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Our long national nightmare is over. After more than a season long holdout, Petr Nedved is back in the NHL. Oh, what have we done to deserve such riches?

On November 25, the Pittsburgh Penguins finally unloaded their problem child by dealing him along with Chris Tamer and Sean Pronger to the New York Rangers in exchange for Alexei Kovalev, Harry York, and $2.5 million in folding green.

Incredibly, the deal came just two days before the Rangers were to travel to the Civic Arena to face the Pens. A standing-room- only crowd was on hand to welcome Nedved back to the 'Burgh with a rousing chorus of boos each time he took the ice.

Darius Kasparaitis by Meredith Martini

Darius Kasparaitis also did some welcoming of his own, pinching in from the left point and destroying Nedved on the prodigal son's very first shift. The crowd went crazy go nuts. It was the loudest ovation experienced at the Igloo since Mario Lemieux's final game. Kaspar followed up the hit on Nedved a few seconds later by racing into the left corner and hammering 6'6" Peter Popovic to the ice. Aw, that's just Kaspar being Kaspar. That's why he is, without doubt, the coolest player in the NHL.

While Darius stole most of the early thunder, Nedved and Kovalev each made an impact. Nedved earned his second assist in as many games as a Ranger by setting up John MacLean for a goal late in the second period that put the Blueshirts in front 2-1. But Kovalev wasn't goin' out like no punk. Having already bagged his first point as a Penguin on Aleksey Morozov's first-period tally, Kovalev provided some late heroics to send the faithful home happy.

With the Birds trailing 2-1 in the final minute of regulation and Tom Barrasso off for an extra attacker, Kovalev collected the puck in neutral ice and powered his way across the Ranger stripe. Once inside the zone he cut right to left through the high slot and drew two defenders to him before slinging a miraculous no- look pass back the other way to the tape of Robert Lang coming late. Thanks to Kovalev's creativity, Lang had all day to eye up the net and pipe a wrist shot over Mike Richter's glove to tie the game at 19:45 of the third. There was much rejoicing.

It seemed both teams were quite happy with the early returns. But what about the long-term results? Hmm, I wish someone was around to analyze the deal for me. Someone who could show the benefits of the trade from both sides, while also describing how it will affect the futures of the clubs involved. What the hell? I'll do it. I mean, I got dressed up and everything...

Let's start in New York, where the Rangers desperately needed another scorer to take some of the offensive burden away from Wayne Gretzky. Having finally run out of patience with Kovalev, the Manhattan Millionaires are hoping that Nedved will become a legitimate superstar on Broadway.

It should be noted that this is Nedved's second stint with the Rangers. He had a rather forgettable tour of duty in New York during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 campaign, recording a mere 11 goals and 23 points in 46 games. His Big Apple experience was made all the more troubling by the fact that Mark Messier and Colin Campbell, shall we say, disliked him? Shall we say hated him? We shall say hated him. They were of the opinion that Nedved was a soft player that floated too much. He was promptly shipped out of town.

Nedved started the next season in Pittsburgh and was turned loose in the Penguins' run-and-gun system. Playing the majority of the time on a line with good buddy Jaromir Jagr and Ron Francis, Nedved exploded for career highs in goals (45), assists (54), and points (99). The following year saw Nedved lose his linemates as Jagr and Francis joined Mario Lemieux on Pittsburgh's top unit. Yet despite the change, Nedved still managed somewhat impressive numbers, collecting 33 goals and 71 points in 74 games.

Nedved felt so proud of what he accomplished that he refused to sign with Pittsburgh for anything less than $4 million a year. Pittsburgh GM Craig Patrick told him to sit on it. And he did. For almost two seasons.

Immediately following his liberation from purgatory, Nedved agreed to a three-year contract with the Rangers that is reportedly worth a little less than $12 million. Back in the day, it was rumored that the Penguins had offered him a three- year deal worth about $8 million. So take into account the year he wasted, and Nedved will just about break even after next season. Which means he pretty much threw away one of his prime playing years for absolutely nothing. Let's hear it for ignorance!

So what are the Rangers getting for all that scratch? A damn fine skill player, that's what. Nedved is an exceptional talent. An extremely fluid skater, Petey can roar past defenders with the greatest of ease. And once in the open he can unleash a wicked wrist shot that simply overpowers goaltenders. Nedved's wrister is a thing of beauty. While not quite as devastating as Joe Sakic's, it can at least entertain the debate. The chance of witnessing a Nedved wrist shot is reason enough to tune into a Ranger game. It's just that good.

