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Tuesday, December 18, 2001

By Dave Molinari, Post-Gazette Sports Writer

A year or so ago, the idea of the Penguins holding part of a training camp in the Czech Republic seemed perfectly logical.

Mostly because it seemed like it could be quite profitable.

After all, they had more Czech personnel than some teams based in Prague. Most notably, the best player in the world, Jaromir Jagr, and a coach, Ivan Hlinka, who is one of the legendary figures in Czech hockey history.

But Jagr was traded to Washington in July, and Hlinka was fired four games into this season, a messy split that likely will result in legal action designed to make the Penguins honor the balance of his three-year contract.

Consequently, the Penguins have lost much of their marquee value in the Czech Republic, which means that selling tickets likely would be tougher and that, most importantly, finding a sponsor to underwrite the trip would be more difficult.

And make no mistake, while the chance to generate some international goodwill and expand their overseas following might have had some appeal, the Penguins' primary interest was in making a little money -- or at least breaking even -- during camp.

"That's not the reason we [would be] doing it, because it would be attractive to people over there," General Manager Craig Patrick said. "We were going to do it because we thought it might benefit us."

Although there would be some intangible benefits to holding part of camp in the Czech Republic -- team members tend to bond when they're together a long way from home -- there are some practical problems, too.

There could be travel complications stemming from the Sept. 11 terror attacks, and economic conditions in the Czech Republic make it unrealistic to set ticket prices anywhere near the level charged when the Penguins opened last season with a two-game series against Nashville in Japan.

Nonetheless, Patrick -- who has more pressing issues, like his team's three-game losing streak, to deal with at the moment -- insists the Penguins haven't abandoned the idea of going to the Czech Republic during the preseason, whether it would be in 2002 or beyond.

"It's too early to say," he said. "We haven't discussed it for a while. ... We talked about it near the end of the summer, but we haven't brought it up since."

Still, if the Penguins opt to spend part of their next training camp in some exotic locale, the best bet might be Wilkes-Barre, where they've gone during each of the past two years.

Some players grumble about the limited entertainment options in that corner of the Commonwealth, but Patrick believes the time the Penguins have spent there has been productive.

"It works well for us," he said. "That's always something that's an option."

Trivia question

The Penguins have had two head coaches whose tenure lasted precisely one season, despite having a winning record. One was Bob Johnson, who was stricken with brain cancer a few months after leading the Penguins to a Patrick Division championship and Stanley Cup. Who was the other?

Early deficits

The Penguins have been outscored, 29-14, during the first period this season, so it's no surprise they've been forced to play from behind in most of their first 33 games.

That's an imposing challenge for any team, let alone one averaging just 2.18 goals per game.

"We've done that most of the year," Coach Rick Kehoe said. "For whatever reason, first periods haven't been our good periods."

Kehoe insists that preparation isn't the problem, although he's been unable to identify the cause.

"[The players] seem ready," he said. "Maybe they need to wait and see what happens first. By that time, you're behind."

The Penguins have gotten used to being in that position, even if they don't like it much. Their opponents have opened the scoring 21 times.

"You don't like to be playing from behind all the time," Kehoe said. "It's a thing we're trying to change, but, sometimes, it's tough.

"If you put too much pressure on them in the first, they're a little bit tighter, and they end up making more mistakes."

Injured often

This is defenseman Ian Moran's seventh season in the NHL -- not including a brief playoff appearance in 1995 -- and, as was the case in every one that preceded it, he won't be in uniform for anything close to a full season.

He dressed for a career-high 73 games two seasons ago, but that was one of just two times when he played in more than 51.

Moran sees blocking shots as a key element in his job description, which is accurate and admirable. Trouble is, his mindset has led to so many fractures, including the broken foot he has now, that Moran's photo in the Penguins' media guide should be an X-ray.

It also means that, no matter what else he achieves in his career, Moran probably shouldn't expect to ever dress for all 82 games in a season.

"It's frustrating," he said. "I understand that blocking shots and all that is part of it, but it's frustrating. There's really no other way to put it."

Emotional trap

The third period of the Penguins' 7-0 loss to Carolina Sunday showed the perils of allowing emotion to dictate actions.

The Penguins, frustrated by their inability to compete with the Hurricanes, put on a show of thuggery as mindless -- if not as intimidating -- as almost anything the old Broad Street Bullies used to perpetrate in Philadelphia.

And all they got for their trouble was 60 minutes in penalties and a series of short-handed situations that allowed a 4-0 deficit to morph into a 7-0 humiliation.

But while playing under control is critical for most players, defenseman Darius Kasparaitis contends that he is most effective when he operates outside the normal constraints.

"When I don't play smart, I play better, because I play with my emotions," he said. "I just play too hard sometimes. When I do things like that, sometimes I end up costing the team. But, sometimes, it ends up working to the team's [advantage], energy-wise."

Kasparaitis acknowledged that picking his spots is critical -- "I don't have to try to be a hero every shift. I just have to wait for my [chances]" -- but agreed that there are times when he isn't able to.

"It's very tough, especially when you want to play so bad, and you take dumb penalties," he said. "But I play with emotion and sometimes I want to be in the game so bad, I don't think that much about doing crazy things and I end up costing our team."

Financial realities

The Penguins, who held Jagr to one assist when they faced him for the first time a week ago, must try to concoct a way to neutralize him again Friday and Saturday for only one reason: They couldn't afford to keep him on their payroll after last season.

Not unless they wanted to surround him with guys working for minimum wage, anyway.

Picking up Jagr's contract -- upgrading it so that it will pay him at least $78 million over seven years -- wasn't a problem for Washington owner Ted Leonsis.

The Capitals are just one of several teams that seemingly will spare no expense to contend for a championship; Philadelphia, Detroit, St. Louis, Dallas, Colorado and the New York Rangers are on the list, too.

But while the Penguins don't show up on that list, and probably never will, Kehoe insists he doesn't fret about being at a disadvantage compared to opponents who have more money to work with.

"I don't even look at it that way, the financial end of it," he said. "Players are players. You look at it that you have your team, and you're going to try to play a certain way.

"Whoever you're playing, the other team may have their system, how they're playing. I don't even look at it, money-wise. I look at it that the team that we have, we're going to compete against the rest of the league."

Trivia answer

The other Penguins coach to spend just one season behind their bench despite compiling a winning record was Pierre Creamer, who was fired after leading them to a 36-35-9 mark in 1987-88.