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