O'Sullivan, Others Lining Up For Offer From Penguins

-Lately, the Penguins have heard from several players who want to play in Pittsburgh. There is a lot of interest from players such as Patrick O'Sullivan, Marek Svatos, and Jeff Halpern. It is good to see they want to come here, but Shero may only choose one of them or possibly none of them. O'Sullivan, 25, scored 11 goals and recorded 34 points in 73 games with the Edmonton Oilers last season. O'Sullivan has contacted the Penguins already about joining, but Shero does not seem too interested at this point. It is a possibility if he is still available, Pittsburgh could give him a training camp invite. Marek Svatos' agent has already said that his client would love to play for Pittsburgh. Svatos scored 32 goals in 2005-06, his rookie season. Despite some people saying Svatos is talking to Pittsburgh, I have not received anything. The next few weeks will be interesting for sure.
-Paul Kariya will not play this season, due to post concussion syndrome.

Guerin Not Returning

-The question has been answered. Bill Guerin will not be a member of the 2010-11 Pittsburgh Penguins. Ray Shero told him this morning that the team will not make him an offer after lengthy discussions earlier. Guerin became a fan favorite  in 2008-09 when the Penguins won the Stanley Cup. He was the veteran leader that kept everyone loose, especially after Game 5 of the Finals. In 95 regular season games with Pittsburgh, Guerin scored 26 goals and recorded 57 points. Guerin plans to play another season still. The Flyers and Bruins are two teams that have talked to him. Shero said that Guerin's skills were not needed anymore. Many fans are very sad and many are glad he is gone, but things change in this game. Thanks and best wishes Bill!

NHL Notes

-LW Raffi Torres has found a new home, with the Vancouver Canucks. The 28 year old waited over a month and a half to sign a 1 year, $1 million contract with Vancouver. The Penguins had interest in him at the trade deadline last season, but ended up with Alexei Ponikarovsky. The Penguins did not seem too interested in him this summer.
-The drama still has not ended on the Ilya Kovalchuk front. Bill Daly of the NHL, as well as Gary Bettman, said that the Devils met with the NHL on Monday to talk about Kovalchuk, but he also stated that no contract was submitted. Yahoo Sports then reported that a contract was presented and that the NHL should have decided on it in 24 hours. It has been 48 hours and counting already. When will this end?

Guerin Rumors Swirling

 UPDATE: Andy Strickland has reported the Penguins will make a decision on Guerin in the coming days.

-Bill Guerin still remains a free agent, but it may not be for too much longer. Rumors about the 39 year old have been swirling the last few days. On Sunday, Eklund reported that the Philadelphia Flyers were interested in Guerin. Earlier today, NHL News reported that the Los Angeles Kings offered him a contract. Those could be true, but I have not heard either one of those. The latest I have is that Guerin is willing to take a considerable paycut to stay with the Penguins. He will start talking a new deal with Pittsburgh this week. Does that mean he will get a contract offer? No, I did not say that. It is no guarantee that Guerin will sign with Pittsburgh. There are a lot of mixed opinions about the team signing Guerin. There are a lot of fans of Billy, but there are also people who do not want him back. One fan said, "This would, potentially, be the best news I've heard since July 1st." Clearly, Guerin has some big fans from Pittsburgh, but we will see if Ray Shero is such a fan to sign him.

Pens Nation Logo Unveiled

-Today we are happy to unveil the official logo of Pens Nation. We are very proud to have this logo as well as the header at the top of the page. Both of these fantastic pieces of work were made by Travis Ulrich, of Ulrich Design. I highly recommend him if you are looking for any of the following:
• Logos
• Business Cards
• Letterhead and Business Stationary
• WordPress sites
• Brochures and Booklets
• Posters
• Web Graphics
You definitely should check out his website!
You can also follow him on Twitter and Facebook!
He is an easy guy to work with and does a fantastic job! He is also a Pens fan!
Thanks again Travis and thank you to all Pens Nation readers for your support!

Asham Signing Does Not Rule Out Guerin

-After the Penguins signed Arron Asham yesterday, many fans questioned the decision and then stated, "No more Billy G!" From what I have heard today, that is not exactly the case. The Penguins will have internal meetings next week and Guerin is fully expected to make a decision by then. Guerin remains an option with Pittsburgh and has not been ruled out. Ray Shero and the Penguins have kept in contact with Bob Murray, Guerin's agent, in the past week. Guerin has made it known he would like to play in the Consol Energy Center and stay with the Penguins, but Shero wants him to take a discount.

Penguins Sign Arron Asham

-The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed a winger. A scoring winger for Sidney Crosby? No, but it still is a good signing by Ray Shero. The Penguins signed RW Arron Asham to a one year, $700,000 contract. The deal is a one way contract. Asham, 32, recorded 24 points in 72 games with the Philadelphia Flyers last season. He scored a career high four goals and seven points in the postseason. He also had 126 penalty minutes during the regular season, which ranked 24th most in the NHL. That would have been the most penalty minutes on the Penguins had Asham played with Pittsburgh last season. Asham is regarded as a tough guy who will likely play on the Penguins third or fourth line. Asham signed with Pittsburgh because he felt they gave him the best chance of winning a Stanley Cup after losing in the finals with Philadelphia last season. This signing may mean that the Penguins will consider putting Evgeni Malkin and Jordan Staal on the same line. Pittsburgh now has around $1.5 million left to spend.