Penguins Call New Arena the Only Option for Survival

Only one year after negotiating nearly $13 million in Civic Arena improvements and agreeing to stay there 10 more years, the Pittsburgh Penguins say they can’t survive long term without a new arena.

But, first, they face more legal problems: Mayor Tom Murphy on Wednesday called on prosecutors to investigate whether the cash-poor Penguins were criminally negligent for not paying $1 million in city amusement taxes.

Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen Zappala Jr. said, “We’re not a collection agency. If we determine this is a criminal matter, we’re going to go on it.”

The Penguins responded by issuing a statement saying, “Heavy-handed tactics such as these aren’t going to help us keep the Penguins viable in Pittsburgh.”

The 37-year-old Civic Arena will become the oldest in the NHL later this season when the Toronto Maple Leafs vacate Maple Leaf Gardens.

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The winless New York Rangers acquired defenseman Mathieu Schneider from the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenseman Alexander Karpovtsev and a fourth-round 1999 draft pick.

Schneider, a restricted free agent without a contract with Toronto, did not attend training camp and missed the Leafs’ first two regular-season games.

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The Tampa Bay Lightning signed free-agent defenseman Kjell Samuelsson to a one-year contract, the team said. Financial terms were not disclosed.Samuelsson, 39, had spent the past three seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers.