The Penguins don't figure to be terribly active when the NHL's free-agency signing period begins tomorrow.
If general manager Ray Shero has many more days like yesterday, he won't have any reason to be.
Shero finalized a one-year, $2 million contract with right winger Bill Guerin last night, just hours after working out a two-year deal worth $550,000 per year with fourth-line forward Craig Adams.
Both players took a pay cut. Guerin, acquired from the New York Islanders for a third-round draft choice March 4, made $4.5 million last season while Adams, picked up on waivers from Chicago the same day, earned $600,000.
Both would have become unrestricted free agents if they hadn't been re-signed by tomorrow.
Guerin wrapped up his talks with Shero during a telephone call last night. Although Shero and Guerin's agent, Bob Murray, had done most of the early negotiating, Shero and Guerin were the ones responsible for ultimately shaping the settlement.
"He was real up front and honest," Guerin said. "That's what made the whole thing work. I talked to him and we just tried to express to each other what made sense to me and what made sense to him.
"That kind of made it happen. It was like, 'Let's cut to the chase.' We went back and forth a couple of times, but it was easy. It was good dealing with Ray."
The feeling clearly was mutual.
"I think we were both realistic," Shero said. "We wanted him back and he said, 'This is where I want to play. Let's try to make it work.' "
The Penguins opted against signing Guerin, who plays on Sidney Crosby's right wing, to a contract laden with performance bonuses, although Article 50.2 of the league's labor agreement allowed them to because he is 35 or older and got a one-year deal.
While it had been assumed that Guerin would have to accept a reduction in salary to remain with the Penguins, Adams taking a pay cut was a bit of a surprise and, according to Shero, not something he particularly enjoyed doing.
"That's not easy," Shero said. "But he was understanding."
Probably because Adams understands the economics of today's NHL, where the salary-cap ceiling is expected to drop significantly in 2010-11. Getting the security of that second year helped, too.
"It was a bit of a tradeoff," Shero said.
The obvious loser in the Adams signing is center Mike Zigomanis, since both work on the fourth line. It's highly unlikely that the Penguins will keep both.
Shero continues to negotiate with winger Ruslan Fedotenko, who was effective on Evgeni Malkin's left side during the playoffs. He made $2,250,000 last season on a one-year contract, and is seeking a longer deal.
Rob Scuderi, who teamed with Hal Gill on the Penguins' shutdown defense pairing, is expected to explore the free-agent market before giving the Penguins the option to counter, if not match, the offer he deems most attractive.
He has made it clear that he prefers to remain with the Penguins, but it remains to be seen if that will be viable. They already have a little more than $51.1 million in salaries committed to 17 players for 2009-10, when the salary cap ceiling will be $56.8 million.
If Scuderi doesn't return, it could enhance the chances of Gill, who also will be unrestricted tomorrow, rejoining the Penguins.
"I think it's obvious to everyone that they can't bring both Scuderi and Hal back," said agent Peter Fish, who represents Gill. "They would like to bring Hal back. They're doing some serious number-crunching there."
He added that the Penguins "expect that we'll test the market and see what happens."
Another of Fish's clients, goalie John Curry, appears to be penciled in as Marc-Andre Fleury's backup for next season, although he will qualify for restricted free agency if not signed today. There is less urgency to get something done with him, because the Penguins can match any offer he would receive.
"There's no doubt in my mind that they really like John Curry," Fish said. "We feel, as agents, that John has done just about everything he needs to do at the minor league level.
"What little he did play at the NHL level this year, he showed he's more than capable of being an NHL goalie and helping as part of the tandem with Fleury."
The Penguins retained Curry's rights by making him a qualifying offer before yesterday's deadline.
They did likewise with defenseman Ben Lovejoy and winger Tim Wallace, but allowed goalie David Brown to become an unrestricted free agent.
If general manager Ray Shero has many more days like yesterday, he won't have any reason to be.
Shero finalized a one-year, $2 million contract with right winger Bill Guerin last night, just hours after working out a two-year deal worth $550,000 per year with fourth-line forward Craig Adams.
Both players took a pay cut. Guerin, acquired from the New York Islanders for a third-round draft choice March 4, made $4.5 million last season while Adams, picked up on waivers from Chicago the same day, earned $600,000.
Both would have become unrestricted free agents if they hadn't been re-signed by tomorrow.
Guerin wrapped up his talks with Shero during a telephone call last night. Although Shero and Guerin's agent, Bob Murray, had done most of the early negotiating, Shero and Guerin were the ones responsible for ultimately shaping the settlement.
"He was real up front and honest," Guerin said. "That's what made the whole thing work. I talked to him and we just tried to express to each other what made sense to me and what made sense to him.
"That kind of made it happen. It was like, 'Let's cut to the chase.' We went back and forth a couple of times, but it was easy. It was good dealing with Ray."
The feeling clearly was mutual.
"I think we were both realistic," Shero said. "We wanted him back and he said, 'This is where I want to play. Let's try to make it work.' "
The Penguins opted against signing Guerin, who plays on Sidney Crosby's right wing, to a contract laden with performance bonuses, although Article 50.2 of the league's labor agreement allowed them to because he is 35 or older and got a one-year deal.
While it had been assumed that Guerin would have to accept a reduction in salary to remain with the Penguins, Adams taking a pay cut was a bit of a surprise and, according to Shero, not something he particularly enjoyed doing.
"That's not easy," Shero said. "But he was understanding."
Probably because Adams understands the economics of today's NHL, where the salary-cap ceiling is expected to drop significantly in 2010-11. Getting the security of that second year helped, too.
"It was a bit of a tradeoff," Shero said.
The obvious loser in the Adams signing is center Mike Zigomanis, since both work on the fourth line. It's highly unlikely that the Penguins will keep both.
Shero continues to negotiate with winger Ruslan Fedotenko, who was effective on Evgeni Malkin's left side during the playoffs. He made $2,250,000 last season on a one-year contract, and is seeking a longer deal.
Rob Scuderi, who teamed with Hal Gill on the Penguins' shutdown defense pairing, is expected to explore the free-agent market before giving the Penguins the option to counter, if not match, the offer he deems most attractive.
He has made it clear that he prefers to remain with the Penguins, but it remains to be seen if that will be viable. They already have a little more than $51.1 million in salaries committed to 17 players for 2009-10, when the salary cap ceiling will be $56.8 million.
If Scuderi doesn't return, it could enhance the chances of Gill, who also will be unrestricted tomorrow, rejoining the Penguins.
"I think it's obvious to everyone that they can't bring both Scuderi and Hal back," said agent Peter Fish, who represents Gill. "They would like to bring Hal back. They're doing some serious number-crunching there."
He added that the Penguins "expect that we'll test the market and see what happens."
Another of Fish's clients, goalie John Curry, appears to be penciled in as Marc-Andre Fleury's backup for next season, although he will qualify for restricted free agency if not signed today. There is less urgency to get something done with him, because the Penguins can match any offer he would receive.
"There's no doubt in my mind that they really like John Curry," Fish said. "We feel, as agents, that John has done just about everything he needs to do at the minor league level.
"What little he did play at the NHL level this year, he showed he's more than capable of being an NHL goalie and helping as part of the tandem with Fleury."
The Penguins retained Curry's rights by making him a qualifying offer before yesterday's deadline.
They did likewise with defenseman Ben Lovejoy and winger Tim Wallace, but allowed goalie David Brown to become an unrestricted free agent.
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