Hey all, my name is Tony Ferrante. Those of you who peruse the various Penguins blogs probably know me from MVN’s The Confluence of the Three Rivers. Thanks to Alin for asking me to guest blog several times throughout the year.

Lots of turnover results in lots of speculation in Penguins-land this season.

Penguins’ GM Ray Shero was one busy man this offseason, replacing several key members of the Eastern Conference champs, such as Marian Hossa, Ryan Malone, Gary Roberts, Ty Conklin and Jarkko Ruutu. Shero did an admirable job during free agency to fill the holes, not only in signing free agents Miro Satan, Ruslan Fedotenko, Matt Cooke and Eric Godard, but also in resigning veterans Brooks Orpik and Pascal Dupuis.

The key, as it has been for about three seasons now, is finding the right winger(s) to be on Sidney Crosby’s wing. They surely had it after the trade deadline last year when Shero traded for Hossa, but when Hossa bolted for Detroit, Shero had to go back to square one. For at least the first part of the season, as all Penguins fans know all too well how quick of a trigger finger head coach Michel Therrien has in terms of line changes, it’s going to be Fedotenko and Satan on Crosby’s wings. Satan is this year’s “Petr Sykora signing” for Shero. He’s been a natural sniper all his career. He’s not going to get a better opportunity to improve from a very disappointing season last year with the Islanders, especially in a contract year. Fedotenko will be the one who can dig the puck from the boards and get it to his linemates, as well as get a big body in front of the net. If that doesn’t work, all bets are off. Therrien has several options available to throw on the top line if need be, including Jordan Staal, Sykora, or even sparkplugs such as Max Talbot or Tyler Kennedy.

The Penguins’ second line is arguably the most potent in the NHL with Staal and Sykora on the wings for center Evgeni Malkin. Staal has been bumped up from the third line center, partly in an attempt to boost his goal scoring back up to the 29 goals he had in his rookie year two seasons ago. Sykora and Malkin had some great chemistry between them last year, which actually goes back to the lockout year playing in Russia. Unless Therrien breaks them up, this second line could result in a deadly 1-2 line punch.

The Penguins are surely looking for more secondary scoring from their third and fourth lines this season. Shero’s moves have allowed Therrien to bump Dupuis down to the third line (where he really belongs) along with Talbot and Cooke, making for a serious fast checking line. The fourth line will be a mix of rookie mucker Paul Bissonnette, Godard, Pittsburgh native Bill Thomas, and newly acquired Mike Zigomanis.

The defensive corps, which before the season was thought to have had a glutton of NHL-ready D-men, is now without their two best offensive defensemen. Quarterback Sergei Gonchar suffered a dislocated shoulder in the Pens’ first preseason game, after which he underwent surgery and will miss between four and six months. Ryan Whitney also underwent surgery for a malformed foot injury which he initially suffered in the 2007 playoff series versus Ottawa. He is scheduled to out until approximately December. That makes the performance of young offensive defensemen Kris Letang and Alex Goligoski that much more important. Letang played in Pittsburgh for the majority of the year last season, while Goligoski only played a few games. In addition, Shero resigned underrated defenseman Mark Eaton, as well as Orpik. Include steady defensive D-men Rob Scuderi and Daryl Sydor, who was thought to be on the trading block before the injuries to Gonchar and Whitney, and that allowed Shero to not have to go outside of the organization to fill the voids created by the loss of those two.

Marc-Andre Fleury, after suffering the high ankle sprain in December, came back in the springtime and put up numbers that ranked among the best in the NHL. He continued the superb play through the playoffs, while coming back down to Earth a little in the Finals against Detroit. If Fleury continues with that high caliber play, he will rise among the NHL’s elite goaltenders. It seems that Fleury’s been around for about 10 years, but the fact remains that he’s still only 23 years old. The Penguins are hoping that the loss of Ty Conklin, therefore making Dany Sabourin the backup goaltender, doesn’t come back to haunt them. Although Sabourin had 10 wins for the Penguins last season, the feeling is that most fans don’t believe that Sabouring can match the steller goaltending play that Conklin had to do when Fleury went down with his injury in December. Hopefully, Fleury will remain healthy throughout the year, and Sabourin will only have to play about 10-15 games.

