Parise and Suter Sign With Wild, Pens Move On.

It’s all finally over.  #PariseWatch has ended.  Zach Parise and Ryan Suter have each signed a 13 year deal worth $98 million ($7.538 mil cap hit) with the Minnesota Wild.  As news came out today, we learned that Parise and Suter had been talking about playing on the same team for the past year, and spent much of the past 2 days considering their options together.  Suter never wanted to play in the East, so that was certainly a factor.  For Suter it was between Nashville, Detroit, and Minnesota.  Also, Parise said it came down to Minnesota and New Jersey.  He told NJ it was tough to leave there, but he couldn’t turn down the option of playing where he grew up.  Clearly the one team with the overlap between the 2 won big.

So there it is Pens fans, Pittsburgh was 3^rd at best.  In hindsight and with all of the reports, here is my analogy.  Pittsburgh was the sports car, it had sex appeal, it allowed Parise to play with Crosby and have a chance at winning Cups in the immediate future.  Minnesota was a new 4 door sedan, it was safe and logical, it offered a place to both grow and retire and it was reasonable.  Finally, New Jersey was the old beat up first car, it gave Parise a start and memories he could never replace, it was his second home.  Guess what, long term relationships (say, 13 years) don’t last just on pure sexiness.  Pittsburgh may have been appealing for a short moment, but according to Shero, the Pens were never close to getting Parise or Suter.

Now on to my various thoughts:

On the Contracts:

The Parise deal is solid.  A $7.538 million cap hit for him makes sense and he is a dynamic player.  The same price for Suter is asinine in my opinion.  I don’t believe he will be worth it even in Year 1 after benefitting from playing with Weber for so long.  He’s talented, but he’s not worth more than $6 mil / yr at best in my opinion right now.  The Parise deal will probably be worth it, but they may regret the Suter deal.

On Going to Minnesota:

I see nothing wrong with Parise’s decision to go to Minnesota.  They have as much of a chance at building a winner over the next decade as any other team in the league.  Look at the last 10 winners: Tampa, Carolina, Anaheim, and LA are very much unpredicted teams in that group.  The last 4 winners were amongst the bottom 5 teams coming out of the lockout less than a decade ago.  Any team can turn into a winner quickly in this NHL landscape.  Also, don’t forget that the Wild were in 1^st place for over a month last year.  It was not sustainable, but they aren’t that far off, especially with these additions.

Minnesota made the most sense to me to be honest (not just saying that, I called it before free agency began too).  This is a retirement contract for Parise and Suter.  Parise is from there and Suter’s wife is from there.  Family ties clearly pulled at the players hard.  On top of it, there is something special about going home and bringing your home town team a championship.  Parise gets the chance to be a hometown hero over the next decade.  If you can blame him for that decision, you gave up rational thoughts long ago.

"Destiny Has a New Home."  Maybe it went to Minnesota?

On Pittsburgh Not Getting Them:

I have no problem with not getting Parise.  It would have been nice but it was a luxury.  The Pens are one of the top goal scoring teams in the league and still have Crosby, Malkin and Neal to lead the way.  They are not hurt by not getting Parise; it just would have been a nice present.  Missing out on Suter hurts more, but the Pens were never on his radar so it doesn’t appear to be a surprise.  When it comes down to it, shelling out $98 million to either of these players wasn’t a necessity for the Penguins to compete, and it’s an acceptable “loss”.  Also, Shero said in his press conference that the Pens did not miss out on any other players by waiting for these 2; it was Parise and/or Suter or bust.  So take it for what it is, nothing changed.

On Where the Pens Stand Now:

This is the part where I’ll be a little up in arms.  The Pens are a worse team than they were 2 weeks ago.  This bothers me right now and will bother me until it changes.  Vokoun was a great addition to back up Fleury.  The Staal deal was fine, no issues there – I like Brandon Sutter a lot and I think he will do a great job as a 3^rd line center and will have more offensive potential than people realize.  I have no problem letting go of Asham either, I believe Tanner Glass is an improvement on him.  Losing Sullivan to Phoenix today hurt the powerplay a lot, but he is replaceable as a regular winger and I think Shero will find someone to do the job.

