Free Agent Frenzy Begins

First of all, before my head starts spinning, let me correct something I posted here the other day.

Bill Guerin's new deal apparently was worth only 2 million, rather than 2.8, as initial reports suggested. My mistake.

At least I erred by overstating how much the deal was worth, rather than the other way around. Pens' GM Ray Shero needs all the help he can get.

Obviously, since I added nothing here yesterday, Penguin free agent signings were scant (okay ... absent entirely) in the last 24 hours. Among the notable players left, LW Ruslan Fedotenko and defenseman Rob Scuderi and Hal Gill hit the market today.

Shero apparently was still talking with Fedotenko, but nothing has broken yet and it seems more and more like Fedotenko may end up elsewhere.

At this juncture, the Penguins have just under 6 million available beneath the salary cap ceiling, and 4 expected roster spots open.

That is enough to commit to one notable player -- whether forward or defenseman -- in the 2-3 million dollar range, with the remaining salary spread out over the other players. The inital question for Shero is whether that money will go to Fedotenko? If not, will it go to Scuderi?

If both of those guys are lost, here are some of the guys I've heard that the Penguins may end up going after:

1) W Mike Knuble
2) W Steve Sullivan
3) W Alex Kotalik
4) W Todd Bertuzzi

Of all these guys, the first 3 interest me more than the last one. Bertuzzi wasn't a terrible player this last season, but his upside potential as an impact player for the Penguins wouldn't be quite as high as the other palyers listed. Knuble, Sullivan and Kotalik could -- potentially -- be 25/30 goal scorers with Pittsburgh if things fall right. Bertuzzi isn't going to get to that level and, even though he'd add an additional toughness/leadership element to the team, the Penguins have that with Guerin and Adams coming back, so if I were Shero, I'd rather spend my dollars elsewhere

Of course, there are a few guys in this year's unrestricted free agent grop that I'd be very interested to see in a Penguin uniform -- namely Martin Havlat, Mike Camalleri, or even Marion Gaborik, depending on the circumstances -- but it's doubtful any of those guys will be wearing the skating Penguin anytime soon since their salary and/or term demands are likely to take them out of the Penguins' cap range.

If the Penguins look to go beyond the short list above, they may want to take a look at a guy like winger Chad Larose from the Carolina Hurricanes. He had a great playoff for them -- was arguably their best player against us in the Eastern Conference Finals, in fact -- and could be a potential find at a relatively decent price.

Pittsburgh may also want to consider defenseman Greg Zanon from the Nashville Predators or Denis Gauthier from the LA Kings. Both would serve at reasonable rates as decent #5 or #6 defensemen, which is where Pittsburgh is going to have to fill a spot if Scuderi and Gill leave and they aren't able to convince Philippe Boucher to come back at a much cheaper salary.

We'll see what happens today. In all likelihood, news won't start to break until mid-to-late afternoon, when the first signings will start trickling through. I'll post updates as frequently as possible when there's word to share.