Free Agency Thread: Day 1

Within the hour the free agency market will open and the frenzy will begin. This is an open thread that can be used to discuss anything NHL or AHL related. As signings occur that affect the Pittsburgh or Wilkes-Barre Penguins I will update the thread below with the news and a source to confirm it.

Feel free to ask anything Penguins related as it pertains to free agents. Who they have left to sign, who they might be after, and much more.



UPDATE: Penguins withdraw 1-year, $2 million offer to Jaromir Jagr.

Pens GM Ray Shero on pulling Jagr deal: "We made what we thought was a very fair contract offer to Jaromir on Tuesday, based on his stated interest of returning to the Penguins," said Ray Shero, the team's executive vice president and general manager. "We made our best offer from the start, given our salary cap structure, in an attempt to facilitate a deal. But now, after several days, with an extended time frame for making a decision, and additional teams getting involved, we have decided to move in a different direction. It was never our intention to get involved in a free agent bidding war, and we have to focus on our team."

UPDATE: Penguins re-sign Tyler Kennedy for 2 years, $2 million annual cap hit.

After withdrawing from Jagr, the Pens get Tyler Kennedy back for 2 more years. Coming off a 21 goal season, TK needs to be a top 6 forward. This leaves the Pens with $3.6 million to go after one more forward maybe?

UPDATE: Remember former WBS Penguin Michel Ouellet? The Tampa Bay Lightning announce they'll  bring him back on a one-year, two-way deal. Ouellet has spent the last two years playing over in Europe.

UPDATE: Jagr signs with the Flyers? Really? I bet the first PIT/PHI game in the Consol Energy Center on December 29th will be interesting.

UPDATE:  The Hershey Bears sign defenseman Paul Baier, formerly of Rochester, to AHL deal for 2011-2012. Here's what Bears broadcaster John Walton had to say about Baier:

"Baier brings good size (6'4", 225 lbs) to Hershey, and he's also a non-vet. Good key first signing for the club today."

 Bears beat writer Tim Leone also had nice things to say about Baier:

"Baier was named Amerks man of the year last season and also garnered the club's community service award."

UPDATE: Another former WBS Penguin player, Tim Brent, signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. Here's what Brent had to say on his Twitter feed:

"Very excited to be a new member of the Carolina Hurricanes. Looking forward to being in Raleigh and helping the team continue to get better!"

UPDATE: Mostly Hershey/Washington news affecting the Penguins today. The Capitals traded Semyon Varlamov to the Colorado Avalanche for their 1st round pick in 2012 and 2nd round pick on either 2012 or 2013.

UPDATE: Jagr not the only player sticking it to the Penguins today. Max Talbot has signed with the Flyers as well. A 5 year deal worth $9 million.

UPDATE: Mike Rupp signs with the New York Rangers. Three years for $1.5 million a season.

UPDATE: Pittsburgh Penguins make their second signing of the day, signing former Nashville Predator forward Steve Sullivan to a one year deal worth $1.5 million. That gives the Penguins 12 forwards in the NHL not including Eric Tangradi, Dustin Jeffrey and Nick Johnson.

UPDATE: Hershey might have just gotten a big boost for 2011-12. They have signed forward Ryan Potulny and Matthew Ford. Here's what TSN's Bob McKenzie says on the details of Potulny's contract:

Washington signs Ryan Potulny to 2 year deal. First year is 2-way, $525K/$105K. Second year is $525K on a one-way deal. Big-time AHL scorer.

Here's what Bears beat writer Tim Leone had to say about Ford:

Ford (26G,16A) for Lake Erie last season. Joudrey's teammate at Wisconsin.