Yardbarker: Ryan Malone

Penguins Free Agency Update

Fri, 04 Jul 2008 15:57:18 -0500

It has been a week of good news and bad news for the Pittsburgh Penguins as they have seen several roster gains, losses and signings as the free agency market swings into full motion. Ray Shero is quick to emphasize that he managed to keep the core in place, yet he lost his #1 post-season priority as Marian Hossa opted to take a 1-year deal with the Detroit Red Wings. While managing to keep their defensive core, centers, and starting goaltender in place, the Penguins have lost the majority of their active wingers to the free agent market.

Penguins extend Malkin, lose Ruutu

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 14:38:59 -0500

The Penguins have signed superstar Evgeni Malkin to a five year extension.

WELCOME BACK JAROMIR?

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 18:15:06 -0500

It's not the plot for a sitcom, it's a genuine possiblity...at least according to sportsnet.ca, the site that's reporting the Penguins have offered a contract to Jaromir Jagr. Let me now pick myself off of the floor, sniff some smelling salts and try to finish this post.

It's been a busy start to free agency today for the Penguins, who've already re-upped Mark Eaton for two years at and Pascal Dupuis for three. They're also reportedly close to an extension for Evgeni Malkin in the $8.5 million/year ballpark, which is looking more and more like a bargain given the early events of this year's UFA market (like 2 years, $20 million for 37-year-old Mats Sundin).

The Pens have also lost their third and fourth free agents of the offseason, watching Ty Conklin go to, of all teams, the Detroit Red Wings and Adam Hall join Gary Roberts and Ryan Malone in Pittsburgh South, Tampa Bay. And Marian Hossa looks like he's ultimately a goner as well, as Edmonton looks to be among the current front-runners for his services.

So yeah, next year's team...probably going to look a little different. On the bright side, you may be able to wear your old Jagr jersey again.

Penguins among teams courting Jagr [Sportsnet.ca]

MALKIN EXTENSION NEAR; PENS RE-SIGN DUPUIS, EATON [TSN]

2008 Free Agent Signings [TSN]

Oilers will throw rich offer Hossa's way [Edmonton Journal via LGP]

Is Ryan Malone really worth 7 million?

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 23:31:07 -0500

Over the last few days we've seen all kinds of weird trades, some may change the course of an entire franchise just like the Toronto Maple Leafs/New York Islanders trade at the draft, while others seem to be a quick fix to an overwhelming lack of scoring, just like the Tampa bay Lightning/Pittsburgh Penguins deal. To [...]

NEWS AND NOTES

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 17:22:04 -0500

Been out of town for a few days, so I'm majorly backed up on reader emails and links. Plus, there are a few articles ready to go up, as well as the full recap and breakdown of the Pittsburgh Sports Media Popularity Contest. So help me at least partially clear out my inbox with a few of the better reader-submitted links:

--Former Lions RB Kevin Jones worked out, and the Steelers were one of four teams in attendance. I thought they were overloaded at running back?

--CBS's Pete Prisco decided to stir the pot and rank the Top 50 NFL players. Ben Roethlisberger was the only Steeler to crack the list, at #17. Of course, he would have to be below Carson Palmer (#8). The biggest story may be that FOUR Vikings made the top 20: #10, Kevin Williams; #12, Jared Allen; 15, Adrian Peterson; and 19, Steve Hutchinson.

--Kiss 96.1 found video of Georges Laraque singing "Ice, Ice Baby". Not sure if this will help or hurt him in free agency.

--The DVE morning show mentioned www.rottenneighbor.com, a website to "locate, rate, and share good and bad neighbors before and after you move."

--Cecil from Cecil sent over the 2008 video of the Stephen A. Smith sock-puppet hecklers at the NBA Draft.

--Vote for Pierogis N'at's Big Snack, a.k.a. Contestant 9, in an ESPN Radio 1250 search for on-air talent.

--Bob Smizik makes the case that Tampa Bay's turaround gives the Pirates hope. I think of the Rays kind of like the Penguins: a team blessed with so many high draft picks that they are just overloaded with young talent. Sorry, but the Pirates aren't in that boat yet.

--Any thoughts on the respective Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts jackpots from the Lightning?

Much more to follow later today

Let The Impulse Buying Commence!

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:36:40 -0500

The Tampa Bay Lightning have kicked off free agency with a bang by signing now former Pittsburgh Penguins left wingers Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts to new contracts. The Malone deal $31.5 million over 7 years, is sure to raise a few eyebrows. However, the new Lightning owners were actually very shrewd in the way they structured it. There are some though who believe these deals will have a bigger impact on the Lightning roster down the line.

BREAKING NEWS: Rolston's Rights Traded To Tampa

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 22:28:01 -0500

Write it down, the Tampa Bay Lightning will be the 2008-2009 Southwest Division champions and will make a serious run at the cup. After acquiring the rights to negotiate with Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts from Pittsburgh, the Lightning went out and acquired the rights to another All-Star caliber player. Brian Rolston former captain of the Minnesota Wild will also be on his way to south Florida. If the Lightning can swing a deal with Rolston, they will be a virtual lock for not only their division but potentially the conference championship after signing Malone to a 7-year deal and Roberts to a 2-year. The trade was for a conditional draft pick. It's gotta be the mullet. I swear, Barry Melrose is a magical man. As a Wild fan, this is truly frustrating. It finally started to feel as if the team had something going and now they lose one of it's most important leaders and most dynamic scorers of the past few seasons.

Malone signs 7-year deal with Lightning

Sun, 29 Jun 2008 20:30:31 -0500

The Tampa Bay Lightning made the first big splash of the offseason, finalizing a 7-year, 31.5 million dollar deal with former Penguin Ryan Malone.

WHO WILL THE MAPLE LEAFS SIGN?