So my issue: Michalek for a bag of pucks.  Shero has a lot of cap room to work with and doesn’t seem to need it yet (even if the Pens spend to the cap, you’re allowed to go $7 million over the cap in the summer).  Michalek could have been traded for a bag of pucks the day before the season started if necessary, but there was no reason to get him out right away.  I realize he requested a trade and it was professional courtesy, but I wonder if it should have been more of a hockey trade than a salary dump given how everything has evolved.  And no, I did not take this stance as soon as we lost out on Parise; I didn’t like the trade initially and wrote the same thing right after it happened.  The Pens lack a true defensive defenseman right now and they got nothing back for the one they had under contract.

Scoring doesn't bother me.  This bothers me.

On What the Pens Should Do Next:

The free agent market is awful.  If I was forced to pick 2 free agents I would want at this point, they would be Peter Mueller and Chris Campoli.  I do like Mueller a lot, but he is a major injury risk.  Campoli has been moved around a lot at only the age of 27 and probably can’t be relied on more than a 3^rd pair defenseman (which I would still take at the right price).  The story is the same; the Pens could use a winger and NEED a defenseman in my opinion.  I would expect Shero to make a depth signing in the free agent market like he usually does, but nothing flashy or important.

Shero will surely scour the trade market where he has robbed so many teams, but I think the prices will be too high at first.  It may be a quiet few weeks before the Pens make a move, if any.  There are an awful lot of teams with too much cap room right now (Pens – 11 mil, Rangers – 16 mil, Wings – 17 mil, Caps – 19 mil).  Prepare to see some insanity throughout the upcoming season.

Final Thoughts:

For what it’s worth, the Penguins are on Rick Nash’s short list of approved teams that he would be willing to go to.

Shero has had some tough attempts with free agents, but has done wonders on the trade market.  He is not a bad GM.  Parise wanted to go home.  Hamhuis wanted to go home.  Hossa wanted to go to a better team (Detroit had just beaten his team, it was logical).  Jagr wanted more money.  His gains from Guerin, Kunitz, Dupuis, Neal, Niskanen, etc. far outweigh his free agency troubles.  One may argue he struck out on UFA’s Martin and Michalek.  Michalek has a reasonable deal if you look around the NHL.  Martin is overpaid, but I personally think he will have a much better season this year than last.  It’s hard to judge a 5 year contract without 5 years passing.  Look at Gonchar’s tenure here if you can’t understand that.

Here is my rough predicted Pens lineup as of right now:

Kunitz – Crosby – Dupuis

Cooke – Malkin - Neal

Jeffrey – Sutter – Kennedy

Glass – Vitale – Adams

Tangradi (RFA) – Peters

Letang – Orpik

Niskanen – Martin

Lovejoy – Engelland

Reese

Fleury

Vokoun

This roster still needs work, regardless of what Shero says about being comfortable with it.  It's not a bad team, but it's not a Cup winner either.  Who is next on your wishlist?  The next podcast will be recorded tonight and posted tomorrow.

Staal Saga Ends, Shero Makes Waves at 2012 Draft

Friday started with Pens fans still reeling from the Staal contract rejection news.  Would he be traded?  Would he be signed?  What could the Pens even get for him?  When would all of it happen?  How was his wedding going?

Oh the NHL Draft...more drama than a family  reunion.
Wait a second...

Well, the answers came flying in quickly on the first day of the 2012 NHL Entry Draft, during his wedding.  The draft was simple and ordinary through the first seven picks as only small side deals were made, none involving 1^st rounders.  But then came the Carolina Hurricanes with the 8th pick, quickly followed by the flashing sign of “Trade Alert” on the screen behind Gary Bettman.  The crowd oooed and awwwed before even hearing the trade, and then a bombshell came down.