It’s going to be a very interesting Atlantic Division. Philly and the Rangers look to be strong again this year, and the Devils can never be overlooked with Marty Brodeur. If the Penguins can keep their head above water while their top defensemen recover from their injuries, they’ll be right up there when they return and make another run towards the Stanley Cup.

The week started off with the signing of RFA forward Maxim Lapierre for a two-years contract awarding him 575 000$ in 2008-2009 and 800 000$ in 2009-2010. Was it a right move? Definitly, since Lapierre has been able to establish himself as a hard worker and a devoted player for the Montreal Canadiens and he just keeps getting better at what he does, and let’s not forget to mention how well he plays defensively when the Habs are on the penalty kill. Lapierre ended the 2007-2008 season playing 53 games and scoring 7 goals and 18 point.

That is a good news for the Habs, but what about Andrei Kostitsyn? How are things going with him and did Bob Gainey even start negotiations yet? Gainey told the press two week ago that they have contacted Andrei to talk about his future with the organization, but it appears that a team from Kazan in Russia has made an offer for next season that values 1.5 million. However, Don Meehan, Kostitsyn’s agent, commented the rumor stating that his client intends on sticking to his career in the NHL, but that he would prefer to get him more of a short-term contract, unlike the ones that have been given to other young players such as Mike Richards from the Philadelphia Flyers. He went on adding that he expects the negotiations with the Canadiens to be all but easy. If the rumor happens to be true, than I believe giving 1.5 million for 2 years should do the thing for him to stay in Montreal.

What about other players waiting to know what to do next season? Well it appears that Corey Locke, one of the Habs’ prospect playing in Hamilton, is currently being chased by the Kloten Flyers from Switzerland’s national League. The Flyers’ sports director commented the rumor simply by confirming it and saying his team did indeed make an offer for Locke to consider.

While some are probably going to look at every options, one has made it clear that he is leaving the organisation. Yann Danis, another Habs’ prospect and goaltender for the Hamilton Bulldogs, prefers to leave the Canadiens for good and test his UFA status starting July 1st. Danis was portrayed as one of Montreal’s future goaltender a couple of years ago, but simply lost his place with the team when Jaroslav Halak and Carey Price showed up and took over. I wish Yann all the best and hopefully he will end up with a good team that will use his undeniable talent to the fullest, maybe a team like the Ottawa Senators would do the thing.

Now there are some good UFAs on the market the the Habs are definitely going to pursue come July 1st. Let’s start with Mats Sundin. Sundin is beeing pursued by probably every team in the NHL seeing how good of a player he is and the price to get him probably isn’t going to be that high. Although any team would take Sundin, he wouldn’t take any team. Since he wants to stay in Canada, Montreal is certainly a strong option to consider. The Sundin case is surely and interesting one.

Then you have Teemu Selanne, one of Saku Koivu’s best friend. It appears Koivu has finally been able to convince Selanne to play his last NHL season with the Canadiens while spending time with him at the World Championships. This rumor has been going on for years, but Selanne has never accepted the offer to join the Habs. This time, things are looking a bit different because even the Anaheim Ducks’ GM Brian Burke believes this time might be the right time and that Selanne might finally accept Montreal’s offer. Two days ago, Anaheim’s defenseman Francois Beauchemin commented the rumor saying it was clearly impossible since Selanne has been living in Anaheim for over 10 years and has a house, a family and kids that attend school in Anaheim. He believes that if Selanne plans on playing for another season in the NHL, he’s going to play it in Anaheim and nowhere else and if he can’t come down to an agreement with the team, he is probably going to announce his retirement. One thing is for sure, we are going to have all the answers to our questions come July 1st, since that is the last day Selanne could give an answer to Burke.

Now on to the main event: Marian Hossa. Rumors have been all over the place with that guy and it’s not about to stop, at least not until he inks his name on a contract. Hossa is definitely going to be a target for Montreal this summer and I’m sure Gainey already has an offer planned specially for him. Is Hossa going to consider it? Maybe yes, maybe not. Earlier this week, Hossa said on a radio station in Pittsburgh that he enjoyed his stay with the Penguins and would definitely consider signing a contract for less money to be able to stay with a good and competitive team like the Penguins. But the thing is Montreal isn’t the team it was a year ago. Montreal has become a good and competitive team in the NHL and, if the right moves are pulled by Gainey, they are probably going to become a Stanley Cup contender for next season. Well now it appears that Pittsburgh really intends on keeping Hossa with them since rumors have been circulating as of yesterday that they have pitched a 7-years/50 millions$ contract at him. Is it going to be enough to persuade him to stay with the team? It could to the thing, but how big is Evgeni Malkin’s contract going to be? If they sign Hossa, they are probably going to have to give up on forward Ryan Malone and defenseman Brooks Orpik. If the Penguins do manage to keep Hossa, Malkin, Crosby and Stall all together, Ray Shero definitely deserves to have his name on the hall of fame.

