Kate of Freeport, ME I can only second everything that Andrew and others said. I'm no expert, but I am a very informed hockey fan, and whatever 'strategy' is being employed at the Ducks level is not working for us. It all started with losing Leighton on waivers, which again would not have happened if the Ducks hadn't needed a goalie. Then they trade Pierre and Bruno (which I am still fuming over), ostensibly to get a goalie for us, and everything basically went to h-e-double hockey sticks. Keith is a decent scorer, Durno didn't amount to much of anything, and Caron lost one game for us and then went immediately to the Ducks. Same with this Zenon-Glencross trade; Hartigan went directly to the Ducks. I don't know if the upper management can comprehend what the loss of Z means to this team and its fans ... this guy was all heart, and was the heart and soul of the team. I think he was one of the main reasons we went as far as we did in the playoffs last year, especially in the series against Hershey. The media kept referring to the Pirates as the team that just wouldn't quit, and Konopka was the force behind that, even playing with a painful shoulder injury -- he inspired the team to keep playing their best against all odds. Remember games 5 and 6 of that series? Some of the most exciting hockey I have ever seen! I can only hope that the Blue Jackets keep Konopka on roster and he gets the chance to continue to play at the NHL level. He certainly deserves it.

Is this what is means to be a development team? That you exist mainly to fuel the Mother team? I'm starting to feel the way you do when starting a new romantic relationship ... don't get too invested; you're just going to get hurt when they leave you.

It's not that the Pirates are losing that is so heartbreaking; it's the loss of all our guys, the constant shake-ups, and the feeling that we're not a priority in Anaheim. Let's hope the rest of the season is a little more stable.report abuse

Andrew of South Portland, ME I think everyone was in for a shock the moment they entered the CCCC Friday night. One of the Daily Scroll guys told me about it and at first I thought it was a joke, until more and more people told me about it.

The attitude amongst those "in the know" is that Curtis has been struggling, Z has not been playing up to par, and Durno has not been effective at all.

I won't go into great detail about Chris, because he was after all just filler material in the Pierre-Bruno trade. But trading the heart of the team in Zenon and a promising body-banger in Curtis took the wind out of the team.

I won't go on a limb and say that all our goal scorers are gone (remember, Colby and Z combined for less than 20 goals in 41 games). They have struggled this season, but at the same time you don't just trade people because they are struggling... What next? Wanna dump Ryan because he has netted only 2 or 3 goals in his time here?

And what really burns me is that Mark Hartigan, one of the top goal scorers in the AHL, was instantly called to Anaheim as soon as the trade was made. While we certainly needed blueline help, we also need GOAL SCORERS... And I don't know how hard that is for Brian to comprehend...

We also NEED GOALTENDERS. Mike Wall was typical Mike Wall in net on Friday, and I refuse for a second to believe that the goals were given up because "the defensemen didn't have time to gel". That is a dumb cop-out that I have heard several times, and will not acknowledge...

This team is struggling, they take the heart out of the beast, the goaltending is shaky depending on who's in net, and Brian thinks that defensemen is all that it takes to right the ship...


We were defintely spoiled last season, and some credit regarding the Ducks success comes from our success last season... Now hopefully some of the Ducks good fortune this season can come this way and we can salvage the second half of a quickly fading season.


GO PIRATES!report abuse

Seth Libby of Scarborough, ME You can pretty much trace the Pirates slide back to the Bruno-Pierre trade. We trade our leading scorer and one of our best defensemen for a goalie and 2 forwards. the goalie Caron, sucks. And was only here for one game. Wall did better up in Anaheim than Caron has. So right from that, we're screwed. Then there is Durno is a everyone now knows was a waste of space. Keith has been alright but by NO MEANS does he justify that trade. Since then the Pirates have been nothing but Traffic Cones in the way of our teams. Zenon was exactly what the Pirates needed and now need again. HEART! He was all Heart and busted his Butt everyshift. He atleast showed his pride. As for all the new guys...well just watch a game and look at the score sheets, they tell the story. Glencross and Zen-Master we'll miss you guys. You were both Portland Pirate Hockey. Wish you both the best and i hope you guys kick some butt! As for the Pirates I/we can only hope Burke and Murray has some kind of strategy to their madness.
go pirates.report abuse

hockeynut19 of Buxton, ME I have to agree with CreaseKeeper..I can't help but wonder if his attitude is what is driving our top players away???? When you say "We're not happy with what is going on in Portland" and that "It's totally unacceptable" maybe you should remember that we WERE in FIRST place before our top goalie was let go !!! All of our top scorers have left and our team has absolutely no chance of getting any chemistry going when every other week there are player changes!! Don't you understand the simple concept that moving people around for punishment will NOT help the team get their act together??? Its not rocket science!!!

HANG IN THERE PIRATES!!!!!!!!report abuse