(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
As we inch ever closer to the one-month anniversary of the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup championship, the Pens have already begun to undergo what we all knew would be unavoidable changes.
Firstly, Max Talbot underwent surgery today and will miss four to five months.
According to the Pens' website, the surgery was successful, but Talbot will miss at least one, possibly two months of the 2009-10 season.
At least he'll have plenty of time to watch the replay of Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals while he polishes his ring on his living room couch. What a human.
The USS Hal Gill raised its anchor from the depths of the Susquehanna and set sail for Montreal last week.
The Habs signed Gill to a two-year deal, worth just over two million dollars per season.
No one is discounting the importance of having Hal Gill on your roster in the Stanley Cup playoffs; it's his regular season inconsistency that presents a problem.
But when you're the Montreal Canadiens, you don't have to worry about the Stanley Cup playoffs. Whoooooooooooooo.
Yeah, 24 Cups, I know. See yinz in October.
Losing Gill might have been a tough pill to swallow for some Pens' fans, or you might be indifferent on the matter.
Regardless of how you felt about watching Gill cross the border to the north, nobody felt good about watching Rob Scuderi head to the Left Coast.
Scuds has matured from a number three or four defensemen in the American Hockey League to a sure fire shut down d-man, capable of slotting in to the top two defensive pairings on any roster in the National Hockey League over the past four years.
After turning down an offer from the United States Federal Government to be employed as President Obama's lone bodyguard, Scuds accepted a hefty contract from the Los Angeles Kings.
But, you can't blame Scuds for getting paid.
The Pittsburgh Penguins might have been able to pay Scuderi a million dollars a year to play defense.
The Los Angeles Kings are going to pay Rob Scuderi $3.4 million a year to play defense.
It's just too bad we won't get to watch him in the playoffs next year. Whooooooooooo.
Mathieu Garon rounds out the list of the faithfully departed from Pittsburgh this offseason.
Garon signed a deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, where he will back up this year's rookie goaltending sensation Steve Mason.
Now, enough about those who have left us, what about those who have signed on for another go-round in the Steel City?
The Pens signed forwards Craig Adams, Bill Guerin, and Ruslan Fedotenko in the opening days of free agency.
Adams signed on for two years and took roughly $50,000 less than what he made last season.
Fedotenko took a pay cut to stay in Pittsburgh for another season.
Veteran forward Bill Guerin also signed a one-year deal, and also took a substantial pay cut of roughly $2 million to play what could be his last season in the NHL for the defending Stanley Cup champions.
Penguins' GM Ray Shero also added a couple of new faces to the Penguins' roster since July 1.
Former New Jersey Devil Mike Rupp gives the Penguins cheaper toughness than what resident bad boy Eric Godard is capable of providing.
Due to the Rupp signing, Pierre McGuire has a better chance at suiting up for the Penguins than Eric Godard does in 2009-10.
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