Steelers' Super Bowl Win Puts Pressure on Pittsburgh Penguins to Make Playoffs

Now that the Pittsburgh Steelers are champions again, the pressure is on the Pittsburgh Penguins to return as Stanley Cup contenders.

After beating the Rangers on Sunday, the Penguins' three stars came out waving Terrible Towels, in support of the Steelers.

Pittsburgh's sports fans will support the Penguins all the way to the Cup Finals again, no doubt—but first they have to get into the playoffs.

Last year's finalists in the NHL championship are facing the curse of all teams that came second in the Stanley Cup Finals, and have struggled this season despite having the top two point-getters in the NHL.

As the NHL's March 4 trade deadline is a month away, trade discussions around the league are increasing in volume and intensity. The Penguins' needs are well known—they need a goal-scoring winger to take advantage of the playmaking skills of Crosby and Malkin. Also, they could use an infusion of grit and passion up front, plus a spark.

They need some goals scored by forwards whose names are not Malkin or Crosby. They need consistency. They need a left winger. And they might need someone tougher than Eric Godard in the role of enforcer.

The Penguins have proclaimed themselves a desperate team playing its playoff hockey now. However, Pittsburgh blew a 3-1 lead in the third period and wound up losing in overtime in New Jersey on Friday night. They lost to Toronto just before that.

After nearly three years as the Penguins' general manager, Ray Shero knows how to deal at the deadline.  He acquired Marian Hossa, Pascal Dupuis, and Hal Gill a year ago for the Penguins' Stanley Cup drive.

This year, the the best trade bait includes Keith Tkachuk, Bill Guerin, Mike Comrie, and Mathieu Schneider.

Tkachuk, 36, plays left wing. Guerin, 38, plays right wing. Weight, 38, plays centre. Comrie, 28, also plays centre, and Schneider is a defenceman.

If only there was someone out there who was known as a spark plug, someone with grit and passion, someone who can put the puck in the net.

Is there a left winger available who has shown he can get in front of the goalie and stay there so Malkin and Crosby can beat the goalie or pass him the puck? Is there a winger out there that other teams hate to play against—a name that strikes fear into the hearts of opposing hockey players?

The Penguins need someone who can do for them what wide receiver Santonio Holmes did for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their championship game.

As Allan Bass recently pointed out in the Bleacher Report, the Penguins have much less depth at left wing as Rusian Fedotenko is injured.

Is there a left winger out there with all of the above qualities? Hmmm...