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Mike Adams | National Hockey League

Jul 10, 01:56 PM | Hype this story!

As promised the other day, today we take our first hack at answering your burning questions. Most of this week’s submissions concerned the Penguins, but please don’t hesitate to ask anything and everything hockey-related. And you can even throw in some non-hockey stuff if you like, as someone did this week.

Now, onward and upward to this week’s submissions…

Do you fill that [Janne] Pesonen will have a big impact for the Pens this year?—Gary

The moderator of this…oops, I promised I would never say that…I don’t know. How’s that for a definitive answer! Our first one out of the box, and it gets an “I don’t know.” Can you tell I’m a meteorologist by trade? But seriously, I’m not sure anybody on this side of the pond is really qualified to answer this question, seeing as most have never seen the guy play. He could be Fabian Brunnstrom. Or he could be Libor Pivko. Needless to say, the Pens saw something they liked in him, and that means something. But then again, the Ducks, badly in need of wingers after losing Dustin Penner last year, didn’t like him enough to bring him over. I think all we can say at this point is that he will be given every opportunity to play a top 6 role in camp. But if you pin me down, my guess is no, he is more likely to be a role player

Do you think the Penguins will try and make a move by the trade deadline next season to get Colby Armstrong back in the Penguins uniform? Reason being he is a fan favorite and in my opinion they did not want to lose him in the first place. But, Atlanta was adamant that in order to trade Hossa they got Armstrong.—Mark

First off, let me state that Colby Armstrong was never a favorite of this fan. I mean, I liked the guy and all, and he sure could cut a mean commercial. And he was great in the room and best buds with the captain, and that counts for something. But as a hockey player, he was nothing special. Yeah, he laid out the occasional big hit. Scored an occasional goal. But he was all-too-often quite invisible on the ice. Recall that this invisibility led to benching early last season. On the ice, he’s a dime-a-dozen type of player. I never got the feeling that Ray Shero was enamored with him, and I see no reason why he’s try to bring Armstrong back.

Do you think signing Hossa to a one year deal may hurt Detroit in re-signing Free Agent Zetterberg next summer? Considering another year of salary inflation and Hossa driving up the market cost on proven goal scorers. Also, Johan Franzen will be an unrestricted FA next year and should be in line for a Malone type salary (4-5 Mil/yr). As we found out with Malone, good power forwards are hard to come by. Any ideas on any other good < 30 yr old UFA who will be on the open market next year? I can only think of Martin Havlat, the two Sedins and Erik Cole. Could be a thin group of free Agents, especially if the few available sign contract extensions.--Bill

Ashley Gallant responds:

Hey Bill,

Re-signing Henrik Zetterberg should be a no-brainer – just give him what he wants.

(Then again, maybe he wants to skip town after losing the Stanley Cup next season and sign a contract with Atlanta. You never know…Atlanta could be the next Tampa Bay.)

Assuming Zetterberg wants to return to Detroit, Holland needs to be there with his arms wide open, ready to kiss his cheeks European-style if that’s what Hank wants. If Zetterberg wants $10M and a bag of PEEPS, then that’s what Holland needs to give him.

Although Z may very well deserve a big, fat contract next summer, there’s reason to believe that he will not get it.

Exhibit A: Nicklas Lidstrom. Lidstrom’s $7.45M contract makes him the highest paid player on the team. In fact, Holland promised Nick that he’d remain the highest paid player on the team. When Hossa came calling and demanded more than $7.45M, Holland said that he would have to call Lidstrom and see if it was okay. However, Hossa was willing to take a pay cut and accept a $7.4M contract. If Hossa has this much respect for Lidstrom after being on the ‘enemy’ team, it’s possible that Nick’s Swedish buddy may not even ASK for more than $7.45M.

(I wonder if there’s a loophole in the Lidstrom agreement. For instance, maybe Z could make $7M/yr in the first year, and then $8M/yr for the next 5 years. His cap hit would be more than Lidstrom’s, but he would be making less money than Nick in Z’s first year – which happens to be Lidstrom’s last year – therefore the promise would not technically be broken.)

Exhibit B: Pavel Datsyuk. Z and Pav are pretty much comparable in terms of importance to the team. Datsyuk’s contract is for $6.7M. It would seem a little silly to have two players of equal importance having very different contracts – like if Crosby’s contract was for $10M/year and Malkin’s was for $7M/year.

Given A and B, I would expect Zetterberg’s new contract from Detroit (assuming he’s willing to stick around and try to win more Stanley Cups…‘try’ being the operative word) will be somewhere between Datsyuk and Lidstrom’s deals.

I also get the feeling that Z wants to stay in Detroit and would take a cut in pay to do so, which is why Holland should not have a problem.

Now that Z is taken care of, let’s talk about Franzen.

Honestly, I see the Hossa signing this year as icing on the cake, so if Holland is willing to eat icing-less cake, then there should be no problem in re-signing Franzen for $4-5M. Consider this: the current cap hit for Hossa, Zetterberg and Franzen is about $11M. Give Hossa back to Atlanta, and you can redistribute the money so that Z gets $7M and Franz gets $4M. If the cap goes up, say, $2M then you can give half to one and half to the other. Or, even if the cap stays put, the Red Wings could get that extra money from their current pot because they are under the cap by about $4M.

In any case, Detroit should be able to keep Franzen and Zetterberg if they are not looking to replace Hossa next summer.

