Countdown To Free Agency

Now that the NHL entry draft is complete, and with less than two (2) days to the official start of unrestricted free agency at midnight on Wednesday, July 1, the Penguins are close to knowing where they stand going into the crazed signing period.

At this point, they are about 9 million dollars under the salary cap ceiling of approximately 57 big ones per season -- a figure they are bound to be just at or under for nearly the 3rd straight season.

Of course, with owners Mario Lemieux and Ron Burkle adding about 40 million to their coffers after a second straight Stanley Cup Final run, there are no hesitations in Pittsburgh about reaching the cap ceiling.

Of all the Penguin free agents, the guy Pittsburgh is probably closest to signing is RW Bill Guerin.

The Pens' have reportedly tendered Guerin a 1-year deal around 2.6 or 2.7 million dollars, with incentives that could push the deal upwards of nearly 3.3 million. Right now, the ball is in Guerin's court and word is his camp will respond today.

At this point, I'd say the odds are better than 50% that the Penguins and Guerin will come to an agreement before Wednesday.

The Penguins are also near a deal with center and faceoff ace Mike Zigomanis on a 2-year deal which would pay Zigo a total of 1.5 million (750K per season). That could be announced today, I'm hearing.

The biggest mystery for Pittsburgh is what's going to happen with Ruslan Fedotneko.

It seems that the Penguins have offered the Russian Tank a 2-year contract at about 2.5 million dollars per season. Fedotenko is currently mulling this proposal, but is said to want a 3rd year and a little more money if he can get it.

Things with Fedotenko may go down to the wire and if, in fact, he hits free agency, he's going to get a lot of interest on the open market -- enough interest for enough years and enough money that we might not see Rusty return.

Speaking of the open market, that's where Pens' defenseman Rob Scuderi is sure to land on Wednesday. The Penguins do not intend to offer Scuderi a contract before then. There seems to be an understanding between the parties that Pittsburgh is Scuds' first choice and that he will give the Penguins an opportunity to at least come close to the best offer he receives.

While that's nice in theory and may very well play out, it's certainly more unlikely that Scuderi will return if he hits free agency. While he was quoted over the weekend as not being someone who's interested in breaking the bank, and saying that he's very aware of what it means to play for a winner, he also was quoted as recognizing that this may be his only chance for security in his career. Although word is he may not get offers as high as originially thought (near 4 million per), some team is still going to throw more money at Scuderi than the Pens can pay and, even if given the chance to come close to that offer, I'm not optimistic the Penguins will be able to get close enough to what "The Piece" is almost surely likely to see, at bottom, on the open market (3 million).

As I've said before in this space, I don't expect this to be another Brooks Orpik situation. Orpik testing the market and then re-signing here was the exception and not the rule. You can't expect that to happen again with Scuderi. I sure don't.

Surprisingly, there seems to be some possible interest in maybe having Petr Sykora return to the team. The Penguins do not appear ready to offer him a contract before letting him test the market, but I don't think Pittsburgh has completely closed the door to him returning after all.

I'm just about certain the Penguins also won't make contract offers to Miroslav Satan and Hal Gill before July 1. Philippe Boucher is in the same boat, but he is interested in returning to Pittsburgh and, depending on what happens with Scuderi, I think the Penguins might be interested in bringing him back as a 6th defenseman and continued mentor to the young player on the team with whom he's the closest -- fellow french-canadian blueliner Kris Letang.

Of course, Boucher would have to take a meaningful pay cut to return -- maybe to 1 million or 1.5 million for one year -- but I'm told he may be willing to do that.

I'll try to post any updates between now and Wednesday. And whether there are updates or not, I'll lead off Wednesday morning with news about who the Penguins may be chasing from other teams starting that day. There are a few people of note. Nobody who's going to break the bank, mind you, but a notable player or two anyway. And depending on what happens with Fedotenko, the Penguins' potential targets on July 1 may grow -- both in number and stature.