Pens Sign Comrie

Mr. Hillary Duff is coming to Pittsburgh.

Mike Comrie signed a 1-year $500,000 deal with the Pens, a bargin from the $1.25 million he earned last year in Edmonton, and way down from the $4 million he made on Long Island in 08-09.

Another "tough" player signing for the Pens, although, Comrie has the skill set to put a few pucks past goalies. In 568 career games, he has 167 goals, 192 assists, 359 points to go along with 48 powerplay goals.

Right now it is being reported that he will skate along side Crosby as the first line left winger. It so happens that this position is currently manned by Chris Kunitz. We'll see if they will all play together or if there will be some line juggling.

The addition of Comrie, who has, in the past, been a 30-goal scorer, gives the Pens a wealth of NHL calibur forwards. The problem is, there isn't enough roster spots for all of them to play.

Forwards guarenteed a spot:
Sidney Crosby
Evgeni Malkin
Jordan Staal
Chris Kunitz
Matt Cooke
Arron Asham

Forwards almost certain to have a spot:
Pascal Dupuis
Mike Comrie
Mike Rupp

Forwards on the bubble:
Max Talbot
Tyler Kennedy
Craig Adams
Eric Godard

Forward Prospects:
Eric Tangradi
Dustin Jeffrey
Nick Johnson
Chris Connor
Mark Letestu

The signing of Comrie is a good move by Shero based on the price they got him for. At only $500,000, he will be a steal if he can score 20+ goals and develop a chemistry with either Malkin or Crosby.

The signing also means we might not immediately get to see Eric Tangradi don the black and vegas gold for the Pens. That left wing spot beside Crosby was destined to be his, but he will now have to prove himself in the preseason in order to stick with the big club on opening night.

Also the Comrie signing makes it imperative for Talbot and Kennedy to have good preseasons, or their days with the club could be numbered. With the abundance of NHL calibur forwards, as well as NHL-ready prospects, Talbot and Kennedy will need to work their tails off to re-gain their spot on the team. Any sense of complacency could mean a one-way ticket out of the Burgh.


In other news, as expected, NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has reduced Steeler QB Ben Roethlisberger's suspension from 6-games to 4, meaning Ben can return to the team Oct. 17 vs Cleveland.

While suspended, Roethlisberger will be forbidden from participating in any team-related activities or practices. Ben has hired QB coach George Whitfield to work with him during the suspension. Ben will also have free-agent receivers, looking for work, running routes for him.

More news coming from the Steelers' QB situation is that Byron Leftwich suffered, what Head Coach Mike Tomlin called, a "serious" knee injury in Thursday's preseason finale against Carolina. Leftwich will undergo an MRI today to determine the severity of the injury.

EDIT: Leftwich suffered a mild sprain of his left MCL. He will miss the opener, but he could be back for Week 2.



Leftwich's knee opens the door for 3rd year QB Dennis Dixon to take the reins as the starter while Roethlisberger is suspended. After a good showing last year at Balitmore, many Steeler fans have been calling for Dixon to have the starting job while Ben is out. After a sub-par performance, especially in the Red Zone, against Denver, it appeared Dixon had lost the job to Leftwich.

With the Leftwich injury, Charlie Batch, who was almost guarenteed to be cut, and most likely offered a job on the Steelers' staff, will need to gear up and serve as the back-up to Dixon. With only Dixon and Batch on the roster as available QBs, it appears that the team will need to find another QB, presumably black, to serve as 3rd stringer.


Check out this trick play from the Wake Forest vs. Presbyterian game last night.