington's problems...and from what I've seen, he may very well think that...you have to think he'd be one seriously motivated player once he got into another sweater, particularly one with a skating Penguin on the front.