Mark Madden Columns category, Page 32
Mark Madden: Sidney Crosby, Jake Guentzel making small plays look big for Penguins
Regulation NHL rinks measure 200 feet by 85 feet. But Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel could ply their craft in a phone booth. If that’s an exaggeration, it’s a slight one. Crosby and Guentzel are hockey’s best at playing in small areas, sometimes almost on top of each other. They...
Mark Madden: Rickard Rakell helps the Penguins, but will it be enough?
Pittsburgh Penguins GM Ron Hextall was in a tough spot as Monday’s NHL trade deadline approached. This is the Penguins’ last chance to make a playoff run with the current core, which makes it the team’s last chance for the foreseeable future. That’s beyond debate. Hextall had to strengthen. If...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Say goodbye to the Steelers’ showbiz era
JuJu Smith-Schuster is a testament to the power of self-promotion via social media. He was one of the most popular Steelers in recent memory. But Smith-Schuster wasn’t really that good. He had one great season in five: 2018, when he caught 111 passes for 1,426 yards as Antonio Brown absorbed...
Mark Madden: Evgeni Malkin needs a winger; here’s a move the Penguins could try
Evgeni Malkin has gone six games without a point. It’s the longest slump of his career. But he’s playing OK. Malkin has taken on a bigger physical burden than usual. He’s trying hard to get things accomplished. He had points in seven consecutive games prior. Malkin’s problem is his wingers....
Mark Madden: Mitch Trubisky was sensible option for ‘rebuilding’ Steelers
The Pittsburgh Steelers never use the term “rebuilding.” But they are rebuilding and probably hope you don’t notice. Heck, perhaps they don’t even realize. The six primary components of their offensive line are 25, 25, 24, 24, 23 and 23. Their new quarterback is 27, hardly old for that position....
Mark Madden: From Friedman to Kapanen, lots to discuss about Penguins’ recent lineup changes
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ 4-2 home victory over powerful Carolina on Sunday featured several lineup changes that beg further discussion. Winger Kasperi Kapanen was a healthy scratch in Friday’s 5-2 win over Vegas, also at PPG Paints Arena. Kapanen nonetheless went right back in the lineup Sunday. Gee, I hope Kapanen...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Don’t expect Steelers to make impact early in free agency
NFL free agency kicks off at 4 p.m. Wednesday. The legal tampering period, not to be confused with the age of consent, kicks off at noon Monday. The Pittsburgh Steelers have lots of salary cap space, approximately $34 million. They normally don’t. The Steelers could make impact on the first...
Mark Madden: Penguins can’t continue to be a 1-line team
Enough already with Kasperi Kapanen. He’s got one goal in 17 games. Enough already with every other winger that’s been centered recently by Evgeni Malkin: Danton Heinen has one goal in 11 games. Evan Rodrigues has one goal in 25 games. Jeff Carter has one goal in 17 games, none...
Mark Madden: With Aaron Rodgers off the market, maybe the Steelers can sign Tom Brady
Aaron Rodgers is staying in Green Bay. Russell Wilson got traded to Denver, not Pittsburgh. But fear not, Steelers marks: I’m told by a source close to the situation that the team is in advanced talks with Tom Brady about ending his brief retirement to play in Pittsburgh. No agreement...
Mark Madden: Offensive line should be Steelers’ center of attention in free agency
Instead of indulging fanboy erotica over what big-name quarterback the Steelers might get but won’t, pay attention to who the Steelers could get and should. Free-agent center Ryan Jensen comes to mind. He won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay two seasons ago. He made his first Pro Bowl this...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Plenty of reasons for Steelers to avoid trading for Aaron Rodgers
Aaron Rodgers isn’t just NFL MVP. He’s the de facto boss of the football media. Rodgers’ horse manure gets spread wherever he wants. He also has his bully pulpit on Pat McAfee’s radio show. The latest “news” about Rodgers says Green Bay has trades in place with the Steelers, Denver...
Mark Madden: Acquiring Canucks forward J.T. Miller would provide boost for Penguins
The Penguins have little cap space (just $3 million) and not much trade capital. But the Penguins could use a boost before the March 21 NHL trade deadline. There’s always a deal to be made. That was Jim Rutherford’s attitude when he was Penguins GM. He’s in charge at Vancouver...
