Fleury and The New Guys: Satan, Fedotenko and Cooke All Join Penguins

I knew the 4th of July holiday was going to get right in the way of NHL free agency.

Please forgive my silence since late last week. Although I was able to keep up with the Penguin comings and goings, posting wasn't possible. So, with that, let's review, shall we?

Last Thursday, after learning that Marion Hossa stabbed them in the back and learning that Marcus Naslund was signing with the Rangers, the Penguins acted quickly to fill some of the scoring punch they lost since July 1 by signing RW Miroslav Satan and LW Ruslan Fedotenko to one-year deals, for 3.5 million and 2.5 million respectively. Both had 16 goals last season for the New York Islanders and, although not game breakers, could end up being productive complementary players for the Penguins.

Satan can take long stretches off and his game has suffered the last few years as a result of it. However he's the most likely candidate to play on Crosby's right side on the number one line, so hopefully he can put that dangerous shot to use. I ticket him as a 25 goal guy with upside to score 35 if he clicks with Sid. At the very least, he won't torture the Penguins as a member of the Islanders any longer.

I'm probably more pleased with the Fedotenko signing. He is likely to be a good fit on the left wing on Malkin's line. Fedotenko doesn't have great natural goal-scoring ability, but knows how to go to the net and capitalize when playing with skilled linemates. Most NHL observers still haven't forgotten all the goals he put up during the Lightning's run to the Stanley Cup a few years ago. I ticket him for 20 and perhaps even 25+ if he gets power play time.

In addition to those two guys, the Penguins also signed former Vancouver Canuck and Washington Capital agitator Matt Cooke to a 2 year contract at 1.2 million per season. I love Cooke. He plays a rough, in-your-face game a lot like the guy who he's primarily replacing, former Vancouver teammate Jarkko Ruutu. The difference is that Cooke checks more, is faster, and has a little better offensive skill 5-on-5. He's exactly the type of player Pittsburgh needs after losing the physicality Roberts, Hall, Laraque and Malone (and Ruutu as well) took with them to other teams.

I also think it's notable that Cooke took a pay cut to come play with the Penguins. Obviously, he wanted to be in Pittsburgh, and that's a good sign. Satan was the same way. He called Shero and expressed his interest in joining the team, saying he watched the Penguins dismatle the Rangers in the playoffs and said to himself, "I have to play there".

The Penguins also are said to be close to signing Janne Pesonen, a 26 -year old, 5' 11" left wing who led the Finnish Elite League in scoring last year with 34 goals and 44 assists in 56 games. If signed, the deal will be a one-year, two-way contract, so it's a low-risk, high-reward signing if Shero can pull it off. Personally, I hope he does. In all honesty, I hadn't heard about the guy before news started to circulate about the potential signing, but from all accounts, he's a skilled guy with good hands and good offensive instincts. One scout has even said that he thinks Pesonen is better than Fabian Brunnstrom, last season's leading scorer in the Swedish Elite League who recently signed with Dallas after announcing that he wanted to play in the NHL and was courted by about 10 teams. Pesonen hasn't gotten as much attention because he didn't broadcast his intentions, but he could be as good. Of course, the culture barrier and getting used to the smaller rinks and the more physical play in the NHL could be an issue, but if he pans out, he could be a boon for the Penguins on the left side -- perhaps even playing with Crosby.

If the Penguins manage to sign Pesonen, he'll rocket to the top of my most-watched guys in training camp this year, right next to Luca Caputi.

There's a lot of talk going around about the Penguins being linked to other players -- Todd Bertuzzi for one (although he's since signed in Calgary), Jason Williams for another. Even Brendan Shanahan has supposedly expressed an interest in playing with Pittsburgh, although the interest doesn't seem to be mutual. Despite all of this talk, and the continuing occasional rumor that Pittsburgh might trade a defenseman (Sydor -- who the Penguins should be dealing), or Whitney or Scuderi -- who the Penguins shouldn't be), it doesn't appear that anything is imminent.

All things considered, Shero has done a competent job trying to deal with his free agent losses. And he's also done a good job in house too, with Orpik re-signing and Malkin finally signing his deal. Add those contracts to the 7-year, $35 million dollar committment Shero made to Marc Andre Fleury late last week (a nice payday for the kid now, and potentially a bargain in the future for the team), and the Penguins are well positioned to be contenders again in 2008/2009, even if their roster isn't the same now as it was just one month ago. There are a lot of teams that would trade their talent for that on the Penguins roster.

I'll post again when there's more FA news. If there is none, I'll get some other talk going.

Until then ........