Sat, 28 Jun 2008 03:45:43 -0500

by Mike Jack, Staff Writer

General Manager, Cliff Fletcher has accumulated quite the pile of money by relinquishing the likes of Darcy Tucker, Andrew Raycroft, Hal Gill, Chad Kilger, Kyle Wellwood and Wade Belak. Captain, Mats Sundin, Dominic Moore and John Pohl are unrestricted free agent that may not sign back with the team. The only restricted free agent from the Leafs is Matt Stajan. He's been given a qualifying offer by the Leafs which will apparently go to arbitration if he doesn't sign an offer sheet with another team. I think Stajan is too much of a Leafs fan to sign with another team though.

With the NHL free agent signing period just three days away (July 1^st), it could be a wild free agent season for the rebuilding Toronto Maple Leafs. If the Leafs choose not to go for their own unrestricted free agents, they'll have about $18 million in cap space available to sign younger unrestricted free agents with their only real roster needs being three forwards and a back-up goalie.

So, with $18 million to spend, here are the top five players the Leafs should offer a contract to on July 1^st:

5. Jeff Finger, Defenseman

The Leafs may need a defensive defenseman on their second defensive pairing. Hal Gill was suppose to be that guy last year, but a younger defensive player like Finger or Brooks Orpik will do them one better. They'll definitely need another defenseman or two if they decide to trade Pavel Kubina this summer or if they send McCabe to the minors. If they make either of those moves, they may use the cap space they'll save to get a younger offensive defenseman as well.

4. Wade Dubielewicz, Goaltender

With the buying out of Andrew Raycroft and farmhand, Scott Clemmenson becoming an unrestricted free agent, the Leafs need a back-up for Vesa Toskala. Some may say they should give Justin Pogge a shot, but Justin Pogge definitely needs to learn how to be a consistent AHL goalie before he sees any time in the NHL. Pogge was Clemmenson's back-up for most of the Marlies play-off run. Unlike Raycroft, Dubielewicz know his role as a back-up. He prepares himself as such by training himself to be ready to save his team when his starter goes down. When Toskala was hurt last season and the Leafs needed Raycroft to step up, they went on a huge losing streak. Dubie may not have had a lot of wins last season, buy his .919 save percentage speaks for itself. Other younger back-ups the Leafs may go for should include Alex Auld and Curtis Sanford. Any of these goalies could be signed for less than half of what Raycroft was making.

3. Patrick Rissmiller, Winger

Rissmiller is a tough third line player that has played under coach, Ron Wilson. He along with newly acquired Jamal Mayers could help fill the gap in grit left by the absence of Tucker, Kilger and Belak. If they don't get Rissmiller, then maybe they could go for Matt Cooke.

2. Kristian Huselius, Winger

During this free agent season, the major thing the Leafs need is a super-star forward in their 20's - maybe even two or three if they decide to trade Jason Blake. Huselius may not be a super-star yet, but he is the second best younger unrestricted forward available. He had 25 goal and 66 points 2007-08, and 34 goals and 77 points in 2008-09. If he were on the Leafs, he'd probably see a lot of time on their top line. Other younger forwards that the Leafs may go for are Radim Vrbata, Ryan Malone, Niklas Hagman, Jason Williams, Josef Vasicek, Antti Miettinen and Pascal Dupuis.

1. Marian Hossa, Winger

Hossa is the younger super-star the Leafs need to get if they don't sign Sundin. Though Hossa had one of his worst regular seasons last year, he proved he can perform in the play-offs by finishing third in play-off scoring. Hossa has the potential to score 100 points this season and he's remained healthy virtually his entire career. Hossa is also eight years younger than Sundin. Sundin is apparently looking for $7 million next season, and Hossa is looking for slightly more. What kind of drama would this add to the battle of Ontario? Hossa was once a star on the Ottawa Senators before getting traded in the Dany Heatley deal.

Penguins Limp Towards Free Agency

Fri, 27 Jun 2008 21:55:28 -0500

With just a few days to go before the July 1st opening of the free agency market, the Penguins have so far failed to complete any of their post-season priorities. It was no secret that the Penguins wanted to lock up a long-term deal with Marian Hossa, re-sign Brooks Orpik, and tender a trade prior to the draft to acquire a first round pick. To help with the challenges, the Penguins filed for salary arbitration with Marc-Andre Fleury to buy some time on his contract talks to focus on getting the other deals done. So far, the Penguins have nothing to show for their efforts aside from some public rejections from the players involved.

2008 NHL Free Agency Explosion

Wed, 25 Jun 2008 22:57:34 -0500

Why wait until July 1st? Read now where Marian Hossa, Brian Campbell, Jaromir Jagr, Mats Sundin, Ryan Malone, Sean Avery and all the other big free agents are going to sign when free agency kicks off in less than a week.

Atlantic Division 2008 Free Agency Preview

Thu, 19 Jun 2008 21:20:39 -0500

What will the New Jersey Devils, New York Islanders, New York Rangers, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins be up to come July 1st? Will the Flyers be able to keep their young talent? How many players will the Penguins manage to keep in tow? Who will the Rangers overpay this year? Will the Devils finally find some offense?

Draft Day Frenzy

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:49:35 -0500

The 2008 entry draft is two days away. At this point too many things are happening to believe no trades will take place. Here are some final rumours.

Pittsburgh Penguins Offseason Outlook

Sat, 14 Jun 2008 15:51:15 -0500

A look at contract talk, rumors, who signs and who leaves.....

Penguins set for big decisions

Wed, 11 Jun 2008 10:47:28 -0500

Following their loss in the Stanley Cup finals, the Pittsburgh Penguins are faced with some key decisions as to which players they wish to keep in order to try and get back for another shot at the Cup.