2009 NHL free agency begins
It strikes me as funny that only three days after the draft I'm seeing posts describing today as "Hockey Christmas." I guess it's fitting. Players may get a new city to play for and fans have someone new to cheer on. So, hockey Christmas it is.
If you haven't heard by now, Scott Gomez is no longer in Pittsburgh's division. He, along with Tom Pyatt and Mike Busto were shipped out to Montreal in exchange for Chris Higgins, Ryan McDonagh, Pavel Valentenko and the rights to Doug Janik. Habs Eyes on the Prize is screaming "Bad deal," while Blueshirt Banter has high hopes that the move opens up cap space for a bigger name.
There are plenty of big names on the market this year. Some, such as Marian Hossa, return to the market once again. The latest rumor out of Detroit suggests the Red Wings offered Hossa $4-million a year as part of a 10-year deal. Yes, ten years. Something tells me he had zero interest from the release of the offer, later confirmed when he openly rejected it yesterday. Why Detroit would want to limit their Stanley Cup chances over the next decade is beyond me...
If you're keeping your eyes on things today then it's pretty likely that you'll hearor see the Penguins tossed around in a few moves. Chuck Gormley from Philadelphia's Courier Post believe the Pens may be interested in Mike Knuble. In all likelihood the Flyers will look to retain Knuble. However with a cap hit of $2.8 million last season, that may even be a bit out of Pitt's price range.
Sure, there's going to be a lot of action going on today throughout the hockey world. SBN Hockey makes it easy for you with this nifty little free agency hub. Mirtle also listed the Top 100 UFAs and provides a little cheat sheet for teams around the league.
If you see something break, feel free to chat it up here or hit up the hub for some of the latest news from around the network.
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Ah yes, “Hockey Christmas”. The day when NHL teams compete to cripple their playoff hopes and long-term salary structures by signing a free agent to a bloated albatross of a contract. I’m almost relieved that the Pens don’t have the cap space to really get involved with it. I predict that this year’s winner of the Rick DiPietro Award (given to the free agent that signs the most ludicrous, cap-crippling deal) will be Gaborik.
Re: Knuble, he might be a nice complementary piece, and at 37 he’s due for a drop in salary. He had a better season than Fedotenko, and arguably brings more to the table.
P is for Latrobe.
Khabibulin is back in Chicago….Who knows what it means for Huet
Twitter is ridiculous for updates…All you need is Kevin Allen, Wysh and Mirtle and youre set
Pensburgh.com -- it's like the Max Talbot of blogs*
*not just because we only work for 12 minutes a night
seems to be a "staying put" kind of day
Bouwmeester in Calgary, the Sedins in Vancouver.
P is for Latrobe.
Knuble’s not a defenseman.
I don’t like the idea of taking him…we already have a Mike Knuble-esque player in Chris Kunitz.
Heart, Max Talbot has it by the mile. The Pens are your 2008-2009 Stanley Cup Champions.
Fixed. I think this is also international Frank makes himself look like a jerk day. Too many typos so far. I should just go back to my mother’s basement and hole up.
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In related news:
Chicago Blackhawks lose the next twelve consecutive Stanley Cup Finals.
Before each game, please remember to feed the bats.

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