Now enough with the stress and let’s talk about something else.

The NHL awards took place this week and Guy Carbonneau was nominated for best coach of the year. Unfortunately, the award finally went to the Washington Capitals’ Bruce Boudreau. Although I really wanted Carbonneau to win that award, I must say Boudreau deserved recognition for his work just as much as Carbo. He took the worst team in the NHL in November and led them to win their division’s championship and and believe me, nobody expected that to happen.

If Carbo didn’t get recognition for his hard work, Carey Price and Alex Kovalev did. Price was named on the All-Star rookie team and Kovalev had his place on the 2nd All-Star team of the NHL. Now that puts a smile on my face!

Just want to remind everyone that the NHL draft is coming up and the Habs are drafting 25th overall and I wouldn’t be surprised if some trades are made so that recruiting director Trevor Timmins could draft at a higher position. That is going to be very interesting to watch and who knows what Montreal is going to pull out from their sleeves. I would personally be pleased if they manage to draft Jared Stall, the youngest one of them that is expected to get drafted in the 30’s overall. I have learned one thing in the NHL, and it is that you can not go wrong with a Stall! They are like the hockey factory or something!

Enough for now. I will definitely come back soon for more.

While Penguins GM Ray Shero has reportedly offered Malone a contract, he is not willing to pay him much more than the $1.45 million Malone is making this season.

Rossi believes that the 28-year-old could get upwards of $3.5 million per season on a three-year deal in the off-season, pricing himself right out of Pittsburgh. The Penguins simply cannot afford to retain Malone at such a salary, even if the cap is supposed to increase by as much as $4 million.

The Penguins are already committed to a number of high-priced players on their roster, including forward Sidney Crosby ($8.7 million salary cap hit), defenseman Sergei Gonchar ($5 million), and defenseman Ryan Whitney ($4 million).

The club also has a number of key restricted free agent forwards they would like to re-sign long-term, namely forwards Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal, and goalie Marc-Andre Fleury. Malkin and Staal could command a combined salary cap hit of $11 million (beginning in 2009-10), while Fleury might cost an average of $3 million.

Secondary players such as defensemen Brooks Orpik and Mark Eaton, and forwards Pascal Dupuis, Jarkko Ruutu, Georges Laraque, and Gary Roberts will also need to be re-signed, or replaced.

The could be a total cap hit of $38.7 million for 13 players.

Of course, the Penguins may also want to bring back pending UFA forward Marian Hossa, which could cost them around $7 million per season. That’s $45.7 million for 14 players.

Adding Malone and his potential $3.5 million cap hit would bring the total figure to $49.2 million for 15 players. Shero isn’t expected to burden his club with those kind of salary cap troubles.

So, unless Malone decided to give the Penguins a hometown discount, it’s more than likely he’ll sign elsewhere in the summer.

Indications are that the Thrashers would have no problem trading Holik, as they already tried to do so last fall.

Mark Everson of the New York Post confirms that the Thrashers and Devils discussed a swap involving Holik during the pre-season.

However, talks broke down when the Thrashers discovered that the player they were supposed to acquire, forward John Madden, came with “significant deferred payments.”

In New York, Brooks sees Holik as the perfect candidate to center the struggling Jagr. Holik is a defensive specialist who goes hard to the net and isn’t afraid to get involved physically when he has to.

The two Czech forwards have played together for 20 games during the 2003-04 season, and appeared to have some chemistry.

So, if Holik comes “for the right price,” Brooks believes that Rangers GM Glen Sather would be wise to re-acquire the former Ranger.

Even if Sather and Holik don’t appear to have much affinity towards each other. They’d only have to spend a couple of months together since Holik would be no more than a rental.

First off, Molinari points out that Penguins GM Ray Shero is not against negotiating contract extensions during the season. In fact, speculation is that he has already held talks with the agents for forwards Ryan Malone and Georges Laraque.

