The Confluence
Next entry: My .02 on Twittering and hockey blogging
Previous entry: Follow the Cup's travels with the Penguins this summer
Shero has his work cut out for him in Penguins’ free agency
by Tony on 06/22/09 at 10:42 AM ET
Comments (17)
There’s no “Hossa-gate” this year for the Penguins. Piece of cake for GM Ray Shero, right ??
Every offseason has it’s own challenges for the ownership and management of NHL teams, especially in today’s salary cap restrictions. This offseason will be no different, if not more difficult, for the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins.
That Stanley Cup the Penguins just won on June 12th ?? Well, that’s really an afterthought now, in terms of focusing on the draft and free agency. Shero cannot rest on the Penguins’ laurels, there is simply too much upheaval on NHL rosters nowadays. That is certainly the case for the Penguins, who will have 15 Unrestricted free agents and 4 Restricted Free Agents on July 1st.
Shero definitely wants to have a better start to free agency this year, compared to what happened last year. Going back a year, having already traded away the rights to Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts on June 28th to Tampa Bay, he lost Ty Conklin to Detroit and Adam Hall to Tampa Bay as free agency began on July 1st. The only addition the Penguins made on the 1st was enforcer Eric Godard, replacing Georges Laraque, who would sign with the Habs on the 3rd. But Shero and the Penguins would get a massive rejection on the 2nd, when Marian Hossa decided to sign with the Wings. The decision alone was bad enough, but the big problem for Shero was that he and the Penguins were forced all of a sudden to scramble. With forwards such as Michael Ryder signing with the Bruins on the 1st, Shero turned his attention to Marcus Naslund, but he ended up signing with the Rangers. Going to Plan C, Shero signed veteran wingers Miro Satan and Ruslan Fedotenko on July 3rd. Hopefully, things will go more accordingly to their plans this time around.
It’s got to be an extremely difficult thing for NHL GM’s, juggling roster decisions from several different angles. They’ve got to consider things such as:
- How many of their upcoming UFA’s do they plan to even offer contracts to, and which ones do they let go ??
- Are there any trade discussions, whether that’s in preparation for the draft or afterwards ??
- Are there any players at the minor league level that may have a chance for a roster spot at the NHL level ??
- Are there players coming up to the final year of their contract that you want to extend ??
- And finally, what UFA’s are you planning on targeting when free agency starts ??
Piece of cake, eh ??
There will be 15 Unrestricted Free Agents for the Penguins on July 1st, barring any signing beforehand. Here they are, segregated by position:
FORWARDS
1. Craig Adams - He filled a much-needed grinder role after being picked up off waivers, as well as having Stanley Cup experience. Thing is, grinders aren’t that difficult to acquire, and at age 32, re-signing Adams would probably be cost-prohibitive for the Pens.
2. Ruslan Fedotenko - What a difference a few months make. If you would’ve asked me in February if I’d like to see Feds re-signed, I’d have said a resounding no. Since that time, however, Fedotenko has found an uncanny chemistry with Evgeni Malkin. If Feds had a litte better hands, he would have been among the scoring leaders for the Pens in the playoffs. It’s been rumored that Feds has been offered a three-year contract, but that has not been substantiated. I think this will get done.
3. Bill Guerin - I have to admit, I wasn’t that thrilled when the Pens acquired Guerin at the deadline. Not that he hasn’t been an excellent NHL’er, but maybe that his best days were long gone. That still may be true, but boy did Guerin fill a big role down the stretch for the Penguins, not only on the first line with Sidney Crosby, but in the locker room as well. According to Hockeybuzz’ Brian Metzer and Andy Strickland, Guerin and the Pens have already started discussions on a new contract. Now, Guerin is going to have to take a significant pay cut over his $4.5M contract of a year ago. But if that’s amenable to Guerin, I see him returning at least for one more year.
4. Miro Satan - Satan just didn’t fit into the Penguins’ system, whether that was Michel Therrien’s defensive system or Dan Bylsma’s aggressive system. He was a healthy scratch in most of the playoffs, and he most likely will not be offered a contract. Reportedly, he’s been offered a contract in the KHL.
5. Petr Sykora - Hate to see Petr go, but much like Satan, it became apparent pretty quickly after Bylsma was hired that Sykora didn’t have the speed and physicality to excel in Bylsma’s system. Consequently, Sykora wasn’t in the lineup for most of the playoffs. He also has reportedly been offered a contract for the KHL, but he also wants to see what becomes available in the NHL.
