This is no time to pout over failing to land Brandon Saad. Theres plenty of work ahead for the Penguins.

Probably more than general manager Jim Rutherford thought possible come July 1, too.

Free agency is here, and the Penguins arent lacking in options. Or tasks. One of them no longer is chasing Saad, the Gibsonia native and Pine-Richland product who was traded from the Blackhawks to the Blue Jackets on Tuesday.

Having Saad, who has blossomed into one of the games best young forwards, move into the Penguins division no doubt left a nasty taste in several mouths at Consol Energy Center.

There was some positive news to come out of Tuesday, however, as Carolina bought out Russian winger Alex Semin, paying him $2.33 million a year over the next six seasons.

The Penguins interest in Semin, whom Rutherford signed to a five-year, $35 million extension while GM of the Hurricanes, remains uncertain. But Semins agent, Todd Diamond, said he believes his client will have no problem finding regular work.

“We have interest from multiple teams,” Diamond said. “People realize what Alex can do in the right environment.”

Which is score goals. Semin struck 138 times in four seasons between 2006-10. The reason the Hurricanes bought him out is because he had only six in 57 games in 2014-15 and fell out of favor with first-year coach Bill Peters.

Rutherford was close to Semin in Carolina, and probably more than anyone knows the type of game the 31-year-old can play, which numbers indicate isnt as poor defensively as some suggest.

Semins plus-70 career rating is better than that of Pascal Dupuis (plus-64) and Evgeni Malkin (plus-56) among Penguins forwards who have played at least 500 games.

His Goals Against Per 60 (GA60) between 2010-14 is lower than that of James Neal (2.36), the player who Semin ultimately could replace on Malkins wing.

“In the right environment, he plays all three zones with joy,” Diamond said. “Our job is to put him in the right environment, where he can get back to being a 30-40-goal scorer that he has been before and is capable of being again.”

Should the Penguins push and pull off a trade, Torontos Phil Kessel appears to be the front-runner. However, the Maple Leafs dont need to move Kessel and could hold out for Penguins defenseman Olli Maatta.

In dealing Saad, the Blackhawks still are not in the clear relative to the salary cap. It remains likely that Patrick Sharp will be dealt, and his agent, Rick Curran, acknowledged as much Tuesday.

The Blackhawks are looking for a young and cheap puck-moving defenseman, and Derrick Pouliot fits that profile. But two of the last things Chicago can do include taking large veteran contracts and retaining some of Sharps salary.

“The way the game is now, I think everyone recognizes that these transactions are going to take longer than they had in the past because of cap situation,” Curran said. “Its one thing to have a club interested in a player; its another to make a deal.”

Unless the market changes, free-agent shopping appears more likely for the Penguins. Two players they have met with include Carolinas Jiri Tlusty, as well as Washingtons Joel Ward. There are other sensible forward options in LAs Justin Williams and Winnipegs Michael Frolik.

However, one of the more intriguing parts of free agency could be one of the Penguins own — winger Blake Comeau, who could receive a considerable raise.

Using war-on-ice.coms statistical similarity calculator, which relies on goal- and shot-based numbers that quantify a players value relative to his teammates, Comeaus 2014-15 campaign most closely mirrored that of Saad (95.26 percent).

Second was Vancouvers Radim Vrbata (94.97), who made $5 million in 2014-15, and third was San Joses Logan Couture (94.61, $6 million hit).

Some, however, might consider Comeaus year as an anomaly, Only six of his 16 goals came after Dec. 18, and he totaled 16 goals between 2011-14.

Its all part of a day, once considered an afterthought to swinging a big trade, that should offer no shortage of intrigue for the Penguins.

Jason Mackey is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. Reach him at jmackey@tribweb.com or via Twitter @Mackey_Trib.

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