Alexander Frolov, who was on my Isles wish-list, has signed with the New York Rangers. Wonderful.

The defenceman I was looking at were taken early on in free agency. The Isles signed Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina instead. If you look at my blog over at The Checking Line,  I take a look at the Islanders roster and where they stand as is. This doesn’t appear as a team pushing for the playoffs just yet.

That’s why I am hoping that Garth Snow still has a few tricks up his sleeve.

The Isles GM added Zenon Konopka and Jeremy Yoblonski (AHL-call up) for toughness and P.A. Parenteau for young hope. Although they are good signings, not one of these players are going to push the Islanders into the playoff region on the NHL-standings page. A top-six forward is needed, and not much are left for the taking.

James Mirtle, a savvy and very intelligent hockey blogger, posted a piece yesterday at The Globe and Mail that updated who was left on the market, which is where I decided to base whom I hope the Isles have given a phone call.

Maxim Afinogenov (FrenchKheldar/Flickr)

They could take a chance in signing someone like Maxim Afinogenov, a speedy sniper who rejuvenated his play while in Atlanta, scoring 24 goals, 37 assists for 61 points in 82 games. With his set of legs, he could probably fit into Scott Gordon’s over-speed system quickly. He could also be a Russian mentor for Kirill Petrov if he were to make the team this year. He only made $800,000 last year, which means he probably would look for a raise, as he deserves one. It probably wouldn’t cost too much and the Isles have the cap room to make it happen.

If Max isn’t their guy, they could take a look at Lee Stempniak. The 27-year old forward posted career highs with 28 goals and 20 assists for 48 points in 80 games after finishing the year with the Phoenix Coyotes. He played for $2.5 million last year and probably could be signed close to that mark. Stempniak may fit in smoothly with young guys like Bailey, Schremp, Tavares and Okposo. At his age he would have a valuable veteran presence while being young enough to continue to grow into his own as well.

The only other player that I could see the Islanders targeting would be Paul Kariya. There’s no reason to explain why a guy like Kariya could be a valuable asset to a young team; he’s made his way to the Stanley Cup, he knows how to score big goals and win crucial games and he’s been around the league for several years at the age of 35. But his production has dropped as his age increases. Last year he only found the back of the net 18 times while adding 25 helpers for 43 points in 75 games played. He also made $6 million dollars last year. That’s a lot of money for a guy who can’t rack up 50 points. It would be more than likely that he would have to sign for a cheaper price tag.

Lee Stempniak (mark6mauno/Flickr)

After Afinogenov, Stempniak and Kariya, the drop off is huge. The next in line would be Bill Guerin, whom I doubt the Isles would turn back too since they intend on moving forward instead of backward, and Brendan Morrison, who only put in 12 goals and 42 points with the Washington Capitals last year at the age of 34. If I had to choose one of these two, I’d go with Morrison, but the Isles are pretty tight at center.

If Snow can’t lure one of these forwards, or doesn’t have an interest, he can possibly explore the trade route. But that remains to be seen.

All I know is that Snow has to make a few more changes if he expects this team to finish in the top-8 and his options are decreasing with each day that passes.

-Rob McGowan

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http://twitter.com/IslesRM

Simon Gagne has celebrated his last goal as a Flyer after more than a decade in Philadelphia (Bob Fina/Inside Hockey).

PHILADELPHIA- Simon Gagne has been traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for a fourth-round draft selection and defenseman Matt Walker.

Gagne spent his entire ten-season career with Philadelphia.  He was in the final year of a contract that paid him an average cap hit of $5.25 million per season.   Gagne posted 17 goals and 23 assists in 58 games of action last season and scored 524 points in 664 career games.

His best offensive seasons with Philly came during the two years following the lockout.  He and free-agent acquisition Peter Forsberg were a formidable combination as Gagne topped 40 goals in each season.  Even with Forsberg injured and the Flyers in the midst of a horrendous 2006-2007 season, Gagne skated at +2, a testament to his dependable defensive game.

