With the NHL trade deadline LESS THAN TWO WEEKS AWAY, hockey fans everywhere want to trade ALL OUR BAD PLAYERS for ALL THEIR GOOD PLAYERS.

Penguins fans are no exception. One dolt with a blog (that's dangerous) proposed D Paul Martin and G Brent Johnson to Chicago for F Patrick Sharp.

I bet the Blackhawks would be PSYCHED to trade a sharpshooting top-six forward for a struggling defenseman who would be a No. 4 in Chicago and a backup goaltender. The 'Hawks already have two backup goalies. They need a No. 1. WAKE UP.

The mantra of many misguided Penguins fans is: TRADE JORDAN STAAL FOR A SCORING WINGER.

Don't. BAD IDEA.

What if Sidney Crosby doesn't return? Who's the No. 2 center, Richard Park?

Staal is a winner, a pressure player, a big-game behemoth. Few are better in the post-season than the regular season. Staal is. His game peaks in the spring. Remember that. Remember Staal playing on a foot-and-a-half in the 2010 playoffs.

Remember, too, that GM Ray Shero once told me: I'M NOT TRADING JORDAN STAAL.

So, what will the Penguins do?

Not much, probably. It's tough to predict a big deal without being certain of Crosby's status. I expect minor acquisitions, maybe a defenseman like Montreal's Hal Gill, perhaps a forward like the New York Islanders' P.A. Parenteau.

That wouldn't be enough for the great unwashed. Francis and Ulf Samuelsson, Tocchet and Kjell Samuelsson, Hossa and Dupuis, Guerin: Penguins fans believe a blockbuster is indigenous to a hot Cup run.


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