Breaking down the Paul Martin, Zbynek Michalek signings

 GM Ray Shero's primary goal this off-season was to add two impact defensemen as the Penguins went into free agency with the mindset that they were willing to spend up to $9 million in an attempt to revamp their blueline.

After striking out on trying to re-sign Sergei Gonchar or reaching a deal with Dan Hamhuis, Shero made an early splash just hours into free agency.

The Penguins first struck a deal with defenseman Zbynek Michalek to a 5 year contract worth $20 million that includes a limited no trade clause.

The contract runs through the 2014-15 season, and has an average annual value of $4 million dollars over the term of the contract.

Michalek was a primary target of the Penguins once free agency opened up at 12:00 p.m. today and the first player they called, Pens GM Ray Shero later said.

Michalek, 27, has played six NHL seasons, the last five with the Phoenix Coyotes, totaling 27 goals, 88 assists and 115 points in 415 games. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound blueliner led the NHL in blocked shots in 2008-09 with 271.

Michalek posted 17 points (3G-14A) in 72 games for the Coyotes in 2009-10. He added two assists in seven postseason games for Phoenix.

Michalek is a player the Penguins believe can play a shutdown type role and log 23-25 minutes per game. He does not play a physical game by any means but has great defensive-zone instincts and is an avid shot blocker.

Offensively, the Penguins also tabbed him as a good fit in their up-tempo system due to Michalek's ability in the tranisition game. Never going to be a player that puts up 30+ points but moves the puck up very well which is something head coach Dan Bylsma values highly.

After striking out on Hamhuis and Gonchar and facing uncertainty on whether they could lock up Paul Martin, Pittsburgh had to pay market value to sign Michalek who receives a salary jump from $1.5 million to $4 million per season.

Michalek is an upgrade over Mark Eaton and Jordan Leopold but $4 million a season is a steep price to pay.

One executive i spoke with loved the signing of Michalek when it came to what the Penguins lacked but believed the Penguins over-paid and if they could do things over, would have found a way to keep Rob Scuderi in the mix last summer.

However, anyone connected with the Penguins I spoke with this afternoon raved about Michalek's upside and believe he still hasn't peaked as a player. The Penguins believe they won big with this signing.

The Penguins biggest splash of the day came about an hour later, when the team signed defenseman Paul Martin to a 5 year deal worth $25 million. Martin's contract runs through the 2014-15 season, and has an average annual value of $5 million dollars over the term of the contract.

Martin, 29, upgrades the Penguins defensive unit immediately. He was regarded as the top two-way defenseman of a strong free agent class and is among the most under-rated defensemen in the game. Martin was New Jersey's Sergei Gonchar in the kind of impact he has on games.