6. Mike Zigomanis - Normally you wouldn’t be discussing re-signing a forward with two goals in the previous season, but Zigomanis is a special case. Up until the time of his shoulder surgery, Zigomanis led the NHL in faceoff percentage at 62.9%, and doing that right-handed as well, which is something that the Penguins sorely needed. He can fill the fourth line center role well, especially now that Max Talbot looks to be destined to the second line again, at least to start the season. I can see the Pens re-signing Zigomanis.
7. Others (Connor James, Chris Minard, Janne Pesonen, Jeff Taffe, Bill Thomas) - Pesonen created a lot of anticipation coming from Finland as the reigning scoring champ. He barely got a cup of coffee with the Penguins last season, so it remains to be seen, if he’s re-signed, whether his playing time will increase in Pittsburgh. Minard, as well as Pesonen, was among the AHL’s scoring leaders, but didn’t do much at all during his times with the Penguins. All five of these players, if they’re even re-signed, will have a hard time finding a roster spot with the Pens. By the way, James and Thomas are Class VI free agents, which means any player who is age 25 or older who has completed three or more professional seasons, whose contract has expired and in the case of a player other than a goaltender, has played less than 80 NHL Games.
DEFENSEMEN
1. Philippe Boucher - Acquired from Dallas in the Darryl Sydor trade. Mostly a depth defenseman, he didn’t get much playing time in the playoffs, playing in only nine games. His $2.5M salary, combined with the recent re-signing of Alex Goligoski, most likely will result in Boucher playing elsewhere next season.
2. Hal Gill - Gill provided the physical defenseman role that the Penguins sorely needed at the ‘08 trade deadline. He’s slow as molasses, but he did a good job along the boards and behind the net. The problem is that the Pens are so strapped against the cap, I’m not sure that re-signing Gill is in their plans, especially with young defenseman such as Goligoski and Ben Lovejoy in the wings. Don’t see Gill coming back.
3. Rob Scuderi - Once seen as a below average defenseman, he’s not regarded among the most sought after defensemen in free agency. After a regular season where Scuderi was a +23, he excelled in the playoffs against stars such as Mike Richards, Alex Ovechkin and Eric Staal. The issue for the Pens is that his last contract of 750K is going to be tripled, probably quadrupled, early in free agency, and I’m not sure that the Penguins can afford that. However, this is where Shero may do some wheeling and dealing to free up cap space in order to sign Scuderi, along with some others.
GOALTENDER
1. Mathieu Garon - Garon played 18 games for the Pens after the trade involving Dany Sabourin, going 8-9. While he provided veteran mentorship for Marc-Andre Fleury, his $1M salary will result in his ticket out of Pittsburgh. In addition, it appears that the Penguins think John Curry is ready to become Fleury’s backup.
The Penguins also have four Restricted Free Agents, two of which may play prominent roles in the Pens’ plans this coming season. In addition to rugged wingers Paul Bissonnette and Tim Wallace, right-handed defenseman Ben Lovejoy may be ready for a roster spot this coming year for the Pens, as well as the aforementioned Curry.
There’s also a good possibility that there might be some players currently at Wilkes-Barre/Scranton that might very well battle for roster spots in Pittsburgh this coming year. In addition to the aforementioned Curry, Lovejoy and Pesonen (assuming they’re re-signed), Luca Caputi has been making his way up the Penguins’ ladder. He might be ready to fill a power forward role. That may have also been the case for Erik Tangradi, who came over in the Ryan Whitney/Chris Kunitz trade. However, Tangradi suffered a hand tendon laceration injury, so it appears that Tangradi will stay in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the foreseeable future.
And having said all that, we have no idea who Shero and the Penguins’ scouting staff is targeting in free agency, such as scoring wingers or physical defenseman.
Piece of cake.
Filed in: | The Confluence | Permalink
Tags: NHL-Hockey, Pittsburgh+Penguins,
Comments
Actually Andy & Metz are the 2 on there that are reputable
But I get the Point
Posted by Evilpens on 06/22/09 at 10:13 AM ET
Crosby could still use a guy like Guerin for a season or two giving him pointers and mentoring him in the off-ice stuff.
I still say that, had the Pens brought in someone with Roberts or Guerin’s current level of gravitas, and let them wear the C for a couple transitionary years prior to annointing Crosby, he’d be a lot more likeable today. We’d not have had him shoved down our throat as much, nor would he have been as overburdened with responsibility as he has been.
It’d have made us view him a lot different, for sure, and I think that would’ve been a positive. I think a lot more people would consider him the best in the league if they didn’t find his mannerisms so annoying.
