Penguins' Cup Champions DVD to be released on July 7th

The Pens will release their official Stanley Cup Champions seasonal review DVD on Tuesday, July 7th. Kris Letang and Tyler Kennedy will be on hand at two separate locations to sign autographs and take pictures with fans who show up to purchase the DVD.


Kris Letang
Donaldsons Crossroads Giant Eagle
4007 Washington Road
McMurray, PA 15317-2520
Signing will take place from 12:00 PM – 2:00 PM
**Please note that fans must purchase a copy of the DVD to receive an autograph

Tyler Kennedy
Dick’s Sporting Goods
The Mall at Robinson
5000 Robinson Centre Drive
Pittsburgh, PA 15205
Signing will take place from 6:00 PM – 8:00 PM
**Please note that fans must purchase a copy of the DVD to receive an autograph

The DVD will include wireless microphone sound bytes of forward Bill Guerin at practice, a "best of" segment featuring the premiere moments from around the NHL during the season, live highlights of all overtime goals scored in the playoffs from all teams, the Penguins' celebration after Game 7 in Detroit and finally, an in-depth look at the team's victory parade through downtown Pittsburgh.

Fedotenko re-signed; Pens add depth defenseman

Ruslan Fedotenko today signed another one year deal with the Penguins to go for another Stanley Cup. His salary for the coming season will be $1,800,000, thus carrying a cap hit of 1.8. He took a $450,000 pay cut to remain with the team, as he made $2,250,000 with a 2.5 cap hit last season.

Ray Shero also signed local defenseman Nate Guenin of Sewickley, PA, to a two-way contract for one year that will pay him roughly a half million dollars if he plays in the NHL next year, which is a fairly unlikely prospect at this point in time. He has spent the last few years in the Flyers' system.

The Pens now have a shade under three million dollars to sign a backup goalie and sixth and seventh defensemen. John Curry will likely be that goalie and Ben Lovejoy one of the defensemen.

Penguins sign Mike Rupp

The Pens have signed hulking forward Mike Rupp, formerly of the New Jersey Devils. A fourth liner, Rupp will make $850,000,000 per year over the span of a two year contract. Rupp figures to play on the Penguins bottom line along with Craig Adams and another player.

The deal likely means the imminent departure of one or both of Pascal Dupuis and Eric Godard from Pittsburgh, as the Pens have a surplus of fourth line grinders that hurts them against the salary cap of 56.8 million dollars.

Shero inks Guerin, Adams to extensions

Bill Guerin and Craig Adams respectively signed one and two year contract extensions with the Penguins and GM Ray Shero today. With the signings complete, the Pens now have $50,493,000 committed to 17 players on one-way deals. That leaves Shero with $6,307,000 to spend on a backup goalie, top six winger, sixth and seventh defensemen, and a fourth line-caliber forward.

Guerin took a massive pay cut from his last deal which payed him 4.5 million dollars all the way down to two million flat on his new one. Adams' took a 500K reduction, and his new yearly salary is 550K per year over two years.

To fill the remaining positions on the team, restricted free agent defenseman Ben Lovejoy will almost certainly be on the roster come opening night, as will young centerman Dustin Jeffrey. RFA John Curry is very much in the running to back up Marc-Andre Fleury.

Most likely, one or none of Ruslan Fedotenko and Rob Scuderi will be brought back to fill another one of the spots, either top six winger for Fedotenko or bottom pairing defenseman for Scuderi.

Pens make six more picks at NHL Entry Draft

In round two with the 61st overall pick, the Pens went off the board a bit to select Phillip Samuelsson, son of former Penguin Ulf. Samuelsson is a defensive defenseman from the Chicago Steel of the USHL.

In round three, they selected Ben Hanowski with the 63rd overall pick. Hanowski, of Minnesota, was the most prolific high school scorer in the history of the State of Hockey. Personally, this was my favorite pick of the day.

In round four, they selected right wing Nick Peterson of the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL.

The Pens traded goalie Chad Johnson to the Rangers for pick 151. They used that on Andy Bathgate of Belleville of the OHL.