Carolina receives: Jordan Staal

Pittsburgh receives: The #8 pick overall, Brandon Sutter, and Brian Dumoulin

Within 5 days, the Staal saga turned from far-fetched rumor, to a contract offer, to a contract rejection, to a statement he didn’t want to negotiate right now, to a plane ticket out to Carolina.  Goodbye Jordan, thanks for the memories – especially in 2009, and I hope it didn't ruin your wedding (since he found out during the reception while with half the Pens).

I'll miss your PK, your defensive abilities, your shot...
but most of all, I'll miss your "WOOOOO!!"

The Pens used the #8 pick to draft defenseman Derrick Pouliot (weird, another defenseman) and continued on their regular path after shocking the crowd.  At #22 the Pens took, oh you guessed it, another defenseman in Olli Maatta, and that was it for their draft.

But Ray Shero was not done making waves, rumors started flying again as the draft neared an end.  Shero was getting awfully friendly with the Coyotes table.  The Coyotes were talking about moving Keith Yandle, could this be the move?  No, it wouldn’t be.  Instead, Shero threw out an aftershock by completing the following deal.

Phoenix receives: Zbynek Michalek

Pittsburgh receives: Harrison Ruopp, Marc Cheverie, and a 3^rd round pick (81^st overall)

Who?

Saturday morning and afternoon went quietly, and now we have a new team heading into the week before free agency starts on July 1^st.

One step at a time though, how do we feel about how Day 1 went?  Here are my thoughts:

A moment that Jordan will never have to worry about again.
Also, Marc Staal's new re-occuring nightmare.

Staal Trade:

I flat out love this deal.  Ray Shero had no business getting a decent return on Jordan Staal after the past week’s events as I wrote on Thursday.  Carolina had all of the leverage, Jordan Staal had a lot of leverage, and Ray Shero had very little.  To that, Shero said “eff this” and did everything his way, somehow still getting a great return for Staal.

Logically, Staal said he only wanted to extend with Carolina, and he didn’t want to negotiate with Pittsburgh right now.  Carolina could have waited as long as they wanted to for this trade.  They could have waited a year and signed Staal as a UFA – his intentions were clear.  But somehow, Shero managed to pick up three assets for a player who was already leaving.  Good for you Ray Shero.

I am a big Brandon Sutter fan.  This started in his first full season, largely because the girl I was dating then was a Hurricanes fan so I watched them a lot, but I’ve been a huge fan of him since then.  He is a very smart two-way center.  Sutter is great positionally, shows a high amount of discipline, and still has some offensive touch.  In my head, he has always been Jordan Staal with less shot power and less size (though 6’3, Sutter only weighs 180ish).  He’s not a gritty guy, but he knows where to be at all times and he will intercept a lot of passes and create turnovers.  He’s a perfect true 3^rd line center for the Penguins, though he could generally be a 2^nd line center on many teams.

Has Staal ever done this?  No, no he hasn't.  Point Sutter.

Brian Dumoulin fits the mold of a Ray Shero defenseman lately.  He is a bigger guy at 6’3-6’4, but a very fluid skater and offensively minded.  He is a two time NCAA champion with Boston College and should slide right into WBS at the AHL level this year.

The first round pick was used to take Derrick Pouliot.  Pouliot is a smaller defenseman, only 6’0, but of course is offensively skilled.  He is a solid puck mover and can QB the powerplay in the future perhaps.  It is likely he won’t turn pro for another year though and he has some positioning issues.

In the end, after the interviews, we now know that Staal eventually wanted to play with his brother and the 10 year deal scared him away.  He fully intended to test free agency at this point and wanted to play with Eric eventually. Shero did the best he could with what he had.

Trade Winner:  Carolina.  Let’s be honest, Staal is the best player in this deal and Carolina is immediately better.  Pittsburgh is immediately worse for this deal.  Carolina wins the trade.

