I've talked about this on the Pens board. What I believe he should do is look to a contender for a cheap 1yr deal who can also put him in a position to inflate his worth for a year.
For example, say he goes to the Penguins for 1yr for $1mil. Is he worth more? Absolutely. But with the impending expansion draft and so many teams being so close to the cap right now, his bet bet (in my opinion) is to look to next years free agency class. Inevitably, a couple teams will lose a top 6 forward. Those teams will need to replace that and boom, there Hudler will be. He will likely get a much higher salary and term next off season than he could ever hope for this off season.
Like I said, say he goes to Pittsburgh and signs cheap under the understanding that the Pens want him on Malkin's RW. He's now playing for a contract next year and has a tremendous opportunity to inflate his stats while playing with Malkin (example, Jussi Jokinen - goes from waived then salary retained player in Carolina to Pit then to Flordia for a 4x4 contract). In the process, he also gets his mostly like best chance at a cup in his career.
So you take less for one year, bummer, but you'll make up for it on your next contract. Going to Europe, the KHL, etc will not do anything for his NHL career. He could also wait it out and try to get a cheap half year deal if there's an injury but again, that doesn't help his negotiating abilities for next off season after the expansion draft and entry draft make things a little clearer.
IMHO, the smart man does that. Play checkers and look for $$$ and term on a non-contender or go to Europe or play chess and sign with the Penguins for cheap.