Today is a sad day at NHL Hot Stove as we close up shop.

I would like to thank every one who has ever contributed, commented and read our site. It was a fantastic ride which unfortunately we can no longer keep up.

Myself and David Strehle are taking on bigger roles at RLDHockey.net while Dustin Leed and The Hockey Guys has been generous enough to give a home to our other excellent contributors. Please be kind enough to give both sites a read.

By Robbie Naugle, NHLHS Pittsburgh Penguins Correspondent

Concussion are slowly becoming a part of the hockey culture in Pittsburgh these days. Superstar Sidney Crosby just returned from a concussion he suffered last season, and the Pens were without winger Tyler Kennedy for a stretch this season after he suffered a concussion.

Now the Pens will be without two of their top defensemen for an unknown amount of time due to concussions. Kris Letang and Zybnek Michalek will both be sidelined indefinitely as they recover from concussion suffered during a game against the Montreal Canadiens on Novemeber 26. The cause of Michalek’s injury is unknown but there were a few instances that night where he made contact with a Montreal player that could have caused the concussion. Letang’s, on the other hand, came from a shot to the head by Canadiens’ forawrd Max Pacioretty in the third period of that game. Pacioretty was suspended for three games as a result of making the unnecessary hit. It was originally thought that Letang only had a broken nose and was allowed to return to the game and later scored the game winning goal in overtime. Both players passed their original base-line concussion tests the next day but were experiencing some concussion like symptoms. Robert Bortuzzo, Simon Despres, and Alex Picard have all been called up from the AHL to help fill their shoes while they recover.

After the severity of what happened got out, many media outlets questioned the Penguins decision to allow Letang to return to the game after suffering the hit. This was criticized even more after what they had just gone through with Crosby being out for so long. Diagnosing concussions is an inexact science, and there is no fool proof way of doing it. Sometimes it can take days for concussion symptoms to even appear.

There are certain protocols now in place for teams where they have to run tests if they believe a player could have suffered a concussion. Going back to an earlier point, those tests won’t always yield valid answers because the symptoms of a concussion may not have begun yet. For me, I can’t really say if the team did the right thing with Letang. I wasn’t in the locker room when it happened and don’t know what they saw. I think members of the media need to get all the facts before they jump to conclusions about what the Penguins did regarding their top blueliner. You can’t hold a guy out just because he took a hit to the head. He may have suffered no injury at all. There is a thin line between right and wrong in a situation like this and I’m glad I don’t have to make the decision in this case. I believe that the team will always put the best interest of the player before the best interest of the team. I’m hoping the Penguins followed the protocols and ran all the tests before letting Letang return to the game.

In other NHL-related news, the League has approved a new realignment strategy for next season. There will no longer be any divisions and the entire league will be broken down into four separate conferences consisting of either 7 or 8 teams. The proposed realignment as the Penguins placed in a seven team conference along with the Devils, Rangers, Islanders, Flyers, Capitals and Hurricanes. So pretty much it is the entire Atlantic division plus Washington and Carolina. The playoff system is set to be voted on in March but it would set up something like this. The top four teams in each conference would all qualify, they would then have a mini-tournament within each conference. The four winners of each conference would then play out the remaining rounds for the Stanley Cup. The conferences are broken down geographically but the names have not been announced. Personally I would like to see them do away with the cheesy geographic names and go with something more original. My personal favorite would be naming them Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe, and Orr. Each name could coincide with their own team’s conference. It was also said on Twitter last night that this realignment may not take affect until the 2013-2014 season. There are still some wrinkles that need to be worked out by the League. Another idea floating around is that the League could use expansion to make all the conferences hold eight teams. I love this idea because I love seeing my favorite sport expand. If this happens, we could see two or even three new teams in the NHL in the next few years. I say three because it hinges on what plays out in Phoenix. If the Coyotes hold and would move to Quebec there would still be only 30 teams in the league so two more new teams would have to be added. If the NHL expands and keeps Phoenix I would see Quebec  as being an obvious destination and then probably Kansas City as the other option. If Quebec would get a team via Phoenix then there are other options in play along with Kansas City. Whatever the case, I think this adds some freshness to the league and may help spread the popularity to the game we love.

