Jordan Staal's Homecoming

[eXile59]

How do you blame him for leaving because he out grew his role? The guy was just too talented to be on a 3rd line & see almost no 1st unit PP time.

I don't think he sat around & thought "How can I hurt my value to Pittsburgh?" More so if you ever met him around Pittsburgh he was very respectable to the fans.

 

[gopens66]

You cheer him and you throw nacho cheese on any yinzer that boos him. There was no dying alive, no demanding a trade, and no deception. He was apparently very honest and up-front with Shero about his intentions. This was not a case of wanting out of Pittsburgh at any cost, but wanting to play with his brother on a team that owns the rights to a third Staal brother.

 

[ObsessedCreative*]

Where is option D.) He isn't a Penguin anymore I couldn't care less about him and how he does anymore. He is dead to me.

That would be my pick.

SUTTER TIME!

 

[dr robbie]

Cheers and Claps! He played great with the Pens and can't blame him for wanting to play with his bro. Will definitely miss him on the third line though.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

The ratios surprise me. And I am one who never boo'd Jagr even though it seemed to work and threw him off his game. And no I will not boo Staal either, I appreciate what he did and understood his leaving. But to think that some idiots will not boo him is kind of like you have never been at a game. Most will not but there will be some very vocal morons there who will boo him, guarenteed.

 

[Harvey Birdman]

I think it'll be 90/10 cheers to boos. Some people just do not like players, no matter how classy or good of a player they were here, turning away from their team.

The mass majority will cheer though.

 

[Jaded-Fan]

I think it'll be 90/10 cheers to boos. Some people just do not like players, no matter how classy or good of a player they were here, turning away from their team.

The mass majority will cheer though.

And yet what people will hear is the vocal minority, like always, and group everyone together with the idiots.

 

[3074326]

I'll cheer loudly. He was awesome for the Pens and helped bring another cup to Pittsburgh. Booing would be moronic.

 

[Shrimper]

Cheer without doubt.

 

[Syrinx]

This is one time when both sides played it exactly as they should have. Jordan was a great player for the Penguins and should be received warmly by the fans. He left gracefully and the Pens got a great return for a player who was never going to have "his" time here.

That said, there will be people who boo and they should be smacked around for it.

 

[JTG]

Not a single reason to boo the guy. He helped us achieve what we did, and he proved it really wasn't about the money when he signed the exact same deal with Carolina that Ray offered him. It was strictly about role, and I can never hate a guy for wanting to be something more. He was just never going to be a top 6 guy here, unless some serious shuffling went on.

I respect him, his decision, and the way he played here. Everyone in the arena should have nothing but admiration for the guy, and thank him for his play here.

 

[Killahpunk]

Sometimes it makes me sad, though... Jordan being gone. I have to remind myself that some Pterodactyls aren't meant to be caged. Their wingspan is just too wide. And when they fly away, the part of you that knows it was a sin to play them on the third line does rejoice. But still, the place you live in is that much more drab and empty that they're gone. I guess I just miss my Gronk.

Thanks for your 6 years of service Jordan, the classy thing to do would be to give him a nice warm welcome back to Pittsburgh.

 

[Dying Alive]

A more interesting question.

Deep down inside where you do not put politically correct answers to paper do you hope that he does well, or falls flat on his face in Carolina? Do trades that are win win make you feel as good as trades where you can say your team came out ahead? I wonder if Carolina fans are secretly hoping that our worst DP fears are true and that it was a wasted 8th overall.

I hope he never scores a single point against the Pens but other than that I couldn't care less how he does. I don't wish him ill but I'm not going to root for him either. I liked him when he was here and I don't blame him for leaving but he's gone and I'm moving on.

 

[Ogrezilla]

I hope he never scores a single point against the Pens but other than that I couldn't care less how he does. I don't wish him ill but I'm not going to root for him either. I liked him when he was here and I don't blame him for leaving but he's gone and I'm moving on.

As the guy championing the standing O, I am in no way advocating rooting for him. Just paying him some respect when he returns to Pittsburgh for the first time. I hope we follow the applause up with a complete blowout win.

 

[Dying Alive]

As the guy championing the standing O, I am in no way advocating rooting for him. Just paying him some respect when he returns to Pittsburgh for the first time. I hope we follow the applause up with a complete blowout win.

Oh, he'll get one standing O from me for sure. I have nothing but respect for him. After that I go with my policy of ambivalence.

 

[Uemoda]

I feel like I should be more angry at him. The fact that he'd rather play in Carolina is just....weird to me.

That said, I could never boo him on his return. He was too important to our cup runs. I feel that when it comes down to it, 90% of the fans will cheer as well.

 

[Dying Alive]

I feel like I should be more angry at him. The fact that he'd rather play in Carolina is just....weird to me.

That said, I could never boo him on his return. He was too important to our cup runs. I feel that when it comes down to it, 90% of the fans will cheer as well.

I'm not angry because it wasn't about wanting to play for the Canes over the Pens, it was about wanting to play with his brother and wanting a more expanded role. Hard to fault the guy for that.

 

[domaug*]

i only voted 50/50 split because that's what i expect to happen. some people will hold a small grudge against him for not wanting to re-sign for 10 years at $6M per year because he didn't like his role on the Pens. i think he did what he had to do to make sure the Pens actually got a good return from him by just rejecting the contract and not outright going up to the media outlets saying he wants out. if he did the latter, the Pens wouldn't get what they got.

i think Staal handled it the respectful way and he deserves cheers. it's not like he turned down the money because he thought he was worth more, he only turned it down because he knew exactly what role he would have signed himself into for the next decade and he didn't want that. i can't fault him for wanting a bigger role on another team because, quite frankly, he's played well enough to earn a bigger role.

 

[PensPlz]

Initial cheer and thanks for the memories, but then dead to me. Remembering will be too painful.