Phiadelphia fans are left to wonder if another shoe will drop in the form of the free-agent goaltender Marty Turco’s signing and perhaps the trade of a defenseman for a winger the Flyers can retain long term.  Already a stout top-four defensive club with Chris Pronger, Kimmo Timonen, Matt Carle and Braydon Coburn, the Flyers added the rearguards Andrej Meszaros and Sean O’Donnell this offseason.  The Flyers also signed the sniping Russian winger Nikolai Zherdev and the enforcer Jody Shelley to their forward mix this offseason, a series of moves that placed them above the salary cap prior to the Gagne trade.

Nino Niederreiter (Patxi64/Flickr)

The New York Islanders hosted a prospect scrimmage and skills competition at the Nassau Coliseum yesterday, an event that attracted 4,940 fans to watch hockey in the middle of July. The game featured such prospects as recent draft picks Nino Niederreiter, Brock Nelson, and Kirill Kabanov. Others included Mikko Koskinen, Matt Martin, David Ullstrom, Aaron Ness and more. To fill out the rosters, many Long Island natives were invited to participate in the game as well. In fact, the first two goals of the game were scored by Long Islanders Danny Markowitz from Jericho and Joey Diamond from Long Beach.

Matt Martin wasn’t shy with throwing his body around – after all, it’s what he does best. And fans were treated to several flashy moves by Nino and Kabanov. Hamonic looked like a rock on the blue-line, ringing shots off the cross-bar and pinching in on the rush. It was weird for me sitting in the stands watching these guys play knowing that some of them could be my younger brother considering their ages. But that also means that they have plenty of maturing ahead of them.

“Some of these guys that are 17 years old are going to be a lot different when they’re 19 or 20 when they turn pro,” said Head Coach Scott Gordon after the game and skills competition.

“This whole week isn’t about anybody coming to make the Islanders. It’s about building team unity, camaraderie, so when they come to camp they know the coaches, they know the training staff, they know the players. It’s an opportunity for them to learn how to be a pro.”

When Scott was informed there were almost 5,000 fans at the game, he showed his support for those who follow his hockey team.

“It was great to see that many people have such an interest in hockey in the middle of July. The enthusiasm is good and it was a good ending the way the shootout was done and I think everyone went home happy.”

Nino Niederreiter (moonbox3/Flickr)

Although the game was fun to watch, it did go by fast. To make room for the skills competition, the game consisted of two 25-minute periods with running time, but that wasn’t the only accommodation made to spice up the game. Each time a player was penalized, the obstructed player would get to take a penalty shot instead of his team gaining a two-minute power play. There were a few taken, but the most thrilling came from the 5th overall selection, Nino Niederreiter. He skated in with a few toe drags, lifted his leg to fake a shot, deked some more, and then slide the puck past the goalie’s right leg-pad. It was a move that had the crowd roaring.

“It was great. Actually I was surprised that so many fans came into it to watch this game,” said Nino when it was all over. He talked a little about his visit to Long Island but also told us about the players he wishes to emulate when he makes his transition to the NHL.

“I kind of try to be like Lecavalier actually and even I try to be like Kovalchuk. He’s just a fantastic skater.” It was no surprise that these two players were used in his answer after seeing the moves he was pulling.

But El Nino wasn’t the only one displaying a fast set of hands with a sense of creativity. The famous Kirill Kabanov was making moves all over the ice. During the game, Kabanov came in and tapped the puck to himself in mid-air twice, spun around, and then smacked it out of mid-air but hit the side of the net. You could tell he’s someone who feeds off the energy from the fans too. After every time he potted a point for his team in the skills competition, he put his arms up and looked at the crowd.

“I’m really excited about Long Island, New York is now my favorite city after Moscow (laughs),” he said after the game. “You always got to have fun when you’re playing hockey. It’s not only a job but just a fun game. It’s like part of a show.”

