The Penguins made a bunch of deals Friday, none involving Marc-Andre Fleury, but some big names were moved.
The first deal saw the Penguins ship the best player to lace up a pair of hockey skates - Mario Lemieux - being sent to the LA Kings in exchange for Martin Straka, Mattias Norstrom, and the 3rd and 4th picks in 04. "Were excited about this deal. Its tough to move Mario, he was the heart and soul of this franchise. But we have to build on the future and get younger. Marty is a great player and is loved in Pittsburgh. Norstrom gives us more depth on defense."
The second deal saw Kelly Buchberger and Jon Sim cross the boarder to Canada to play for the Canucks. The Penguins received a 6th round draft choice in 04 for the two. GM Brent Bellio said that the deal was strickly financial.
The third deal saw the Penguins move Rico Fata for Jan Hrdina and a 7th in 04. "Its nice to get Janny back. He was good with us before and we hope he will be good for us again."
The 4th deal saw the Penguins move Tomas Surovy, Colby Armstrong, Josef Melichar, and Matt Bradley move to Phoenix inexchange for Mike Comrie and Dan Cleary. "We are extremely happy to add Comrie to our team. Hes a great player and should add alot of offense to our team. Cleary adds more depth up front."
The Penguins lost the lottery draft this morning and have the 2nd overall pick. The Penguins are excited about potentially adding Evgeni Malkin to there team but has not ruled out moving the pick for the right package. "If they want it bad enough, they can get it. Its just a matter of how bad though."