Posted by shanetx on 06/22/09 at 10:35 AM ET
I would be pleasantly surprised if Guerin and Fedotenko were to be re-signed at something close to a combined $4.5M. Anything more than that and we’re looking at serious salary cap issues. Scuderi would be unaffordable in this scenario regardless of Shero magic beyond trading Staal or Kunitz, which I believe to be unrealistic. The fact that Guerin would be willing to settle for a shorter contract could decide the issue in his favour, whereas three years to Fedotenko might seem excessive with an expensive core and salary cap uncertainty.
With regards to the other forwards, I think that Zigomanis would be the obvious choice. Inexpensive player with the special faceoff skill, which you mention, is worth considering. Adams isn’t quite special enough to bypass some of the talent playing in WBS, eg. Jeffrey, Thomas, Caputi, etc. There should be room on the fourth line to develop their talents and build experience. They’ll probably be needed to contribute even more in 2010-2011. If Fedotenko doesn’t re-sign, I wouldn’t discount Pesonen as an option. Depends on the evaluation by the organisation after a succesful year in the AHL. Heck, Dupuis might even return to the top-6 unless he’s traded for cap room.
The defensive side of things is tricky. Scuderi seems destined to leave due to salary demands. Even a discount salary of $2.5M/year would limit our roster options, though the possibility cannot be discarded completely. That leaves an empty roster spot after the signing of Goligoski. I wouldn’t discount signing Gill at a reduced salary as a precaution. Not just compared to Lovejout but also in terms of penalty killing and showing people out of the crease regularly. There are also a few experienced FA options that might be better than just relying on Lovejoy and Goligoski to carry the full weight from the start of the season.
It’ll be interesting and a bit nerve-racking to observe.
Posted by Moq from Denmark on 06/22/09 at 10:49 AM ET
It’d have made us view him a lot different, for sure, and I think that would’ve been a positive. I think a lot more people would consider him the best in the league if they didn’t find his mannerisms so annoying.
Posted by shanetx
No, they wouldn’t. The league would still promote him vigerously as the face of the NHL, because he’s the best option as a cross-over star. Other names are starting to emerge, which is good, but pretending that Crosby had a lot of incfluence on the hatred is absurd.
And this isn’t about Crosby, it’s about free agency.
Posted by Moq from Denmark on 06/22/09 at 11:12 AM ET
@Evilpens - Beat me to it...... Don’t lump those two with Eklund’s crap....
@Big Rich - Yup, thanks… Typing too fast this morning....
Posted by Tony F from Virginia Beach, VA on 06/22/09 at 12:28 PM ET
I think the big question is whether the needed pieces can be brought in AND keep Staal. IMHO, Staal has to go as in the salary cap era, there is no room for a $4M third line center who can’t win faceoffs (or even if he can...).
I think that money could be invested in a solid top 2 line winger as Guerin may not make it the whole year as his ice time dwindled on the Island as he wasn’t part of the youth movement. He had more in his tank than normally would be the case.
Tough decisions for Shero this summer.
Posted by catz27 on 06/22/09 at 12:53 PM ET
Staal was Shero’s first pick as GM. He’s not going anywhere. He, Sid, and Geno are all under 23. Imagine this core five years from now. Scary. Absolutely scary. You win championships with depth down the middle and goaltending. The Pens have those two elements. Very few, if any, teams have the depth at center the Penguins have.
Posted by cs6687 on 06/22/09 at 12:58 PM ET
The Stanley Cup Finals showed the importance of having three solid centers. Staal isn’t going anywhere and plays the minutes of a top six forward, despite being pegged as a third line center.
Dupuis must be moved. I think his signing was of the desperation variety last year, especially at a $1.4 cap hit. The Pens can’t afford to pay a plugger that amount of money, although I will miss his speed and that sick slapshot off the rush.
I could see Pesonen coming back for the right amount of money - Bylsma got to see a lot more of his North American development before he was promoted in February.
Posted by DigitalGypsy66 on 06/22/09 at 01:02 PM ET
cs6687, I don’t think depth at any one position is critical. I think having a balanced team is critical and right now we have no ready top 6 wingers in the NHL, AHL or in the system. Just like Whitney was moved to provide some depth for the team, I wouldn’t be surprised if Staal gets moved to provide more balance. In any case, if he’s going to be moved, now is the time to do it because his value won’t get higher… 40pt players aren’t difficult to find.
Posted by catz27 on 06/22/09 at 02:30 PM ET
40pt players aren’t difficult to find.
That’s the kind of short sightedness that loses Stanley Cups.
He is a terrific shut down centre who goes up against any team’s big first line and does well. To get rid of his is to give up on trying to defend your cup run because who’s going to replace him defensively? Sid? Geno? Yeah, right.
