Free Agency Period Looming

There has been much fanfare tied to this offseason with regard to the Pens......at first, it appeared that Gonchars refusal to come down from a 3 year 5M per year plus contract meant he was as good as gone......yet, here we are one day before free agency and the Pens are still negotiating with Gonch. I understand that the Pens have offered and thus far remained firm on 2 years at 9.5M total. And Gonchar has not said yes, but he has not said no either. In addition, the Pens moved a third rounder to Philadelphia for the rights to Dan Hamhuis, a very good defensive defenseman, with a little bit of offensive talent. He would look nice in a Pens uniform. The problem is that he has not even decided if he will negotiate with the Pens prior to testing free agency. He will look for 4M per year or slightly more, and if he and Gonch both sign, there is little left in the way of cap space to bring in a quality winger to upgrade our top 6 scoring. By the way, Scuderi (whom we could not afford), signed for 3.4M per year, and likely would have taken a bit less to remain a Penguin......just saying!

I recognize what Gonchar does when he is healthy for the power play, I truly do. But, he has not been healthy much the past two seasons, his defensive zone play has lapsed at times, and looked old and soft in this years post season. At 36, I am not sure if he is worth what his cap hit will do to the rest of the team. For the limits signing Gonch would put on the rest of the team, you better get 65 games from Gonch at least, and a power play clicking at 20%. In my opinion, put the 4M to 4.25M per year into Hamhuis for 5 years, and go HARD after Zbynek Michalek a 27 year old defenseman from Phoenix who is 6'2" and 210 pounds. He plays a good stay at home game, but can bring some offense to the table as well. He is a Scuds with a little more O. His cap hit last year was 1.25M, so even if you double it, you are saving big dollars that could put towards a winger like Ray Whitney, or create space for a trade to bring in a solid winger. I also like the thought of looking at Henrik Tallinder a 6'3" 214 lb stay at home defenseman who can skate and be physical at times. Or even Paul Mara a 6'4" 212 lb stay at home defenseman. I like the balance the team could have IF it can upgrade its defensive and physical capabilities a bit on the blue line by adding Hamhuis and Michalek, or Hamhuis and Tallinder, or Michalek and Tallinder PLUS a top 6 winger for the top two lines. The power play needs to change, and Gonchar s departure MAY force the coaching staff and Geno/Sid to make the corrections that everyone sees as necessary. Letang, Goligoski, Hamhuis, Orpik, Michalek are a very solid top 5 in terms of defense.......you can add in an inexpensive veteran and Lovejoy or Engelland to make this a good defensive corps. An additional winger who can score is still a priority despite the Pens finishing in the top 5 in scoring last year. Kunitz is injury prone, and Guerin is still unsigned AND a year older. If the Pens can also drop Godard in favor of Aron Assham, it would give them enough toughness, but upgrade what the bottom sox forwards can contribute as well. I like 4 solid lines with toughness and upgraded scoring, along with a balanced blue line, with more size and stay at home flair, but good skating capabilities. If this allows for them to retain Eaton as well, all the better. Lets create balance on this team, hope that Geno and Fleury regain form, we get a more solid defensive unit who can clear the net during the playoffs, and a power play that delivers commensurate with the talent it puts on the ice. Signing Gonchar as much as he could help for a year puts too many eggs in the basket of an aging, oft injured of late, soft defenseman.