When one blogger asked him about the audience for the “show,” he had nothing but great things to say about Long Island and its fans.

“It was pretty cool. I really like Islanders fans, they’re like crazy (laughs). It’s really cool. I like Long Island a lot. But they like I got a lot of tattoos and I can promise in less than one year I’ll have one here, (points to his chest), like a big one, a map of Long Island. Really, I promise!”

Dee Karl from HockeyBuzz reminded him that he has to wait to turn 18 before he can get another tattoo in New York. All he had to say was, “But I’m Russian, you forget!” He only has to wait until next Friday for his birthday.

Like Nino Niederreiter, Kabanov idolizes Russian superstar Ilya Kovalchuk.

“I got the same coach like Ilya Kovalchuk. I got the same number, 17. I got, I don’t know, the first letter in the last name, K,” he said.

After sharing a few laughs I asked him what it meant to be drafted in the 3rd round despite being considered a top-10 talent in this year’s class, if it was a source of motivation for him to prove that he can be a star in the NHL.

“I will try to work hard and do my best and I’ll try to make the team as soon as I can,” he said.

Over the past week, the prospects were treated to a Mets game at Citi Field. They got to meet season-ticket holders and get a taste of the American past-time.

“It was pretty fun actually. I was going into the crowd and shaking everybody’s hands. I always like to see season (ticket) holders. It was pretty fun but it was just a little bit boring because the game is so slow and I was sitting there for like three hours and I’m just like, ‘what are they doing?’ I was just like, ‘Oh my God Mets come on! Do something!’ but there was like two home-runs in a row so I was like, ‘Okay, here we go!’” said Kabonov. I’m sure some Mets fans were thinking the same.

Brock Nelson, the Isles 30th overall selection in this year’s draft, was the first to score a goal for the Blue team. Nelson is fresh out of high-school and on his way to his freshman year at the University of North Dakota.

“It was fun. It was good to be out there to play the game with the guys and the skills competition. Just kind of laid back a little bit. It was good to be out there,” said Nelson.

Although he’s a recent draft pick, he still found it exciting to leap from a high school rink into an NHL arena.

“It was pretty awesome. I know it’s a big jump but it was fun to be out here at the Coliseum and play with the guys out here and meet a few of them. It was a great experience.”

As far as the way he played, Nelson felt that he needs to add more size but isn’t too far behind.

“I felt I did pretty good. I know it’s a little bit quicker, bigger guys that are stronger. But I felt right there. So, just to develop a little bit more and hopefully contribute a bit more.”

Travis Hamonic (leafschik1967/Flickr)

Travis Hamonic was the last one to come out of the locker room but had the most to say. After interviewing Travis back in October, I knew that he would be making a strong push to join the Islanders this year. After watching him play last night, I’d say he is pretty close and will give the coaching staff something to think about.

“I think I felt good. Obviously it’s the first game of the summer and there’s no systems really in place and guys are trying to get familiar with each other but a short game like this, the running time goes by pretty fast. But I think I felt really good out there and got my feet under me and kind of just played to my advantage which is being a stay-at-home steady guy,” he said.

But Hamonic wasn’t really playing a stay-at-home game. I reminded him that he did hit a shot off the cross bar and was seen down low by the crease a few times looking for a few opportunities.

“I think obviously the offensive side of my game has definitely grown in the last year and a half especially and I think I’m turning myself into a two-way defenseman. I’m not going to be that guy that’s going to jump end to end and be the flashy defenseman but I’m going to pick and choose my spots when I have the chance and I’m going to make sure that I make the best of it. It’s too bad I couldn’t put that one bar down instead of bar out but those things happen and I think I’m very happy with the way I played tonight and I’m definitely progressing in the right direction.”

The Islanders recently signed Mark Eaton and Milan Jurcina to play with five other defenseman that are under contract for next season, meaning if he wants a spot out of training camp, he’s going to have to fight for it.

