Latest Penguins Free Agency Buzz

There will be no succession plan with Jim Rutherford at least not yet as the Penguins GM has signed a three year extension.

Will Bill Guerin or Jasonn Botterill still be members of the Penguins organization three years from now?

Guerin is widely regarded in league circles as a rising GM candidate and he’s going to start getting some looks.

Jason Botterill has lost some of the GM buzz around him the last couple years that he previously had, but the Penguins winning again will start to put him in play more moving forward. While not expected to be a top target, Las Vegas is expected to interview Botterill.

Still, likely a disappointing time for both who at somepoint this season thought there might be a succession plan put in place this summer.

For Pittsburgh, the Rutherford extension is the biggest news of the day so far.

On the free agency front……

— Ben Lovejoy has signed a three year, $7.9 million deal with the New Jersey Devils. Told he left some money on the table to reunite with Ray Shero. The deal accelerated quickly after the Adam Larsson trade. Boston, Montreal were also in the mix.

— Matt Cullen has drawn interest from four teams and he’s expected to make a decision by tomorrow at the latest. Teams are chasing speed. Penguins have feared he’s heading back to Minnesota. We’ll see where things go in the next couple hours. The Cullen camp remains in regular communication with the Penguins.

— Wade Arnott who reps Justin Schultz also reps Dan [hide] Hamhuis and there were a couple discussions between the two sides in recent days to see about Hamhuis feelings of chasing a Stanley Cup on a two-three year deal. Hamhuis was open to Pittsburgh, something he wasn’t open to at the trade deadline, but is exploring more lucrative situations, likely Dallas.

Depth Organizational Signings for the Penguins Today

— Winger Tom Sestito, 1 Year (2-way)

— Defenseman David Warsofsky, 1 Year (2-way).

— Defenseman Steve Oleksy, 1 Year (2-way)

— Defenseman Stuart Percy, 1 Year (2-way)

— Defenseman Cameron Gaunce, 1 year (2-way) | 26 Years old, Left handed shooting defenseman had a career high 35 assists and 37 points in 75 games for Portland Pirates.