Random Steeler Monday (On Tuesday)/Social Commentary - - LaMarr Woodley

In these desperate times we live in, it is sometimes hard to find a hero.  With countless stories in the news about primadonna players demanding more pay for less effort and endless bouts with Johnny Law, it would appear that Superman is dead, so to speak.  Of course, you all know I am being facetious but the point is there.  What ever happened to the "role-model" type player?  Or I guess a better question is, was there ever really such a thing in the first place?

I ran across this article today that would have made for a great segue into my random Steeler of the week posts that I have been doing but I failed to remember that today was Tuesday.  Nonetheless, this is a Steeler that I have great respect for and have admired since he came to the organization a few years ago.  The guy's work ethic is almost unmatched and his committment to give back to his community is legendary.  Today, that player is LaMarr Woodley. 

I decided to "borrow" the article and repost it here because it is poinient and timely, especially in light of some of the latest shenanigans caused by some notable perpetrators (including one of his own teammates).  The article comes from the July 2010 issue of Pittsburgh Magazine.  It is a very good read.

It was midnight, and LaMarr Woodley was preparing for the graveyard shift. Just hours after the Pittsburgh Steelers had suffered a demoralizing, late-November overtime loss to the lowly Kansas City Chiefs, the team plane touched down at Pittsburgh International Airport.


All the players were stunned, shoe-gazing and more than ready to go home and sleep off the gut-punching loss. Everyone except for Woodley, the team’s 25-year-old star linebacker.


Wasting no time, Woodley tossed his suitcase into his SUV and tore up I-80 heading north. He drove for hours, winding around the cusp of Lake Erie until the black horizon turned purple. Finally, at the break of dawn, he reached the blighted manufacturing city of Saginaw, Mich., his hometown.


People were already lining up on the windswept front lawn of the Civitan Rec Center—the free gym where Woodley spent most of his childhood. Their faces lit up when they saw their hero, who was carrying bags of household items for the approaching Thanksgiving holiday. For three hours, Woodley and other volunteers gave out napkins, plates, forks, dish detergent and other essential items to more than 500 families.


"Win or lose, it’s important to put the game aside,” Woodley explains. “I made a commitment to the community that I would be there, so I had to fulfill that promise.”


Twenty-four hours later, he was back in Pittsburgh handing out frozen turkeys at a recreation center in Hazelwood.


On the field, Woodley’s strongest asset is what pundits like to call his “motor.” Or, in non-gridiron speak, his heart. A first-time Pro Bowler in 2009, Woodley racked up 25 sacks in the past two seasons. Only four NFL players have more in that span. Yet the second-round draft pick from the University of Michigan makes less money than the backup goaltender of the Pittsburgh Penguins.


Currently in the final year of his rookie contract, worth $550K this season, Woodley had every right to join in on the NFL’s hottest summer trend—holding out of training camp for a raise. The Tennessee Titans’ stud running back Chris Johnson did it. Even $100 million man Albert Haynesworth was a no-show at the Washington Redskins’ mini-camp because of hurt feelings over trade rumors.


But when the Steelers opened the doors of their South Side training facility for optional team workouts in May, there was Woodley, crushing tackling dummies in the pouring rain when he could have been at home relaxing on a “Dora the Explorer” marathon with his 2-year-old daughter, Gabrielle.


“If I miss workouts and training camp, I not only hurt myself, but I hurt the team,” he says. “I don’t want to fall behind because I’m worried about dollar signs.”


At times, Woodley’s immense strength and anticipation on the field make him look like a man among boys. The same could be said about his humility and class in a league that has been sullied by tawdry Tweets, lavatorial lasciviousness and camera-phone preening. But at the Boys & Girls Club in Wilkinsburg, where Woodley also volunteers, he’s just one of the kids.


“I was there when LaMarr first showed up at the club, and it was like magic,” says Mike Hepler, president and CEO of the Boys & Girls Club of Western Pennsylvania. “He spent at least four hours playing ping-pong, basketball and pool with the kids. Later that day, I went downstairs where everyone was having snacks, and there was LaMarr eating a big bowl of tuna fish like all the other kids.”


