Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Penguins Free Agents this summer

I have compiled a list of Penguins free agents this summer for your review, and would welcome any feedback as to who should be back and who should not:

Brent Johnson who was 6-7-2 with a 3.11 GAA and .883 save percentage- salary was 600K
Steve Sullivan who had 17G and 48Pts and -3 in 79 games...big on the #5 power-1.5M- UFA
Eric Tangradi who had 0G and 3Pts and -2 in 24 games-845K- RFA
Arron Asham who had 5G and 16Pts and -5 in 64 games-775K- UFA
Steve MacIntyre who had 0G and 0Pts and even in 12 games-600K- UFA
Richard Park who had 7G and 14 Pts and -1 in 54 games-550K-UFA
Matt Niskanen who had 4G and 21 Pts and +9 in 75 games-1.5M-RFA
Brian Strait who had 0G and 1 Pts and -2 in 9 games-861K-RFA

Robert Bortuzzo RFA-535K*
Carl Sneep-RFA-850K*
Alexandre Picard-RFA-600K*

For me, out of this group, the Penguins should see about bringing Steve Sullivan back. I was not a fan of the signing based on the injury history, but Sully played in 79 games, and chipped in 17 goals and 48 points.  He was also a big factor in taking a sagging power play last year, and helping it to be the #5 PP in the league at 19.9%.

I also like the idea of signing RFA Matt Niskanen.  Niskanen was a steady young player on the Penguins blue line, and chipped in 21 points offensively, and was a plus 9.  If he can be retained at 2.5M, he could possibly step up into a role hopefully vacated by Paul Martin.  If the Pens can move Martin and bring in a better top 4, Nisky is a solid third pairing guy at worst, with top 4 potential.  He is a former 1st round pick.

Arron Asham should come back as well.  Arron played in 64 games, and adds some toughness and sandpaper that is in short supply on this team.

I like the idea of signing Strait, Bortuzzo and Sneep as well.  All three are bigger players who are "stay at home" types that most say are NHL ready, especially Strait and Bortuzzo.  There might be too much of a backup on the blue line for that to happen.

Tangradi is interesting to me.  He had only 2 points in 24 games in the NHL, but was scoring at a good clip in the AHL.  He has good size and can play with an edge.  Could be a good 3rd or 4th liner, but cash may get in the way given his lack of production at the NHL level.  He played a solid checking role in the playoffs, but is no lock to be back.

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