The penguins demise is not so strange a story, really. I hate to say it, but they effectively bought two Stanley Cups. If you look at the 91-92 Pens rosters, they very literally read like the lineup of an all-star team. The owners, Howard Baldwin and Roger Marino, simply spent more money than they could make. Sure, It won them two cups, but it ran the team into the ground. I always said, when the Pens started salary-dumping and getting worse, that Pittsburghers had to endure bad hockey because the team was finally paying for the two Stanley Cups they bought. Harsh words from a Pittsburgher, an Penguins fan, and an all around hockey nut- but they are true.
Lemieux has been doing the right things- working on creating good players through their development system, and making the team more finacially strong. In just a few years, they went from nearly being moved to Portland, to being only 7 Million in the Red. Now, 7 Mil in the Red might not sound that great, but it was a major improvement (from over 50 Mil, I think?). By being that close to actually making money, Lemieux and Craig Patrick were postioning themselves to avoid contraction.
The biggest mistake they made was trusting the city government for tax money to buid a new arena. A new ballpark and football field were built, but the city never ponied up the tax money that the citizens of Allegheny County so foolishly agreed to. The Penguins based much of their future planning on what the city promised, but didn't deliver, but are we surprised? No. The sales tax in Allegheny County still stands at 7, rather than 6 percent.
I suppose that's it in a nutshell, maybe even more than you wanted to know. Any other questions?
And Alberta's Child- please add me to your ping list. I hope there is hockey next season.
I don't maintain this ping list, so I'm forwarding this to the one who (I think!) does.