Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason Report: Hossa Stresses "Cup Over Cash"

Certain information and quotes taken from the context of Pittsburgh Tribune-Review article "Pens' Hossa emphasizing Cup over cash" by Kevin Gorman.

The Pittsburgh Penguins made one final visit to the Mellon Arena on Friday afternoon. It was a day which included locker cleaning and sparatic interviews with the press.

Penguins' forward Marian Hossa commented on his looming off season situation for the first time on Friday.

"If I wanted to make a couple more dollars, I would probably just re-sign with Atlanta. But, I'm glad Pittsburgh got me here. This was a fun journey for myself and a great experience. I hope I can stick with a great team like this" said Hossa.

"There's always a limit, but I'd rather take a little less and play on a good team, definitely", he added.

Sidney Crosby has made it clear that he has enjoyed his time on and off of the ice since Marian Hossa joined the team at the trade deadline.

Crosby told the media Friday, "I want to play with him, he's a great player. I hope it works out that he's able to stay. He's a great person. He works hard. I enjoy playing with him."

There are two major factors that remain to be seen in the Hossa situation. First, do the Penguins want to invest a substantial amount of money in three top-line forwards?

Secondly, would Marian Hossa really be willing to accept slightly less money to remain on a team littered with such superstars as Crosby, Malkin, Fleury, and Gonchar?

The Penguins' other big name free agent this off season is defenseman Brooks Orpik. It is no secret that Orpik has not always seen eye-to-eye with head coach Michel Therrien over the past three seasons.

Under Therrien's tutelage, Orpik has blossomed into one of the premier physical defenseman in the Eastern Conference.

The Penguins undoubtedly would want to pursue a new contract with Orpik, but is that what he wants?

Orpik told the press Friday that "my whole career I've never been best friends with the coach. I'm here to play. I've always had a good working relationship with my coaches. It's nothing personal."

"Would it prohibit me from coming back? No, not at all. I'm not here to have someone pat me on the back every day. That's obviously not something he does. He tries to get the best out of you. Those rumors, I don't know where they started. I don't see any quotes in those articles from me. That's mostly speculation, as far as I'm concerned," Orpik said in response to being asked about a Winnipeg Sun story claiming that his rocky relationship with Michel Therrien would deter him from negotiating a new contract with the Pens this summer.

Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, and Brooks Orpik each enjoyed breakout seasons in their own repsective ways this year.

Hossa finally silenced the critics, who claimed that he was solely a regular season superstar that disappeared once the playoffs rolled around.

Malone enjoyed career numbers in goals and points, playing alongside Malkin and Petr Sykora on the team's top offensive unit, and on the power play. Malone blossomed into the true power forward that he has been expected to be since the first post-lockout NHL season.

Orpik finally developed into an intimidating physical presence on the blue line. After being a healthy scratch on two separate occasions early in the season, and spending time playing the left wing position on the teams' fourth line, Orpik elevated his game and established himself as a staple in the Penguins' lineup on a nightly basis.

While the Penguins may not be able to re-sign all three of these players, they surely will pursue negotiations with each before July 1. Whether or not money is really an issue, or whether Ray Shero decides to invest more money in role players like Georges Laraque or Jarkko Ruutu remains to be seen.

This off season will surely bring about change, that is inevitable for most any professional team. However, every players' willingness to accept less money in order to be a serious competitor, combined with the choices of the Penguins' management will determine whether we see largely the same group of Penguins take the ice in October, or a new-look roster that will require time to "mesh."