Malone officially signs with Tampa Bay

Ryan Malone officially signed with the Lightning for 31.5 million over seven years. He will make $6 million next season.

For what it's worth, Rick Nash of Columbus, Henrik Zetterberg of Detroit, Marian Gaborik of Minnesota, Alex Kovalev of Montreal, Daniel Alfredsson of Ottawa and Mike Richards of Philadelphia all made less than that in 2007-08.

Also, Malone's father, Greg Malone, the former Penguins player and scout, joined the Lightning as a scout.

With the signing now official, the Penguins will get a third-round pick from the Lightning in the 2009 draft instead of a fourth rounder.

Roberts signs with Tampa Bay

Gary Roberts officially signed with the Lightning. He will make a base salary of $1.2 million and will get $10,000 for every game he plays. The deal is potentially worth $2 million.

Tampa Bay also officially signed forward Vaclav Prospal. The Lightning acquired his rights from the Flyers June 18 in exchange for a seventh-round pick in the 2008 draft and a fourth-rounder in 2009.

Malone moves on

Ryan Malone, we hardly knew you.

The Upper St. Clair native came to the Penguins known mostly for being the son of former Penguins forward Greg Malone. He leaves as arguably the team's best power forward since Kevin Stevens or Rick Tocchet in the early 1990s.

Ryan Malone debuted with the Penguins as a player in 2003-04. He was arguably the brightest spot on that dreadful team as he lead with 22 goals. After he had a tour of Europe during the lockout, Malone again registered 22 goals with a Penguins team in 2005-06 that was almost as inept despite the fact it dipped into the free agency pool and loaded up on all-stars.

The 2006-07 season may have been the roughest part of Malone's career. He suffered a broken forearm in a fight early in the season in a fight with Blue Jackets defenseman Rostislav Klesla. After missing 18 games, Malone's production dipped a bit and he was dogged by rumors that the Penguins would deal him due to his inconsistent play or even his alleged poor attitude.

This past season, Malone put it all together. Injuries riddled the Penguins' roster and necessity forced the formation of the "Steel City Line" (What a lame name.). Malone was the perfect complement of ruggedness to Petr Sykora's scoring ability and Evgeni Malkin's ability to do whatever he wanted with the puck. As the Penguins fielded a roster full of AHL-caliber talent while the likes of Sidney Crosby, Maxime Talbot and Gary Roberts nursed injuries, the Malkin-Malone-Sykora line carried the team along with Ty Conklin.

During that time, Malone found his niche as a power forward in the mold of Dave Andreychuk setting up shop in front of the net absorbing abuse. He combined that ability with a willingness to kill penalties as well as drop the gloves. Malone did all the dirty little things a first-line player might otherwise shy away from.

Perhaps Malone's greatest contribution to Penguins and Pittsburgh is that he gave Pittsburghers with NHL aspirations hope. Granted, he had the advantage of being the son of a NHL player and scout, but he showed that players born and partially trained in Pittsburgh, could reach the NHL.

Malone grew up a lot in 2007-08. Whether he was motivated by the fact he was playing for a contract or other factors such as family, Ryan Malone finally showed he was more than just potential and that he wasn't just Greg Malone's son. Now that he has a fat contract from the Lightning, it will be interesting to see if his fire will still be there.

UPDATE: TSN is reporting that Malone and Gary Roberts are now "officially" members of the Lightning. Additionally, the report says Malone's father was hired by the Lightning as its head pro scout.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Look for that Jarkko Ruutu-Sidney Crosby-Tyler Kennedy line next season.

-Will the Penguins look outside the organization to get a winger?

Atlantic Division

-The Flyers signed defenseman Steve Eminger. He is expected to take puppy-drowning classes immediately.

-Don't expect the Islanders to go after too many big-name free agents.

-Could the Devils go after Penguins forward Marian Hossa?

 Southeast Division

-Despite having his negotiating rights dealt to Tampa Bay, Wild forward Brian Rolston is still intent on becoming a free agent Tuesday.

-Lightning owner and former Penguin Len Barrie says his team isn't done signing players. Amazingly enough, Barrie and his group, OK Hockey, don't officially own the Lightning quite yet.

-Illegal Curve examines if Ryan Malone is really worth all the money Tampa Bay is throwing at him.

-Greg Wyshynski says the deal really isn't all that appalling.

