Could It Be.......... Satan??

First, and most importantly, the Pens have agreed to terms with goaltender Marc-Andre Fleury on a new seven-year, $35 million contract extension.

By getting the deal done now, Fleury will not have to go salary arbitration, which the Penguins filed for last month.

Marian Hossa's best Benedict Arnold impersonation yesterday allowed the Penguins to free up some cap space earlier than anticipated, and also to focus more strenuously on re-signing their young goaltender.

The Penguins have also signed two free agent wingers to one-year contracts today.

Miroslav Satan signed for $3.5 million, while Islander teammate Ruslan Fedotenko signed on with the Penguins for $2.5 million.

The short length of the deals imply that the Penguins aren't trying to make these guys the new faces of the franchise, but rather trying to give Sidney Crosby some decent wingers to play with until the trade deadline when they will try to pursue a bigger name player such as Marian Gaborik, who will become an UFA next summer.

I never really noticed Fedotenko even being on the ice when the Pens played the Islanders this past season, and quite frankly I didn't really care to notice him. I could give you his stats and say "well he is an average forward" but stats seldom tell the true tale about a player, so I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

Satan on the other hand is a proven goal scorer and long-time Penguin killer. It seems like every close game between the Pens and Islanders in the past few seasons has been tied late in the third, won in overtime, or won in a shootout by Miro Satan.

Satan scored just 16 goals for the Isles last season, but simply playing for the Isles has to be a bit of a de-motivator for anyone.

Satan is one of those guys that you know will somehow impact a Pens vs. Islanders game, which is why I like this signing. Any guy you can say "I hate (players name)" when the Pens are playing his team is a guy that while you do despise, you know he would make a positive impact if he was on your own team.

That last paragraph is confusing as hell....

But, Satan plays with speed and handles the puck well and should be a decent compliment to Sidney Crosby on the top offensive unit.

Update: Penguins' enforcer Georges Laraque has signed a 3-year, $4.5 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.

The Penguins acquisition of tough guy, Eric Godard, suggested that BGL's days in Pittsburgh were numbered, and it materialized today as Laraque opted to return to his native land of Montreal, Quebec to don the Blue and Red for the Habs.

Best of luck to BGL, and as always...

Let's Go Pens