NHL week 3 - Pens still on the move...sign LeClair

[Baclava]

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PITTSBURGH (AP) -- High-scoring forward John LeClair, let go by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first wave of NHL salary dumping last month, signed Monday with Pittsburgh -- the Penguins' fifth major player addition in slightly more than two weeks.

LeClair adds another established scorer to a radically reshaped team that finished last in the overall 2003-04 standings but now has the look of a playoff team after acquiring defenseman Sergei Gonchar, forward Ziggy Palffy, goaltender Jocelyn Thibault and drafting top prospect Sidney Crosby. The team also signed another former Flyers star, Mark Recchi, before the labor dispute shut down the 2004-05 season.

[Ryano42]

1. WOWZA!

A real team in the Igloo!!!! :)

Is Mario going to play???

[Baclava]

3. Mario will love the new style play...you betcha he's going to skate

Wow! Didn't see that move coming...

[Village Idiot]

2. Shades of 1991-92!!!

Looks like Mario may finally get some of his money back!!!

[The Gunslinger]

4. Awesome

The Pens are back.

[Ryano42]

5. MMMMMM

Frosty Cold Avatar! :9

[rkc3]

6. Another article, same subject.

www.post-gazette.com/pg/05227/554369.stm

[Ravenseye]

7. I was unsure about this

I went to my wife and I said "Honey I don't know how I feel about this signing. He was with the flyers for so long ya know?" and she said "He's a good player. I'd rather he play for us than against us. I ain't proud."

[getmeouttahere]

8. Wow, sure looks like everyone's jumping the gun here...

Mario isn't quite the player he was in 91-92, his supporting cast back then included younger versions of Ron Francis and Jaromir Jagr, and who's to say that this free agent stockpile will gel any better than any of these Ranger teams of recent years did? This definitely makes the Pens much better than before, but who knows what this league is going to look like. I'm still not convinced that acquiring a lot of free agents is the way to win in hockey.

[Telly Savalas]

9. If I were a Pens fan I'd be happy.

Even if all the signings don't work out, at least it's clear the management actually gives a shit again. At worst, they should have a decent team. I'd be surprised if they don't make the playoffs given the roster they've assembled thus far.

Mario is still a valuable asset to the team in as much as he can mentor the younger players like Crosby. This could arguably make him worth $2 million for this year even if he never played a game.

By the way, the Habs signed Koivu:

http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story.asp?ID=133578&hubName=nhl

This is good to see. I'm a fairly new resident of Leaf Nation, so my ire is directed at the Sens and Devils, rather than the Habs. It'd be good to see an old school organization like Montreal see some success (so long as it doesn't come at the expense of the Blue and White of course.)

[getmeouttahere]

12. I hear ya, Telly!

I think the Pens will make the playoffs, and you're right about one thing...Mario will mentor Crosby, after all, he went through the same thing that Crosby will be going through...

Koivu is an asset, on and off the ice. One thing the Habs won't have to worry about is whether they will gel, they have basically the same team, and adding Dandenault is a nice move by Gainey. I feel much the same way about the Leafs as you do about the Habs...I want them to do well, but not at the Habs expense.

[Baclava]

10. "This definitely makes the Pens much better than before..."

That's the whole point, eh?

I might have to drop some green this year...

"Get the 2004-05 season of NHL® CENTER ICE® for 4 payments of $32.25. That's a $30 savings off the regular-season price"

I wonder if the price is the same?

[getmeouttahere]

11. I hear it will be the same or close....

Gotta have it!

[Telly Savalas]

13. Carter to Vangroovy, Cujo to Phoenix, Mogilny to NJ

As of the time of this post, all 3 stories on TSN Hockey's frontpage: http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/main.asp

Anson Carter's deal with the Canucks is supposed to be 1 year 1 million. I'm pretty pissed the Leafs couldn't get him with a similar offer. He would have rounded out our team pretty well and is actually from here. Instead the rumour mill suggests we're negotiating with a 42 year old Steve Thomas. :sigh:

Mogilny has a 2 year deal for a total of $7 million, which seems like an awful lot of money for an aging player with injury problems. He's certainly talented, but man that's an expensive gamble. I had him pegged for a Lindros/Allison style 1 year $1.5 million contract, perhaps $2 million.

It's also good to see Cujo's found a home. Details of his contract haven't been disclosed, so it's unclear whether Phoenix got a deal or if they're crazy.

[Ravenseye]

14. Mogilny's is the only official one

I'm surprised the Leafs didn't make a bigger play for Carter. Honestly I thought he'd end up there. For 1 million a year for him it seems like a good deal. He's got plenty of zip left for that price tag.

Mogilny I agree seems to be overpaid. He ended his last season early because he needed surgery on his arthritic hip. That's pretty major. Maybe he's better. Maybe he can regain a 30 or even 40 goal presence. 3.5 a year is steep for that though, especially as you point out given the Lindros/Allison deals. Apparently the cost for an aging player who has been injured isn't 1.5 million plus incentives. Or maybe the Devils panicked.

Cujo to Phoenix. Well the rumor mill says it's an incentive laden contract. We'll see when/if it actually happens.

[getmeouttahere]

15. A few weeks ago it seemed Mogilny was a lock...

to stay in T.O., or at least that was the rumor/report I heard. But with that much money, I don't blame the Leafs if they didn't want to even try to match that.

Steve Thomas??? That's a blast from the past!