Pacific Division

-The Kings traded defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky to the Oilers for forward Jarret Stoll and defenseman Matt Greene.

-The Ducks want to hang on to Corey Perry.

-Don't expect the Stars to go after too many free agents.

 Northwest Division

-The Avalanche reached deals with defensemen Adam Foote and John-Michael Liles. Should Foote sign, the Blue Jackets would acquire a fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft from the Avalanche. Columbus gains the pick due to a condition in a trade deadline deal between the two teams for Foote.

Malone's agent: "It's going to get done."

According to Damian Cristodero of the St. Petersburg Times, Mike Liut, the agent for former Penguins forward said a deal between his client and the Tampa Bay Lightning "is going to get done. ... I think we'll finish it today."

The report estimates the deal will be worth $31 million over seven years. That would be just under $4.5 million per season. If you ask us, that's way too much for a player who has had a career-high of just 51 points and did so while riding shotgun with a Hart Trophy finalist in Evgeni Malkin. When Malkin's play slipped in the Stanley Cup final, Malone's production did too. He only had one assist in the six games against Detroit.

Obviously Malone does more than just score goals. He kills penalties and is more than willing to drop the gloves. But let's not act like this is a jack of all trades type of player at the level of Henrik Zetterberg or Jarome Iginla.

He's had one good season. Judging by this earlier post by Cristodero, it sounds like Oren Koules and Len Barrie, the Lightning's new owners, have fallen in love with Malone and are willing to overpay for a player who has been inconsistent the majority of his career. This deal has "Dustin Penner" written all over it.

Additionally, Malone is 28. Assuming the speculation of a seven-year deal is correct, he'll be 35 by the time it expires. Will he still be the same physcial player he was this past season by the end of it? Power forwards aren't exactly renown for having a long shelf life. Just ask Todd Bertuzzi.

The scary thing about this deal is wondering what a franchise player like Marian Hossa is worth now.

Also according to the report, an incentive-laden deal appears to be in the works for Gary Roberts for $2 million.

Should Malone sign with Tampa Bay, the Penguins would get third-round pick in the 2009 draft instead of a fourth-rounder after dealing the negotiating rights of Malone and Roberts to the Lightning Saturday.

Update: The agent for Gary Roberts says he is very optimistic a deal could get done with the Lightning.

Update two: Both deals appear to be "as good as done."

Update three: They're apparently determined to corner the market on 50-point scorers in Tampa Bay. The Lightning just acquired the negotiating rights of forward Brian Rolston from the Minnesota Wild for a conditional draft pick. Rolston is a lot more consistent than Malone however. He has had three consecutive 30-goal seasons which is a fairly impressive accomplishment considering he played for the defensive-minded Wild during that time.

The salary cap giveth but also taketh away

How ironic that the same thing that saved the Penguins as a competitive franchise is now forcing Ray Shero to disassemble a Stanley Cup finalist?

Remember the early part of this decade when the Penguins were forced to part with stars such as Jaromir Jagr, Alex Kovalev, Martin Straka, Robert Lang and Darius Kasparaitis? They reaped the likes of Ross Lupaschuk, Richard Lintner, Martin Strbak, Rick Berry and other borderline NHL-caliber players in deals involving those players.

There was one reason those moves were made. The Penguins couldn't afford to match the offers those players would get from teams with seemingly unlimited financial resources like the Stars, Rangers or Flyers. There was no salary cap to level the ice. The NHL was very much like Major League Baseball in that there were two distinct classes of franchises.

Then came the lockout. As dark and empty as that time was for hockey fans, it might've been the best thing to happen to the sport. It forced the NHL and NHLPA to institute a salary cap. It put the Sabres, Oilers and Penguins on the same ice as the Maple Leafs, Avalanche and Red Wings. Because of the cap, the Penguins were able to become competitive again by bringing on the likes of Petr Sykora, Sergei Gonchar, Gary Roberts and Marian Hossa through free agency and trades. (Getting to draft guys like Sidney Crosby, Marc-Andre Fleury and Evgeni Malkin probably helped too.) Without the cap, Ryan Malone and Brooks Orpik probably would've been dealt to someone like the Red Wings for draft picks or prospects at the trade deadline. (Sound familiar Pirates fans?) Instead, the cap allowed them to play Detroit for the Stanley Cup.