Trade Winner under the circumstances: Even.  The Pens simply could not have done any better than they did here.

And then there were two...

1^st Round Pick:

With their original pick in the 1^st round, the Pens selected Olli Maatta at #22 overall (Insert joke about player with aa in his name being a Penguins roster requirement).  Maatta is considered a skilled two way defenseman that is very reliable in his own end first.  He can add some offensive prowess, but his strengths are in the defensive zone.  One thing to note about him – he has spent some time playing with Pens prospect Scott Harrington as well.  Maatta was expected to go higher and this was a great value (and in my opinion, need) pick for Shero.

Michalek Trade

As of right now, I do not like this trade but that depends on what it turns into.  This was clearly a salary dump.  Michalek wasn’t incredibly comfortable in Pittsburgh after this year, Phoenix missed him, and it all worked out to a trade where the Pens picked up no NHL salary in return.

Michalek was the Penguins only true defensive defenseman who was a minutes-eater.  Orpik is not a shutdown defenseman necessarily and is on the decline.  For this reason, I am slightly concerned about trading him away without knowing what we will have in the future to replace him.  He got a bad reputation in Pittsburgh as he was often-injured and struggled at times, but he was also a key reason that the Pens survived the Crosby and Malkin injuries a year ago.  I certainly did not want to see Michalek go.

Thanks for taking the abuse, Z.

Ruopp is a youngster at the age of 19 who still has improvements to make if he wants to be an NHLer.  He is a very tough defenseman, both in terms of hitting and fighting, with pretty much no offensive upside.  I don’t expect much of him, especially given the Pens depth with young defensemen.

Marc Cheverie is a goalie that was drafted by Florida in the 7^th round in 2006.  He is currently in the ECHL and grew up in Cole Harbour with Sidney Crosby.  He adds depth for WBS and Wheeling, but that’s all that needs to be said about him.

The 3^rd round pick was used to take Oscar Sundqvist from Sweden.  He will likely spend another year in Sweden and fill out more before coming to the US.  He’s 6’3 and has an aggressive game, but is too far from the NHL to predict well or scout out for me.

Winner: Phoenix.  They gained a strong defensive defenseman and gave up a lot of nothing.  The Pens may have wanted to dump salary, but there is no question the Coyotes won the deal, especially without knowing what happens with extra room under the salary cap.

So that was it for transactions and the 1^st round pick (I won’t go through all of the picks because frankly, there are better sites for you to read about that on).

The feeling you get when you realize Martin still makes $5 mil
and Staal and Michalek are gone.

How did the Pens fare? Plain and simple, this team is worse than it was going into Friday. The current day roster gave up Jordan Staal and Zbynek Michalek for a return of Brandon Sutter. That is something everyone needs to remember and understand before the free agency frenzy begins. This team is absolutely worse than what it was.

With that being said, now the rumors have begun.  Shero appears to be after both Ryan Suter and Zach Parise.  Parise has a link to Crosby.  Suter has a link to Parise.  The Pens will likely make a hard push on July 1^st for both.  I, along with all of you, hope that it works out.  I hope we get Suter more than Parise because defense is a much bigger issue than scoring on this team.  Parise may be flashy, but the biggest weakness is the defense – Suter is far more valuable to this roster.

But, if the Pens get left in the dust on Suter AND Parise, what happens?  And don’t just argue this by telling me Shero will get it done; actually take the time to think about it.  The free agent market is awful this summer.  Here is a list of your top free agents.  After Parise and Suter, the only guys I would like on that list are P.A. Parenteau, Bryan Allen, Jason Garrison, and that’s it.  Don't forget 29 other GMs are in on this too.

With Craig Adams, Sutter, and Parise, the Pens may
finally surpass most teams in literacy.

If Shero finds a good use for the cap room he just created, then the Pens will ultimately look back at the 2012 Draft as a win.  But it’s not a win until that has happened, so stay tuned for a wild July 1st, and hope to everything you believe in that the Pens get who they want.  Because if not...

