The next few days should be full of Penguins news as tonight is draft night, and we are only days away from the July 1 free agent deadline. Jaromir Jagr currently dominates Penguins news as he is talking to the Wings, Penguins, and a "mystery" team about a return to the NHL. It appears as if the Penguins have interest, but are being conservative, as they should with the money and term they would consider for a 39 year old winger. I believe that up to 2.5M and one year if it brings Jagr back is a no brainer for the Penguins. He does not necessarily fit the Penguins system of play as well as he does that of the Wings, BUT he clearly would be a huge factor on that thing that happens when you get one extra guy due to the fuck up(s) of a player on the other team....what do they call that thing? Oh yeah, a Power Play! We score so rarely on those I forgot what it was called! Jagr is a tailor made power play monster who would be much more of a threat from the half wall than anybody currently on the roster. That is no small item, as I do believe the Penguins are playing in round two with any sort of power play threat at all this season, and probably would have had the number one seed in the conference with a power play of any repute. Besides the Jagr situation, the Kennedy situation will be a key in determining other moves the Flightless Birds may make. TK is coming off a career year with 21 goals, but is asking for more money and term than the Penguins believe he is worth. On a team with few wingers who can score with regularity, and in a year with few scoring wingers out there, TK has some leverage. On the other hand, as the Flyers showed yesterday, bolder moves can be made to upgrade your roster. I have NO prediction here. The other player(s) that intrigue me the most for the Penguins include Mike Rupp, whose size, grit and willingness to drop the gloves while playing regular minutes make him a must have in my opinion. He is playing tougher with money than the Penguins thought, but I think the Penguins need Rupp in a post Godard era. Finally, I really hope the Penguins can come to terms with Duper. He has fit in on all 4 lines, is a great PK guy, and has flirted with twenty goals each of the past two seasons for the Penguins. A dark horse that I never thought would be there is Talbot who suddenly seems willing to stay for the same kind of money on a longer term, BUT I am not a fan of what he adds to the Penguins that they do not currently possess in spades. I am in the minority, but I like what a healthy Asham brings to the Pens as evidenced in the playoffs, but he seems to be a plan B if not a plan C option for them right now. The cap going up about 5M gives the Pens more options, but before you dance in the streets about that, remember, it does the same for everyone else! Happy Summer, I am on vacation, but I will check in as Penguins news demands until camp opens in September!