Posted by Garth on 06/22/09 at 02:50 PM ET
Staal isn’t a shutdown center...even if Steigy and Errey say so.
He came in 32nd in the Selke voting...just below JOE THORNTON!
http://ducks.freedomblogging.com/2009/06/18/nhl-awards-voting-revealed/15059/
If that doesn’t work for you, try the quality of competition stat, where Jordan sits pretty much at league average (plus, Bylsma has been willing to put out one of the top two lines against the top opposition, so line matching is less important).
http://www.behindthenet.ca/2008/basic_5_on_5.php?sort=7&mingp=10&mintoi;=&team;=&pos;=
Staal Quality of Comp=.01
Crosby=.05
Malkin=.06 (same as Zetterberg!)
Anyways, almost by definition, to be a shutdown center, you have to win faceoffs so your team has the puck to minimize the opposition’s top line with the puck. That’s one reason why Detroit is so successful. If you spend your shift chasing the puck, you aren’t doing much scoring.
It’s easier to find a good defensive forward (Adams via waivers?!?, Zigomanis waived then traded for future considerations) than it is to find a top winger.
You can’t sacrifice balance in the salary cap era...depth has to be leveraged.
Posted by catz27 on 06/22/09 at 03:11 PM ET
I don’t think Shero will abandon his blueprint of strength down the middle. The Cup has, arguably, supported his line reasoning. That means underperforming and veteran wingers, and hopefully youngsters from the system within a few years, to suport Crosby and Malkin. That has to work until the trade deadline push where he’ll try to aquire the necessary pieces. I doubt he’ll deviate from than plan by trading anyone from the perceived core.
So Staal will stay and play close to twenty minutes per game, third among forwards behind Crosby and Malkin, and continue to develop aspects of his game. Only bad performance this upcoming season and a sharp decline in salary cap for 2010-2011 might change that. I think Kunitz could be in graver danger of being traded if it became necessary to depart with a player for cap reasons.
Posted by Moq from Denmark on 06/22/09 at 03:49 PM ET
A single question mark at the end of a sentence will suffice. Also, the question mark should come immediately after the last letter of the last word in the sentence, not a space or two later.
Posted by eachoneteachone on 06/23/09 at 12:00 PM ET
My goodness, aren’t we a little stickler ??????????????
Posted by Tony F from Virginia Beach, VA on 06/23/09 at 12:02 PM ET
how long do the pens keep the cup. first game of season, playoffs or when
Posted by dan boy on 07/01/09 at 03:05 PM ET
Add a Comment
Please limit embedded image or media size to 575 pixels wide.
Add your own avatar by joining Kukla's Korner, or logging in and uploading one in your member control panel.
Captchas bug you? Join KK or log in and you won't have to bother.
Most Recent Blog Posts
Confluence Soapbox: Pens’ powerplay won’t get better until Yeo isn’t running it
Stationary Penguins fall to Kings, 5-2
Secondary scoring boosts Penguins over Ducks, 4-3
Recent Penguins’ trips to California haven’t been too sunny
Penguins’ peppering not enough, lose to Wild 2-1
“Penguin Nation” Invades Nationwide Arena
Penguins’ comeback again in 3rd, top Blue Jackets in SO, 4-3
VH1’s Jim Shearer’s “Yinz Luv Da Guins”, 2009 Episode #1
About The Confluence
Welcome to The Confluence, a Pittsburgh Penguins blog since 2006. Originally at Blogspot, then at MVN, The Confluence has over 1000 articles reporting Penguins news as well as jumping on my soapbox to opine constructive Penguins criticism. My posts are regularly linked by hockey websites such as the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Empty Netters and Yahoo!’s Puck Daddy, and I’ve done guest blogger spots on such websites as the New York Times. I invite you to spend a little time and peruse the archives at all of the sites for some of my better work. I am a retired U.S. Navy Chief Petty Officer, but don’t confuse me with my fellow Chief at A2Y.
Please feel free to send any comments to me at . If you’d like to befriend me on Facebook, click here. If you’d like to join The Confluence page on Facebook, click here. If you’d like to follow me on Twitter, click here.
The Confluence Links
Clark & Heptner (The Suburban Rob Rossis)
Confessions of a Hockey Fanatic
Official Pittsburgh Penguins Website
Yikes, you’re sourcing Hockeybuzz??????
Seriously though, they need to bring him back, he and Malkin really appeared to be the true leaders of that team in the finals, IMHO. Crosby could still use a guy like Guerin for a season or two giving him pointers and mentoring him in the off-ice stuff.
Posted by Nathan from Jonny Ericsson's ice cream truck on 06/22/09 at 10:01 AM ET