Sid v Geno (An Editorial of Sorts)

Take a deep breath - it could get ugly in here. I know I'm about to open up the flood gates, but I just can't stay silent anymore. There's been a lot of rumbling in the media and on the Internet (well, mostly on the net) about who is the better player, Sid or Evgeni Malkin. Many have even entertained the idea that - [*gasp*] - trading Sid might be a viable option.

Before I go any further, you should understand that I love Geno. He's destined to be remembered as one of the greats of the game, and to say otherwise is to confirm that you don't know anything about hockey.

See? The spotlight is big enough for both of them.

But back to the matter at hand. Prior to his injury, Sidney had a hand in about half of the Penguins goals to that point. That's incredible. All right, so now everyone admits that all the Pens players have "stepped up" in Sid's absence. My question is why weren't they playing with this intensity all along? Don't get me wrong - it's great for the team and great for the fans that the Pens have been able to come together and take their collective game to the next level to compensate for the loss of their captain, but why did it take Sid's injury for this to happen? This applies to all the Pens, not just Geno. If they're capable of this now, where was it when Sid was healthy?

Geno has said he doesn't want Sid to go anywhere - and vice versa, I'm sure.

Honestly, whether you want to believe me or not, none of this actually matters to me because I'm just grateful the Pens are doing well. Anyone who was a fan of the Pens prior to the arrival of the Fantastic Four (Sid, Geno, Jordan Staal, Marc-Andre Fleury) can attest that it's more fun to be a fan when they're winning than it is when you're frustrated by loss after loss. The only reason I even bring this up is because of all the ridiculous talk I've seen in the past couple of days since Sid has started skating again.

Why compare them? They're both amazing. AND they're both on our team, so shut up and enjoy it!

And therein lies the big question: why is this even an issue?! Why can't everyone just be stoked that, for the time being, we've got the two best players on the planet wearing the Penguins sweaters?! I for one don't want to see either of them leave Pittsburgh. I don't know... I guess some people always need something to gripe about, but I just don't understand how or why anyone would want to turn this into a Sid versus Geno thing. I'll turn this over to you now. You are all more than welcome (encouraged, even) to leave your opinions in the comments section below.

Oh, and GO PENS!!!