The Jordan Staal Saga

For anyone who cares about where Jordan Staal will call home in the future, this week has been a crazy one.  FYI – that group includes Pens fans, NHL media, some NHL fans, and oh yeah, his fiancé that he will marry today.

Sorry puck bunnies, he's off the market.
Sorry Pens fans, he might be on the market.

It all began on this past Monday, when the Trib’s Rob Rossi reported that he had heard Carolina made a rough offer of Brandon Sutter, Justin Faulk, and the 8th overall pick for Jordan Staal. Fan reaction went crazy, which was rather hilarious to watch. Canes fans felt they were giving up too much. Pens fans felt it wasn’t enough. Regardless, the questions about Staal’s future went into overdrive. (Personally, I’d take that deal in a heartbeat.)

There had been several rumors and touchy-feely stories suggesting that Jordan would like to play in Carolina with his brother Eric and that Hurricanes GM Jim Rutherford was looking for a player of Jordan’s talents (without naming him, to avoid tampering), but nothing was concrete about anyone’s intentions until Rossi came out with that gem.

Maybe Jordan can teach Eric about positioning.

Less than 48 hours later, Dave Molinari of the PG began tweeting out a different story.  It was one that included a talk with Pens GM Ray Shero.  Amongst the topics: Staal hadn’t told the Pens he wanted to leave, Shero was not negotiating trades even though teams were interested, and Shero wanted to sign Staal (not trade him).  The Trib joined in with the Shero talk and all of the news outlets finally reported that Shero intends to sign Staal and that the masses could calm down now.

The masses did calm down, and Pittsburgh began to prepare for the draft before abruptly being shocked yet again within 48 hours.  TSN’s Bob McKenzie, the worldwide leader in hockey transactions as far as I’m concerned, tweeted out that Staal turned down a 10 year (rumored to be $60 million) deal and told the Penguins he did not want to negotiate now.  His agent would not say more than he did not want to negotiate a contract extension at this time, leaving the NHL masses to start speculating where he wants to go again. 

As of right now, we are left with rumors that Jordan is open to negotiating with Carolina if a trade can be made...but no word on anything else, including the Penguins.

So Jordan, why do you not want to negotiate a contract right now?  Is it because you are a Top 2 center stuck in a 3^rd center’s role?  Maybe you want to go play with Eric?  Perhaps you just want to wait and see what your options are?  Maybe it’s even because you’re getting married in a matter of hours?!?  (I don’t think it’s the latter one, if that was the case there wouldn’t have been a rejection leaked, just no word at all).

Top Pens scorer of the playoffs, doesn't want to stay?

Everything from here on is just my speculation and thoughts:

First off, this news does nothing but hurt Shero’s poker hand a little bit.  Staal’s trade value drops immediately if he won’t negotiate a deal before becoming an unrestricted free agent.

Now there are many paths this could take:

1) Shero feels the need to trade Staal now because he is getting the best offers he thinks he may get.  Staal is traded this offseason, life goes on.

2) The Pens continue to negotiate with Staal later this summer and sign him before the season starts.

3) The Pens decide to keep him for his value on the ice and make one last strong push for a Cup with their 3 center system.  Staal either:

a) re-signs next June before becoming a UFA,

b) has his rights traded for a mid to late round draft pick before July 1^st, or

c) walks for nothing on July 1^st.

4) The Pens keep him but decide to trade him at the deadline due to his performance, their performance, or the idea of getting a return on him.  His value will be diminished greatly unless traded to a contender who can sign him long term.

5) Wanting to maximize trade value, the Pens trade Staal this summer with the intentions of trying to bring him back as a UFA next summer.  It is rare, but this move has happened before (more likely for veterans at the trade deadline). 