In round five, they took the son of former NHLer Randy Velischek, Alex, a defensive defenseman from New Jersey on his way to Providence to play college hockey next season.

In round six, they nabbed another defenseman, Viktor Ebom. No information on him from me.

In the seventh round, the Pens held the "Mr. Irrelevant" pick. However, they traded it to the Montreal Canadiens for a return that hasn't yet been specified. It sounds like nothing.

Penguins nab blueliner Despres with 30th overall selection

I had Simon Despres going 17th overall in this draft, so I'm absolutely thrilled that the Pens were able to get him with the 30th pick. He's a big, strong, physical, mobile, reliable defenseman who makes an outstanding first pass out of his own zone. Personally, he reminds me of Jonathan Ericsson. Despres had 32 points last year, all but two of them assists, for the St. John Sea Dogs of the Quebec Major Junior League.

Despres has played two years in the "Q" now, and odds are he will return to Quebec for another year in that league. He's not a terribly lengthy project considering how late he was selected. Two or three years from now, expect Despres to figure in prominently on the Pens' defensive corps.

His childhood idol was Mario Lemieux.

The following are defensemen that I see Despres as playing a similar game to:

Brooks Orpik
Mike Komisarek
Jonathan Ericsson
Anton Volchenkov

Other notables from the day:

-Chris Pronger and Ryan Dingle going to Philadelphia for Luca Sbisa, Joffrey Lupul, and two first round picks. Considering that Sbisa was a first rounder last year, the Flyers are giving up Lupul and three consecutive firsts for an aging defenseman going into the last year of his contract. Pronger's a prototypical Flyer in that he is big, mean, and dirty as Hell, but this is a major mortgage on the future

-John Tavares, Victor Hedman, and Matt Duchene going 1-2-3, as expected.

-Jordan Schroeder falling all the way to the Canucks at 22nd overall. Most every mock draft had Schroeder in the top 15. He's a small guy, but I have a problem with the fact that he fell that far.

-Landon Ferraro, Stefan Elliott, Ryan O'Reilly, and Zach Budish falling all the way out of the first round. It's beyond me how nobody took Elliott and Budish, yet Marcus Johansson and Nick Leddy still found themselves with new teams.

The Penguins have another big day ahead of them tomorrow with rounds two through seven on the horizon. Ray Shero and his staff hold six picks over the course of the day, including the famous "Mr. Irrelevant" slot that will conclude the weekend's festivities. The Pens had lost picks in the Bill Guerin and Hal Gill trades, but the horribly mismanaged Tampa Bay Lightning were kind enough to give them back 3rd and 5th round picks for negotiating rights to Ryan Malone and Gary Roberts plus a failed defensive prospect in Michael Sersen.

61st overall (2nd round)
63rd overall (3rd round from Tampa Bay)
121st overall (4th round)
123rd overall (5th round from Tampa Bay)
181st overall (6th round)
211th overall (7th round)

Tomorrow is a huge day for restocking a somewhat dry Pittsburgh pipeline.

Pens hold 30th pick in Friday's draft

On Friday night, the NHL Entry Draft will take place in Montreal, Quebec. Ray Shero and the Penguins hold the 30th pick as a result of their Stanley Cup victory. Odds are the best player available at that juncture will be a winger, but names like Dylan Olsen, Tim Erixon, and Stefan Elliott have been rumored to potentially fall to them.

Here's PTF's mock draft, from rounds one to three.

Penguins Projected Selections-

30. LW Carl Klingberg (Sweden)
61. LW Erik Haula (Finland)
63. RW Anton Rodin (Sweden)

Round 1-

1. Islanders- John Tavares
Tavares proves too good for Garth Snow to pass up, and the Islanders get a franchise center who immediately becomes the face of the franchise

2. Lightning- Victor Hedman
Hedman is the easy pick for the Bolts. He'll provide disaster relief for the most abysmal defense in the NHL.

