No surprise

As expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins drew a crowd to Boston. Rather than the usual suspects, even the trophy hunters – those who only come out to chase the biggest of the big names – found their ways into Boston.

Who’s the big name this year? You’ve got to be kidding? If you don’t know that it’s Sidney Crosby, God’s latest gift to hockey, then you really shouldn’t be reading this blog.

But just because The Next One was in Boston, it doesn’t mean he’s going to sign. After all, with the notorious toughie Mario Lemieux as your team owner, captain, teammate and landlord, you quickly learn from the master. Such lines as "Not now, guys" and "Maybe later" quickly become second nature.

Honestly, though, can you blame him? Looking out of the hotel windows and seeing a gaggle of Sharpie-strained wretches waiting for a scribble is enough to turn a modest rookie into a grizzled veteran. And once you factor in that more than half of the crowd only wants to make a quick 50 bucks or so off your signature, it’s rather easy to understand.

Although I carried a Team Canada puck for him to sign and apparently had a great opportunity to get him (None of the four of us who were at the hotel saw him when the team bus arrived), I knew that the realistic chances of getting his autograph were minute. That’s why I turned my attention to the team’s other stars, but not Lemieux, to add to my collection. Thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed, getting pucks signed by John Leclair, Mark Recchi and Jocelyn Thibault.

The best part of the day was watching Penguins young gunner Ryan Malone give one intelligence-challenged dealer, who I like to call, for obvious reasons, Stinky Pete, a hard time:

Ryan Malone: "Haven’t I already signed four pictures for you?"
Stinky Pete (with the four pictures in his other hand): "Nope, not me. Must’ve been someone else."
Ryan Malone: "Yeah, right."

Pucks shown above:

Montreal Canadiens: John Leclair
Pittsburgh Penguins: Ryan Malone
Quebec Nordiques: Jocelyn Thibault