As for the UFA class of 2009, the pickings may be more than just the Sedins, Havlat and Cole. Sure, there are the old geezers (aka ‘aging veterans’) who just want to win a Cup for once in their lives. There are a few young defensemen, like Mike Komisarek, available. Ryan Miller may want to leave Buffalo, like Danny Brière and Chris Drury did in ’07. And then there are a number of young forwards who may be looking for new homes: Nik Antropov, Brian Gionta, Alex Tanguay, Marian Gaborik, Mike Cammalleri, Mike Comrie, Max Afinogenov and (of course) Marian Hossa. Some of these names will be crossed off the UFA list come July 1, 2009, but some won’t and we will talk about them until we’re blue in the face.

Who knows, maybe someone on that list will want to take a pay cut to hitch a ride with Crosby and Malkin. Stranger things have happened.

Do you think Ben Lovejoy has a shot to join the big Pens in the near future? I never see him mentioned with any of the other Pens’ prospects.—Todd

Kyle Dreibelbies responds:

I wouldn’t say the near future because of the amount of defensemen on the NHL roster at the moment. However, if they are looking for a call-up, here is my depth chart among currently signed defensemen headed for WBS:

1. Alex Goligoski – with a little more strength and size, he would be in the NHL right now)

2. Deryk Engelland – closest thing to Brooks Orpik in the system. Hits hard, drops the gloves, and plays a decent stay-at-home game. Pittsburgh rewarded him last year by giving him a mid-season 2-year extension, something that is very rare for minor-league players.

3. Ben Lovejoy – was very consistent in his first year, especially after the shock of the first month. Did take some poor hooking/holding penalties, but looks like a very solid two-way defenseman.

After those three, there aren’t any who look like they have the NHL in their future. If Ryan Lannon resigns, I would put him in a tie for the second spot. However, I believe that if he continues his growth this coming year, he has a legitimate chance during training camp of 2009.

Looking at the defense, one would have to wonder what will happen before the start of the season. Obviously, it is great to have 8 NHL ready defensemen and a few not far from it. The question is, do you think the Pens will try to move someone to either free up some money or even pick up another forward? If so who do you think will get moved and why?—Matt, Altoona, PA

Matt Bodenschatz answers:

Matt, precedent shows that Ray Shero likes his roster to be trim and efficient, so carrying the maximum number of players (23) seems unlikely. With eight defensemen on the roster at this point, it would seem someone will be on the move. The common consensus is that Darryl Sydor and his $2.5 million cap hit will be the odd man out, and I tend to agree. Sydor, while aging, remains relatively effective as a bottom-pairing defender. If used properly, he would enhance a defense, not hurt it, especially considering his Stanley Cup experiences. While I don’t want to start any rumors, I would say Tampa Bay makes the most sense, considering their lack of experience on the blueline (just one player with more than 220 NHL games played) and their affinity for former Penguins. Atlanta, Anaheim (if Schneider is moved) and Los Angeles might also be good fits. As for returns, I think the Penguins would be looking for nothing more than a mid-round draft pick.

On a related note…

It’s still hard to get used to the notion that the Penguins are this solid defensively. I’ve been an avid fan since starting grad school in 1990 at Duquesne, and can’t think of a Pens team with a better set of NHL defensemen. Of course, there’s at least one too many at this point, isn’t there? So, who goes? (My guess is Sydor is most likely to be traded.) And for what in return? What are the likely scenarios y’all see for trading one of the Pens’ d-men, to get decent return on the deal?—Chris, Turlock (a hockey desert), California

Gee, I didn’t know that anyone in the desert had even heard of hockey. How far away is your nearest rink? On a personal aside, I spent two miserable weeks in the California desert right around this time of year back when I was in the Air Force. Guess what? it rained most of the time. No, I’m not kidding. It friggin’ rained. Anyway, on to your question. It is pretty amazing to see the defense they have built. It sure is the best I can remember. I agree Sydor is the most likely to go, though the return would be minimal (maybe a fourth or fifth-rounder?). Dumping him would be done with the express purpose of creating cap space, as well as a roster spot. He just doesn’t seem to have a role right now, especially with Mark Eaton returning. If you want a decent return, you’re going to have to trade a Whitney. But his value is low after last season, so why not give him a chance to redeem himself? Maybe they deal Goligoski at the deadline in return for a scoring winger. But Gonchar is staying put. Scuderi has little value. Letang is going nowhere. Gill really improved the PK. And the Free Candy boy is here to stay.

All the speculation and rumors leading up to July 1 made for some stressful times. Now that the dust has somewhat settled, what are your overall feelings about the moves Shero made? Some unexpected moves (Hossa) led to some contingency plans I’m sure.—-Groove (Wheeling,WV)

Stress? What stress? Game 5, that was stressful. This was a bit nerve-racking, that’s about all. I think overall, Shero did about all he could. His top priority had to be Fleury, and he got that done. Then he got Malkin done. And Orpik. The only free agent signing I’m not on board with is Miro Satan. I’ve never really liked him. But he has every bit the track record that Petr Sykora did, and look how that turned out. I would have liked to have seen a bit higher caliber a player in this slot. But we don’t know who he offered deals to before he got Satan. Remember, it takes two to tango, and maybe his first choice didn’t want to play in Pittsburgh. Ruslan Fedotenko should be a decent pickup. Mark Eaton at $2 mil a year is a bit rich for my blood. But, all in all, I’d give Shero probably a B+ so far.

How tall is Jesse Marshall? Does he Like Salmon? – Movetheneedle.net (Pittsburgh)

Jesse answers this burning question:

I’m 5’11 inches tall. Sometimes I tell people I’m 6’0 just to make myself sound like a badass. As for Salmon, I’ve never really been a fan based off of a bad experience I had with a salad a few years ago. However, I will say that just recently a co-worker of mine had a Salmon patty sandwich that looked delicious. If by Salmon you meant former Penguins goaltender Sebastien Caron, the answer would be that I was simply indifferent to him.