Family Is All It Takes

On any given day, if you were to walk into a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey practice at SouthPointe, you can find any number of things. There are players in the trainer’s room, on the ice (well, duh), or goofing off in the halls. It’s a family atmosphere.

To a sports writer who has known the majority of the team since before the Stanley Cup Finals of 2009, walking back into the arena for another assignment is a wonderful feeling. I’m extremely close to Jordan Staal- he married my cousin and is my best friend- so being there without him may have put a damper on my first day. But nothing could compare to the excitement of working with some of my favorite people in the world.

I will admit that my first impressions of the new team weren’t all that great. I mean, in the course of two seasons, we had lost two of our most valued players and the first practice of the season was, in my opinion, lackluster. Max Talbot and Jordan Staal had been favorites among almost all hockey fans in Pittsburgh. Talking with Talbot on the phone a few weeks ago, I found this out:

“The fans in Pittsburgh are unrivaled. I like it in Philly, but I’ll always love da ‘Burgh.”

I ignored the fact that he said ‘da ‘Burgh’.

And Max was right. Pittsburgh fans of any sport take their teams seriously. As a born and raised Pittsburgh girl, I was brought up hating anything Philly, the Devils, and after 2008, the Wings. See a pattern? We love our players and they love us. It’s just how it works.

But how were the new additions taking to Pittsburgh? I sat down with James Neal and Brandon Sutter individually to find their thoughts.

“It’s an incredible place to do what you love,” Neal had said. “And in this new arena, you can really feel the emotions of the city. When you’re going into overtime, you hear the fans at your back and it’s like you’re flying. Each and every player on this team will tell you that the adrenaline you get from that moment is unrivaled.”

Sutter wasn’t much different.

“I haven’t even played a game in a Pittsburgh sweater yet, but there are people coming up to me on the streets and welcoming me and wishing me luck. When I first went to Carolina, that didn’t happen.”

Pittsburgh itself is one big, happy family when it comes to our sports teams. Those that can remember the days when the Pirates were almost undefeatable, when the Penguins got 66, or when the Steelers had cheerleaders will tell you that Pittsburgh sports have always been a rollercoaster. But the ones that say that are the true fans. And they, they are family.

But going beyond that, the team itself is a family. Walking into the cardio room on a Wednesday morning after practice, I find Pascal Dupuis and Evgeni Malkin on the bikes, chatting.

It’s an interesting conversation to say the least. I mean, you’ve got Dupuis’ French accent and Malkin’s Russian tongue pretty much talking in the same sentence. But they make it work. It’s how the team is. They make it work.

“When Jordan didn’t resign, we all were a little shaken, I think,” Captain Crosby said. “We all kind of expected to see him in the fall. But I guess that’s how the sport is. At the end of the season, when you don’t get in to post- season or you get knocked out, you’re not sure who you’ll be seeing again or who you might really be saying good bye to.”

“We’ve experienced that before,” he said. “With Max, we all felt a little blindsided and there was a little bit of betrayal.” He laughs. “Okay, there was a lot of betrayal. I mean, he went to Philthy- I mean Philly- to play for them. But with Staalsy, I think we were less prepared.”

But that’s hockey for ‘ya. While you might get attached to a team, an organization, or a city, you really don’t know if you’ll be back that fall. Unless of course, you Sidney Crosby.

“I’m glad I’ll be here for a long time. Pittsburgh’s always going to be the city where I played my first NHL game, got concussed, came back- twice. All those things, and more, will have happened in Pittsburgh while I had a Penguin on my chest.”

On teammates’ reactions to Crosby’s new contract, I found out some… interesting tidbits.

“My first t’ought was, ‘t’ank God, he’s resigned.’ But me second t’ought was, ‘God damn, I ‘ave to put up wit’ ‘im for t’at long?’”, goalie and fan favorite, Marc-Andre Fluery mused.

Tyler Kennedy’s wasn’t too different.

“I was most definitely happy knowing we’d have him for a while. But then another part of me thought, “This means we’ll have to put up with Captain Kid for that much longer! I probably groaned out loud.”

Brandon Sutter’s thoughts on his new Captain were a little different.

“I’ve only ever played against him before, never with. So coming in to the first day of camp, I wasn’t quite sure what to expect. What I found was a guy who loved his team and does what he needs to do to make sure they play to the best of their abilities. Sid's a fun guy to hang around with, but he’s no Eric Staal.” He laughed before continuing. “I’m kidding. If anything, he’s almost easier to get out of the house, seeing as he doesn’t have a wife and two kids.”

How the coaching staff felt about everything that had happened in the past two off-seasons was another matter entirely.

“In 2011, we were worrying about trying to resign Max and getting Sidney back to where he could play,” head coach, Dan Bylsma, said. “This year, we were worrying about keeping the team as a whole healthy and resigning Jordan and Sidney. We were successful with two of those cases, not all of them. It’s been an uphill struggle for a full season and now that we’re finally getting some momentum, we need to keep it going strong. Whether that means a new roster, new playing tactics, anything really.”

“We weren’t sure what to expect when we came in for camp,” Kris Letang said. “Everyone involved with the organization is close and to lose a guy like Staal, someone who has been with us through a lot, is tough. But we’re working through it as a team and as a group.”

But what have new players like Neal and Sutter and the possibility of adding a player like Beau Bennett to the lineup brought forward?

“A new playing angle,” GM, Ray Shero, explained. “Guys like Neal and Sutter; they’ve already had some time in the NHL. They’re ready to play and are great players to have on your line. Beau Bennett has had talent since we drafted him in 2010 and we’ve been working on honing that. The rest of the team has welcomed the new players and prospects with open arms and are ready to play with them.”

And if a family doesn’t welcome new additions like that, then what are they?

I’ll leave you with a sentiment similar to one I left you with in 2009. Although the Penguins lineup is ever changing and ever evolving, they are always one thing. A family.

And a family that plays together, stays together.