The Pittsburgh Penguins have agreed to the terms of goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury's new seven-year, $35 million contract extension.
By getting the deal done now, Fleury will not have to go through salary arbitration, which the Penguins filed for last month.
Marian Hossa's best Benedict Arnold impersonation yesterday allowed the Penguins to free up some cap space earlier than anticipated and also to focus more strenuously on re-signing their young goaltender.
The Penguins also signed two free agent wingers to one-year contracts today.
Miroslav Satan signed for $3.5 million, while Islander teammate Ruslan Fedotenko signed on with the Penguins for $2.5 million.
The short length of the deals imply that the Penguins aren't trying to make these guys the new faces of the franchise. Rather, they are trying to give Sidney Crosby some decent wingers to play with until the trade deadline when they will try to pursue a bigger name player such as Marian Gaborik, who will become an UFA next summer.
I never really noticed Fedotenko even being on the ice when the Pens played the Islanders this past season, and quite frankly I didn't really care to notice him. I could give you his stats and say, "Well, he is an average forward," but stats seldom tell the true tale about a player, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.
Satan on the other hand is a proven goal scorer and long-time Penguin killer. It seems like every close game between the Pens and Islanders in the past few seasons has been tied late in the third, won in overtime, or won in a shootout by Miro Satan.
Satan scored just 16 goals for the Isles last season, but simply playing for the Isles has to be a bit of a de-motivator for anyone.
Satan is one of those guys that you know will somehow impact a Pens vs. Islanders game, which is why I like this signing. He plays with speed and handles the puck well and should be a decent compliment to Sidney Crosby on the top offensive unit.
Update
Penguins' enforcer Georges Laraque has signed a three-year contract worth $4.5 million with the Montreal Canadiens.
The Penguins' acquisition of Eric Godard suggested that Laraque's days in the Steel City were numbered, and today it materialized when Laraque decided to return to his native land of Montreal, Quebec.
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3 months ago
three great moves by the pens. great article eric
3 months ago
Not being the in-depth hockey fan you are, can you maybe shed some more light on Satan? I read and heard that he was a bit of a problem in the locker room.
I like the idea of just getting a few fillers for a year though. The core is locked up and that's what's important
from 3 months ago
Nino, to tell you the truth I really don't know much about Satan besides the fact that he has played the last few seasons without a legitimate playmaking centerman to set him up, which partly explains his just 16 goals last year.
Maybe frustration has led to him becoming a problem in the room, but I can't say for sure...
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