Secondly, the Penguins don’t have the financial wherewithal to overpay for players. Thus, they may have some difficult choice to make if any of their free agents ask for more than the club thinks they’re worth.

With that in mind, here is a list of players set to become free agents July 1st and what may happen to them.

Ty Conklin: If his stock continues to rise at its pace of the past month, it should surpass Berkshire Hathaway by the time Conklin goes on the open market. That’s an enormous “if,” of course, for a 31-year-old who has played more than 18 NHL games just once during his pro career. But there’s nothing fluky about the success he has had since getting his first start Dec. 20 in Boston. His positioning is sound, his rebound-control strong. Whether an NHL team would view him as a No. 1 goalie remains to be seen, but he certainly has re-established his credentials as a solid No. 2. And, if he doesn’t stumble, the Penguins might have no choice but to try to re-sign him and accept that Dany Sabourin will be paid an NHL salary to play for their farm team in Wilkes-Barre, assuming he can get through waivers.

Mark Eaton: He’s an exceptional shot-blocker who has given the Penguins good defensive work when healthy. Trouble is, Eaton, who is recovering from season-ending knee surgery, will have played just 71 of a possible 164 regular-season games during his two seasons with the Penguins.

Adam Hall: He has been the defensively responsible, versatile forward the Penguins thought they were getting when he earned a contract at training camp. Hall will not have much leverage, though, because there is no shortage of blue-collar forwards.

Georges Laraque: Widely regarded as the NHL enforcer with the best all-around game, he had very limited impact after joining the Penguins at last year’s trade deadline, and that didn’t change during the early part of this season. In the past couple of months, however, he has become much more effective, fighting when he senses the need to send a message or alter the course of a game, and usually doing it with brutal efficiency. Re-signing him probably would be in the best interest of both sides.

Ryan Malone: Whether it’s a contract drive or not, Malone has played the best, and most consistent, hockey of his career this season. He isn’t an irreplaceable piece of the puzzle, but he’s an important one, and it would be foolish for the Penguins to gamble that they could get an upgrade by replacing him with someone else’s free agent.

Alain Nasreddine: The best argument for re-signing Nasreddine is the Penguins’ limited supply of NHL-caliber defensemen. He is no more than a depth guy at this level, but it’s important to have a few of those on the payroll to minimize the impact of injuries.

Brooks Orpik: He has fallen out of favor with the coaching staff at times — generally for reasons that aren’t apparent to many who aren’t members of the staff — but provides the only real physical presence on the blue line. With no one in the pipeline who can fill that role anytime soon, keeping him is logical.

Gary Roberts: After a poor start — the result, at least in part, of a respiratory ailment made worse by his asthma — Roberts finally was getting his game back in synch when his left leg was broken Dec. 29. He doesn’t seem ready to retire, but it’s a risk to assume a guy who turns 42 in May will be able to withstand the rigors of playing a physical game in the NHL indefinitely.

Jarkko Ruutu: Underutilized for much of his season-and-a-half here, Ruutu can be a good defensive forward as well as a quality agitator. If he is promised a larger role elsewhere, it seems like a long shot that he would stay, even though he has expressed a willingness to do so.

BRAD STUART, LOS ANGELES: Arguably the top defenseman available. Not a physical presence, but a useful two-way defenseman who was a blue-line fixture in San Jose before he was shipped out in the Joe Thornton trade. He has bounced around since.

MATS SUNDIN, TORONTO: A dark horse, but what team wouldn’t want a two-way center who’s also a class act and a leader? If the Leafs decide they can’t sign him and they can’t make the playoffs, a Sundin auction would attract many bidders. A Sundin trade could swing the balance of power in either conference.

ADAM FOOTE, COLUMBUS: He can’t really keep up with today’s game, and he’s not getting any younger. But he’s a veteran and as rough and tough as ever. He’ll end up somewhere, and the Blue Jackets will get a nice return.

PETER FORSBERG, UNSIGNED: If he ever gets his health issues sorted out, he might return from Sweden this spring. When healthy, he’s a superstar. When slowed by injuries, he’s dead weight. A total wild card. Conventional wisdom says if he comes back, he’ll join the Detroit Red Wings’ Swedish brigade.

ROB BLAKE, LOS ANGELES: But would he leave L.A. again? If the answer is yes, he may not be a Norris Trophy candidate but he can help.

