We? No, we are not French. We are American, because you're in America, okay? Greatest country on the planet.

Happy July 4th to all.

On to business.

It's a sad day in the P. As the Penguins have lost Michel Therrien's whipping boy Chris Minard. Three minute Minard as we liked to call him around here, sat on the bench with the best of them. The man played two shifts a game better than anyone I've ever seen. He's pictured here in his favorite spot during the 2007-08 season.

I tried to find a picture of him on the ice in a Pittsburgh Penguins uniform, but they don't make camaras with fast enough shutter speeds. The Springfield Falcons just got a whole lot better.

In similar news Jeff Taffe signed with the Florida Panthers. Turns out Jeff Taffe has scored 20 goals in his NHL career, who knew?


Penguins sign Chris Conner, Nate Guenin and...

Ruslan Fedotenko

pictured here dropping a deuce

I questioned Ray Shero once. I thought his contract offer to Hossa last year was a mistake, given the peripheral effects it would have had on our team. I thought he got distracted by the shiny new toy in his office. However, as I pointed out with some other moves he made this off-season Shero is always learning. And no where is it more obvious than Feds re-signing. This is exactly what I wanted, and I could probably write a treatise as to why, but I'll break down the main points.

1 year, $1.8 million.

Feds was coming off a dynamite postseason where he proved for a second time how clutch of a performer he was. I imagine he was looking for a multi-year deal. I was just hoping to get him under the $2.25 mil he played for last year and I was thinking it might take a 2-year deal just to do that, I never pictured him coming in under $2 mil.

I think big props need to be given to Adams, Guerin and Feds. I realize the economy is in the tank, and demand for these guys services might not have been high, but all three signed for less money, and short deals to stick around. We're looking good for next year folks we're looking real good.

And best of all next off-season when the cap is expected to drop between $3-5 million we have Guerin $2 mil, Feds $1.8 mil, Cooke $1.2 mil, and Eaton $2 mil all coming off the books. Not getting stuck in a multi-year deal for our top six forward is a big deal with Letang needing a raise.


On to the final story of the day...

Mr Smith Goes to Hollywood

Is it me or does he look a bit like a cartoon in this picture?

Anyway, Ryan Smith is traded from the Colorado Avalanche to the LA Kings for D-men Kyle Quincey, Tom Preissing and a fifth-round pick in 2010. I think this is a great trade for LA, good trade for Colorado. First, the Avs.

It's a bit confounding as they already have 5 defenseman on their roster making over $3 million. But 4 are over thirty years old and 3 of them will be UFA's next year. So perhaps they're going to be shopping their services to other teams. Preissing is 30, a little cheaper than the guys I mentioned and has two years left on his contract. Quincey is a nice young guy to get in the deal, but I don't think LA gave up much in the deal, especially considering their depth at the position.

Which is why this is a great deal for the Kings. Smith is better than anyone currently on the market. He was much easier to get than Heatley, not to mention a bit better of a locker room presence. And given his cost, might have been a better option than Gaborik, and certainly a better option than tying yourself to Hossa for 12 years. People are always looking for the best player, which is not a bad strategy, but sometimes it's more about the best fit. And I can't think of a better fit for the Young LA Kings than Ryan Smith. I said in my review of the Scuderi signing that this would be a team to be reckoned with in 2-3 years. Look for them to make a Chicago type leap this season, and if they continue with the right moves to be a presence in 2.


Tomorrow we'll review what's left out on the market, mainly for the purpose of who the Penguins might sign on defense. Hopefully they don't snap up Jay Mckee by then or I'm going to have to think of something else. Don't forget about The Legend and The Law LIVE Monday night 6-9pm. www.wdsr.org. Have a safe and happy holiday.

Keep the Faith

-the legend.

They're like 4-foot whirling dervishes.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have suddenly become enamored with size. Here's a look at the height and weight of the Pens draft class this year.

Simon Despres 6'3" 205lbs
Philip Samuelsson 6'2" 198lbs
Ben Hanowski 6'1" 198lbs
Nick Peterson 6'2" 186lbs
Alex Velischek 6'0" 200lbs
Andy Bathgate 6'0" 164lbs
Viktor Ekbom 6'2" 194lbs

and their only free agent signing to date.

