Penguins Trying To Trade Nedved

Pittsburgh Penguins holdout Petr Nedved has a new agent ready to negotiate a trade in time for the start of the NHL's regular season on Oct. 9.

Michael Barnett, who represents Jaromir Jagr and Wayne Gretzky, said the Penguins have abandoned trying to sign Nedved before the season opens and will try to trade him.

"They're just not in a position to sign him from a business standpoint," Barnett told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. "(General manager) Craig Patrick and I agreed that the best thing for both sides was to move Petr and help the Penguins by getting them some value in return."

Patrick could not immediately be reached for comment.

Barnett, who replaced Tony Kondel as Nedved's agent on Thursday, said Kondel is still involved, but Barnett will handle the negotiations with Patrick and other NHL teams.

Nedved and Patrick spoke this week for the first time since last season. Nedved wanted a $20 million contract, and rejected Patrick's offer of $17 million to $18 million over five years.

Nedved, who sat out last season, prefers to play for another team due to his acrimonious contract dispute, and switched agents to accelerate a trade or a contract offer.

"Petr is not an asset to the Penguins unless he is playing or is traded," Barnett said.

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