Although the knock against Nedved has always been that he's a soft player, a notion which was definitely aided by his relationship with Messier, it's not entirely true. Nedved will take a hit to make a play and won't shy away from physical contact. Granted, he won't do much in the way of initiating it, but at least he won't back down from it.

In the 1995-96 playoffs, Nedved proved his willingness to compete when the Penguins upended the Rangers in the second round. Messier tried every dirty trick in the book to get Nedved off his game, elbowing and slashing his former teammate whenever possible. It didn't work. Nedved took the pounding, persevered, and helped his squad to a five-game victory. In short, Nedved became a man. And he didn't even have to recite from the Torah...

But not everything is all cheap wine and roses. Nedved's got his share of flaws. During his final year in Pittsburgh, the Czech center displayed a penchant for taking stupid penalties with the stick. Instead of playing defense with his feet, Nedved would rely on a lazy hook or a needless slash to compensate. That's just silly. It's this lack of commitment to defense and hard work that often places Nedved at odds with his coach.

While Nedved was clearly the centerpiece of the deal, GM Neil Smith did some nice work in also prying Pronger and Tamer out of Pittsburgh. Neither one was getting any playing time with the Penguins, but both should prove to be valuable assets to the Rangers.

Sean Pronger by Meredith Martini

Pronger is a big guy that can handle third or fourth line duty and improve New York's shallow depth at center. Meanwhile, Tamer is a rather steady stay-at-home defender that will drop the gloves and stick up for his mates on every occasion. A team can never have too many guys like that. He's basically a younger, cheaper version of Jeff Beukeboom. Tamer's arrival, along with the acquisition of Stanislav Neckar from Ottawa in a separate deal, will likely mean that Beukeboom will be offered in any package put together to try and land Pavel Bure from Vancouver.

When the trade was first made, there was some speculation that Nedved would take over for Kovalev on Gretzky's right wing. But that really didn't make a whole lot of sense, what with the Rangers being so weak up the middle. Instead, Gretzky has taken to centering Kevin Stevens and John MacLean, while Nedved anchors a line with Niklas Sundstrom on his left and Mike Knuble on the right. This allows the Rangers to employ a third unit of Adam Graves, Todd Harvey, and Marc Savard, giving the club three decent lines for the first time in years.

This new and improved depth up front has translated into wins. The Rangers have rattled off five straight victories and are 5-1- 1 overall with Nedved in the lineup. Nedved has at least one point in each of those seven contests, racking up a total of three goals and seven assists. That's pretty good for not having played since the Carter administration.

Sometimes what comes over in a trade isn't as important as the idea of the trade itself. When Neil Smith pulled the trigger it proved to the men in blue that the organization was still dedicated to putting a winner on the ice. The message was sent loud and clear that losing would not be tolerated. The players have responded. But Smith ain't done. There still might be a Rocket landing at Madison Square Garden in the near future.

On the other side of things, the Pittsburgh Penguins seem thrilled to have Alexei Kovalev in black and gold. Everyone knows he's been a colossal disappointment to this stage of his career, but no one can question the raw talent he has at his disposal. Rating on sheer skill alone, Kovalev would be among the top five players in the league. And the Penguins have a history of taking guys that have been disappointments elsewhere and turning them into solid citizens. Nedved was Exhibit A. And if you need anymore examples, just go into the Penguin dressing room and throw a rock. Nearly the entire roster is made up of players discarded by other teams.

Despite being one of the most gifted players of his generation, Kovalev has never managed more than 24 goals in a season. Late last year it appeared that the enigmatic winger was on the verge of a breakthrough when he went buckwild down the stretch playing on a line with Gretzky and Sundstrom. The Great One even went so far as to say that Kovalev would score 40 this season. Perhaps the prediction was too much for him, but Kovalev didn't respond well to Gretzky's challenge, stumbling out of the blocks this year for just three goals and seven points in his first 14 games.

Pittsburgh wasn't scared off by the lack of production. Kovalev's unlimited upside potential was enough for the Birds to roll the bones. Even though it seems like he's been around forever, Kovalev is still just 25 years old. There's plenty of time for him to reach his full potential. Sure, he failed in New York with perhaps the greatest playmaker in the history of the planet at his side, but that's all he had. Kovalev will be insulated by much more talent in Pittsburgh. He no longer has to be the number two guy, he just has to be one of many.

