First off, a huge thank you to Eklund for swinging by the Penguins Hockey Buzzcast tonight. Alex and I had a great conversation with the E man regarding all of the remaining Penguins free agents and some of the big names that will be on the move this Wednesday. A very fitting preview of UFA day if I do say so myself. For anyone who wasn't able to catch the show live, please give it a listen below.
I will have the Just Saying... blog that I wanted to post tonight up tomorrow. I have to update it based on the moves that occurred today. In the meantime, let's discuss those moves.
First of all, I was thrilled that Bill Guerin opted to take less money to stay with this team. I told you guys two Saturdays ago that I thought, based on what I was hearing, that Guerin would stay in town for a base salary of roughly $2.0 on a one or two year deal. He was emotionally invested in this group and didn't want to leave. He knows that he is in a great situation and could have some huge personal, as well as team successes while skating on a line with Sidney Crosby.
Guerin has become an assistant captain without wearing an "A" on his left chest. He has really relaxed the entire group, especially Sidney Crosby, who was a new player after number 13's arrival. Picking up Bill Guerin for a third round draft pick may go down as one of the finest deadline acquisitions in recent history.
Kevin Allen of USA Today made these comments regarding Guerin on is twitter account earlier tonight.
Bill Guerin signs with Pittsburgh for one year, and he will score 30+ playing with Sidney.
Bill Guerin is a team guy, even at salary time. He took $2 million, instead of pushing for $2.5 mil, to give his team money to sign others
Craig Adams also took less money to remain in the Penguins fold. The role player was making $600,000 per in his last deal and signed on for $550,000 per during his new two year agreement.
It is pretty obvious that something special is going on when so many guys are willing to take less to stay. Brooks Orpik did it last season and Guerin/Adams did it this year. Could Rob Scuderi and Ruslan Fedotenko be next? Maybe...
Rob Scuderi has apparently let it be known that he will test the free agent market, but will keep the Penguins in the loop. I really believe that he ends up inking a deal here, but it wouldn't be surprising to see him move on. I mean, he paid his dues long and hard here in Pittsburgh and has a championship ring on the way. This is probably his only chance to cash in and no one could blame him for going for it.
However, the allure of being part of this situation seems to be a pretty intoxicating thing... it could be enough to convince Scuds to take a modest raise and stay on the Penguins' blue line.
Ruslan Fedotenko and the Penguins are reminding me of high school love interests...you know, the on again off again kind. Each side has made it known to everyone in the "cafeteria" that they "really like one another" and would love to "get back together." The bad thing is that they are telling each other...they are locked in a negotiation that could see Tank get to July 1st and onto another roster. Speaking from experience in these types of romances, they should get it done. Being stubborn only causes regret in the long run...why risk that when they know there is a deal to be made. Talks will continue as we barrel towards 7/1/09...
Ray Shero also extended a handful of qualifying offers to restricted free agents before the 5:00pm deadline today. Ben Lovejoy, John Curry and Tim Wallace each received their offers and will stay with the organization. One notable omission was David Brown, once thought to have a very bright future with the Penguins in goal.
Overall, Ray Shero has done an amazing job of filling his holes. He has locked up Alex Goligoski, Craig Adams, and Bill Guerin. He has also started the process of trying to keep Fedotenko and Scuderi, but the rest of this week will not be easy. The team has less than $6.0 million remaining under the salary cap with four holes to fill. I have faith in Shero and you should too. He has shown the hockey world over the past few years that he is one of the finest General Managers in the game.
Join the Discussion:
»