Ryan Malone arrested for charges of cocaine possession

Former Pittsburgh Penguin winger Ryan Malone, a Pittsburgh native, was arrested Saturday morning on charges of driving under the influence and cocaine possession, the Tampa Bay Times reports. The Times states that according to a Hillsborough County Sheriff’s report, Malone, 34, was arrested by Tampa police at 5:40 Saturday morning on Platt Street and Rome Avenue S. There were no other immediate details. Malone was being held on $2,500 bond. The struggling winger has looked like a player this season near the end of his career and he’s obviously got some serious off ice problems he needs to deal with.

Game Day Buzz: On Vokoun starting over Fleury, Martin’s timetable, Therrien’s impact on skilled players & lineup buzz

GAME DAY BUZZ PENGUINS (13-8-0, 26 pts) @ CANADIENS (13-4-3, 29 pts) In a surprising development, Tomas Vokoun is getting the start in goal tonight vs the Eastern Conference leading Montreal Canadiens. Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma told reporters today that starting Vokoun tonight had been pre-planned for at least a few weeks now. “This has been a game that Tomas has been scheduled to play for a couple weeks now,” Bylsma said. If this was planned weeks ago, how about telling your No. 1 goaltender ahead of time that he’s not going to be playing tonight in his hometown. According to the Tribune-Review, Fleury expressed disappointment in learning that he’s not playing. “I’m not going to lie,” Fleury said on

Since the 1995 Draft, Pens have only developed three 20 goal wingers through their system

Here’s one of several draft features I’ll be doing over the next handful of days. Today’s feature is a look at the Penguins struggles to develop scoring wingers among their draft picks over the past 15 years. ——————————————————— One reason Penguin fans shouldn’t want to see the team lose Tyler Kennedy via restricted free agency or a trade: The franchise struggles mightily at developing 20 goal wingers. Since the 1995 draft, the Penguins have developed just three 20 goal wingers through their system. The three are Alexei Morozov, Ryan Malone and Tyler Kennedy. Morozov, the team’s 1st round pick in 1995, hit the 20 goal plateau just once, netting 20 goals in the 2001-2002 season. In seven seasons with the

Latest Draft Day Chatter: Armstrong to hit the open market

Draft day Chatter *Winger Colby Armstrong appears headed to the free agent market. According to a league source, no talks are currently scheduled to take place in LA between Armstrong’s agent Don Meehan and Thrashers GM Rick Dudley. The two sides have been far apart for some time as Armstrong is looking to land a multi-year deal worth upwards of $3 million per season. Armstrong is looking for at least a Steve Ott type of contract, source in Atlanta tells me. *Raffi Torres is another mid-tier winger who will hit the open market. Steve Reich the agent for Torres confirmed to Inside Pittsburgh Sports Thursday evening that Torres will become a free agent on July 1. There has been no

NHL: Source: Granato on the Thrashers radar

Sunday’s NHL Rumor Mill The growing consensus last summer is that the Los Angeles Kings over-paid for defenseman Rob Scuderi who signed a 4 year deal worth $3.4 million per season. Nearly a year later, good luck finding a member of the Kings organization who believes that now.  Scuderi has drawn rave reviews from the Kings organization and they believe he has been worth every penny as others now do. The Kings enter the off-season just a move or two away from making the jump among the elite teams in the West. Kevin Allen of the USA Today wrote weeks ago that “there is an expectation that the Kings will make a big splash in the free-agent marketplace.” The two

End of the Year Penguins/Olympics/NHL Notes

The Pittsburgh Penguins end the year on the three game losing streak, coming off two tough loses to the Buffalo Sabres and New Jersey Devils. The Penguins were off today and will practice in Pittsburgh tomorrow morning before they depart for Florida. Sidney Crosby will end the decade as the highest scoring Penguin for this decade –330 GP – 155 goals – 290 assists – 445 pts – +42 *Team USA will name their 2010 Olympic roster tomorrow afternoon during the Winter Classic. Representatives began informing players who did not make the squad as early as Monday. Defenseman Brooks Orpik didn’t receive one of those calls. Orpik is a lock to make the team along with former teammate Ryan Malone.

Pittsburgh Penguins All-Decade Team

The Pittsburgh Penguins franchise had many ups and downs during the decade. The decade began with a bang as hall of famer/owner Mario Lemieux made a stunning comeback in December 2000 after being retired for 3.5 years. The team would earn its 12th straight playoff appearance in 2001 but financial reasons would lead to cost cutting moves such as trading star winger Jaromir Jagr and the cost cutting moves would continue years after. From 2002-2005, the franchise had no choice but to go into full throttle rebuilding mode and the Penguins endured four straight losing seasons that included rumors of relocation but the latter part of the decade would turn glorious (2009 Stanley Cup Champions, New Arena agreement) due to

Power Play delivers in over-time; Team USA Buzz

Malkin, Fedotenko end scoring droughts Pittsburgh’s struggling power play went 0-for-5 in regulation Saturday night but delivered with a rare big goal in overtime as Evgeni Malkin (9) scored just 37 seconds into over-time on the man advantage as the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 at Mellon Arena. Thirty seconds into overtime, Jordan Leopold was called for holding and Sergei Gonchar set up Malkin for a one-timer from the high slot who blew it past Tomas Voukon. Malkin’s OT tally was his first goal in 6 games. Pascal Dupuis (9) and Ruslan Fedotenko (5) also scored for Pittsburgh. Fedotenko put the Penguins up 2-1 in the second period, driving to the net and Evgeni Malkin found him wide

Orpik in position to earn a roster spot for Team USA

Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Brooks Orpik is among 12 defensemen participating in Team USA’s Orientation Camp and he has himself in position to earn a roster spot with Team USA for the 2010 Olympics. Orpik is a Brian Burke type of player and two attributes that enhance his chances of making the team; ability to play alongside skilled defensemen and his exceptional skating ability. For the majority of reps in practice Orpik has been paired with

NHL Draft Buzz: Players that could be moved this weekend at the draft

Trade Talk heating Up With General Managers looking to shed salary and some big names demanding trades, industry sources project that there will be plenty of trade talk and movement this week as the NHL entry draft will be held in Montreal. 15 Names that are on the trade block and could be dealt by the weekend 1. OTT Dany Heatley – Age 28 Cap Hit: $7.5 million Signed Through: 2013-2014 Latest: Has demanded a trade out of Ottawa. Has drawn interest from up to 10 teams but has a NTC and a list of teams he will accept a trade too. Toronto Sun reports the list includes: Kings, Rangers, Sharks, Red Wings, Blackhawks, Canucks and Bruins. Of the eight