Sports Will the Penguins fly together? By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor Sie Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Marc-Andre Fleury, Jordan Staal... the list of future superstars for the Pittsburgh Penguins goes on and on, but will they all stick around long enough to see a dynasty happen? The Penguins’ managementhas carefully assembled all of these players—plus defenseman Ryan Whitney and slick star Marian Hossa—all of whom have the capability to become top-end talents in the NHL—if they aren’t already. But in today’s salary capped league, will it be possible to keep them together? Crosby, the once-in-a-generation player that has enamored the hockey world, will make $8.7-million starting next season for the next five years. While the Pens are probably getting a bargain for that amount, it’s still quite the cap hit. Malkin will be going into the final year of his three-year entry level contract next season, and judging by his Crosby-like play this year and his rookie of the year performance last season, he will be able to command similar monetary numbers as Sid the Kid. Pittsburg General Manager Ray Shero has already locked up Whitney, a 25-year old in his third NHL campaign, to a six-year deal last summer that pays $4 million until 2013. Goaltender Fleury, 23, is a restricted free agent this summer, and the Penguins have clearly marked him as their franchise goalie. While his play has been sporadic at times, he has shown otherworldly athleticism and tremendous ability. While Ty Conklin and Dany Sabourin have played well in net this year while Fleury has been injured, neither of them have the potential that Fleury possesses. Then there is Marian Hossa. Shero made his intentions for the Stanley Cup clear when he pulled off the biggest blockbuster at this year’s trade deadline by dealing for the mercurial Slovakian, who is one of the best pure goal scorers the NHL has right now. Shero gave up a lot for Hossa, who started the year off slow before heating up recently. The Penguins sent Colby Armstrong, Erik Christenson, last year’s first round pick Angelo Esposito, and a first round selection in the upcoming entry draft. It was a gutsy move by Shero to say the least, and critics raised their “Hossa is eyebrows further when Hossa hurt his knee in his first game with the Pens. It is difficult to believe that the Penguins would trade away such a great rental player that will immediately sign with another team in the off-season, so Shero must have something in mind to lock Hossa up long-term. That will be difficult, however, as Hossa made $6 million this season and likely won’t sign for anything less this time around. So let’s take a look at the Penguins’ situation. They have Crosby for $8.7; Malkin in at two years for at least $7.5; Whitney for $4; Fleury for around that; Staal, one of the best young defensive forwards in the NHL at just 19, and in two years for about $3-4 million; and Hossa, who will want no less than $6.5 million. Add it up and that accounts for at least $34.2 million of the Penguins’ salary structure. That isn’t too bad, but they still have to fill out the roster with role players and the like. Now if the salary cap goes up, as it is expected to ‘do by about $3 million this summer, then Pittsburgh will have a bit of breathing room and will most likely be .. best pure goal scorers the NHL has.” capable of accommodating everyone. However, if the cap decreases, which it hasn’t done since its inception, and then Shero will have to get creative. One precedent Pens fans can look to for inspiration is the example in Anaheim. Brian Burke has been able to fit Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, J.S. Gigure, and Corry Perry under the cap so far, and if a team with talent like that can do it, nothing is impossible. The Penguins are a victim of Gary Bettman’s NHL. They have done a wonderful job assembling a top-notch team that could be ripped apart. Because the owners wanted to keep the idiot GMs in the league, they now punish good managerial regimes, such as Shero’s, and reward inept ones. The Penguins have the potential to be the new Edmonton Oilers of the 1980s or the Colorado Avalanche of the early 2000s. They one of the have limitless firepower and play with a style more entertaining than any team in the NHL. How did the Penguins get so many star players? Years and years of failure yielded high picks, and unlike a number of other teams, the Penguins knew what they were doing at the draft table. In 2002, they chose Whitney fifth overall. The next year, they traded up to the first overall slot and chose Fleury, making him just the second goaltender ever to be taken first. In 2004, the Penguins picked second, and made the no-brainer move to pick Malkin after Washington snapped up Alexander Ovechkin. They won the 2005 draft lottery that allowed them to select Sidney Crosby, and in ’06 they drafted Jordan Staal second overall. Last draft, they picked Esposito 20th overall. Over a six-year period, no team in history has had such good drafting position. Think about it: fifth, first, second, first, second, and twentieth, and they landed impact players every time. Will the Penguins fly together? Only time will tell, but the NHL will be better as a whole if they can. berger gets big contract By Garth McLennan, Sports Editor Dts Pittsburgh Steelers have signed Ben Roethlisberger, 26, to an enormous eight-year, $102 million contract extension. The deal will pay the star quarterback an average of $12.75 per season. $36 million is guaranteed and Roethlisberger will pocket a $25 million signing bonus immediately. His contract is the largest in the history of the franchise. Roethlisberger, who was chosen 11" overall by Pittsburgh in 2004, led the Steelers to the team’s fifth Super bowl Championship in 2006, becoming the youngest championship quarterback in league history. He was the AFC’s offensive rookie of the year in 2005 and was named to the Pro Bowl for the first time in 2007. Roethlisberger, nicknamed “Big Ben,” threw for 32 touchdowns last season while getting intercepted only 11 times. During his four seasons in Pittsburgh, Roethlisberger has started his career off as good as he could have hoped. He has won the Super bowl, played in two AFC championships, and made the playoffs three times.