“Obviously the next couple of weeks and couple of months are going to be huge for me. Obviously I’m going to continue to put on a couple more pounds of muscle mass and grow and get stronger and get fitter in the weight room. It’s going to come with skating. I got a good group of guys to skate with, a lot of pro guys back in Winnipeg. For me it’s going to be all mindset and physical set.”

“I definitely feel ready.”

I had  the opportunity to meet Travis at one point in the season last year when he was visiting the Coliseum after being injured in the World Junior Championships. Back then the weather was still bitter cold. Now, it’s been nothing but hot summer days. I asked him what it was like to see Long Island at different parts of the year.

“I love it. Obviously every time I’ve come down to New York I really enjoy it. It’s a long way from the farm, that’s for sure. A town of 450 people growing up, you take things a little bit differently when you come to Long Island. But the people have been great and I can’t say enough about the fan base here. I’ve yet to play a game with the Islanders and there are obviously a lot fans that have taken to me and I’m very appreciative of that,” he said.

Many of us were hoping to see Kirill Petrov play as well. However, Scott Gordon informed us after the game that Petrov sat out after getting a little banged up in the morning skate and felt it was unnecessary to play him in the middle of the summer before training camp starts. After all, better safe than sorry.

Although the prospects are the reason everyone gathered at the Coliseum in the middle of the summer, it was great to see my friends from the Blog Box and get to sit in the Old Barn to watch a game with them. I even had the pleasure of getting a game used puck after Robin Figren rang a nasty slapper off the cross-bar that flew over the netting and two rows behind our section in 215.

Isles fans should also check out YES! Islanders (www.yesislanders.com) as Johnny Z., a recent Blog Box audition, did a video shoot with fans before the game and some of the bloggers, including Dee Karl, Michael Schurlein, Ken Dick and myself. The video can be found here: http://youtu.be/WKCoXCWisSs

Isles fans that were in attendance got to see that they have plenty to be excited about over the next few years. It won’t be long before these guys start shining for the Islanders all year round.

Ilya Kovalchuk (linesinthesand/Flickr)

Hearing about the report on TSN by Darren Dreger that the Islanders had offered Ilya Kovalchuk a contract Friday night was confusing to me. Seeing it for myself made me realize that something had to be up. But what surprised me the most is that the Islanders would possibly consider someone for a 10-year contract worth $100 million with DiPietro’s current status and Alexei Yashin still collecting checks to pay off his bought out salary. It almost seems crazy since there isn’t any luck on this peninsula when certain players are signed long-term. Granted, Kovalchuk and Yashin are two entirely different players and Rick DiPietro’s injuries are a result of pure misfortune, but wouldn’t that steer Wang’s wallet into a more affordable and reasonable direction?

When looking back on the past, the majority of Islander fans were pleased when Yashin was signed to that ridiculous contract, even though he only had two 40-goal seasons previously in his career. More fans were skeptical about signing a goaltender to a 15-year deal since Yash’s contract wasn’t proving it’s worth, allowing the Islanders to become a carousel of hilarity with their poor decisions. Hockey fans around the world poked fun and laughed at these life-time contracts for days, months and even years. DP is still thrown in my face to this day and probably will be even after he is long retired.

But then I ask, why is it okay for the Flyers to sign Mike Richards to a 12-year deal? For the Hawks to sign Hossa to a 12-year deal? For Ovechkin to get a 13-year deal? For Duncan Keith to get a 13-year deal? Even if fans disagreed with the length of these contracts, they did not garnish close to half of the humiliation the Islanders and their fan based received. Sure, Ovechkin and Richards are players any team will want to keep for a long time. But organizations may handcuff themselves in the future as long as the NHL exists in the salary cap era. Regardless of how talented a player might be, finances and assuring your team’s success beyond the present season goes further than one player.