The NHL announced tonight that they will change their current six-division setup into four conferences. For the first time since 1998, the League’s board of governors reached an agreement that not only alters the current outlook but also will allow every team to play a home-and-home series. The NHLPA will still need to approve the realignment but that appears to be a formality at this point.

These four conferences break down as the following:

Conference 1

Vancouver Canucks
Calgary Flames
Edmonton Oilers
Los Angeles Kings
San Jose Sharks
Anaheim Ducks
Colorado Avalanche
Phoenix Coyotes

Conference 2

Winnipeg Jets
Detroit Red Wings
Chicago Blackhawks
St. Louis Blues
Nashville Predators
Columbus Blue Jackets
Dallas Stars
Minnesota Wild

Conference 3

Toronto Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens
Ottawa Senators
Boston Bruins
Buffalo Sabres
Florida Panthers
Tampa Bay Lightning

Conference 4

Pittsburgh Penguins
Philadelphia Flyers
New York Rangers
New York Islanders
New Jersey Devils
Carolina Hurricanes
Washington Capitals

The current playoff configuration will also change with the first two playoff series coming within the Conference. However, eight teams will still make the show but there should be much more parity. For example, a team in a ‘weaker’ division would not be allowed to grab the third seed if they narrowly make the playoffs.

Furthermore, the schedule works out well for all teams. Home-and-home series should account for roughly 44-46 games with the remaining games getting played in rivalries within the conference. This change, as well as keeping natural rivals like Pittsburgh and Philadelphia; Chicago and Detroit; Calgary and Edmonton; should pave way for more excitement and interest around North America.

Now that we have the details down, let’s get to the fun part. What do we name these conferences? Do they get the old names: Norris, Campbell, Adams and Patrick? Do we rename them something more current like Gretzky, Lemieux, Howe and Orr? Put your vote in below and give some write-ins into the comments.

By Robbie Naugle, NHLHS Pittsburgh Penguins Correspondent

The wait is finally over, Sidney Crosby is back. He will make his season debut on Monday Night against the New York Islanders at the Consol Energy Center in Pittsburgh. This will mark Crosby’s first game since January 5th after missing the entire second half of last season and the beginning of this season recovering from a concussion.

This game will also mark the end of an agonizing, nearly year-long journey for Penguins fans, a journey that has had its share of ups and downs along the way and an ending that we have been waiting for.

At around 3:30 on Sunday afternoon, my phone was lit up by numerous text messages from friends and different media outlets. The first one I chose to read was from the Penguins text messaging service, and I soon realized that it was the only one I was going to need to read to know what the rest were about. It took me a second to collect my thoughts and understand what was happening, in fact I needed to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. When I finally collected myself I realized that this was finally it, this was the moment we have been waiting for since January; Crosby is back, and it’s game on.

Monday’s game should be welcomed by the entire league, not just Pens fans. Crosby is the league’s biggest name and their best marketing tool, especially in the United States where they are still trying to grow the game.

It is much easier to sell a game to the general public when it features him rather than a guy like Evgeni Malkin. That’s not shot against Malkin, he’s an incredible talent and we all know that. Crosby’s name just carries more weight when it comes to getting people to tune in.

This comeback is huge for the entire league and its growth in the United States.

To say the Penguins were a bad team without Crosby is just wrong, they actually played pretty well without him in the lineup. Last year they pushed forward and recorded the second most points in franchise history, and held home ice in the first round of the playoffs after finishing second to Philadelphia in the division.

This season, through 20 games so far, the Pens are sitting at 11-6-3 overall and are tied for first in the division. This is by no means a bad team; they still have Malkin, James Neal, Kris Letang, Jordan Staal, and Marc-Andre Fleury. There are 29 other teams who wish they could field a roster like that, and still know that their best player has yet to step on the ice.

The Penguins have a great luxury with the talent that they put on the ice. Last spring just showed how spoiled we are as fans of this team and I can’t wait to go back to being spoiled once again. We’re adding the best player in the world to a team who is already scary without him, this should be fun.

