Small-market model behavior?(NHL)(National Hockey League)

I've given it time. I've tried to figure it out. I've weighed the pros and cons. And now, with weeks of this behind me, I officially can say it makes no sense. The Penguins really signed Mark Recchi to a three-year deal worth a possible $9 million ($3 million for the first two seasons and an option for the third)? The Penguins, who for seasons now have been giving away players to cut payroll? The Penguins, who are the small-market model that is supposed to represent how unfair the league's system is? So the Rangers are standing idly by, and the Penguins make a play for the 36-year-old Recchi?

And we're supposed to understand the struggles of the owners? We're supposed to side with a salary cap or at least a payroll-restrictive system?

Let's take a step back for a second. Recchi might be 36, but he is a contributor. He led the Flyers with 75 points and 49 assists last season. He has a history with the Penguins--as a fourth-round pick of the Pens in 1988. He led the team in scoring in the Cup championship 1990-91 season. He has a relationship with Mario Lemieux. Recchi can be a veteran voice and professional presence for a ridiculously young roster. He will help the Penguins on the ice.

That's all great, but this is a team that doesn't have a recent history of basing decisions on improving the on-ice product. Repeatedly, we're told the Penguins just can't compete, so they must sell off their best players and bring up the rear in the standings. They need a new arena, and they need a new collective bargaining agreement.

Oh, really? Then how is it they are able to sign anyone for $3 million a year in this summer of unknown and indecision? Recchi took a $2 million pay cut to return to the Penguins, but he would have had to take a $3.5 million cut for his signing not to raise eyebrows with players and agents.

If the Penguins can afford to sign a player in his final few seasons for that much money, the money must be out there in places such as New York, Dallas, Detroit and Colorado. Hell, if the Penguins can afford to dish out multimillion-dollar, multiyear deals, there must be money everywhere.

A month into the free-agent period, everything has moved almost as expected. The prime, big-name free agents still are without deals--with the exception of goaltender Dominik Hasek, who took a huge pay cut to sign an incentive-based deal with the Senators. The majority of free agents signed have taken pay cuts. A record 67 players filed for arbitration, through which a substantial raise is still possible. Player movement has been slow as backup plans get put in place for a September without training camps.