World of opportunity can't turn the corner

Despite plenty of optimism, the NHL franchise struggled from Day 1.
WIRE REPORTS
MIAMI -- Pittsburgh had high hopes when this season started, excited about the arrival of rookie Sidney Crosby and a new economic plan in the league that should benefit small-market teams like the Penguins.
Only things haven't worked out.
Not even close.
The Penguins struggled since Day 1, opening the season with nine straight losses. While wins have come since, things haven't improved all that much, and on Thursday, second-year coach Eddie Olczyk paid the price with his job.
Depressing
Toss in all the talk about the Penguins leaving Pittsburgh and becoming the league's biggest-name free agent this summer, and it's been a long, depressing winter in the Steel City.
And it's not even Christmas.
"We, for a lack of a better word, screwed up," general manager Craig Patrick told reporters Thursday. "We have to find a solution right now."
Those who like to look on the bright side of things hope the Penguins can pull themselves out of their slide and make a run at a playoff spot.
New coach Michel Therrien comes in after a torrid start in the AHL, and has already made an impression on the Pens.
The Penguins fired their entire coaching staff so Therrien, who coached the Canadiens for parts of three seasons, could bring up his crew from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, Pa.
Owner Mario Lemieux hopes to be back in the lineup for the first time since being treated for an irregular heartbeat, and his presence back on the ice can only help the slumping Pens.
Prospects strong
During the offseason, Lemieux and Patrick went to work, bringing in a number of free agents hoping to turn around a team that had the fewest points in the league in 2003-04. But the additions of Jocelyn Thibault, John LeClair and Sergei Gonchar have been disappointing, and the Penguins have yet to get on track.
With the move Thursday, the Pens hope that changes in a hurry.
"Things didn't work out," Patrick said. "It's unfortunate, but when you don't win, you have to make changes, and that's what we decided to do."
As far as the future of the organization goes, there will be plenty of suitors for the Penguins if the team can't secure a new arena in Pittsburgh. Kansas City, Mo., seems to be the most aggressive, and Tuesday night, the president of a group trying to get an NHL team met with Pittsburgh officials when they were in St. Louis.
Kansas City will have a sparkling new arena open in time for the 2007-08 season, and they've made no bones about who they want there on Opening Night.
According to printed reports, Paul McGannon, the K.C. group leader, invited the Penguins to play in an exhibition game next year in Kansas City to check things out. "We want them to sample the barbecue, the hospitality and the good crowds," McGannon said. "Then they have a decision to make."
This disappointing season hasn't made things any easier on the Penguins' bid to stay in western Pennsylvania. Maybe a late-season surge will change all that. And a future built around Crosby and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury could mean brighter days ahead.
Olympics
In other news, the Canadian Olympic team is not counting on Wayne Gretzky, who has taken an indefinite leave with the Phoenix Coyotes to be with his ailing mother.
Gretzky is the hockey team's executive director for the Turin Games. He announced Saturday he was putting his NHL coaching career on hold. His mother, Phyllis, is battling lung cancer.
"Our whole process here right now is to make sure everything is OK with Wayne and with his mom and that's where our focus is," Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said. "I've talked to all of our other management people and we'll just take it day by day here."