The Sports Monitor

The Pittsburgh Penguins have a new general manager. I think the analysis can be wrapped up rather easily: Would you, as a Penguins fan, prefer Ray Shero or former Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford? I'll take Shero. There were other bad choices to be made (Pierre McGuire), but Rutherford screams as an uninspiring choice. And Rutherford saying the team doesn't need sweeping changes, well, that sounds like the status quo wasn't all that bad. But, maybe I'm reading into things too much. Maybe all the Penguins need is a new voice calling the shots and a new voice yelling instructions at the players. It won't take too long to find out.

Did Sidney Crosby get special treatment while renewing his driver's license? I don't care either way. I don't expect the Penguins to admit their superstar got bumped to the front of the line. And I wouldn't expect the DMV to keep Crosby waiting in line for an extended period of time. Yeah, it would stink to be there for an hour and see Crosby walk up and go to the front of the line. But can you imagine the problems that would arise if Crosby waited, while everyone hit social media to say where Crosby was?

Sidney's back. That's great news for Penguins fans. The hottest team in the NHL (9-game winning streak) gets the best player on the planet back -- with apologies to Evgeni Malkin, the likely MVP. There's only one question I have going into Thursday's return of Crosby against the first-place Rangers. Will he finish the season? My fear is he's the next Eric Lindros, someone who will be forced to retire because of concussions. However, I'm not sold on Crosby being the next Lindros. My hope is the neck injury was more of a cause of his latest setback than anything else. If that's the case, and he just happened to be an athlete who had a concussion, the Penguins will be fine. With the playoffs near and the intensity higher than it was when Crosby made his brief return earlier in the season, I think we'll find out soon enough.

Deep in the back of many, if not all Penguins' fans, there should have been concern about Sidney Crosby's health. There was probably some who worried more than others, but the threat was real: What if Crosby gets another concussion? It didn't take too long to find out. Crosby missed two games last week as a precaution after a hard hit against the Bruins. That precaution has been elevated. Crosby is out indefinitely with concussion-like symptoms. He didn't suffer a concussion, they say, it's just his body's not right. I don't know about you, but I'm worried. Yeah, I'm worried about the Penguins and Crosby's career. But that's nothing compared to Sid's health. That should be everyone's concern. I'm afraid what might happen if a goon takes a cheap shot on Crosby. It doesn't even have to be a cheap shot. Crosby could get leveled by a clean check and that could end his career. It might not matter how long Crosby sits....

By all accounts the Pittsburgh Penguins improved on the first day of free agency Thursday. A little sampling: The P-G's Ron Cook calls it a change for the better . The Trib Review has the Penguins positioned for many Stanley Cup runs . And USA Today has the Pens as the No. 1 winner after Day 1 . One a team featuring plenty of offense, Zbynek Michalek and Paul Martin, the new acquisitions, should add what was missing from last year's team. I agree with Cook's assessment that this team needs to focus on defense. That's what winning's all about on the playoffs. But as for the No. 1 winnner? It's wayyyyy too early to tell. Michalek and Martin might not mesh with the Pens. I've seen it too often in many sports when a free-agent acquisition or player acquired in a trade hasn't led to a championship as originally thought. We'll need to wait and see. But what is encouraging is GM Ray Shero is being aggressive and filling needs. That's...