But now, the cap is taking some pieces out of the puzzle. It's the reason Hossa and Malone will probably be wearing different uniforms next season. It's the reason over half the Penguins' roster will potentially be different next season.

And that's a good thing. Were it not for the salary cap, we're watching Crosby, Fleury and Malkin walk to the Rangers or Maple Leafs after six or seven seasons simply because of money. The Penguins would become like the Pirates and essentially operate as a glorified farm team for franchises with deeper pockets. It would be an endless cycle of drafting high, developing prospects and eventually dealing them to the Red Wings and Flyers for prospects or draft picks.

You might be feeling down seeing some of your favorite players leave town this way, but you should realize this is happening for reasons that are beneficial for teams like the Penguins. It's just a little bit ironic as well.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Dave Molinari examines the deal that sent Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts to Tampa Bay a little bit more.

-Ron Cook says the Penguins' free agents have every right to get paid.

 Atlantic Division

-Rangers forward and former Penguin Jaromir Jagr still doesn't know where he'll play next season.

-Former Islanders goaltender Wade Dubielewicz, who always seems to give the Penguins trouble, will play in the Continental Hockey League in Russia next season.

Northeast Division

-The Sabres are looking for a physical, hard-hitting defenseman. Hmmm... Wonder where they could get one of those?

Southeast Division

-Eric Duhatschek points out the Lightning's new owners were the driving force behind the Malone/Roberts deal.

-Gary Roberts' agent said his client isn't against the possibility of playing in Tampa Bay next season.

-The Lightning is so eager to sell top overall draft pick Steve Stamkos to its fan base, it forgot he was a right-handed shot.

Rights to Malone, Roberts dealt to Tampa Bay

 The Penguins dealt the negotiating rights of Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts to Tampa Bay earlier today. In return, the Penguins get a conditional draft pick.  Should Malone sign with the Lightning, the Penguins would get a third rounder. If he doesn't sign, they get a fourth rounder.

We like the move. It's making the best out of a less than stellar situation. The Penguins were definitely going to lose Roberts and probably Malone on Tuesday. Why not get something tangible out of it?

Logo-Gate - The saga continues

Based on a lot of the feedback we've gotten, many of you aren't happy about the new logo for Empty Netters. We're not crazy about it either. It wasn't our choice. Someone in a much higher tax bracket than us made that call. As a few of your pointed out, it looks like the old Hockey Night In Canada logo:

We cringe everytime we open up EN and see this bland souless thing staring at us. We really do. This is our own version of the Sabres' "Buffaslug" logo:

You can e-mail pgnow@post-gazette.com to make your feelings known as well. And you can e-mail us (srorabaugh@post-gazette.com) and get directed to a specific editor who is in charge of making that decision.

Never forget.

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice has a list of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins opponents for next season.

 Atlantic Division

-The Flyers signed forward Jeff Carter to a three-year contract.

 Northeast Division

-The Maple Leafs bought out goaltender Andrew Raycroft.

 Southeast Division

-The Panthers bought out forward Jozef Stumpel.

 Central Division

-The Blue Jackets waived defenseman Duvie Westcott.

-Blues draft pick Alex Pietrangelo is a pretty down-to-earth kind of guy.

 Pacific Division

-The Ducks put forward Todd Bertuzzi on waivers.

-The Stars signed forward Loui Eriksson to a two-year deal.

 Northwest Division

-The Flames re-signed forwards Craig Conroy, Daymond Langkow, Eric Nystrom and goaltender Curtis McElhinney.

 Smythe Division

-The AHL will experiment with one-minute penalties in overtime for the 2008-09 season on behalf of the NHL.

-The NHL still doesn't know how to choose owners.

How to comment

A few of you have e-mailed inquiring on how to comment with the new format for Empty Netters.

You need to register with our site in order to do that. Click here to register.

It's fairly easy and harmless. All you have to do is give us your social security number, bank account numbers, blood type, times you home is vacant and a list of your personal fears and insecurities.

Feel free to e-mail us with any other comments concerning issues with the new format such as the controversial new logo (Quite a few of you don't like it based on the e-mails we've gotten.) or anything else.

A real gamer

Brooks Oprik turned down an offer by the Penguins yesterday. His agent mentioned that the two sides are still talking however.

Assuming Orpik reaches some sort of long-term deal with the team and assuming he stays healthy during the duration of that deal, he's not that far away from owning a fairly distinct place in Penguins history.

