Penguins/NHL
Nothing on the front burner for the Penguins. Significant interest in McKee league wide, PIT, NSH, CHI, Buf in strong pursuit.
Sergei Zubov is weighing a number of options. St. Louis, Anaheim, Vancouver, New York Rangers among teams expressing interest.
Defenseman Shane Hnidy who I mentioned was a target of the Penguins is now off the market. Michael Russo reports Hnidy signed a one year deal worth $750,000 (two-way contract). Pittsburgh made an offer to Hnidy two summers ago in free agency.
The Penguins have signed Ruslan Fedotenko to a one year deal worth $1.8 million per season. Fedotenko is believed to have turned down a number of two and three year offers. Pittsburgh, LA, Minnesota were the three finalists. Pittsburgh remains in hot pursuit of Jay McKee and Nick Boynton
Ten minutes until the Penguins hold a press conference and just exchanged text messages with Ruslan Fedotenko’s camp and they indicated at this minute “PITT option is still under consideration” .
A source characterizes the Penguins inquiring about Kovalev as “exploratory” if they were to miss out on Fedotenko. Believes exploring the possibility came from ownership, more than the front office. Pittsburgh doesn’t believe they have enough cap space to lure him here.
A source close to Fedotenko tells me as of 12:55 p.m., a deal is not finalized yet with PIT. Negotiations on-going. Will keep you updated
The Vancouver Canucks have announced that they have signed forward Mikael Samuelsson.
A source with Fedotenko’s camp just texted me, “still considering Pitt Option”. Also confirmed there will be a decision within the next 40-50 minutes.
Penguins General Manager Ray Shero will hold a press conference at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon.
Michael Russo first reported last night that a deal between the Wild and Saku Koivu is going south. That has opened the door for the Rangers and Devils who both made a strong push for the talented center on Thursday. Rangers are offering three years, Devils are believed to be offering four. Anaheim is the 4th team in the mix.
Alexei Kovalev has not been offered a contract by the Kings and their efforts are currently with Alex Tanguay and Ruslan Fedotenko. As we mentioned at the draft, they also remain in talks with the Av’s.
Bill Guerin will be bringing the Stanley Cup to Long Island. “All my kids, friends are there, he told the Republican. “It’s their time to celebrate.”
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Nate Guenin to a (1 year deal) two-way contract. Guenin, 26, (6-2, 210 lbs) is a Sewickley, Pennsylvania native and appeared in one game for the Flyers last season. Guenin was selected 127th overall by the New York Rangers in the 2002 entry draft. Guenin was one of the top players to come out of the area in the past 10 years. He is a Pittsburgh Hornets Alum .
Not exactly breaking news but Kings defenseman Jack Johnson remains on the trade block. A penguins source tells me he is being shopped to all 29 teams around the league.
Ruslan Fedotenko is weighing five offers including the Penguins, Wild and Kings. Have the Penguins increased their offer? TIOPS has the latest
Sources close to Ruslan Fedotneko’s camp have confirmed Fedotenko is considering offers from Pittsburgh, Minnesota, and the Los Angeles Kings, two others. Pittsburgh is believed to have increased their offer to around $2.5 million per season over 2 years. Fedotenko has four — three year offers on the table, two of which are from LA and Minnesota.