The timing of his comeback is somewhat surprising to me. As I said in an earlier article, I thought this was one of the games that was on the lower end of him coming back in. Everyone knows what happened between the Pens and Islanders last year and there has always been bad blood between the teams. Maybe this is showing just how ready he by throwing him back into the fire against a team that has a history of running the Pens. Maybe they were leaving no doubt to his condition and feel he is as healthy as he will ever be. This is the first game of a three game home stretch that will extend past Thanksgiving. We all knew this day was coming we just didn’t know when. Frankly, I could care less who they play I’m just glad to have him back.

So as it stand right now, this is a warning to the rest of the NHL. You had your chance to beat the Pens while they were down, when they were ripe for the picking last season with their two biggest players out due to injury. You had the chance this season to put some distance between yourself and Pittsburgh early while Crosby was out. That opportunity is now over, that window has officially closed.

Several television outlets across the United States and Canada have already pushed other games off their stations and will be broadcasting the Pens/Islanders game for his comeback. He will be joining a team who has looked scary good at times this season. All we have wondered about is how good they truly will be with a full complement of players on the ice. This will only be the third time since the 2010 playoffs that the Penguins will feature their entire core of young players together at the same time.

Crosby is back, and he is more motivated than ever. He had a career year stolen away from him and is returning to the ice in search of everything that was taken away. Let’s also not forget the last time the franchise’s most important player returned from a long absence, it was nearly eleven years ago and that worked out pretty well. I would expect nothing different this time around.

Welcome back Sid, we missed you.

Three hundred and six days. It has been 306 days since we last saw Sidney Crosby play in an NHL hockey game. It’s hard to believe it has already been that long since he last stepped on the ice in a real game situation. It has been a long haul for the fans having to watch their team play without its biggest star. The fans are sitting on pins and needles as news has began to leak that Crosby may be closer than ever to returning to game action. The fans are hungry and it looks like their needs are about to be met.

Before I preview the games in which he could return I want to make it clear that when he does decide he is ready to play, it will all but assuredly be during a home game at the Consol Energy Center. This will be the biggest comeback in Pittsburgh Penguins history since Mario’s return in 2000. That comeback was planned to be at home and so will this one.

Let’s take a look at the upcoming games in which Crosby could return to action…

Friday, November 11 vs. Dallas Stars: If you have been following social media at all this week you most likely know that there is a lot of speculation about this being the game in which Crosby returns. As of the time that this article was written, no announcement either way has been made by the team or by Crosby himself. As we get closer and closer to gameday the fans become more and more anxious to here whether or not he will play. Given the recent roster moves and the trade of center Mark Letestu to Columbus my gut feeling gets stronger that he will be on the ice Friday night for the first time since January 5th.

If Crosby doesn’t make his debut Friday night, here are a few other games that could be a possibility…

Tuesday, November 15 vs. Colorado Avalanche: This will be the beginning of a long stretch with the Penguins playing every other day. The Dallas game is followed the next night by a game in Carolina. If the Pens don’t want to put Crosby in a back to back situation right off the bat, this game could work nicely with the upcoming schedule.

Monday, November 21 vs. New York Islanders: This is the first game of a three game homestand that takes us into Thanksgiving. The only thing that concerns me about this game is the fact of who they are playing. Everyone knows the tension between these two teams going back to last year. Though the two games this year have gone rather smoothly, I don’t know if the Pens will be willing to take the chance.

Wednesday, November 23 vs. St. Louis: No under lying scenario that would make this game special to bring him back in. Should be a good atmosphere with a lot of kids there being the night before Thanksgiving. I’ll also be in attendance for this game so being at his first game back would be something to see.

Friday, November 25 vs. Ottawa Senators: The last home game in the month of November and it the first of back to back games. If he isn’t back by this point then I would expect a wait until January. The interesting thing about this game though is the game after this is at the Bell Center is Montreal. The Canadiens are Crosby’s boyhood team. Interesting scenario, but I still think his first game will be at home and the idea of playing him in back to back games right off the bat.

