The NHL unemployment line grew Monday, as teams such as the Detroit Red Wings and Montreal Canadiens cut ties with players such Derian Hatcher, Darren McCarty and Patrice Brisebois. Teams were allowed to start buying out contracts and negotiating with their own free agents Saturday, but according to several agents yesterday, Penguins general manager Craig Patrick hasn’t yet started working the phones to discuss the team’s 23 restricted free agents. “I don’t think everyone’s moving at quite the frenzied pace that was expected because of the understanding of the agreement,” said one agent who wished to remain anonymous. As of Saturday, Patrick hadn’t yet sat down with the full 600-page collective bargaining agreement. The document highlights sent by the league have been plenty challenging, though. “I’ve read it over and over and over several times, and every time I go through it, I find something new I didn’t understand before,” he said. “It’s going to take a while to understand it. There’s a lot to understand in a short period of time.” Patrick said the team will not, however, be hiring a capologist to help them sign a full team while staying below the $39 million payroll ceiling. “We’re fortunate enough that in the league there are a lot of people who totally understand (the collective bargaining agreement) and they’re available to us all the time,” Patrick said. “So, if we have a question, we call them, and if they don’t have the immediate answer, they get the answer and call us back. They’re a great help and a great support system for us.” Patrick has had a preliminary conversation with Pat Brisson, one of the agents for Sidney Crosby and 2004 No. 2 overall draft choice Evgeni Malkin, and Brisson said he expects to talk about bringing Malkin over from Russia again this week. Agent Ritch Winter represents restricted free agents Milan Kraft, Michal Sivek, Josef Melichar and Michal Rozsival, all natives of the Czech Republic. As of early afternoon yesterday, he said he had not yet spoken to Patrick. Winter would not speculate on whether or not all four might get qualifying offers from the Penguins. When asked if any of them might opt to stay in Europe this year versus returning to the Penguins, Winter said, “It depends on a lot of different factors. It’s not really a question you can answer right now.” As far as the draft goes, the Penguins will pick first at this year’s entry draft in Ottawa, and then not again until the last pick of the second round under the snaking system of selection order instituted this year. Usually, teams pick in the same order each round. “Obviously, we’re very fortunate to be in the position where we’re picking first overall,” Malone said. “At 60 and 61, I think there will probably be a couple players there that we like. After that, it’s going to be a guessing game to see who’s left on the board. “We’re just going to have to work a little harder to see who’s going to be there at 60 and 61 and go from there.”

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