Mike Rupp 6'5" 230lbs

Those guys probably carry some big sticks.

I'm guessing Shero looked at his organization and realized that not only is 13 feet of defensive awesomeness probably leaving this offesason, but our core of defenders include 5'11" Alex Goligoski, 5'11" Kris Letang, and 6'2" Brooks Orpik. Plus, outside of Malkin and Stall, all our probable long term offensive players are 6 feet or shorter (Crosby, Kunitz, Talbot, Kennedy and even Cooke if you keep him around.)

It's true that Caputi, Tangradi, and Dustin Jeffrey are all 6'3", but you never know who's going to pan out and who isn't. And power forwards are an elusive bunch. The Penguins learned this season what happens when you sacrifice size and grit, you become a much easier team to play against. And they learned how much those attributes can benefit a team in a 7 game series.

Shero has watched how teams have become successful in the salary cap era, and now that he's won the cup his sole goal is to keep the Penguins near the top of the league. He had a plan going into the draft and it was based on what he witnessed play out this season. I'll tell you one thing about Ray Shero the man learns fast. Crosby and Malkin aren't the only Penguins getting better every season.

On to the Pens free agency review so far.


Penguins sign Forward Mike Rupp to a 2-year $1.65 million contract.




This was a head scratcher. At first he appears to be a more talented Eric Godard, who we signed because he was a more talented and cheaper George Laraque. However, it seems that Godard, and perhaps Dupuis are on the trading block in an effort to cut salary. If this is the case it starts to look like a great move as Rupp can take faceoffs, always good to have an extra guy for that, kills penalties, which is Dupuis biggest strength on the team, and can be used as an enforcer as well. Calculated risk by Shero that he can move Dupuis/Godard and flip that into keeping Scuds or Feds. And I'm always cool with taking a guy willing to kick a Bruin in the head.
Grade: B, pending outcome of further moves.

Los Angeles Kings Sign Defenseman Rob Scuderi to 4 years 13.5 million

You win the Stanley Cup, all of a sudden everyone wants a Piece. Now the Kings have one. You know it's really a shame. I wrote earlier about how during the preseason I thought we could have kept him for somewhere in the range of 4 years, $7.5 million. God wouldn't that look like a fantastic deal now. The really shameful thing is that I have heard nothing but good things about this guy. I'm glad he's going to LA and not anywhere else floating around the rumor mill. LA is a very good young team and in 2-3 years with the right moves they will be on top of the West. Hopefully Scuds is a part of that. Even though they overpaid for him a but it shouldn't hurt them. The fact that he has already seen the learning curve that team is going to go through should be worth the extra cash. Good luck sir.
Grade: B+, The Piece A+.


-the legend

Mind-bottling. You know, when things are so crazy it gets your thoughts all trapped, like in a bottle?

The first 24 hours of Free Agency have officially passed, and some of the moves can only be described as mind-bottling. We'll look at the Top 5 moves. Later today we'll have our thoughts on the Pens.

Hossa signs 12 year, $62.5 million contract with Blackhawks

So many things to talk about here, but I'll stick to the most pressing. I think it's a good move for both sides, but Chicago's books are going to look worse than California's in a couple of years. The NHL is moving closer to the NBA in that contracts are going to be worth as much as players, and that makes me sad. I'd trade Campbell for anything, just to get his salary of the books. Also, I feel like these contracts are going to need to be addressed by the NHL because we're not far away from someone actually siging a 20+ year contract just to keep the cap hit down. The contract averages more than $5 million a year, but he only makes $3.5 million TOTAL over the last four years.
Grade: B+, good effort but at what expense?

Montreal signs Mike Cammallieri, Brian Gionta, Jaroslav Spacek, and Hal Gill.

