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Friday, 01 July 2011 01:30

Written by Seth Rorabaugh

Penguins

-Note: We'll have a live blog running throughout the day once the free agency festivities officially begin at noon. Please tune in.

-Hey, remember Tyler Kennedy (above)?

-“I assume he’s going to make his decision before noon (today).” - Ray Shero on you know who. (PG+)

-There is an interesting photo gallery on the Penguins' Web site of you know who.

-Update: Originally, the photos were labeled as "Jaromir Jagr signs with the Penguins." Someone appeared to catch the gaffe overnight and re-labled the photos generically as "Jaromir Jagr." Here is a screen grab of what it looked like before the edit.

-Thinking Out Loud: If you ask us, something tells us the Penguins' Web publishers  want to have some content ready just in case he does sign. Newspapers have pre-written obituaries ready to publish right away if an older celebrity dies. The Penguins Web site probably just wants to be prepared. Allowing the photos to be available to the public was probably a technical error.

-Mike Rupp is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent as of noon today. (PG+)

-"We just fell in love with the city. It's a great place to play, and I'm excited that I get to play another year here." - Arron Asham his family and re-signing with the Penguins.

-Happy 44th birthday to former Penguins forward Mike Eastwood. A free agent signing in the 2003 offseason, Eastwood spent one season with the Penguins. In 2003-04, he appeared in all 82 of the team's games and recorded 19 points. He retired in 2004.

Atlantic Division

-Flyers president Peter Luukko shot down speculation that his team would attempt to sign restricted free agent Lightning forward Steven Stamkos.

Northeast Division

-The Sabres signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Christian Ehrhoff (right) to a mammoth 10-year $40 million contract. Ehrhoff, 28, appeared in 79 games last season with the Canucks and scored 50 points (14 goals, 36 assists). Vancouver dealt his signing rights to the Islanders Tuesday who then dealt them to the Sabres Thursday.

-Thinking Out Loud: This deal is very front-loaded. Ehrhoff will make $18 million in the first two years of the contract. Given the fiasco with the illegal front-loaded contract between the Devils and Ilya Kovalchuk last season, we have to imagine that the NHL will review Ehrhoff's contract before it's official. As far as Ehrhoff goes as a player, he helps boost the offensive presence on the blue line. He's a solid skater with great offensive skills. He's not exactly Rod Langway on defense however.

-Ehrhoff turned down a six-year, $33 million offer from the Islanders.

-The Bruins will not re-sign unrestricted free agent defenseman Shane Hnidy (right).

-Toronto re-signed restricted forward Jay Rosehill to a one-year contract worth $600,000.

-The Maple Leafs re-signed restricted free agent goaltender Ben Scrivens to a one-year two-way contract.

Southeast Division

-The Hurricanes re-signed forward Jussi Jokinen to a three-year contract worth a total of $9 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $3 million. In 70 games last season Jokinen scored 52 points (19 goals, 33 assists).

-EN Says: Jokinen is a legit top-six winger capable of being a 20-goal threat. And he's a beast in the shootout. Paying him $3 million is more than fair.

-"I probably could have gone to July 1 or July 2 and maybe there would have been some pretty big offers out there. But it's never been about the money for me. It wasn't two years ago, it wasn't this time and it won't be after three years." - Jokinen.

-The Capitals bought out defenseman Tyler Sloan.

-Expect the Panthers to be active today.

-Todd Diamond, the agent for unrestricted free agent Lightning forward Sean Bergenheim (right), doesn't expect his client to re-sign with the team.

Central Division

-The Blackhawks signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Steve Montador to a four-year contract worth a total of $11 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $2.75 million. In 73 games last season with the Sabres, he had 26 points (five goals, 21 assists). His signing rights were acquired in a trade Wednesday.

-EN Says: Solid signing. After losing Brian Campbell in a trade, the Blackhawks need to pad their depth on the blue line. Montador is an ideal No. 5 or 6 defenseman who brings toughness.

-The Blackhawks did not extend a qualifying offer to forward Jake Dowell.

-The Red Wings re-signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Jonathan Ericsson (right) to a three-year contract worth a total of $9.75 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $3.25. In 74 games last season, he had 15 points (three goals, 12 points).

-EN Says: Ericsson is coming off a down year, but given his playoff experience and the lean free agent market, he could have pulled in more money as of noon today. The Red Wings got a decent deal for a top-four defenseman who will have a bigger role with Brian Rafalski retiring.

-Unrestricted free agent Red Wings forward Mike Modano said he will test free agency before making a decision on retirement.

-The Blues signed restricted free agent forward T.J. Oshie to a one-year contract worth $2.35 million. In 49 games last season, Oshie scored 34 points (12 goals, 22 assists).

-EN Says: Oshie has a pretty electrifying skill set when he's healthy. But injuries have staggered his development a bit. If he can stay healthy, he's a steal at $2.35 million.