But that’s not Hepler’s favorite Woodley story. When Woodley first arrived at the club, he was submerged in a sea of excited kids who were far from awe-struck, Hepler recalls. A little girl came running up to the 265-pound linebacker with her hand raised to the sky. “Mister LaMarr,” she said, “do you have a girlfriend?” Woodley disarmed her with his warm smile, but then it was the boys’ turn to grill him. “Mister LaMarr,” one kid piped up, “how much money do you make?”


Woodley thought about it for a few seconds, then said, “Enough.”


What a refreshing answer.


If there is one man who deserves mega-money from the Steelers, it’s Woodley. After all, he has a knack for paying it back in spades.

Well Thought Out Yet Completely Random Penguin Card of the Week

This time, I felt like going backward featuring a 1970-71 Jim Morrison card.  Is it just me or did guys in the old days just look older than they do now?  At any rate...

Jim Morrison only played for the Pens for two seasons, joining the team in their third season of existence.  He was an offensive defenseman for most of his hockey playing career...which, by the way, spanned from 1949-50 through 1972-73. 

Rather than go on about his playing career, legendsofhockey.net already did a nice write up on his four decade spanning career.  You can check it out here.

Another reason I picked a 1971 Jim Morrison...today in 1971 the more famous Jim Morrison of the Doors died in his Paris apartment bathtub.  Nobody knows why and no one ever will.  But, whether you are a Doors fan or not is irrelevant to the fact that there is no denying the talent of Jim and his song writing abilities. 

R.I.P. Lizard King.

Update #5 - Happy Unrestricted Free Canada Day

Happy Canada Day to everyone north of the border (well north of my border).  It is interesting that Canada Day falls on the same day as the Free Agent Frenzy in the NHL begins.  What a coincidence....or maybe it's not. 

Canada Day is sort of like, in a round about kind of way, like Independence Day in the US.  I'm not Canadian so I won't claim to have first hand experience with this but I was a history major in college and I believe it commemorates the joining of the provinces into a federation...or something like that.  Either way, it is a national holiday and everyone has off work and their is no mail, etc, etc.

More importantly though, it is Free Agent day in the NHL.  There are so many UFA's and RFA's out there on the wire that it would make your head spin.  To give you an idea, head over to The Cap Geek and their pretty thorough list.  Some interesting names you will find on there include the likes of Ilya Kovalchuk, Evgeni Nabokov, Sergei Gonchar, Ray Whitney, Teemu Selanne, and many many more. 

But in typical DFG fashion, I want to focus on the quagmire of cap issues that are affecting the Pens.  In all my years of watching the Penguins, I never remember a year where so many players were on the free agent list.  If you include all the players the Pens have contracts with, Pittsburgh has 15 guys on the bubble.  Of those 15, 8 players saw playing time on the Pens last season and 1 other player saw NHL time (that being Hamhuis).  The rest are all two-way contracted players that spent last season bouncing between Wilkes-Barre Scranton and Wheeling.  So, for argument sake, we will say there are basically 8 pressing issues to deal with.

#1  Sergei Gonchar $5M cap hit- Bottom line here is that he isn't getting any younger.  He did not win any support from the club with his disappearing act in the final few games of this years playoffs and I think the fact that Shero didn't moved on him sooner is a sure sign that they are looking elsewhere for help on the D.  What that means to the team however, is that the leader of the powerplay is now gone, along with a solid 40-50 points of offense.  With very little room under the cap, he is going to be difficult to replace.

UPDATE:  Gonchar signs a three year $5.5M contract with a NTC for Ottawa.  I didn't know they still had a team in Ottawa.  When he can't finish or goes down with an injury, they will see.


#2  Alexei Ponikarovsky $2.1M cap hit- I think I was the only one that liked this trade in the beginning.  What's the saying...hind sight is always 20/20?  We just simply gave up too much to get Poni from Toronto.  He failed to live up to expectations and with the exception of a handful of games, his on ice presence was virtually non-existent.  The organization would be better off letting this one go and trying to tap the market for a sub $2M forward. 

