Big Lead Sports Bar

3/02/2009

SMIZIK: "A CALL, SERIOUSLY, TO TRADE CROSBY"



Not only is Bob Smizik not retired, but he's still stirring the pot, today suggesting (seriously, he implies) that the Penguins deal one Sidney Crosby. Somewhere, Rob Rossi is nodding in agreement. Says Smizik:

"If he were put on the market, he’d bring a bushel of young talent, some of it not that expensive. Because he is the face of the NFL, Crosby would bring more in a trade than most players of his ability. The Penguins could get the wingers they need and if the team feels Jordan Staal is up to being the second-line center, they wouldn’t even need another center in the deal. Many needs could be addressed."

By the end of the column, Smizik realizes what he is writing and says that a trade should not be seriously discussed. But if you count Rossi and KDKA's Jory Rand, that's three Pittsburgh media members who have recently mentioned the words "Crosby" and "trade" in the same sentence.

We need to stop this right now. First of all, it's just not going to happen, period. From a purely financial standpoint, Crosby is a cash cow. He sells tickets, he sells jerseys, he's the face of the team, and he's the face of the league. You don't trade that. Second, no GM is going to want to be known as The Guy Who Traded Sidney Crosby. That's too much pressure for any one man to shoulder. It's like rolling the dice with the fate of the franchise. And finally, the guy is 21 years old and he's already won an MVP, Art Ross Trophy, and an Eastern Conference championship. Honestly, is our patience to win that short that we're even discussing this?

A call, seriously, to trade Crosby [Smizik/PG]

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17 comments:

Reggie Dunlop said...

well put

Brian said...

Sports writers are idiots.

Chip said...

I don't think it's that bad of an idea. I'm not saying it will happen or it will ever be considered but there is an argument to be made.

Malkin is not that far behind Crosby. In fact, last year we were debating if Geno is the best player on the planet, not Sid. And I think this recent stretch shows for some reason, he plays 200% better when Sid's not there.

If you trade Sid for 4-5 players who form the nucleus of a team that wins 3-4 Cups in decade, isn't it worth at least talking about? I realize he's the "face of hockey" but I'd rather have Cups than publicity.

The Mad Bubbler said...

Why does anyone even pay attention to what Bob Smizik says, ESPECIALLY pertaining to hockey? He's just another guy from a dying generation of Pittsburghers who care about Steelers and Pirates and nothing else (goes the same for Ron Cook and Gene "The Pens season is over" Collier). Just ignore these goofs unless they're covering the Steelers (I would add Pirates but they can't seem to realize the Succos are just out to make money).

okel dokel said...

The senility train has officially left the station. "The face of the NFL" - the first comment on his blog called out the mistake and it was changed, but I am sure that is what he meant to say.

The Duke from Dukes Court said...

The fact that Jory Rand called for Sid to be traded is exactly why we should not trade him.

Where does KDKA find these guys?

Anonymous said...

If John Mehno wanted to write a book of "100 Most Pointless Pittsburgh Arguements of All Time," #1 would be should Sidney be traded. It ranks just ahead of every time someone calls in after a Steelers game saying Ben should've been benched.

BurressWithButterflywings said...

Trading Sid would be an absolutely awful idea.

I remember Smizik writing an article in 2006 about the team finishing 5th out of 6th in the Atlantic conference of something ridiculous like that proving his lack of hockey knowledge.

P.O. said...

trade a 21 year old scoring champion/league MVP for "young talent"??

isnt he the definition of "young talent"?

isnt he want guys want to draft when they get #1 picks??

Smizik/Rossi/Rand = jokes

RP said...

You read this all wrong. It's not Smizik saying Sid should be traded, it was one of his readers who wrote that in the comments.

Smizik takes the commenter to task and by the end says that trading Sid is a dumb idea. It wasn't Smizik's idea to trade him, I can only guess that he chose to respond because he's hearing it more often these days, probably from the same people who wanted Leftwich to start in place of Ben.

Anonymous said...

I'm not about to agree that Sid should be dealt, but the numbers show that he is nowhere near the goal scorer he was rumored to be.

His career number pan out to less than one goal for every two games played.

Over his last 37 games, he's only scored goals in 9 of those games.

9 out of 37!

He's a talented player, but nothing close to the best player in the league.

He's not even the best player on his team.

jmarinara said...

Well it's good to know that Bob Smizik is still an idiot.

SantoGold said...

Cecil from Cecil makes a good point, and one that more and more of the national media have hinted at as well.

Actually, having Sid, Geno and Fleury on the same team present big salary cap problems. Salary cap is expected to drop $6-$8 million next year. You can't have 3 guys taking up so much of your cap space, no matter who they are. Management knows this, thats why they signed Staal to a nice contract and have not traded him. He'll be a more reasonable priced #2 center, and either Sid or Geno will remain on the #1 line. Look for a blockbuster trade sometime after the season is over.

Steve said...

Two years ago, I would have thought the idea of trading Crosby was absolutely insane...last year, it would have been just simply crazy and this year, it's maybe not entirely unthinakable.

If Crosby's play continues to be less than what's expected of him (meaning average) and he's being handcuffed because of his high maintenance and neediness to find the right players to play with, then if they can't find him that elusive ingredient without disrupting the rest of the team in the process, then why not trade him?

It's clear to me at least, that Malkin is the best player on the team and has been for quite a while now, so if there is any untouchable player on the team right now it's him. Hell, give Crosby a curved stick, tell him to shoot and put him on the No. 1 line (the Malkin line I mean) as a winger.

Borsk said...

The only thing more idiotic than discussing trading Sidney Crosby is debating Roethlisberger vs. Leftwich.

21, scoring title, mvp, player MVP. Good lord you people are hard to please.

He's 3rd in the league in scoring, if you want more production than that then I'm not sure you are ever going to be happy.

Anonymous said...

Crosby is great and won't and shouldn't be going anywhere.

This is nuts.

Anonymous said...

this is a pointless arguement. someone said that if crosbys play is less than impressive we should trade him. lol. 3rd in the nhl is impressive.