Take a good look at Pittsburgh's roster. Add Kovalev to the mix and the Penguins are suddenly the most exciting team in hockey. No other club in the league can handle the biscuit like the Birds. They could have six of the top 10 stickhandlers in Jagr, Kovalev, Morozov, Lang, Martin Straka, and German Titov. All are exceptionally creative with the rock and are capable of the individual effort or orchestrating a passing play of ridiculous complexity. The Guins have been involved in more tic-tac-toe plays than Paul Lynde.

Kovalev also gives coach Kevin Constantine much more flexibility up front. The possible line combinations are endless. Constantine started with a top unit of Jagr, Straka, and Stu Barnes, followed by Lang centering Titov and Kovalev, with Morozov getting worked in on a pretty regular basis. The third line, or the "Thanks, Expansion!" line to its friends, kept on truckin' as per usual with rookie Jan Hrdina between Rob Brown and Kip Miller.

However, recently Constantine has decided to spread the wealth throughout the lineup. He's bumped up fourth-liner Dan Kesa, who never met a check he didn't like, to the top line with Jagr and Straka. The second and third lines remained in tact, while Barnes and Morozov teamed up on a fourth unit with defensive specialist Ian Moran.

But then there's also the possibility of forming an all Russian trio with Kovalev centering Titov and Morozov. This would free Lang to slide back into the third-line defensive role he thrived in last season. And it's all made possible by Kovalev. Constantine is so confident in Kovalev's versatility that he even employed the rousing Russian at defense late in a game against the Bruins when the Penguins were desperately searching for the tying goal. Kovalev on defense? That deserves a wow...

The Penguins are a mediocre 1-1-3 since the trade, but no one's complaining about good ol' number 27. Even though he's still looking for his first goal, Kovalev has notched five assists in the five games. Watching Kovalev work his magic with the puck has been worth the price of admission. He's done some wild, wild stuff.

Also coming to Pittsburgh in the trade was the always entertaining Harry York. How can you not like Harry York? All the guy does is hit. It's just a crying shame he never gets playing time. The Penguins are deeper at forward than the Rangers, so York's predicament likely won't change anytime soon. He's only dressed in two games for the Birds, playing a grand total of five minutes and 59 seconds. Yippee.

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Just moments before deadline, it was announced that York was claimed off waivers by Vancouver.)

But the most important part of the deal may have been the $2.5 million in cash. Without all that mazuma from the Rangers, the Penguins would have been unable to make payroll. Oh boy. How sad is that? A two-time Stanley Cup champion that needs money from other teams to pay its bills. Weak. But get used to it, because it's a sign of things to come.

The club is over $120 million in debt. That's just embarrassing. On December 4 in Carolina, Hurricane fans began a chant of "Bankrupt" when the Penguins fell behind early. Oh, those wacky Cane fans. When those two guys put their heads together they can really come up with the comedy.

The Penguins are currently trying to score a $20 million loan from some French bank to ensure it can meet payroll the rest of the season. But there's a hitch. Some judge guy is deciding whether or not an organization so far in debt deserves to receive such a substantial loan. If the ruling goes against the team, the Penguins have planned a hoagie sale and car wash to help raise the needed funds.

The money problems are only going to get worse. Not only is Jaromir Jagr scheduled to make $10 million in 1999-2000, but Barnes, Kasparaitis, Kovalev, Lang, and Straka will all become restricted free agents after this season. That's trouble. And if it comes down to choosing between those five guys and the Czech Wonder Kid, it doesn't look good for Jags.

Provided that they can re-sign Kovalev, who is making $1.5 million this season, the Pens will be pretty solid on right wing for years to come with Morozov inching closer to stardom each day and young Robert Dome waiting in the minors. It's hard to believe, but Jagr could actually be expendable.

The Penguins really have only three big ticket players: Jagr, Kevin Hatcher, and Tom Barrasso. The three combined will account for $16 million in salary next season. Of the three, Barrasso is the most likely to stay, since great goaltending can go a long way in today's NHL. Hatcher is already all but gone. Word on the street is that he could be in another sweater by as early as next week. That leaves Jagr. It's hard to imagine him sticking around with that hefty price tag. Look for Los Angeles to make a serious pitch.

Um, that's about it. I really don't have a catchy way to end this article, so instead I'm going to create a diversion and then run away from the keyboard.

Dude, check out that girl over there in the corner with the blue sweater...

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