AARON WARD, BOSTON: The Bruins have to decide whether they’re serious about this season or looking to build around this core for the future. If it’s the latter, Ward would be a nice addition in the right blue-line role. The Hurricanes could certainly use him again.

PAUL MARA AND MAREK MALIK, D, N.Y. RANGERS: With salary-cap concerns this season and going forward (not to mention a long-rumored [J]ones for [Phoenix Coyotes blueliner Ed] Jovanovski), the Rangers are likely to attempt to drop one of these two, who have alternated time as healthy scratches.

LADISLAV NAGY, LOS ANGELES: Skilled, but he hasn’t really produced in two seasons and was a total flop as a deadline acquisition in Dallas last season. A gamble.

BROOKS ORPIK, D, PITTSBURGH: He has been on the outs with the Penguins (with their woeful defense, that’s hard to believe) and could provide a useful physical edge to a contending team.

J.P. DUMONT, NASHVILLE: A proven goal-scorer pretty much everywhere he has been. He could hit the market if the Predators slip out of the playoffs.

MICHAEL RYDER, RW, MONTREAL: His struggles with the Canadiens are hard to fathom. He may start scoring some goals again with a change of scenery.

SERGEI FEDOROV, C, COLUMBUS: Yeah, he’ll probably be available. But as Bobby Clarke said about Eric Lindros at the 2004 NHL draft, “Who’d want him?”

Kevin Paul Dupont of the Boston Globe suggests that the San Jose Sharks will have to make some sort of trade to add a more balanced attack to their forward lines.

Bruce Garrioch of the Ottawa Sun reports that rumors continue to persist that struggling Sharks forward Patrick Marleau could be moved by the trade deadline. The Atlanta Thrashers are said to be very interested.

Lastly from Dupont, he reports that defenseman Ray Giroux, currently playing for Ak Bars Kazan of the Russian Super League, might garner some interest from NHL teams looking for a puck-moving blueliner in the off-season. In case he doesn’t get back into the NHL, Giroux has a standing offer from Ak Bars to continue playing for them next season.

Garrioch reports that the Columbus Blue Jackets will listen to offers for pending unrestricted free agent forwards Sergei Fedorov and Michael Peca and defenseman Adam Foote if they are no longer in the playoff race by the trade deadline.

Should New York Rangers GM Glen Sather decide to trade pending UFA forward Jaromir Jagr by the trade deadline, it’s highly unlikely he will move the Czech Star to a team in the Eastern Conference. The Western Conference Detroit Red Wings are a possible destination.

Before dealing forward Andy McDonald to the St. Louis Blues for Doug Weight, the Anaheim Ducks had a number of other trades in place according to Garrioch.

Defenseman Sean O’Donnell was almost headed to the Philadelphia Flyers, the Chicago Blackhawks almost landed defenseman Mathieu Schneider, and defenseman Shane Hnidy almost became a Dallas Star.

Ducks GM Brian Burke passed on all those deals so as to not dilute his depth on the blueline.

Peter Botte of the New York Daily News reports that the New York Islanders are expected to sign forward prospect Kyle Okposo to an entry-level contract “soon after the holiday roster freeze is lifted on Friday.”

The 19-year-old will earn a maximum of $850,000 per season.

Luke DeCock of The News & Observer suggests that the Carolina Hurricanes could use a physical defenseman like Penguins blueliner Brooks Orpik.

According to Garrioch, Penguins GM Ray Shero has called the Atlanta Thrashers to inquire about the availability of pending unrestricted free agent forward Marian Hossa.

The same happened with the Ottawa Senators and forward Antoine Vermette. Shero placed a call to the Senators earlier in the season about Vermette, but was quickly rebuffed. However, it’s believed that the Senators may have softened their stance on trading their young forward.

Shero is said to have also contacted the Calgary Flames about forward Kristian Huselius, but he was told the Swedish-born player is no longer available for trade.

Perhaps the likeliest trade scenario for the Penguins could be to add Nashville Predators forward J.P. Dumont. Shero used to be an assistant of Predators’ GM David Poile, so it’s possible the two would have an easier time to agree on a deal.

However, Larry Brooks of the New York Post suggests that the New York Rangers have a number of speedy wingers that the Penguins could really use to bolster their attack.

The Rangers could really use a tough defenseman like Penguins pending unrestricted free agent blueliner Brooks Orpik. Orpik has been made a healthy scratch the past two games, appears to be falling out of favor with the Penguins’ coaching staff.