That's why Maxime Talbot, a six-year veteran with the Penguins, was a bit surprised that one of the first phone calls he got when he became an unrestricted free agent July 1 came from Flyers general manager Paul Holmgren.

"The Flyers called and I stopped for a second," Talbot told NHL.com, "and I'm like, is this something I could do? And I said yes.

"The first step for me this summer was to realize that I was not going to be back with the Pens," he said. "That was obviously tough. It was a hard thing, because I had been there six good years. But when that was set aside, I wanted to make the best decision for Max Talbot -- the best organization that gave me the chance to win, an organization that treats its players well and takes pride in winning and doing the right things."

"We created something down there," Talbot said of Pittsburgh. "It's the love. It's more about being a fan favorite down there and starting my own foundation down there, making an effort to build a brand, something special with the fans, the fan mail, trying to respond through websites. It was something I took pride in. It was a special situation for me in Pittsburgh. But what stops me from building something like that here? Changes are tough, but changes are life. It's not for the worst sometimes; it can be for good or better."