Penguin Update

[NittanyLions94]

It looks like the Pens are about to be seriously moved. The city keeps making offers and Mario keeps rejecting them like a little F'n baby. This is from one of the most knowledgable Pens fans that I know and was posted on another board I frequent:


From the start, I always believed Lemeiux's force-assumed ownership of the Penguins a few years back was more to recuperate his own potential losses than save the team, but I guess many of us would do the same thing if put in his situation.

And I'll further concede that government officials totally screwed the pooch by allowing the gaming board to pick a plan other than the IOC, and are very responsible for talks stretching out to the situation they are in.


But it's to the point that the state has offered a good enough deal that by not taking it, Mario Lemeiux has made it crystal clear that his intentions were never to save hockey in Pittsburgh, and he's dangling our franchise for the sake of dragging a few guys through the mud that slighted him at one time or another.

The current proposal isn't the IOC. Far from it. I will continue to ponder over the next few years why the state would be willing to throw away a $290MM cash cow for a casino owner who doesn't even seem able to afford to contribute $7.5MM a year. But we're past that now, and need to look at what the best alternative is.

To that extent, I think the state has done very well. They have communicated frequently with the Penguins, eased up on their initial demands, brought Gary Bettman into the mix, and kept the fans informed.

The offer currently on the table is supposedly better than anything any of the other 6 professional sports franchises in PA have ever gotten.

If Lemeiux accepts it, he can ensure that hockey will remain in place in Pittsburgh for decades to come...and even though it's not IOC, the Penguins will still be the youngest, most attractive franchise in the league, which he would have no trouble selling with a new arena on top of everything else.

He'll be able to recoup all of his losses, and then some. But he won't do it.


As much as Mario singlehandedly saved Pittsburgh in 1984, he's singlehandedly destroying it now.

The ball is in your court, Mario. Be a man, hold up to your word, and agree to a deal that will keep hockey in Pittsburgh, which you claimed was your intent from the beginning.

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People in Pittsburgh are growing tired of Mario's act and his constant pleas for attention. People outside of the city will say "he saved the franchise" which in a way he did, but he always hangs on that as an excuse for what he is doing now. If he moves the Pens out of Pittsburgh he will likely be hated like no other person in Pittsburgh for the rest of his life, which is sad considering he was one of the biggest stars to ever play in Pittsburgh in any sport. I don't want it to come to that but it's looking like it will.