re: NHL Free Agency Thread

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Christian Ehrhoff to Pittsburgh Penguins -- one year, $4 million

Everything about this seems right for the Penguins, a team in definite transition. The one-year term is like a trial engagement for both player and team, and the $4 million for a guy who made $18 million in the first two years of his bloated 10-year deal with Buffalo is likewise a win for a Penguins team that is still among the top teams in the Eastern Conference.

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Brooks Orpik to Washington Capitals -- five years, $27.5 million

Let's start by saying Orpik remains one of our absolute favorite players. Brutally honest, hard as nails, he is the kind of guy any team, and we mean any team, would love to have in their locker room. But at age 33, the fact new Washington Capitals GM Brian MacLellan offered a five-year deal at the astronomical number of $5.5 per year is just plain cuckoo. Two years at that number? OK. Five years at half that number? Still too long given the toll Orpik's style of play has taken on his body, but maybe. Now, is it possible Orpik's presence along with new head coach Barry Trotz helps take the Caps' a giant step forward? Wouldn't be surprised at all. But that doesn't excuse the ridiculous excess of this deal. Does the strangeness of this deal balance out the good work in locking down the top defenseman on the market in another former Penguin Matt Niskanen, whom the Caps inked to a seven-year deal worth $40.25 million? Well, let's just say both are fraught with danger, but Niskanen was expected to command that kind of deal. Orpik? Not so much.

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