The Pens re-signed Chris Conner to a one-year, two-way contract. The dimunitive winger will make $550,000 in the NHL. Conner only played in eight regular-season games this past season, but he certainly didn’t look out place, scoring two goals.

While this move certainly isn’t the answer to the team’s first- and second-line wing conundrum, Conner is a nice guy to have around. He had 56 points in 59 games for Wilkes-Barre last year and was a capable call-up for the Pens. He’s a depth guy, plain and simple.

The Pens made two other free-agent acquisitions since the madness of July 1. Neither made a big splash, and rightfully so.

Ryan Craig and Brett Sterling both inked one-year deals that will pay them $500,000 at the NHL level. Both players, however, will most likely spend the majority of the upcoming season in Wilkes-Barre.

Craig played only 3 games with Tampa Bay last season, and Sterling has only 19 career games on his resume (all with Atlanta). Craig is more of a grinder, while Sterling has been a scoring machine in the minors. But Sterling’s size (5′7″, 175) is certainly a concern.

These were obvious organizational-depth moves. Craig has a couple of NHL seasons under his belt. I’m sure he could fill in on the fourth line if needed.

Eaton to Long Island
Farewell to Mark Eaton, who signed a two-year deal with the Islanders.

More Action?
The Pens may be in the market for a center, as I suggested in an earlier post. My guesses were off, however. The team is apparently looking at Rob Niedermayer to fill a void that would be left by either Jordan Staal or Evgeni Malkin. The Pens are thinking (wisely) about moving one of the two to wing this season. Niedermayer would be a great addition for the right price.

I’ve read a lot of touching eulogies for the late Bob Probert, who passed away at the ridiculously young age of 45 Monday. Probert was, without a doubt, one of the toughest SOBs to ever play in the NHL. He was also, according to a plethora of accounts, one of the nicest guys off the ice.

Probert played for Detroit from 1985-1994 and for Chicago from 1995-2002. Most of his fights were brutal beatdowns. You can see for yourself online, where seemingly every one of his brawls is available.

Probert was a one-of-a-kind player the likes of which the NHL will probably never see again. He was the most feared enforcer in the league for the duration of his career, but he was also talented enough to play a regular shift. In fact, Probert had one of the most amazing statistical seasons in the history of the game. In 1997-98 with the Red Wings, he scored 29 goals…and had 398 penalty minutes. Mark my words, you will never see a 350+ penalty minute, 25-goal player in a single season again.

I’ll leave you with this all-time classic throwdown between Probert and Vancouver’s Craig Coxe.

Welcome to Pittsburgh, Mr. Michalek. (source: Yardbarker)

Yesterday was crazy. Today, not so much. With 24 hours to digest the happenings of Thursday, let’s take another look at what the Pens did. The team clearly wanted to re-sign Sergei Gonchar and sign free agent Dan Hamhuis, who had already cost them a 2011 draft pick. Once it became obvious that neither player was willing to ink a deal before noon, the Pens and GM Ray Shero quickly shited to Plan B.

So, instead of Gonchar and Hamhuis, the Pens got Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek. All four defensemen were in the top five available via free agency. Martin is a top-notch blueliner who won’t provide as much offense as Gonchar but will be better defensively. Michalek is a defensive defensemen – think Rob Scuderi, only better and right handed.

The Pens completely overhaul their defense, giving them one of the best units in the entire NHL. Their offense, on the other hand, is in the same position it was last week. The team will surely lose Alex Ponikarovsky and Ruslan Fedotenko. It’s looking like Bill Guerin won’t return.

Where does that leave us? Well, Sidney Crosby still has Chris Kunitz. Evgeni Malkin will probably get stuck with Max Talbot (not necessarily a bad thing). Pascal Dupuis will surely skate on one of the top two lines. The third and fourth lines remain the same. Unless the Pens use their remaining $2 million left under the cap to sign someone at a bargain-basement price, guys like Eric Tangradi, Chris Conner and/or Nick Johnson will have to step up and be ready to play in the big leagues next year.

