Pens Sign Cooke to 3 Year Deal

-GM Ray Shero accomplished one of his offseason goals by locking up winger Matt Cooke for three years. Cooke signed a three year, $5.4 million contract this morning. That averages to about $1.8 million per season, a raise of over $500,000. The contract may include a limited no trade clause, but it has not been confirmed. Cooke could have gotten much more money on the open market, but he elected to stay with Pittsburgh, as we reported that he wanted to stay. On July 1st, he could have become an unrestricted free agent. Kudos to Shero for locking him up for a good price.
-Mark Eaton has not had any discussions with the Penguins so far and could become a free agent July 1st. His agent said that the two sides will likely meet in Los Angeles on Friday.
- According to TIOPS, the Chicago Blackhawks are interested in some role players of the Penguins with low cap hits. The names remain to be seen. Chicago will need to shed some salary space and Pittsburgh  would likely have some interest in some players that have been rumored to be available. Those players include Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, and Andrew Ladd.
-The Florida Panthers have traded Nathan Horton to the Boston Bruins for Dennis Wideman and the 15th overall pick in the draft.