#3 Mark Eaton $2M cap hit - I will admit, I actually like Mark.  Maybe it's because we are about the same age.  Maybe it's because I have followed his career since he got into the NHL.  Maybe I'm just an idiot.  (maybe all three).  Eaton is a stay at home defenseman and only gets noticed when he does something bad.  That's how I was in elementary school.  Maybe that's why I like him.  He doesn't score goals and is hardly seen on offense.  But, that's the thing, he isn't paid for that.  His downfall and possible doom when it comes to staying is the fact that he was non-existent in the playoffs.  Recent memories burn brightest.

UPDATE:  Mark is shipping off to Bos...I mean New York...Islanders that is.  He is taking a $2.5M contract with him.  Mark was the first player to emerge as an offensive capable defenseman in the Bylsma led Pens-era but I'm going to guess his string of injuries shortened his tenure. 

#4  Dan Hamhuis $2M cap hit - This could be a bigger issue than it has been made to this point.  They acquired his rights from Philly in return for some draft pick in 2011.  That doesn't mean they get him, though.  Hamhuis is a solid 20 point D-man that could help pilot a top line corps in the absence of Sarge.  He has been a reliable player for the last 5 years and would most certainly be a welcomed addition to Pens.  However, his agent has already committed to shopping him on the open market.  Pittsburgh doesn't have that much negotiating room, especially if they want both Dan and Gonchar.

UPDATE:  Dan Hamhuis is signed by the Canucks!!  Six years...$4.5M per year.  So we could have had a quality D-man for less than $5M...I guess Dan didn't want to play in Pittsburgh.  That's okay though.  There is now potential room for Billy G.  Wishful thinking I know.

#5  Bill Guerin $2M cap hit - Okay. Okay.  I get it.  He's old.  Well so what?  He is by far the elder statesman when it comes to the team.  The tangibles in this case are fare outweighed by the intangibles like experience and leadership, in my opinion.  I'm biased, I know.  But that doesn't change the fact that Billy G is the undisputed leader of goalie screening.  No one else on the team is going to do the dirty work.  We need him.

#6 Ruslan Fedotenko $1.8M cap hit - Two words...I don't care.  Okay that was three words but, guess what?  I don't care.  I have nothing good to say here.  Ruslan, you are dead to me.  Let him slip.

#7 Jordan Leopold $1.75M cap hit - Leopold was a solid trade deadline pick up for the Pens.  He is a great skater and a good puck handler.  He came in and did exactly what he was supposed to do.  That is until the Expert took him out for good.  He just wasn't himself after that.  If it was between him and Eaton, I would still pick Eaton but I would hate to see Jordan end up as a rent-a-player. 

#8 Jay McKee $800K cap hit - 137 blocked shots for under $1M?  I say, "More, Please!!"  You can't buy that kind of grit and heart in the NHL these days.  Guys don't want to get dirty or risk injury.  McKee is a steal at this price, in my opinion.  If it wasn't for injuries, that shot block number could have easily been over 180.  The reality though, is that he did little else than give up the body.  His chances of staying in black and gold are slim to none and slim just left town.

When noon arrives today, we will see how this circus unfolds.

UPDATE:  Ray Shero goes for the gusto to replace Gonchar and signs Zbynek Michalek.  The contract is a 5 year $20M contract that will count as a $4M cap hit/year.  Michalek is going to be a great addition to the Pens as he is very underrated and has flown under everyone's radar for some time.  He is an excellent passing D-man with the ability to set up and captain the powerplay.  that is going (hopefully) to be well worth the $4M.   The Coyotes are going to be sorry they let him go.

UPDATE:  With another stretch play, the Pens sign defenseman Paul Martin, one of the top three D-men in the UFA market.  He only played 22 games because of a broken arm and missed the Olympics but there is no doubt that he is a offensive minded D-man.  The terms of the deal look to be $5M/year for 5 years.  From where I'm standing...defense looks to be done.