The Latest Penguins Buzz

The Penguins are seven days away from the start of training camp and less than thirty days away from the drop of the puck. Inside Pittsburgh Sports gives you the latest on Jordan Staal and which defenseman could be out of the Penguins top 6.

According to a source the Penguins are not any closer to signing Jordan Staal then they were in the middle of July. Staal turned down the Penguins 4year – 13.5 million offer in July and his agent Rich Curran indicated to Ray Shero that the two sides would pick up discussions sometime during training camp. Curran believes his client is a $4 million a year player.

I’m hearing the Penguins are not willing to go that high unless Staal agrees to a longer deal and at this moment there has been no indication from Staal‚Äôs camp that he is willing to go beyond four years. When negotiations pick up in the next couple weeks the Penguins are going to be looking at a three to four year deal.

Right now I would put the percentages at less than 50% that a deal will get done during training camp and negotiations are likely to go into the regular season.

Defenseman Alex Goligoski will not be handed a roster spot in the Penguins top 6. I was talking to a source in the Penguins organization the other day and he indicated Michel Therrien will do what he can to keep Rob Scuderi in the lineup and plans on starting the season with Gonchar, Orpik, Gill, Letang, Eaton, Scuderi as his top 6.

I still don’t see where Daryl Sydor will fit in. He goes into camp as the teams #8 defenseman.

Danny Richmond is a player the front office thinks will surprise some people in camp.

The Penguins have been impressed with the development of goaltender John Curry. The Penguins feel confident going into the season with Curry as their #3 goalie and have decided against bringing in a veteran goalie via tryout/invite.

The Penguins begin their rookie camp on Tuesday. We will provide a few updates throughout the week before full-hockey coverage begins next week.