If I was betting on this, I would certainly favor either 1) or 2) and I would have to be leaning 1) pretty heavily.  Shero has a team to assemble for next year, a captain to re-sign to a long term extension, and a new CBA and potential salary cap to worry about.  He is not going to let Staal sit in the driver’s seat.  The last time he let a player into the driver’s seat, Marian Hossa turned down a long term deal to go to Detroit.  So what do I think Shero will do?  I think he will do what is best for his franchise, which likely amounts to trading Staal this summer rather than risk no return on a very valuable asset.

For those of you that thought Sutter, Faulk, and 1^st rounder weren’t enough for Staal? – get ready for a lower return.  The Pens are destined to lose any possible deal on the sheer fact that Staal will be the best player involved.  Let’s just hope Shero can get a return that helps us win another Cup.

And FYI – I want Staal to stay, I’m a big fan of keeping him around.  I just don’t see that being a likely path unless he decides he’s willing to negotiate a long term deal soon.

EDIT - another interesting note, per Dejan Kovacevic of the Trib...the Pens leaked the news to the media, not Staal's camp.  That's a very interesting move for a team that just hurt their own trade value if that's the case.

Pens Trade For and Sign Tomas Vokoun

I had fully intended on taking a break from blogging until the Stanley Cup Finals were over, as I have kept busy by writing about the Kings on The Hockey Writers (http://thehockeywriters.com/author/rshanmugam/), but Ray Shero waits for no one.  He couldn’t even wait until I did my player by player season in review post before the draft, the inconsiderate jerk!

As you should know by now, the Penguins traded away their 7^th round pick in 2012 to the Washington Capitals for the rights to pending unrestricted free agent goalie Tomas Vokoun.  Vokoun was given permission by the Capitals early last week to seek a potential team for next year.  He had a no trade clause and had no intention of staying in Washington, so the team decided this would be the best way to receive some compensation for him.

"The playoffs aren't over yet?  I do what I want."

Apparently after talking to Ray Shero, the two found a match for multiple years.  Vokoun waived his NTC and shortly after the deal, the Penguins announced that Vokoun had signed a 2 year deal, worth $2 million each year.  Here are a few of the factors that went into this deal:

- Shero has worked with Vokoun before, back when they were both in Nashville

- Vokoun has the same agent as Fleury (Allan Walsh), so there is a healthy dynamic in place potentially

- The goalie market this year is weak in terms of truly tested experience

- There is a strong belief that Fleury played too many games down the stretch last year, which may have factored into a poor playoff performance

- Neither Brent Johnson, nor Brad Thiessen, looked capable enough last season to take on a bigger role this year

Okay, maybe it wasn't all Johnson's fault.

My overall thoughts are this is a great deal as it stands right now.  Vokoun has had injury problems lately, especially with his groin, but he fills a huge need for the Penguins if he stays healthy.  I personally felt that getting a backup goalie was the top IMMEDIATE need for the Penguins.  There are the contract situations with the forwards – but they don’t expire until next summer, and the defense played bad – but they are all under contract, so goaltending was still a fluid situation which could be fixed easily and quickly.  Also, hopefully we don't see this happen in Pittsburgh:

Here are some other miscellaneous thoughts on this deal:

- Vokoun has clearly signed on to be a backup.  He is not a threat to Fleury, and the team called Fleury before the deal to talk to him about it.  Vokoun even said in interviews he does not care how much he plays, he just wants to win a Cup.  There is NO goalie controversy whatsoever.

- Expect Vokoun to play in roughly 25 games or so.  The Pens wanted Fleury to play in 60 games last season and he ended up in 67 due to a variety of factors.  As we all saw how he floundered through March and April, there is no chance the Pens will let that happen again.  Vokoun should be good for at least 20 starts plus other relief appearances if not more starts.

Add 1 to the Euro group!

