And Then There Were Three...

Yesterday, at the NHL trade deadline, the Pittsburgh Penguins sent Erik Christensen, Colby Armstrong, prospect Angelo Esposito and a 1st round draft pick to Atlanta for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis. While this trade apparently gives the Pens probably the best offense in the East, maybe save Ottawa, I think that the addition of Gill to the blueline corps is the better addition.

You see, I believe that the Penguins major weaknesses for a cup run was the lack of a rugged, clear the net, type of blueliner and a playoff tested goaltender. Gill, I think fills the bill for the defense, but the Penguins chose, instead, to address a non-need with Hossa, giving up way too much for a three month rental player. If they sign Hossa to a deal after this season, then this trade was a no-brainer. But, the Pens don't exactly have trouble scoring goals, do they? While a Hossa addition sounds nice and dandy, the simple fact of the matter is that he has been atrocious when it counts...the playoffs.

Do Penguins fans whole-heartedly believe in Ty Conklin and MA Fleury to carry home a Stanley Cup? I think the team would have been better served to acknowledge Conklin's awesome run for what it is...a fluke. If the Pens don't plug Fleury in as soon as possible, they are fools. But even Marc-Andre is no guarantee of playoff success as we saw last year.

I think that the Pens dropped the ball on their #1 need...goaltending.

But the title of this article refers to the other more troubling factor to me. I've been watching the Pens all year and found a major flaw in their team. They are all left handed shots except for Kennedy, Letang and Laraque. Armstrong was a right handed shot, but now he's gone. Which, isn't that much of a loss, except for the fact that he was Sidney Crosby's best friend. But back to my point. If you've watched the Pens this year, they pass up tons of opportunities to feed left handed shots. I've never seen a team so unbalanced to the left side. I think it's going to cost them in the playoffs as teams will eventually get wise and trap them to the off side.

Apparently, Ray Shero isn't concerned with this as he picked up three more left shots in Gill, Hossa and Dupuis. Maybe, I'm stupid to focus on this but it does really affect the team as I watch their offensive plays develop. And it won't take a rocket scientist on opposing teams to see these tendencies as well.

The Pens are built for a Cup run. I truly hope they get to the Finals (of course, assuming my beloved Rangers have been knocked out) because I have season tickets and I've never been to a Cup final before. But I see the flaws that may come back to bite the Pens in the ass come round 1 of the playoffs again.

Ty Conklin is not the answer and the absence of right handed shooters are going to hurt them against playoff caliber teams, especially on the powerplay.