Sidney Crosby and Colby Armstrong are perfect complements for each other. I could see it at the end of December when I spent two days in Pittsburgh to get stories for the Winter Classic, and ESPN's Scott Burnside wrote about it very well recently. Now Armstrong's gone, and it will be interesting to see how hockey's foremost player reacts when he returns from injury.
The Penguins got the biggest fish in the market, acquiring Marian Hossa from Atlanta, along with one of this year's biggest tormentors of the Sabres, Pascal Dupuis. But the Pens gave up a ton: Armstrong, elite prospect Angelo Esposito, forward Erik Christensen and a first-round pick.
Hossa is great, but I think Armstrong had a ton of potential to get near his level. Either way, Pittsburgh is near the top of the chart that lists 2008 Stanley Cup favorites.
---John Vogl
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