As it stands right now, Orpik has played 297 games in his Penguins career. That ranks 15^th all-time on the team's list among defenseman. That's 324 games less than Ron Stackhouse who is first on that list. In other words, Orpik is just under four complete seasons from overtaking Stackhouse:

Ulf Samuelsson, easily the most celebrated physical blueliner in the franchise's history, is 16^th on this list with 277 games.

As a defensive player, there aren't a lot of ways to quantify what you've accomplished through statistics. Aside from blocked shots, there really isn't a definitive defensive statistic. Hit totals are inconsistent and plus/minus can be misleading.

The above list tells two things about Orpik:

1.) He's been fairly durable for playing such a physical style of play. Other than a sitting out a handful of games for some hand, shoulder and foot injuries, Orpik hasn't missed much time.

2.) He's played well enough to merit that time. Granted, he "competed" against the likes of Josef Melicar, Ric Jackman and Steve Poapst during parts of his career for a spot in the lineup, but the bottom line is he dressed.

So what is Brooks Orpik worth? We can't say. All it takes is one general manager to go into Kevin Lowe mode and set the mark with some absurd offer. But regardless of where Brooks Oprik plays next season, you know you'll be getting a player who at the very least will show up.

That and give out some free candy:

EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Marian Hossa is among a group of investors trying to purchase the Portland Winter Hawks, a junior team in the Western Hockey League.

 Atlantic Division

-The agent for Rangers forward and former Penguin Martin Straka denied a report his client signed with a team in the Czech Republic.

-The Islanders are expected to buy out forward Shawn Bates.

-Devils defenseman Bryce Salvador would like a no-trade clause in his next contract.

-The Flyers are working on deals with restricted free agent forwards Jeff Carter, Riley Cote and defenseman Randy Jones.

 Northeast Division

-Recent drafts by the Montreal Canadiens have had a rather American feel to them as of late.

-After realizing old injury-prone players like Mats Sundin and Darcy Tucker aren't the answer, the Maple Leafs might go after some young, spry healthy bodies like Curtis Joseph and Gary Roberts.

 Southeast Division

-The Panthers signed a two-year deal with forward Gregory Campbell.

-The Lightning struck down rumors defenseman Dan Boyle would be moved.

 Pacific Division

-Ducks defenseman Scott Niedermayer officially announced he would return next season. With is return, the Ducks do have some salary cap issues.

-The Stars extended qualifying offers to forwards Loui Eriksson, B.J. Crombeen, Vojtech Polak, Konstantin Pushkarev, Francis Wathier and defenseman Vadim Khomitski.

-Stars forward and former Penguin Stu Barnes declined to comment on a rumor he would retire and become an assistant coach with Dallas.

Northwest Division

-The Flames put defensemen Anders Eriksson, Rhett Warrener and forward Marcus Nilson on waivers.

-Avalanche goaltender Jose Theodore will test free agency.

 Norris Division

-The league's salary will be set at $56.7 million for the 2008-09 season. The "low" cap will be $40.7 million.

-Georges James Malik of Mlive.com says the owners are to blame for the cap jumping nearly $17 since it was instituted in 2005.

We bet Aleksey Morozov has "Night Fever" on his iPod

We guarantee you this is the best video of former Penguins forward Aleksey Morozov introducing Robin Gibb of the Bee Gees at a Russian music awards show you'll see all day:

 Morozov, along with Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk and Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin was on hand at the Muz-TV Awards show to present Gibb with an award that apparently combined the virtues of Russians capable of 50-goal seasons and iconic disco tunes.

 (Kudos to Greg Wyshynski for the find.)

 BLOODY BUCHBERGER BACK IN THE NHL

The Oilers named former goon Kelly Buchberger an assistant coach. He served as coach of the Springfield Falcons, Edmonton's AHL affiliate, last season.

One of the few highlights of the Penguins wretched 2003-04 season was Buchberger who was one of the Penguins "big" free agent signings that season. It wasn't so much for anything Buchberger did himself but more for things he had done to him. Mostly, how he got the tar beat out of him on most nights as the Penguins' enforcer/punching bag that season. Unofficially he went 2-11-2 that season according to Hockeyfights.com.

