Ruslan Fedotenko has become the third member of last year’s Stanley Cup champion team to take a paycut and stay in Pittsburgh. Fedotenko, who last year made $2.25 million, has signed a one-year deal worth $1.8 million.

This is another great move by GM Ray Shero, who knows that he has the upper hand in these negotiations and has been willing to wait out the initial storm of free agency to sign guys at a reasonable price. Fedotenko scored 16 goals and ranked second on the team with a plus-18 rating in 65 games last season, but it wasn’t until the playoffs when he contributed the most. He had 7 goals and 14 points in 24 postseason games playing on Evgeni Malkin’s wing.

By accepting a paycut, Fedotenko allows the Penguins to sign a veteran defenseman or a backup goalie, one of the few holes they have to fill this offseason.

The move also allows Malkin to keep his Ruslan to go with his Maxy Talby.

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