Penguins Free-Agent Update: He’s B-a-a-a-c-k!

I had my headline all picked out for when Evgeni Malkin officially became a free agent today.

“D-I-V-O-R-C-E”…after the old Tammy Wynette tearjerker.

I went to bed last night wondering what moves GM Ron Hextall might make on the first day of free agency. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect anything like what transpired. With both feet seemingly out the PPG Paints Arena door, Malkin did an 11^th hour about-face and agreed to terms on a 4-year, $24.4 million contract with an AAV of $6.1 million…identical to Kris Letang’s.

Once again, Hextall traded off salary for term. In the process, avoiding a messy Jaromir Jagr-type breakup with another all-time great.

I’m not sure what caused Geno to change his mind and accept the same deal that apparently had been on the table for several days. Perhaps he and agent J.P. Barry had preliminary talks with other clubs and were underwhelmed by what they heard. Maybe his teammates were able to sway the big center. Sidney Crosby visited Geno at his Florida home recently, presumably to lend emotional support through what were at times prickly negotiations. Maybe Sid was at work behind the scenes, smoothing ruffled feelings. Or perhaps good old-fashioned sentiment won out.

Having written what was basically a farewell ode to Geno yesterday, I’ll take a little credit, too. The reverse Rick Buker PenguinPoop mojo is alive and well.

With Malkin’s surprise signing, Hextall’s basically put the old gang back together…sort of. Even though he brought back Geno and Tanger for a combined AAV of $12.2 million, about $3-4 million less than I’d anticipated, GMRH only has about $3.4 million left to flesh out his lineup and find suitable replacements for Danton Heinen, Evan Rodrigues and Brian Boyle, who I’m assuming are gone. (Guess I shouldn’t assume anything given what just transpired.)

Hextall hinted at the end of our aborted Cup run that kids such as Filip Hallander, Drew O’Connor and Valtteri Puustinen could make the big club this season. Perhaps Samuel Poulin and the “Big Z” Radim Zohorna as well. Barring a cap-clearing trade or two and/or some astute (cheap) free-agent signings, that seems a distinct possibility.

To be honest, I’m not sure how I feel about all this. Finding a suitable replacement for Malkin, especially at his new rate, was going to be difficult if not damn-near impossible. On any given night, No. 71’s still a dynamic offensive performer and he’s money on the power play, a factor that can’t be overlooked.

Consistency issues aside, there’s a tendency to undersell just how impressive his comeback was last season, scoring at a point-per-game clip on a right knee that probably wasn’t up to snuff following major surgery. To say nothing of the fact that he got very little support from his wingers.

Still, I wonder what would’ve happened had we signed, say, pending Hurricanes UFA Vincent Trocheck (no guarantee that we would’ve or could’ve). The Pittsburgh native is in no way Geno’s equal offensively. But overall?

Too, perhaps a changing of the guard would’ve reinvigorated the Pens with a new energy. The Brandon Tanev effect.

I also wonder what our fortunes will be like three or four years down the road when our aging core nears the end of the line. At some point, the Pens are going to be forced to commit to a significant retool if not a full-blown tear down and rebuild.

During the interim? It appears Hextall will try to reinforce the team on the fly with (hopefully) savvy signings like forward Jordan Frasca and goalies Taylor Gauthier and Filip Lindberg.

For now, the die is cast. The Three Amigos ride again.