Those are the home games that the Pens will play in the month of November. Anyone of them could feature the return of Sidney Crosby. For all we know, everyone of them could feature Crosby. I believe that his return will occur at sometime in November, everything we have been hearing indicates that. If it would not be this month there are a few intriguing home games in December that would fit the situation nicely. Until the moment it happens, we all just have to sit back and see what transpires.

On Monday night in Winnipeg, a hit occurred between Pittsburgh Penguins defensemen Kris Letang and Winnipeg Jets center Alexander Burmistrov that sent the lanky center flying into the boards.

The hit occurred during the third period of a tight 2-1 game and happened after Letang had his point shot blocked. After the shot was blocked, both Letang and Burmistrov skated after the loose puck as it headed toward the side wall. Letang recognized that he would not win the race to the puck and thus braced to hit Burmistrov once he gained control of the puck.

As Burmistrov reached the puck he made an attempt to breakaway from the oncoming Letang. When he made this last second move, his back turned towards Letang and in the process he caught an edge on the ice and began to lose his balance and fell toward the ice. Letang then made contact and sent Burmistrov flying into the boards head first. Letang was whistled for a penalty on the play and sat two minutes for boarding. This was a seemingly harmless play that Letang was penalized for and we all moved on.

Well everything seemed harmless until today when we found out that Letang had a meeting with NHL disciplinarian Brendan Shanahan about his hit last night on Burmistrov. Personally, I couldn’t believe this hit was even being looked at by the NHL for possible suspension because it was so minor and Letang wasn’t even a repeat offender. You could see Burmistrov change the position of his body so quickly that  Letang never had the opportunity to change his decision whether or not to hit him. It was cut and dry and there was never an intent to injure.

Well the Shanahammer must have seen something that the rest of us didn’t as he suspended Letang for the next two games for the incident. Shanahan cited his reasons for the hit by saying that Letang failed to minimize the contact. However, he said not one thing about Burmistrov turning his back at the last moment and giving Letang no time to re-adjust and minimize whatever contact he was going to deliver with his hit. Shanahan explained in his suspension video that the onus was on Letang to avoid the hit. In that case, why wasn’t the onus on Burmistrov to avoid putting himself in a potentially vulnerable position for that kind of hit. I think too much pressure is being put on the players to make sure every hit is made in accordance to NHL rules but the player being hit has no responsibility in this type of situation. Burmistrov could have avoided any contact by simply skating away or not turning directly into an oncoming check.

I’m not saying that Letang shoulders no blame in all of this I’m just saying that both players made stupid decision during the play. Letang didn’t need to make a hit in that situation, but at the same time Burmistrov should have known better than to turn his body into the path of an oncoming player who had the intention of making a clean hit and make a play on the puck.

No matter how much I can say I disagree with the call it won’t change things now. The Pens will play their next two games without the services of Letang along with an array of others, while Shanahan looks like a God for eliminating these types of hits in the league. Letang will also join a laundry list of other perfectly harmless players who will now be tagged as “repeat offenders” due to this system. Perhaps Letang can seek solace in knowing he got the same suspension as a guy who was suspended for a high sticking penalty. This is getting to the point of ridiculousness for the NHL, its fans, and the players. You cannot take contact out of the game yet that’s what Shanahan is trying to do. This is a reaction to an overreaction by the media.  There is a reason that the issue of who plays disciplinarian is going to be a sticking point with the new CBA. Players are tired of feeling like all the blame is being placed on them for hits that are mostly harmless. Yes, there are stupid hits and they should be suspended for that. This game is played at a speed where snap judgments cannot always be made, thus we cannot have players suspended for those reasons.

By Alexander Monaghan
President

It was old fashioned hockey Thursday night when the Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals. At 14:19 of the third period, fourth line right wing Jay Beagle took a bit of a run at number one defenseman Kris Letang. The result: a brawl between Beagle and pugilist Arron Asham.

Thanks to HockeyFights.com for making the video available via YouTube.

While this fight represents a respected hockey play where Asham decidedly won the fight and injured his opponent in the process, his gesture afterwords deserves some merit. Both James Wisniewski and Nick Boynton were suspended last season in a non ‘Shanaban’ era which could lead so a similar crack down.