Alexei Yashin (iMatthew: Wikipedia Commons)

And then the Kovalchuk rumor emerges and the Islanders are back on track with being the laughing stock of the league. Why? Isn’t Kovalchuk a superstar? Isn’t he a player that any team would want for years and years? If he signed in L.A. for ten years, would anyone find it as crazy as the Islanders doing it? It seems as if DP’s bumps in the road and the Yashin-mistake have placed a Scarlet Letter on the Islanders for years to come. Don’t believe me? Read this article here http://tsn.ca/nhl/story/?id=326429. It’s the story broken by TSN about the Isles rumored offer to Ilya. Then go down and read the comments. According to the majority, the Isles would be crazy for this contract based on Yashin and DiPietro.

What do the Islanders have to do to demand respect?

They have stuck to the plan of a rebuilding franchise by drafting players at the top of their class. Some of them, such as Tavares, Okposo and Bailey, are starting to blossom. Other picks such as Travis Hamonic and Calvin de Haan are just a few steps away from becoming NHL players. This team is on the forefront of establishing themselves as a playoff contending hockey team. So is Garth Snow really foolish for looking to sprinkle an elite talent into his line-up that can help elevate the pressure of scoring goals on a regular basis?

Ilya Kovalchuk (Amykins514/Flickr)

Nope. Not one bit. As Garth stated in an article in Newsday reported by Katie Strang, he is just doing his job. Snow feels that if he didn’t make one preliminary phone call, which he admitted to doing only that, he would not have been doing his job as General Manger during the free agency period. He’s right; how could any GM not call the most attractive player on the market and see what it’s going to take to sign him?

But that’s all that Snow admitted to doing and suddenly the flood gates opened: This will save the Islanders! This will bring us the Lighthouse Project! This will bring us the playoffs!

Let’s calm down for a second. Do you think Kate Murray, the Town of Hempstead Supervisor, who has yet to provide her counter proposal of the Lighthouse, even knows who Ilya Kovalchuk is? Doubt it. Yes, Ilya would make season-ticket holders run to the box-office and put fans in the stands. But he won’t have a major effect on the building process. Nassau County politics and financial disagreements revolve solely on the people involved: Charles Wang and Kate Murray. Not Ilya Kovalchuk.

Will it bring the Isles into the playoffs? It certainly will increase the chance. But Ilya didn’t carry the Thrashers into the playoffs every year and probably wouldn’t do so with the Islanders either.

The only thing Kovalchuk would guarantee the Islanders is a prolific goal-scorer that is ready to contribute. That hasn’t been said in years and that’s why fans are excited. But fans need to stay focused. Snow is all about the rebuild and developing his players that he’s drafted and was given when he stepped in as General Manager.

Keep in mind that Kovalchuk turned down huge offers from the Thrashers because he desired to sign with a contender. The Islanders don’t fall into that category. They are building into a winner, but they aren’t yet. Are they ahead of the Thrashers? I would say they are. But teams like L.A. are a few more steps ahead. There is just as much of a chance of Kovalchuk not signing with the Isles as much as there is one. So don’t get your hopes up and start calling for Garth Snow’s head if this fails.

And if Ilya does decide to go elsewhere, the Islanders still can inquire about players such as Alexander Frolov, Lee Stempniak, Alexei Ponikarovsky and Paul Kariya. These forwards are a far cry from Ilya Kovalchuk but they all have something to contribute to a team of youngsters that are looking to make their first post-season run. And I hate to admit, any of these four forwards are more realistic for Garth Snow’s plan.

Either way, it will be a fun hodge podge of mixed emotions until Kovalchuk signs with an NHL team. And if it’s not with the Islanders, I’m sure you can expect Garth to still sign one more top-six forward, possibly one of the aforementioned above.

But what do you think, should the Isles be offering Kovalchuk a lucrative contract and do what they can to sign the talented forward?

Ever since Ilya Kovalchuk was dealt by the Atlanta Thrashers to the New Jersey Devils, the speculation surrounding him has been at fever pitch: where would the Russian sniper end up signing when he became an unrestricted free agent?