-The Blue Jackets placed defenseman Mike Commodore (right) on waivers.

-Columbus signed restricted free agent forward Mike Blunden to a one-year two-way contract.

-The Blue Jackets did not extend qualifying offers to defensemen Anton Stralman and Sami Lepisto, Michael Ratchuk, forwards Tomas Kana, Petr Kalus and goaltender Gustav Wesslau.

-“These guys have received qualifying offers, and they’re going to be treated as restricted free agents from our standpoint.” - Predators general manager David Poile on forwards Sergei Kostitsyn, Nick Spaling, Matt Halischuk, Cal O’Reilly, Linus Klasen, Andreas Thuresson and Chris Mueller. The NHLPA filed a grievance claiming the team did not properly file their qualifying offers.

-The Predators will not re-sign unrestricted free agent defenseman Shane O'Brien (right).

-Nashville bought out forward J.P. Dumont.

Northwest Division

-The Avalanche re-signed restricted free agent defenseman Ryan O'Byrne to a two-year deal worth $3.6 million. He will have a salary cap hit of $1.8 million. In 67 games last season, he had three assists.

-EN Says: At 6-foot-5, 234 pounds, O'Byrne's game is defense. He doesn't provide a lot offensively, but is solid in his own end. He's a puck magnet as he team-leading 126 blocked shots. This is a good deal for someone who cleans up his own end.

-Colorado will retire the No. 21 of former forward Peter Forsberg (right) at the Pepsi Center Oct. 8 against the rival Red Wings.

-The Wild put defenseman Cam Barker on unconditional waivers with the hopes of buying out his contract.

-Minnesota hired former Penguins defenseman Darryl Sydor as an assistant coach. Sydor served as an assistant under new Wild head coach Mike Yeo last season with Minnesota's AHL affiliate in Houston.

-The Oilers bought out defenseman Sheldon Souray.

-Former Penguins assistant coach Troy Ward was hired as head coach of the Abbotsford Heat, the Flames' AHL affiliate.

-Mark Donnelly, who handles the Canadian national anthem at Canucks games, started his career with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Pacific Division

-This Ryan Smyth trade just won't die. The Kings claim forward Colin Fraser (right), the player they acquired from the Oilers in a deal which sent Smyth to Edmonton, is damaged goods due to a foot ailment.

-The Oilers claim they were up front with the Kings about the injury.

-Today is a good day to be unrestricted free agent forward Brad Richards.

-The Sharks re-signed restricted free agent forwards Jamie McGinn and Frazer McLaren to one-year deals. McGinn will have cap hit of $600,000. Financial terms on McLaren's contract were not released.

-Ducks forward Teemu Selanne (right) underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

-After dealing away Ilya Bryzgalov, the Coyotes will be looking for a goaltender starting today.

Norris Division

-Former Avalanche defenseman Derek Peltier has joined the Iserlohn Roosters of the DEL in Germany. He attended the Penguins' training camp last season on a tryout basis.

-Former Lightning/Capitals forward Ben Clymer announced his retirement. He spent last season with ERC Ingolstadt of the DEL in Germany.

(Photos: Kennedy-Jim McIsaac/Getty Images; Jagr-Post-Gazette archives; Ehrhoff-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Hnidy-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Bergenheim-Justin K. Aller/Getty Images; Ericsson-Gregory Shamus/Getty Images; Commodore and O'Brien-Rick Stewart/Getty Images; Forsberg-Kevin Frayer/Associated Press; Fraser-Jamie Sabau/Getty Images; Selanne)

Comments (4)

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written by GenoSid, July 01, 2011 - 09:06 AM

Why would any team other than Pittsburgh want Jagr?

If everything he said is true...if the reasons for his return are pure...he WILL sign in Pittsburgh.

If those are just lies to get more money from another team...why would that team want to see a guy who is clearly just here for the paycheck?

Shero was so smart to offer the least money in order to smoke Jagr out...

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written by BlackOPs, July 01, 2011 - 10:22 AM

Seth,

You mean newspapers ready for any contingency. "Jaromir Jagr eaten by wolves today, he was delicious." Kinda like Dana Carvey on SNL.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkhwiuRbOEE

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written by bastage42, July 01, 2011 - 11:31 AM

He's not quite Axl Rose, but anyone shocked to see that this Jagr thing has descended into drama has certainly forgotten who he is.

When he's scoring 100+ points, it's a lot more enticing to sign him IMO ... high maintenance brings high rewards .... however, when he's almost 40 and still bringing that kind of drama to the game and the business, I'd rather see them overpay TK and Max.

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written by Boom Shaka, July 01, 2011 - 11:56 AM

Happy days! It's over. Can't wait to see all the undeserved yinzer rage that will fly Jagr's way.

On to free agency!

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