Free Agency - Day 3

Things are staying busy for GM Ray Shero these days. You have to figure that busy time is going to slow down. Here's a synopsis of day 3:

• Miroslav Satan signed for one year at $3.5 million.
• Ruslan Fedotenko signed for one year at $2.5 million.
• Marc-Andre Fleury signed a seven year contract worth $35 million.
• Evgeni Malkin's extension became official. He has essentially the same deal Crosby received.
• Georges Laraque signed with Montreal (3 yrs, $4.5 million).
• Naslund signed with the Rangers and Jagr signed with a Russian team.
  

I really like the Satan and Fedotenko signings. Both guys took a pay cut because of poor performance last year. Satan has been in decline for the past two seasons, but time on Long Island will do that to anyone. Fedotenko is the replacement for Ryan Malone, which is to say he's an inconsistent left wing.

Both Satan and Fedotenko (need a nickname for him soon - Fedotenko is too much to type) have something to prove, and Ray Shero is giving them the chance to prove it. If they play well, they'll get bigger money next year.

Locking up Fleury and Gino leaves Staal as the remaining core component that needs to sign. After his regression last year in the goal scoring department, I'd try to sign him long term. If I'm Jordan, however, I'd want to wait until after this season when I would likely have better numbers to negotiate with.

So what's left? You have to figure the Pens could use more scoring and depth at forward, and they have a plethora of defensemen. Something could happen there. You also have to wonder if they'll be comfortable with Sabu as the backup goalie.

There are still a few things to figure out, but I think Ray Shero has done a great job filling the gaps so far.

Happy 4th of July.