3. Avalanche- Matt Duchene
A selection purely based on value, Duchene will nicely compliment Stastny, Wolski, and Smyth in what could be a lethal top six.

4. Thrashers- Brayden Schenn
-Barring another epic failure by Don Waddell, Kovalchuk finally gets his center in the form of the younger Schenn brother.

5. Kings- Evander Kane
-The Kings pick up a future second line center who could form a nice one-two punch down the middle with Kopitar.

6. Coyotes- Magnus Paajarvi Svensson
-An electrifying talent, MSP would look fantastic along with young talented forwards like Mueller, Boedker, Lisin, and Tikhonov.

7. Leafs- Jordan Schroeder
-Even though Burke missed out on Tavares, he can get a poor man's JT in Schroeder, whose playmaking and scoring prowess more than makes up for his small stature.

8. Stars- Jared Cowen
-Another pure value pick. Cowen has had injury problems, but his Pronger-esque tenacity and size will do wonders for whoever takes him.

9. Senators- Oliver Ekman-Larsson
-Bryan Murray took a similar Swedish defenseman last year in Erik Karlsson, and OEL could pair with his countryman on an elite young puck-moving blue line.

10. Oilers- Dmitri Kulikov
-Kulikov, who has moved quickly up draft charts, impressed a lot of people at the Memorial Cup and helps the Oilers get younger on the back end.

11. Predators- Scott Glennie
-Not only can Glennie fly, but he's also got a nice package of grit, toughness, and goal scoring. He can play all three forward positions in whatever style Randy Carlyle likes, and he'd be excellent along with Andrew Ebbett in the future.

12. Wild- Nazem Kadri
-Kadri's stock has fallen a bit, but the Wild take him on shear talent alone. With Todd Richards likely to implement a more aggressive offensive system, Kadri should fit right in.

13. Sabres- John Moore
-Moore might be the best all around defenseman in this draft after Hedman. He's big, strong, mobile, and most importantly, smart.

14. Panthers- Ryan Ellis
-Ellis' stock has probably gone down a bit just because of his 5'9'' frame, but his excellent offensive capabilities should keep him in the top 15.

15. Ducks- Zack Kassian
-Another chart climber, Kassian fits a power forward mold perfectly. His emotion, grit, and skill will do wonders for a somewhat anemic Predator offense.

16. Jackets- Carter Ashton
-Ashton is another prototypical power forward, and the Jackets really don't have any of those in their prospect pool. Adding him in with Filatov, Voracek, and Brassard sets the Jackets up for a top-of-the-line forward group in a few years.

17. Blues- Simon Despres
-Despres is another mean defender in the Pronger/Stevens mold, obviously on a smaller scale. He'd add another dimension to a young defense that already boasts the likes of Erik Johnson and Alex Pietrangelo.

18. Canadiens- Jacob Josefson
-The Habs need help, well, everywhere, and Josefson can give it to them. He's a bit too soft for my liking, but Montreal has never had any problem with that. He's a versatile playmaker who fills one of their many needs.

19. Rangers- Chris Kreider
-The Rangers have a fair forward pipeline as is, and Kreider would only strengthen it...literally. He's a tough kid who can score goals. From a Pens fan perspective, it would be scary to see the Rangers with Kreider, Grachev, and Anisimov together if they all hittheir potential.

20. Flames- Louis Leblanc
-By all accounts, Leblanc plays larger than his size and skates exceptionally well. Together with Mikael Backlund, he would give the Flames a few very respectable future pivots at center.

21. Flyers- David Rundblad
-The Flyers almost have to take a defenseman here just to balance out their disproportionate talent pool and give themselves some chance to stop the big guns in their division. Rundblad would do that for them.

22. Canucks- Stefan Elliott
-Elliott is a two-way defenseman who always takes care of business in his defensive zone. Mike Gillis is familiar with him from his days in the WHL, and he could fill in fairly well for Mathias Ohlund down the line.

23. Devils- Ryan O'Reilly
-The Devils don't have a system loaded with talent really at any position, and O'Reilly should help them out. He's a playmaker first, and that's quite helpful when you have an organization with Parise, Bergfors, Elias, and Tedenby in it.