The debate was more intense than the furor surrounding other free agents because of the general weakness of the class that he was a part of. When the second strongest member of a free agent class is either Paul Martin, Sergei Gonchar, or Dan Hamhuis (depending on who you ask), then you know that the pickings are slim, and you can be a little more demanding with your salary requests.

That is exactly the position that Kovalchuk found himself in as July 1st hit. With Patrick Marleau returning to the Sharks, the entire focus of the league’s need for scoring shifted onto the 26 year old-Russian. He certainly has the statistical credentials to warrant all of the attention, having averaged 46 goals a season since the 2004-05 lockout and having eclipsed the point-per-game ratio in four of the five seasons since then (including a career high 98 points in 2005-06).

(Credit: John Julian/Flickr)

With Kovalchuk’s demand for a contract worth approximately $10 million a season, the market was instantaneously shrunken down to only a few teams. The Los Angeles Kings have widely been regarded as the runaway favorite to land Kovalchuk, as their ample salary cap space and young roster provide two wonderful selling points to the goal-scoring machine. After seeing the way the acquisition of Marian Hossa energized the Blackhawks (amid similar complaints of postseason disappearing acts that Kovalchuk has to face), the Kings certainly have to feel good about their chances to go far in the playoffs if they can sign Ilya to a deal.

The other team that is certainly involved in the discussions is the New Jersey Devils. General Manager Lou Lamoriello has said that he will make whatever moves are necessary in order to free up enough cap space to sign Kovalchuk, and the Devils seem intent on keeping their mid-season acquisition in a red and white uniform come October.

Amid the public battle between these two franchises for Kovalchuk’s services, a third team seems to have entered the fray: the New York Islanders.

According to Darren Dreger, the Islanders are exploring the idea of offering Kovalchuk a contract in the neighborhood of $10 million a season for 10 years. It is an enormous amount of money to commit to a single player, especially in today’s salary cap controlled NHL. The deal would also make Kovalchuk the highest paid player in the league, eclipsing Alex Ovechkin’s $9.5 million a year salary.

This development may come as a surprise to observers of the Isles. After all, this is the team that is still feeling the burns from all the heat surrounding their decision to give Rick DiPietro a 15 year contract, and they also have to battle their reputation as a spend-thrift team who perennially are basement dwellers in the Eastern Conference.

Their big advantage in all of this, however, is that they have a ton of cap space to burn. With 21 players under contract for next year, the Islanders only have a cap hit of $35.6 million, and are an enormous $27.3 million under next year’s salary cap. This gives them a great deal of cap flexibility that few other teams have, and have given rumors that they are pursuing Kovalchuk a little added steam.

With the cap space the team possesses as a backdrop, and assuming that Kovalchuk would even consider the notion of signing with a team that isn’t poised for a Cup run, the question becomes this: should the New York Islanders throw caution to the wind and offer Kovalchuk what could be the highest salary of any player in the league?

The answer to this question is a resounding yes, and there are several reasons why. The first and biggest reason for this is that successful teams are built around a successful top six forward corps and a great top defensive line pairing. The Islanders aren’t exactly there at this point, but with great youngsters like John Tavares and Kyle Okposo in the fold, along with veteran D-man Mark Streit, the Isles certainly have some good talent to build around.

John Tavares (valorfaerie/Flickr)

The addition of Kovalchuk to that team would give them one of the better top lines in the sport of hockey. With Tavares at center, and flanked by Kovalchuk and Okposo, the line would be a goal scoring machine. With Tavares’ puck moving ability, as well as Okposo’s ability to be a goal scoring threat, Kovy would have plenty of space on the ice to do his thing, and he would provide the type of immediate offensive boost that few players in the league are capable of providing.

The other main reason that the Isles should attempt to bring Ilya into the fold is the long-stalled Lighthouse Project. The argument may seem similar to the one that Atlanta tried to use in order to convince Kovalchuk to stay there, but it holds just as much validity on Long Island: in order to survive, the franchise needs a face to build around, and Kovalchuk is a skilled enough player to do just that.