Let’s take a quick look at what some of the Pens’ Eastern Conference rivals did yesterday.

Well, it didn’t take the Pens long to find a replacement for Sergei Gonchar. Former New Jersey defenseman Paul Martin just inked a five-year, $25 million deal to play in Pittsburgh. Wow. I’m stunned – not so much that the Pens were able to land Michalek and Martin, but by how quickly they did so. Martin was the best offensive defenseman available not named Sergei and will undoubtedly QB the Pens power play for the foreseeable future.

Before last year, when he only played 22 games due to injury, Martin averaged over 30 points a game in his first five years in the league with New Jersey. Keep in mind he played for the offensively challenged Devils. He was a +45 over that span. This guy was a lock to make the U.S. Olympic team before he broke his arm.

What a day! The Pens have completely revamped their blueline in a matter of hours. Michalek and Martin will join Kris Letang, Brooks Orpik and Alex Goligoski next season. How does this lineup look:

Martin-Michalek
Letang-Orpik
Goligoski-Lovejoy (Engelland)

I love what the Pens have done so far. Sure, it would be nice to sign an offensive-minded winger to play alongside either Sid or Geno, but the team has upgraded its defense big-time. No offense to Mark Eaton or Jordan Leopold, neither will not be back next season, but this should be one of the better units in the league.

Things are happening fast! Pens have signed former Coyote blueliner Zbynek Michalek (try typing that one quickly) to a four-year, $20 million deal. As I said in an earlier post, he’s basically Anton Volchenkov-light, and that’s meant as a compliment. Michalek’s very solid defensively and a good shot-blocker. He’s played at least 72 games the past five seasons, and he’s also put up respectable numbers for a defense-first guy (3-14=17, +5 last year).

A lot of people might not know Michalek, but that’s because he’s been playing in Phoenix. Trust me, the Pens’ defense is much stronger today because of this free-agent acquisition. This should prove to be a good deal for the short and long term.

Just found out the bad news: Sergei Gonchar has signed with the Ottawa Senators. It’s a three-year deal worth $16.5 million ($5.5 per). Like Rob Scuderi last off-season, there was just no way the Pens could afford to keep Gonchar. This deal is one year too many at a minimum; you could argue that it’s also worth too much cash per year. While the Pens will sorely miss Gonchar’s offensive skills (particularly his power-play ability), it was a good move to let him leave if he was insistent on that kind of deal. I guess I held out hope he’d give the Pens a discount, but no such luck. Thanks for the memories, #55.

Does this pave the way for Dan Hamhuis? I wouldn’t bet on it. Stay tuned.

After the Pens do what they’re going to do on defense, let’s suppose they have enough room under the cap to pursue a winger. A big if, I know, but let’s suppose for the sake of this post. As I said in a previous post, there aren’t many options out there due mainly to salary-cap concerns. But let’s take a look at a couple of available wingers that I think the Pens should at least consider.

• Lee Stempniak scored 28 goals with Toronto and Phoenix last year. Not bad. The American-born right wing has shown an ability to put the puck in the net (27 goals for St. Louis in ‘06-‘07).
• Colby Armstrong scored 37 goals in two full seasons with Atlanta. He’s gritty. He’s good friends with Crosby. He’s well-liked by the fans.
• If, as I’ve been hearing/reading the past couple days, the Pens decide to play one of the “Big 3″ at wing this upcoming season, there will be a hole to fill at center. Eric Belanger or Matt Cullen would both be perfect as third-line centers. Belanger had 15 goals and 41 points for Minnesota and Washington last year, and plays a solid defensive game. Cullen can just about do it all – plus he’s a good face-off guy and has a Cup ring.
• Or the Pens can play it safe and bring back Bill Guerin…and hope that he can withstand the rigors of another regular season. I like Guerin, and I know he’s a good team guy/leader, but he started to show his age in the playoffs last year.