24. Capitals- Landon Ferraro
-The Capitals are rather well-stocked organizationally all over the lot, but their biggest deficiency is a lack of a second line center. They'll hope Ferraro can end those woes.

25. Bruins- Kyle Palmieri
-Palmieri is a sensible value pick at this slot. With question marks surrounding Marc Savard and Patrice Bergeron, the Bruins would do well to add Palmieri to their pipeline.

26. Islanders- Peter Holland
- The Islanders should load up on as much talent as they can get their hands on and take the best player available with all of their picks. That player is Holland at this point in the draft.

27. Hurricanes- Jordan Caron
-Caron is very versatile and can help a team in a lot ways. The Canes have a ton of offensive talent on their team and in their system. Caron can compliment any foward nicely.

28. Blackhawks- Zach Budish
Budish is a big, mean winger who can play in a similar mold to the Hawks' Dustin Byfuglien.

29. Red Wings- Tim Erixon
-The Red Wings always find their gems in Sweden, and Erixon is just another one of them. Carl Klingberg, also of Sweden, is another option.

30. Penguins- Carl Klingberg
-The aforementioned Klingberg is a big winger with a right handed shot. He's mobile for his 6'3'' size and can shoot very well. He's a great pick for the Penguins if he's there.


Round 2-

31. Islanders- Ethan Werek
32. Lightning- Calvin de Haan
33. Avalanche- Drew Shore
34. Thrashers- Dylan Olsen
35. Kings- Richard Panik
36. Coyotes- Toni Rajala
37. Islanders- Olivier Roy
38. Stars- Jeremy Morin
39. Senators- Nick Leddy
40. Oilers- Jakob Silfverberg
41. Predators- Tomas Tatar
42. Predators- Joonas Nattinen
43. Sharks Charles Olivier-Roussel
44. Panthers- Zach Button
45. Thrashers-Marcus Johansson
46. Senators-Dmitri Orlov
47. Rangers- Matt Hackett
48. Blues- Matt Clark (compensatory)
49. Avalanche- Brayden McNabb
50. Leafs- Taylor Doherty
51. Hurricanes-Cody Eakin
52. Lightning- Anton Lander
53. Canucks- Phillipe Paradis
54. Devils- Mike Lee
55. Capitals- Ben Hanowski
56. Islanders- Alex Chiasson
57. Sharks- Michael Latta
58. Leafs- Alex Hutchings
59. Blackhawks- Mikko Koskinen
60. Red Wings- Jesse Blacker
61. Penguins- Erik Haula


Round 3-

62. Islanders- Edward Pasquale
63. Penguins- Anton Rodin
64. Avalanche- Ryan Howse
65. Canadiens- Gleason Fournier
66. Sabres- Eric Gelinas
67. Flames-Seth Helgeson
68. Leafs- Josh Birkholz
69. Stars- Taylor Beck
70. Predators- Chris Brown
71. Oilers- William Wrenn
72. Predators- Jimmy Bubnick
73. Devils- Brian Dumoulin
74. Kings- Tyson Barrie
75. Lightning- Gabriel Lemieux
76. Ducks- Marcus Foligno
77. Jackets- Mac Bennett
78. Blues- Tomas Vincour
79. Canadiens- Kevin Lynch
80. Rangers- Curtis McKenzie
81. Flyers- Kenny Ryan
82. Oilers- Jordan Swarz
83. Canucks- Corban Knight
84. Devils- Jerry D'Amigo
85. Capitals- Ryan Borque
86. Bruins- Collin Bowman
87. Flyers- Burke Gallimore
88. Hurricanes- Jeff Costello
89. Blackhawks- Simon Bertilsson
90. Red Wings- Alex Velischek
91. Islanders- Danny Mattson

The Penguins have built through the draft like no other team in the league. Let's hope Shero keeps that trend alive on Friday night. The draft is at 7:30 on Versus in the United States and TSN in Canada. Versus will probably just carry the TSN feed.