"Penguins general manager Ray Shero remained in his office long after regular business hours Wednesday, trying to get some of his free-agents-to-be under contract before they go on the market at noon today.

From most indications, he should have knocked off early and gotten out to enjoy the nice weather.

Shero acknowledged through a spokesman that defenseman Sergei Gonchar seems certain to explore free agency, and the same is true of right winger Bill Guerin.

He also passed along word that he was "still in discussion" with defenseman Dan Hamhuis' camp, apparently making a conscious effort again not to use the word "negotiations" to describe the Hamhuis talks.

The Penguins sent a third-round draft choice in 2011 to Philadelphia last Friday to secure Hamhuis' rights.

Finally, while the Penguins have not ruled out re-signing defensemen Jordan Leopold and Mark Eaton, doing so has not been a priority.

Both figure to see what kind of interest they will attract from other teams.

"Ray told Jordan he would like to have him back and we would talk before July 1," agent Ben Hankinson said in an e-mail.

"Jordan would like to be back, but [is] preparing for [free agency].""