 One of Buchberger's beat downs came at the hands of Detroit's Darren McCarty that season:

 EMPTY NETTER ASSISTS

Penguins

-Brooks Orpik's brother Andrew Orpik, a Sabres prospect, hinted that his brother could be interested in signing with Buffalo.

-Do you want Marian Hossa to stay in Pittsburgh? Check out Please Stay Hossa.

-Gary Roberts is really cutting his ties to the Pittsburgh area. Not only is he leaving the Penguins, but apparently he's had this side gig as a bank president in Hermitage all this time and he's quitting that too.

No word yet if Roberts plan on giving up on his nursery:

(Kudos to EN Reader Julie Pacheo who spotted this near Vero Beach, Fla.)

-Faceoff-Factor scored an interview with Penguins draft pick Nick D'Agostino.

 Atlantic Division

-The Devils extended qualifying offers to forwards David Clarkson, Rod Pelley, Petr Vrana, Ivan Khomutov and defenseman Olli Malmivaara.

-The Islanders extended qualifying offers to forwards Sean Bergenheim, Jeremy Colliton, Frans Nielsen, Jeff Tambellini, Ben Walter along and defenseman Bruno Gervais.

-Rangers third-round draft pick Evgeny Grachev says he wants to be like Evgeni Malkin.

 Northeast Division

-The Canadiens extended qualifying offers to forwards forwards Mikhail Grabovski, Andrei Kostitsyn and Corey Locke, defencemen Josh Gorges and Ryan O'Byrne and goaltender Jaroslav Halak.

-The Sabres extended qualifying offers to forwards Steve Bernier, Paul Gaustad, Clarke MacArthur, Mark Mancari and Daniel Paille.

 Southeast Division

-The Lightning and forward Vincent Lecavalier are apparently working on a nine-year, $77 million contract extension. That's rougly $8.5 million a year. If Vincent Lecavalier is worth that, what is Sidney Crosby or Evgeni Malkin's value?

-Lightning goaltender Marc Denis cleared waivers and was bought out.

-Tampa Bay hired player agent and former Minnesota North Stars forward Brian Lawton as vice president of hockey operations. Lawton was the first U.S. player selected No. 1 overall in the draft when Minnesota chose him in 1983.

-The Lightning extended qualifying offers to forward Ryan Craig and defensemen Jay Rosehill and Justin Fletcher.

-Let the semi-annual Jozef Stumpel to Pittsburgh rumors begin. The Panthers put the forward on waivers.

-Florida extended qualifying offers to defensemen Jay Bouwmeester, Martin Lojek and forwards Gregory Campbell, Drew Larman, Stefan Meyer, Rostislav Olesz and Anthony Stewart.

-The Panthers might be the most dysfunctional organization in the NHL. An executive with the team actually sent e-mails out to season ticket holders defending the decision to trade captain Olli Jokinen by claiming he played ''with little heart or passion'' and showed "no leadership or improvement." The Panthers' CEO then said the e-mail was unacceptable.

-The Hurricanes tendered qualifying offers to forwards Chad LaRose and defenseman Dennis Seidenberg.

-The rehab of Hurricanes captain Rod Brind'Amour is progressing smoothly.

-Carolina might have some trouble buying out defenseman David Tanabe.

 Central Division

-The Predators don't plan on being active with free agents.

 Pacific Division

-The Sharks signed forwards Jeremy Roenick, Joe Pavelski and goaltender Brian Boucher.

-The Ducks signed forward Brian Sutherby to a one-year deal. They also extended qualifying offers to forwards Corey Perry, Drew Miller, Geoff Platt, Jason King and former Penguins prospect Stephen Dixon.

-An official with the Ducks wrote on the team's official blog that defenseman Scott Neidermayer will be coming back next season. (Kudos to Eric McErlain with the find.)

-The Senators traded goon Brian McGratton to the Coyotes for a fifth-round pick in the 2009 draft.

-New Coyotes forward Olli Jokinen will make life easy for prospect Kyle Turris.

-The Kings extended qualifying offers to goaltender Erik Ersberg, forwards Gabe Gauthier, Matt Moulson (a former Penguins prospect), Patrick O'Sullivan, Brad Richardson, defensemen Peter Harrold and Joe Piskula. 

 Northwest Division

-The Canucks claimed former Maple Leafs forward Kyle Wellwood off waivers.

-It doesn't look like forward Andrew Brunette will return to the Avalanche.