My Question made it in the Gazette

[whitmer_87]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/09040/947942-125.stm

Q: Why hasn't Miroslav Satan been cut yet? It's no secret that the guy has zero work ethic and plays with absolutely no competitiveness or intensity. Why not take the salary-cap hit and just get rid of him?

Nick, Hilton Head, S.C.

MOLINARI: Satan might finally be running out of chances here -- coach Michel Therrien bumped him off the top two lines a while back, then restricted his ice time during the Penguins' 3-0 loss to Detroit Sunday -- but it remains to be seen if he'll actually take the next step and put Satan in the press box for a game.

FYI, "cutting" players to be free of all ties to them isn't as easy in the NHL as in some other sports, because contracts are guaranteed. That means the Penguins can't get out of their $3.5 million commitment to Satan, no matter what they do with him. If they would send him to their farm team in Wilkes-Barre, his salary wouldn't count against the NHL cap, but that would be a pretty public humiliation of a guy who's been in the NHL for a long time, and doesn't seem like the kind of thing general manager Ray Shero would do unless absolutely necessary. The Penguins understood what they were getting, warts and all, when they signed Satan as an unrestricted free agent last summer; they just hoped that being put on a line with Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin would rekindle his goal-scoring touch and provide a blowout patch of sorts for the hole created when Marian Hossa went to Detroit.

Obviously, he has not come close to living up to their expectations, and his inability to contribute in other situations when he's not scoring has rendered him pretty much of no value to this team. There's always a chance he'll start producing goals on a regular basis, but there's also a chance the Penguins' game against San Jose tomorrow will be postponed because an asteroid will land on Mellon Arena in late afternoon. Don't bet big money on either, however.

[PghSteel-43]

Molinari could have kept it nice and quick........

He sucks, it was a mistake, cut him and make room for others.  We are wasting the $3.5 no matter where he's playing.

This is why I prefer the Trib over the PPG when it comes to Penguins hockey.

[whitmer_87]

We shot a couple emails back and forth, and that's what I said. He's not playing $3.5 million hockey, so whether he's playing or not is irrelevant because we aren't getting our moneys worth with him anyway. Even if you have to take the cap hit(seems like we've talked about this a million times...hmmm must be a shitty season!) you might as well cut him. Because at the end of the season we aren't getting anything with our $3.5 mil anyway.

Another thing is this: Bad attitudes are contagious. If young guys see a veteran like Satan just going through the motions, that's probably going to rub off on them. We already have a problem with chemistry as it is, let's get rid of this virus ASAP so maybe we can salvage something outta this season.

[Captain Chaos]

I think Molinari is trying to explain why the organization chooses to hang on to Shitan and not give an opinion on how he feels about the situation. I think it's agreed that Shitan has not lived up to even the most modest of expectations. To me, this is more of an indictment of the lack of organizational depth at the wing position. It's not like Shitan is taking playing time away from anyone who has been deserving of it, with the exception of maybe Luca Caputi. Throw in the fact that Therien is absolutely unwilling to put any call-ups on a top line for more than a shift or two, what other options are there?

[PghSteel-43]

Another thing is this: Bad attitudes are contagious. If young guys see a veteran like Satan just going through the motions, that's probably going to rub off on them. We already have a problem with chemistry as it is, let's get rid of this virus ASAP so maybe we can salvage something outta this season.

While it's a hypothetical situation, I'm sure this situation has occured over the last few weeks:

Before the game or in between periods inside the Penguins dressing room, the more vocal leaders on the team are talking about what they have to do start winning some games.  The two points that are brought up by those leaders.....hustling every night and playing a more physical game by everyone on the roster. 

Now while they are all sitting around the dressing room taking in the points made, what do you think the other players on the team are thinking about when it comes to Satan?  Not just the younger players, but the guys who have been around for 5-8 years? 

It can't be good for chemistry.  That's just one of the reasons why I think they should just cut him instead of keeping him on this roster like Molinari would rather see us do at this point.