Wow. And I was on record for liking the Gomez deal. I think they overpaid Gionta, Cammallieri and Spacek, but I could see it working out. Spacek's signing looks a lot better if they can find a sucker to take Hamrlik. I like bringing Gionta and Gomez back together, and it could pay off huge divdends for them. But I don't think Cammallieri is the right fit for them, and for $6 million a year they can't make a mistake with him. People are crying about Gill's price but he adds size, and he's worth $2 million a year for two years, so $2.25 million ain't much of a reach. The truth is no one know how this will play out. They got tougher up front, and I think they targeted players specifically for their system, not just names.
Grades: Cammallieri C+, too expensive. Gionta B+, especially if he can return to form with Gomez. Spacek B-, getting up there in years too. Gill B, rarely hurts to add size to your line-up.
Overall Grade: B, was going to be a B-, but I'm including Gomez in this, and despite his salary I think he's going to look good in a Canadiens jersey.

New York Rangers Sign Marian Gaborik to 5-years $37.5 million

I don't get it. The Rangers are being trashed by fans and bloggers for this signing. You're telling me you wouldn't trade Scott Gomez for Marian Gaborik, straight up? Well the Rangers also got Christopher Higgens in the deal, a guy who averages more than 20 goals a season. That's more than Gomez had this year. Martin Havlat signed for 6 years $30 million. He's just as frail as Gabo, but you never hear about it because HE'S NOT AS GOOD AS GABORIK IS. Obviously everyone's biggest fear is that Gaborik is just going to fall apart, and I'm hesitant to love this deal because Glen Sather signed the check, but selfishly I get to watch Gaborik eight times this year. Ok four times assuming he plays half his teams games.
Grade: A-, as an individual signing it's kind of crazy, but I think this and the Gomez move makes them better.

Tampa Bay signs Mattias Ohlund to a 7-year $25.5 million contract

The first FA off the board. Tampa Bay found an UFA that has never played for Pittsburgh. Shock City. I'll admit my first instincts were to laugh at the $25 million. But upon further investigation I'm starting to like the deal. Tampa Bay struggled with defense last year, heck they struggled with everything last year. But with Ohlund, 2nd overall pick Victor Hedman, and the re-signing of RFA Lukas Krajicek, their defense will be much improved this year. Do you know how many players they paid last year? 50, and 19 of them were defensmen. There moves this offseason, including signing UFA Matt Walker, should go a long way towards stablizing one of their biggest weaknesses.

Washington Capitals sign Mike Knuble to 2-year $5.6 million deal

Damn. Damn. Double Dog Damn. It's not so much that I thought the Pens would sign him, or even should, though I'll admit if we could have gotten him for less than $2.5 mil/year I'd of taken him. It's that it's such a damn good move for Washington. He adds grit to a team that didn't have much. He brings 25 goals a year to a team that needed another scorer when Semin and Green disappeared. He's a veteran going to a team that lost Federov this off-season to Europe. Damn. Damn. Damn is he going to fit in well there. He's going to score 30 goals this year. If the Caps can get a solid defensive d-man there's going to be hell to pay in the playoffs next year.
Grade: A, Damn.

Oh wait, that's right...Pens are still the defending Stanley Cup Champions.

Keep the faith.


-the legend

I can give you half

So 12pm hits. Ruslan Fedotenko and Rob Scuderi sign with Tampa Bay. Where do the Penguins turn?

The first name on everyone's list appears to be Mike Knuble. The vet made 2.8 million last year while putting up 27 goals and 47 points. I wouldn't mind signing him but I think younger cheaper options can be found. I'd rather not have two of our top wingers be 38 years old.

The first name on my list is Jason Williams from the Columbus Blue Jackets. He's 28 years old, made 2.2 million last year and has averaged .6 ppg over the last four years, which roughly translates to about 20G and 30A over a full season. Put him on Malkin's wing and he's going to be 25 and 40. He doesn't have the grit Fedotenko has but he'd be a good replacement.

Ales Kotalik has slightly better numbers than Williams, and he's 6'2", but I also expect him to command a higher salary. He's more of a high profile free agent than Williams, and I don't see much of a chance we sign him, although it would be a solid pick-up

This is about the point where you start reaching for UFA's. I like Taylor Pyatt from the Canucks, he's 27, 6'4", has put up some decent numbers in the past including a 20 goal season, and he's from Thunder Bay, Ontario might he look good on the wing of another 6'4" Thunder Bay born guy? He just might.

