Thanks to the work of Pittsburgh Penguins' General Manager Ray Shero on the opening day of Free Agency on Thursday, a similar scene to this article's photo could be occurring in June of one of the next few seasons. Next year's edition of the Penguins will have quite a different look, but as far as this writer is concerned, a much better look.
Going into Thursday, Ray Shero's plan by all appearances was to re-sign top defenseman and powerplay quarterback Sergei Gonchar and to sign Dan Hamhuis, whose negotiating rights were acquired from the Nashville Predators for a 3rd-round draft pick. That changed though when the Ottawa Senators signed Gonchar to a three year, $16.5 million contract with a no trade clause. The Penguins had offered him two years, $10 million to stay.
As hard as it was, letting Gonchar go was the correct move. He is not getting any younger (36) and has been injured often over the past few seasons. This is not to belittle his great contributions to the team over the past five seasons, but it was time to move on.
Next season, it may look like Ottawa made a good investment, but as for the next two seasons, all bets are off. As for D ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Mitchell Sell
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