Penguins
-According to Michael Russo of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, free agent Ruslan Fedotenko will make a decision on his future today. The Wild is one team he is considering.
-"I'm really sad to leave." - Former Penguins defenseman (that's sobering to type) Rob Scuderi (right) on his decision to join the Kings.
-"We tried to create a winning culture in Pittsburgh, and I've seen how
fast things can turn around for a team. I'm hoping I can be one of the
players who helps create that type of culture here." - Scuderi on trying to turn the Kings into a winner.
-"We were trying to avoid what happened last year with Orpik. It was the
exact same situation. With Orpik last year, we knew what Pittsburgh
offered, and we made our offer but the (current team) is always going
to get the last chance, and they got him. In this case, we found out
what Pittsburgh was offered and we knew we just had to blow them out of
the water. When you're talking about offers, it's not just the money.
It's cost of living in L.A. and it's taxes. If you're offering $500,000
more, it's really not that much when you look at everything. So we knew
we had to blow Pittsburgh out of the water, but we wanted this guy. He
has a ring and there are no questions at all about his character." - Kings general manager Dean Lombardi on signing Scuderi.
-"It's strange. You win the Cup, you win the ultimate team prize, and 2
1/2 weeks later there's already a couple of guys missing from it." - Scuderi on himself and a few other players leaving the Penguins.
-Sidney Crosby, Jordan Staal and Marc-Andre Fleury are all going camping.
-Bill Guerin will spend his day with the Stanley Cup on Long Island.
-Hopefully, 5-foot-11 Maxime Talbot avoided this situation.
Atlantic Division
-The Islanders signed former Flyers goaltender Scott Monroe, former Bruins forward Jeremy Reich and former Sharks defenseman Kevin Westgarth.
-The Devils have signed forward Ilkka Pikkarainen, a former draft pick who has played the past three seasons in Finland.
-In 2006, Flyers owner Ed Snider vowed never again to trade away prospects or draft picks for veterans. So why did his team do exactly the opposite of that in the Chris Pronger (right) trade? A seemingly obligatory "Pronger will help beat the Penguins" note is included.
Northeast Division
-New Canadiens forwards Brian Gionta and Scott Gomez are more than familiar with each other.
-Montreal re-signed forward Mike Glumac, defenseman Alex Henry and signed former Sabres forward Mathieu Darche to two-way one-year contracts.
-With Dany Heatley holding out for a $4 million bonus that kicked in July 1, Senators general manager Bryan Murray notified the world that the price tag for Heatley in a potential trade has gone up.
-Does anyone even want Heatley at this point?
-New Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek (right) isn't all that bothered by the prospect of his former fans in Montreal booing him.
Southeast Division
-"Great job." - A text message from Thrashers forward Ilya Kovalchuk to general manager Don Waddell in reaction to the team signing forward Nik Antropov.
-The Panthers signed former Blue Jackets defenseman Clay Wilson to a two-year deal.
Central Division
-"I had no problem giving up security for a chance to win." - Forward John Madden on why he signed with the Blackhawks for only one year.
-The Blue Jackets are still talking to captain Rick Nash (right) about a long-term contract extension.
-Red Wings general manager Ken Holland is not optimistic he'll be able to keep former Penguins forward Mikael Samuelsson.
Northwest Division
-The Flames signed former Sharks forward Riley Armstrong - brother of former Penguins forward Colby Armstrong - and former Coyotes forward Garth Murray.
Pacific Division
-The signing of defenseman Karlis Skrastins likely means the Stars will not bring back former Penguins defenseman Darryl Sydor (cough, cough).
-The Kings re-signed forward Kevin Westgarth to a three-year deal.
-The Coyotes signed former Panthers forward Stefan Meyer to a one-year deal.
(Photo: Scuderi-Paul Sancya/Associated Press; Pronger-Harry How/Getty Images; Komisarek-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Nash-Dilip Vishwanat)
Posted
Jul 03 2009, 03:05 AM
by
Seth Rorabaugh