Mark Madden: Drafting Malik Willis solves nothing for the Steelers in 2022
Draftnik Mel Kiper Jr. says the Pittsburgh Steelers will choose Liberty quarterback Malik Willis with the 20th pick of the NFL Draft. That’s on Kiper’s big board. It’s not nearly as big as Kiper’s hair but is bigger than Kenny Pickett’s hands. (Kiper has the Pitt quarterback going No. 11...
Mark Madden: Penguins, Rangers could look different after trade deadline
The Penguins have won two in a row after losing three straight. They won four in a row prior to that but lost four consecutive before that. They won six straight before that. Roller-coaster of love … say what? Saturday’s 1-0 home victory vs. the New York Rangers seemed big....
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Don’t get sucked in by Steelers QB chatter
This past week, a national sports website reported San Francisco will trade quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo to the Pittsburgh Steelers. A Seattle radio station said the Seahawks would send QB Russell Wilson to the Steelers. A football data site said Las Vegas quarterback Derek Carr is headed to Pittsburgh. A national...
Mark Madden: Adding Phil Kessel for Kasperi Kapanen is not the answer for Penguins
Arizona wants to trade winger Phil Kessel. The Penguins would doubtless love to trade winger Kasperi Kapanen. Pull the trigger: Kessel for Kapanen. It’s a trade that would hurt both teams. Penguins supporters have a fondness for recycling and certainly an affinity for Kessel, a major contributor and fan favorite...
Mark Madden: Mythology of ‘great defense’ keeps Steelers’ problems from being solved
The Pittsburgh Steelers rank last in the AFC North when it comes to quarterbacks. But they might rank No. 1 in sports when it comes to mythology. (All the religions have them beat.) On ESPN’s “Get Up” show Tuesday morning, the talking heads bleated about the Steelers having a “great...
Mark Madden: If Penguins tighten their structure, other issues solve themselves
It’s been said for weeks: The Penguins need to tighten their structure. But they’re not doing it. Sunday’s 4-3 home loss to Carolina had its good points: The Penguins rallied from down 2-0 to make it 2-2. Sidney Crosby scored his 10th goal in 15 games. The Penguins got outplayed...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Mitchell Trubisky is better option than Jameis Winston for Steelers
The Steelers’ quarterback debate has hit new heights — or lows, if you’ve got the proper perspective — with the re-introduction of Jameis Winston as the flavor du jour. God, I hate re-runs. Winston, most recently of New Orleans, will be a free agent March 16. The hype is thick...
Mark Madden: Steelers current quarterbacks should get public support from T.J. Watt, Najee Harris
NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt spoke on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ succession plan at quarterback: “We’ll see what happens at the quarterback position. I trust the guys upstairs to be able to bring a guy in that can win us some games, and I’m going to do everything...
Mark Madden: With extreme focus on winning, Sidney Crosby is an anomaly
Sidney Crosby scored goal No. 500. No big deal. At a glance, sure, it’s impressive. He’s only the 46th player to do it. (He still trails Pat Verbeek by 22.) It was his 50th goal against Philadelphia, the old enemy. It came in a win, which is paramount to Crosby....
Mark Madden: It’s unrealistic to think the Steelers can reload right away
The notion that the Pittsburgh Steelers can reload a mediocre team immediately after their Hall of Fame quarterback retires seems insane, but par for the course locally. (Ben Roethlisberger might not have always looked the part in his final campaign, but his guile and guts engineered six fourth-quarter comebacks on...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: Penguins should experiment with Jeff Carter on Evgeni Malkin’s wing
The Penguins are locked into a playoff spot. The remainder of the regular season should be used to pursue home ice and favorable seeding for the postseason, but also to experiment. One thing worth testing is using Jeff Carter on Evgeni Malkin’s wing. Carter has mostly toiled as the Penguins’...
Mark Madden: Brad Marchand’s antics are criminal, but the NHL doesn’t want that to vanish
Boston’s Brad Marchand got a six-game suspension from the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for sucker-punching Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry, then sticking him in the face. ESPN’s uber-intelligent hockey guy John Buccigross committed a rare betrayal of his sense for the game when he wondered what Jarry might have said...
Mark Madden: Penguins facing end-of-era dilemmas
“You’ve always got a chance to win the Stanley Cup if you have Sid and Geno.” For Penguins fans, that’s long been a catchphrase of encouragement and sometimes desperation. It rings true: The Penguins won Cups with Crosby and Malkin in 2009, ’16 and ’17 and were a legit championship...
