Shero

PITTSBURGH — Ray Shero had a surprise waiting for young sons Christopher and Kyle when they arrived home from school in Nashville. On the family phone was a message from Mario Lemieux, welcoming them to Pittsburgh.

That's how Shero, 43, revealed to his family he was becoming the Penguins' general manager.

"If you could see the look in their eyes — the joy in their eyes — that Mario Lemieux actually left their dad a message, it was really tremendous," Shero said Thursday after signing a five-year contract. "It really makes me feel this is the right place for us."

Shero, the Predators' assistant general manager for eight seasons under David Poile, might change his mind when he starts watching game tapes. A Penguins franchise that made the playoffs every season from 1991-2001 hasn't won more than 28 games during four consecutive last-place finishes, a falloff that even Lemieux's comeback as a player couldn't prevent.

"But there's an outstanding talent base of young players here, and it's an exciting, exciting time in Pittsburgh," Shero said, pointing to 100-point rookie Sidney Crosby, promising goalie Marc-Andre Fleury and draft pick Evgeni Malkin. "You've got some wonderful assets to build around here that other teams do not have."

But the Penguins have problems, many of them, which is why Shero repeatedly referred to the necessity of having patience.

He said the NHL's new labor agreement and salary cap allow teams to build quickly — none of this season's four conference finalists made the playoffs in 2003-04 — but that Pittsburgh needs more players, and soon.

"It's about more than one player or two players, because it's a team sport," said Shero, an NHL assistant GM for 14 years. "I recognize the fact we have Sidney Crosby, he's an unbelievable talent and a superstar. But he's going to need help.

"I'm more interested in establishing a winning tradition in Pittsburgh, and that means doing things right — having a vision, having a plan and having patience," Shero added. "My goal here is to re-establish that tradition, and that's not just one year of winning hockey."

Shero was hired by Pittsburgh a day after breaking off talks with the Boston Bruins. Shero said he felt more comfortable working for Penguins president Ken Sawyer and Lemieux, whose group has owned the team since 1999.