Kyle Calder, put up good numbers 3 or 4 years ago, but he's smaller and more recently he seems to be a perennial minus. That not be much of an issue if he played with Malkin, but I'm not sure if his play has dropped off.


and the defensemen. One of the important things for me when I searched for potential replacements for Scuderi.

Francois Beauchemin, is on more than just the Pens wish list. I doubt he signs here, but man he'd look good as a replacement for Scuds.

Dimitri Kalinin is second on my list. He's 6'3" and 28 years old and just might be out of our price range. However, he's got the best puck skills of the D on my radar and would fit in best with the Penguins style of play.

Marek Malik is this high on my list because he's 6'6", and the Pens aren't just losing Rob Scuderi but 6'7" Hal Gill as well. Plus he could probably be signed for less than 2 million and short term. He might not be the best player available, but he might end up being the best fit.

Paul Mara: I don't think he's the right fit, I think he has major problems defensively, but he's 6'4" he made 2 million last year, he's only 29, he can move the puck relatively well. I think worse moves can be made and for the right price he would add some good size to the back end.

Dennis Seidenberg is an intriguing FA. He's the youngest of the bunch at 27 and made only 1.2 million last year, so he's probably looking for a raise. But he put up some good numbers for Carolina last year. At 6' he doesn't have the size I was hoping for and he doesn't have a great plus/minus, but if there's not a lot of interest in him he might be a good middle of the road signing.

and finally Christian Backman. I saved him for last because at 3.4 million, his salary was the highest of anyone I thought we might go after. Everything else about him is great though. He's a solid defensive defenseman. He's only 29 years old, he's got the size at 6'3", unfortunately I just don't see him taking a pay cut to join our team.


Well those are my thoughts. Over the next couple of days we'll see whether they prove true, or whether I end up looking like an idiot. Either way I'm chalking it up as a win because we still hold the Cup.

-the legend

I'll Sign Anything You Want Me to Just Get Her Away From Me.

So much to talk about so little time.

We'll start with the Pens.

Mathieu Garon
Phillipe Boucher
Miroslav Satan
Hal Gill

All UFA's
All gone

Although I wouldn't mind Gill or Satan at significant pay cuts if our other FA's don't sign.

Chris Minard
Connor James
Janne Pesonen
Jeff Taffe
Bill Thomas

Who? Exactly

Paul Bissonnette
Ben Lovejoy
John Curry

All RFA's, all probably coming back

Which leaves us with the Hotlist as far as I'm concerned

Ruslan Fedotenko
Petr Sykora
Mike Zigomanis
and Rob Scuderi

Mike Zigomanis

Probably gone, this is pretty much a depth pipe dream for me. The guy won 65% of his faceoffs last year. I'd sign him in a heartbeat if you can get him around the veteran minimum, but maybe that's not possible. Count on him leaving, but remember that I said keep him.

Petr Sykora

I was ready for him to leave. I was. But then I started thinking about what was out there. And how much he did for us in two years. And how he was still relatively young. And how he was probably hurt at the end of the year. And that image of him talking to Flower in Game 5. And what was out there. And that he would probably take a pay cut to remain with the team. He's not our best option, but similar to how we took a risk when we first signed him, maybe we do it again for cheaper. If he returns to form this year we maximize our investment and he can get a decent payday next year. If Feds leaves and there's nothing else out there we bring him back. Speaking of...

Ruslan Fedotenko

Good riddance. Let the man get paid. There's a lot of good about him and he certainly was a big part of the cup win, but don't sign him to a multi-year contract that you know he deserves. Much like young love, let him go, if he comes back it was meant to be, if not we move on to some dude from Columbus.

and finally "The Piece"

Rob Scuderi

How you let a man with those thighs walk, I'll never know. But I think you have to. It's sad because before this season started I thought we could resign him for 3 or 4 years at between 1.5 and 2 million per. And then he went out and made a name for himself. The biggest problem is we can't do for him what we did for Orpik, give him more years to make up for that paycut, because we don't want a 35 year old Rob Scuderi taking up cap space, at least I don't. This isn't NHL '09, you have to let some people go for cap reasons and I think given our depth at the position, Gogo, Lovejoy, Sneep, and a host of other draft picks you let him leave and sign a cheaper, short-term replacement.


Next Up Who we will target on the open market.

-the legend