Penguins Free Agency Update

In all the continued hoopla surrounding the Penguins' Stanley Cup Championship (and in all the continued hoopla surrounding my vacation last week), I neglected to say anything about last Thursday's annual NHL Awards ceremony.

No big deal really, since Pens' center Evgeni Malkin -- nominated for both the Hart Trophy as league MVP and the Lester Pearson award for MVP as voted by the players -- finished 2nd in the voting in both races, as expected, to Washington Capitals forward Alexander Ovechkin.

Fellow teammate Sidney Crosby was a nominee for a lesser award -- the Mark Messier NHL leadership award -- but he finished 2nd in that voting to Calgary Flames RW Jarome Iginla.

Crosby also was nominated for one other even lesser award, but I can't recall what. Whatever it was, I know he didn't win it either.

So, the Pens' came up empty in Las Vegas. It matters little, though. As Malkin said at the ceremony, he and the Penguins got the trophy that matters the most.

It was nice, however, to see head coach Dan Bylsma and Max Talbot carry the Cup out to the stage during the ceremony. That was a very nice -- and deserved -- moment in the spotlight for those two.

Okay. Free Agency. That's supposed to be where I'm going with this.

The Penguins will have several unrestricted free agents if not signed before July 1, the most notable of whom are:

Bill Guerin
Petr Sykora
Ruslan Fedotenko
Miroslav Satan
Craig Adams
Mike Zigomanis
Rob Scuderi
Hal Gill
Philippe Boucher

By all indications, the Penguins will probably end up severing ties with Sykora, Satan, Boucher and, perhaps -- depending on what happens with Scuderi -- Gill.

Satan is as sure of a goner as there is in the group. Boucher would be next, unless he takes a drastic pay cut, and even then, I think the Penguins might only be interested in keeping him if both Scuderi and Gill leave. Boucher's biggest problem -- aside from his annual 2.5 million dollar salary -- is that Alex Goligoski will have a lineup spot next season after signing his recent 3 year deal.

The Penguins will kick the tire with Craig Adams because he was a useful 4th line forward for them this past Cup run, but they are likely to try and keep Mike Zigomanis instead. There is mutual interest between Zigo and the Penguins, and Zigo should come pretty cheap.

The Penguins might also kick the tire with Sykora, but after his drastic fall off the map in the last 20 games of the season, they are unlikely to do so with any urgency. Sykora was even quoted (translated) in an article in a foreign publication recently as saying it may be in both his best interest and the Penguins' best interest that he moves on.

Sykora has been a mostly reliable contributor for the Penguins, so he will probably find someone else to sign with, given that he still scored near 25 goals this season for the 2nd year in a row. If he is unable to land elsewhere in the NHL, he can surely find a spot in the Kontinental Hockey League. It just doesn't look like he fits in with the Penguins anymore, however. Halfway through this past season, I would have never imagined me saying that. But under HCDB, Sykora doesn't seem to have as meaningful of a role. Skating isn't his strength. In short, he just doesn't fit into the team's new aggressive system all that well. And obviously, the team won the Cup without getting any real contribution from him, so they've shown they can move forward without #17 patrolling Geno's RW any longer.

Bill Guerin and Ruslan Fedotenko are the guys the Penguins will probably talk to the most leading up to July 1.

There was a rumor going around that the Penguins had already offered Fedotenko a 3-year deal worth 7.2 million, but that rumor is false. The Penguins have not offered Rusty a contract yet. And if they do, they would prefer it to be a 2-year deal. Either way, they'd probably look to keep the Tank's salary from last season -- 2.5 million -- about the same. I think the bigger questions with Fedotenko are the term of the deal (he would prefer 3 years, which Pens' GM Ray Shero is usually reluctant to give out) and whether he feels he can get more on the open market.

Time will tell if Fedotenko stays. Even though he had an average regular season, he was true to form in the playoffs -- upping his game when it mattered most consistent with his track record. That alone makes him valuable.

As far as Guerin is concerned, there's obviously a meaningful emotional attachment between him and the Penguins at this point. He still thinks he can play for 1 or 2 more seasons. I think it would certainly be worth trying him for 1 more season, but I'm skeptical about 2 more. Guerin was a good player for Pittsburgh since being picked up at the deadline but at his age, a team has to be careful how long you take on a contract like his.

I've heard varying things about the amount of money Guerin will seek. Most sources seem to indicate Guerin understands he'll probably have to take a fair pay cut from the 4.5 million he was paid this past season -- maybe to somewhere in the 2 to 2.5 million range. One source indicated that he wasn't taking a paycut like that "for anybody", but I don't believe that to be true.

Again, time will tell, but of all the Penguins free agents besides Zigomanis, I think Guerin is the most likely to stay. At least at this point.

The big wild card of free agency for the Penguins is Scuderi. And, I suppose, to a lesser extent, Gill, but again, he's only in this category because his fate is probably linked to Scuderi's.

The Penguins would, undoubtedly, love to have Scuderi back. He's the most reliable defensive defenseman they have and has really blossomed the last few seasons. While fellow blueliner Brooks Orpik has played more games than any other current Penguin, including Scuderi, Scuds has actually been with the organization longer, having been drafted in 1998. His career at Boston College and then several seasons in Wilkes Barre kept him from joining the Boys of Winter until about 6 to 7 seasons later.

The problem Pittsburgh has is that Scuderi has played so well -- especially in the post-season -- that he might have priced himself right out of Pittsburgh's range.

The Penguins would gladly keep #4 for around 2 million (and perhaps up to 2.5 million) per season. On the open market, however, Scuderi is likely to get 3 or 3.5 and, potentially by a terribly overpaying team, 4 million per season. The Toronto Maple Leafs signed former Colorado Avalanche free agent defender Jeff Finger to a 3.5 million dollar deal before last season and Finger was nothing more than an average NHL defenseman. If Finger could get that much, Scuderi certainly can, and I'm sure his agent is using that as ammunition. Regardless, the Penguins won't be able to afford any of those figures which is why I think that, if we get to July 1 and Scuderi hasn't been re-signed, he's as good as gone.

And I think that to be true despite the fact that Orpik tested the free agent waters on July 1 last year before re-signing with Pittsburgh. Make no mistake -- that case was the exception rather than the rule.

For Scuds, it's likely to come down to how much of a discount he's willing to take to stay with a team that is likely to be an annual contender, as opposed to taking a lot more money to go to, say, his hometown, and play with a rebuidling club like the New York Islanders who may not see the playoffs for the next 4 to 5 seasons.

Expect Orpik to talk with Scuderi (if he hasn't already) about why he decided to stay with Pittsburgh and forego additional money to do so.

Interestingly, it doesn't seem as if Shero has approached Scuderi or his agent yet. That could be a sign that the Penguins don't expect to be able to keep him. Again, time will tell.

As I said earlier, the only way I see Gill potentially coming back is if Scuderi leaves. I'd be shocked if he were signed before July 1.

As we get closer to July 1 (i.e., next week), I'll talk a bit about where the Penguins' are with their own free agents at that point, and talk about some of the players the Penguins may want to target in free agency themselves. I don't expect them to make any big splashes because of what they are up against with the salary cap, but there certainly will end up being a player or two they do add.

More later this week in advance of this weekend's NHL draft in Montreal. I'll talk about some of hte players I think the Penguins may be looking hard at --- as well as those they should be looking hard at. They don't have it easy picking 30th, but the bright side is that, when you pick 30th, that means only one thing.

You're the Stanley Cup Champions.

Who can complain about that?