"...it is a verb... You know, 'to shank'?"
Anyway, Richards is good... Of the day's deals, yours and ours were really the tops, but I think Richards is somewhat held back by simply being in Tampa this year. That is not to say they don't have good players, obviously they've got some of the better snipers in the league, but offense really comes from a lot of other places too, and Tampa just hasn't been great this year despite having some real big names. Not sure where they are, but I thought they were last in the league.
It didn't seem like Dallas gave much up to get them... I dunno what the player's mentality is, with how "tight" they are as friends and a group, but I think you guys got a pretty good deal... Messing with team chemistry can be devastating though, so if those guys Dallas gave up were lynch-pins in the locker room, that can really screw with a team overall. I know that's my current fear about the Pen's deal with Hossa.
I think the Penguins gave up one thing too many... Either they should've kept Armstrong, or they should've kept Esposito... Not both, for a guy that may not be here after this season.
And then you'd have to decide on the team's future over the team's present cohesive and friendly nature. Armstrong bought people waiting in line for tickets pizza's a few times over the last couple years... He's a loved guy around here, and seeing him go just sucks so bad. I don't think I've felt this bad since Ron Francis left for Carolina (a travesty for the Penguins, and the sign of the bad years that followed).
That said, Hossa's simply a proven scoring machine, and a 2-way player (something I appreciate), so that's cool... I just am gonna feel this was really empty though if the Pen's don't run all the way through the playoffs with him, or if they don't run the playoffs and wind up not being able to retain Hossa for a period of time. That'll suck.