It would be naive to think that just because an elite player signs with your franchise that your fortunes would instantly change and that things would finally get rolling on your ambitious arena project, but in the case of the Isles, things would definitely look up in these regards with the acquisition of a player of the caliber of Kovalchuk. He would be a marketing machine for the team, and would really get people buying what the organization is selling when it comes to the Lighthouse project.

There are arguments against signing Kovalchuk, and they certainly should be given some serious consideration as well. The strongest argument against bringing him aboard is definitely the financial angle. Is a player who has only played in 13 career playoff games, despite his prodigious offensive talent, really worth a contract that will take away so much salary cap space? A man who never has particularly established himself as a leader, Kovalchuk is viewed as a bit of a prima donna in most NHL circles, and this notion of him as self-centered as certainly hindered his efforts to get signed by some teams.

The other big beef with Kovalchuk, touched on in the previous paragraph, is his lack of production when the calendar flips to April. Yes, some players like Marian Hossa who have hit free agency have been dogged by a reputation of less than stellar play during the post-season, but but in the case of Kovalchuk, the problem is even more pronounced.

In 13 career playoff games, Kovalchuk has scored 3 goals and added six assists (and four of those helpers came this last post-season with New Jersey), and has not led his team past the first round in any of his playoff appearances.

Granted, Kovalchuk didn’t exactly play in a hockey hotbed in Atlanta, but the fact that he couldn’t even help the second seeded Devils get past the Flyers in the NHL playoffs this past season certainly doesn’t help squelch the whispers of “playoff choker” that have dogged Ilya throughout his career.

All of that being said, however, the biggest factor in play is the fact that the Islanders should pursue Kovalchuk with guns blazing, because at the end of the day, they have the financial room to make it happen. Yes, a $10 million contract would be an over-pay for a player of Ilya’s skill-set, but when the benefits of such a move are weighed, and the tangible impact it would have on the roster and on the marketability of the team are taken into account, it becomes clear that the Islanders have nothing to lose if they pursue this deal.

Except the label of “tight-fisted basement dwellers.”

After all of the drama surrounding their failed negotiations with Dan Hamhuis and Sergei Gonchar, the Pittsburgh Penguins were extremely active early in free agency, signing defensemen Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek to contracts.

Michalek’s contract came shortly after negotiations with the Phoenix Coyotes broke down, and it was a tremendous deal for the Pens. With Gonchar signing a deal worth $16.5 million over three years with the Senators, the Penguins got a comparative bargain with Michalek, signing the 27 year old to a five year contract worth $20 million.

He may not bring the offensive intensity that Gonchar is capable of bringing for a team, but with an eight year difference in age between the two players, and with Michalek’s defensive prowess, the Pens clearly were looking to shore up their blue line with more than just a scoring threat. They were looking for a true D-man, and they got a fantastic cap friendly deal in the process.

As for Martin, he brings a bit more to the table offensively than Michalek (he had 10 goals and 55 assists in the 07-08 and 08-09 seasons combined), and he also can play a very good game defensively as well. He surely would have been a member of the United States hockey team at the 2010 Olympics had it not been for an unfortunate injury early in the season, and he has the power to be a real difference maker on the blue line.

The five year, $5 million a season deal that Martin signed is a fair deal as well for the Pens, considering he was one of the top defensemen available on the open market. Yes, the salary may be a bit on the high side for a guy who hasn’t played a full season since the ’06-’07 season, but at only 29 years of age and still in his prime, a five year contract for a two-way defenseman really isn’t that much of a stretch.

Free agency is obviously just in its infancy, but with several players already off the board, the Pittsburgh Penguins have positioned themselves to be a lot more skilled defensively next season on their back end, and if they can bring in a winger or two (perhaps Andrew Ladd?) to help out their talented trio of centers (Crosby-Malkin-Staal), then they will be one of the undisputed winners of the free agency period.