So we leave you with the question:

By Alexander Monaghan
President

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Last season ended in disappointment for the Pittsburgh Penguins, as they were ousted in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs in seven games by the Tampa Bay Lightning. What made that loss even more painful was the Penguins surrendering a 3-1 series lead and allowed the Lightning to win the final three games, two of which were in Pittsburgh. It was the earliest playoff exit for the Penguins since they were eliminated by the Ottawa Senators in the first round of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was a sad end to what looked like a promising season. It was a promising season that was turned on its head by the loss a the team’s two biggest players. With Sidney Crosby and Evegni Malkin both sidelined with season ending injuries, the Penguins were left to win games relying mostly on great defense and better goaltending. They finally hit a wall in that series against the Lightning and had to spend the rest of the spring watching the playoffs rather than playing them.

If there was one thing that Pittsburgh fans can be proud of from last year though, it is the fight their team put up for over half a season without their two biggest stars. They amassed the second most points for a regular season in franchise history and finished virtually tied for the Atlantic division with the Philadelphia Flyers. They managed to clinch the fourth overall seed in the Eastern Conference and actually finished with more points than the third seed and eventual Stanley Cup Champion Boston Bruins. The center combination of Crosby, Malkin, and Jordan Staal only played a combined two games together all year. Even despite that, the Penguins still managed to have one of the most successful regular seasons in franchise history.

2011-2012 is a new year and a fresh start for every NHL team. Guys will be looking to break out, rookies will be trying to prove their worth, some guys will be looking to bounce back, and a select few will just be looking to stay the course. This is a chance to start over and to make amends for last season’s woes. Thursday is the start of something that will take 9 months to play out. Thursday, Evgeni Malkin will lead the Pittsburgh Penguins on the ice to start a rebound year for a team that had so much stolen from it last season. This is about proving to the NHL that they are the most dangerous team in the league.

The Penguins will start the 2011 season with a somewhat different look than how they ended last season. For one Evgeni Malkin will be back in the Pens lineup for the first time since having his knee blown out by Tyler Meyers in February. The Penguins will then have to wait on their other star, Sidney Crosby, to be cleared by doctors to return to game action after suffering a concussion way back during the Winter Classic on New Year’s Day. Until he returns they will still be playing a man down and will rely a lot on Malkin to carry them while he looks to rebound after a few rough seasons. In a recent interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune Review, Malkin said he was highly motivated and stronger than ever heading into training camp. If you saw him play during the preseason, it is easy to see how motivated he is. The real question now is…Is the NHL ready for the new Evgeni Malkin?

Accompanying Malkin and Crosby in Pittsburgh will be an array of forwards who will all be counted on to contribute to the offense this season to help the Pens offense regain its position as one of the most potent in the league. James Neal, Tyler Kennedy, Jordan Staal, Chris Kunitz, and Pascal Dupuis are all players that could contribute over 20 goals this season which would be a nice compliment alongside what Crosby and Malkin could put up in the long run.

As for playing defense, Craig Adams, Joe Vitale, Dustin Jefferey, Matt Cooke and Richard Park will be counted on to kill penalties and cause havoc for opposing teams while still contributing to the offense.

On the blue line this Penguins team is as solid as it has ever been. The top five defensemen are pretty much set in stone with Ben Lovejoy and Deryk Engelland battling for the number six spot. There is a chance the team will being the first few games of the season without Brooks Orpik but once he returns they will feature him along with Kris Letang, Zbynek Michalek, Paul Martin, and Matt Niskanen.

Not much to say about the goalie situation because it remains the same as last year. Marc-Andre Fleury will be the featured starter with Brent Johnson playing the back up role for the third consecutive season. If you ask me, Fleury-Johnson is one of the best and most solid goalie combos in the entire NHL.

This season is about a lot more than a Stanley Cup for the Pittsburgh Penguins, its about proving to everyone that they are one of the best teams in the NHL. Crosby and Malkin will be back. Letang and Fleury could both be finalist for the Norris and Vezina Trophies respectively. This may be the most complete team they have had since Crosby was a rookie, even more complete than the 2009 Cup team. This could be something very special to watch. Look out hockey fans, Pittsburgh is coming.