- This move both pushes Fleury, since he has a starting caliber goalie behind him, and also allows him to relax because he knows he can have an off night and feel confident about the goalie stepping into his place.  Athletes like Fleury always want to be the guy, and often have trouble trusting others to do a job as well as they can do it themselves (reference: Big Ben always playing at 50% when injured).  A goalie of Vokoun’s caliber takes that weight off of Fleury’s shoulders, while also letting him know that he can’t slump without getting replaced.  It also helps the coaching staff in the same way as they can hopefully trust Vokoun more than they did Johnson or Thiessen last year.

- Many people have questioned spending $2 million on a backup.  It is pricey; there is no question about that.  However, the cap is expected to go up to $70.3 million according to many sources, which makes it a manageable number to deal with.  Also, Ray Shero will not let this signing break the bank on keeping a top 3 center, I assure you.  There are enough other disposable players that he can use in a salary dump if absolutely necessary.  Paying $2 million to see Fleury fresh and strong in the playoffs is well worth the money.  He is capable of carrying this team on his own when given the right situation, and this is a part of creating the right situation.

- Finally, goodbye Brent Johnson.  You were a wonderful backup 2 years ago, not quite as good last year, but you always seemed like a great guy.  It was nice having you in Pittsburgh and I hope you do well elsewhere.  Thank you for punching Rick DiPietro for that everlasting memory.  Good luck.

- I’m not even going to address the 7^th round pick; it’s not even worth it.

What are your thoughts? Like Vokoun, hate Vokoun, too much money, or just right?

Pens sign Neal to 6yr, $30 mil deal

So, as the title says, GM Ray Shero signed James Neal to a 6 year, $30 mil extension this morning.  On this day, at this point in time, it looks like a great contract and an absolute steal.

I imagine this was Neal's look as he signed it.

Let's break it down into POTENTIAL pros and cons:

Pros:
- Neal has had a breakout year at the age of 24, already with career highs of 30 goals and 56 points through only 58 games so far.

- The chemistry between Malkin and Neal has almost been tangible with how impressive it has been.  This contract keeps Neal next to Geno, and may entice Geno to stay when it's his turn to extend as well.

- The contract keeps Neal through the prime of his career, until he's 30.

- At $5 mil/yr., if Neal continues to put up 30-40 goals through the contract, it's a great deal by NHL standards.  Other guys making $5 mil or more and failing miserably in comparison: Gomez, Cammalleri, Semin, and many many more.  Even highly sought after, free agent to-be, Zach Parise has less production than Neal.

Imagine seeing that goofy smile 40-50 times every year until 2018.

Cons:
- Neal is being paid at a potential high point in his career.  I'm not saying Neal has peaked, nor that he won't turn into a 50 goal scorer, just that he is getting  paid at the instant of his best performance, which is a questionable way to give out contracts sometimes (see: the above questionable contracts).

- His performance has also been mostly with a healthy, and NHL dominant Malkin.  We have seen what Mario could do with his wingers.  I'm not suggesting that's the case with Neal, but it's something to consider in how much he's truly worth.  The Pens always have a difficult task in judging a players value with and without centers like Crosby and Malkin.

- Let's say, for arguments sake, Neal turns into one of those players who puts in a spectacular regular season every year but disappears in the playoffs.  Do we still like the contract?  We don't have a barometer for that yet because I consider last season an aberration, but that just means no measurement still.

- The Salary Cap, which sits at $64 million right now, is expected to go up after this season...until September.  Then, it appears that everyone in the NHL is expecting an argument and another short lockout that will bring down player's revenue and also bring down the cap which has been increasing every year.  How much the cap moves will certainly have an impact on how strong of a deal this is since it covers 6 years.

Here's to seeing a lot more pictures like this!

Bottom line is this:  A contract can't be judged at any instant in time, but only over the full length of its term.  Shero has had the luxury of giving extensions to proven players that the Pens have had for a while (Orpik, Fleury, Letang, Crosby, Malkin).  He also gave out an iffy 6 year, $24 mil. deal to Ryan Whitney (though admittedly, he fixed that one quite well).  This contract will be an interesting test for Shero.

As of today, it's a win.  But don't throw the parade quite yet!