Hockeytown Exposed: Pucksburgh Holds The Torch Now

(Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)

Stop. Zip it. Don’t go there.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have claimed their first Stanley Cup in the Sidney Crosby era already, but before we anoint them as the next great NHL dynasty, let’s see how this plays out first.

In the salary cap age, there are too many things that can slew-foot the kind of run that the Edmonton Oilers had two decades ago. Until Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and company hoist at least two more Stanley Cups in the next few years, the dynasty talk is just that—talk.

As for the best hockey town in the United States, well, let’s pass the torch right here, right now.

Give it up, Hockeytown, Michigan. It's yours, Pucksburgh, Penssylvania.

Detroit was a worthy recipient of the title over the years, but no city in the US of A deserves it more than Pittsburgh now. In the Penguins, the ‘Burgh has a talented young team with a steely revolve whose best days are ahead of it—one that plays in a town that has been puck nuts for years, win or lose.

In Ray Shero, it has an astute, aggressive general manager with championship genes. In Mario Lemieux, it has a team owner with a Hall of Fame presence. In two seasons, the team also will have its own state-of-the-art arena.(Ground control to Marian Hossa: When you turned down a chance to play with these guys for five seasons, just what were you thinkin’?)

That’s not to say that the Red Wings will fall over a cliff any time soon. The organ-i-zation has too much depth, pride, and smarts for that to happen.

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