With Dylan Reese signing overseas in the KHL with Amur Khabarovsk for one year, the blueprint for the Penguins defense looks to ride heavily on their blue line prospects.
Highland Park Hockey first reported the news of Reese's signing earlier this morning.
This bodes well for Boston College products Brian Dumoulin and Philip Samuelsson, who were both drafted in the 2nd round of the 2009 NHL entry draft, as well as incoming rookie Scott Harrington - the Penguins 2nd round pick from 2011.
Add in Reid McNeill, who appeared in 15 games with the AHL Penguins at the tail end of the 2012-13 season, and there's four guys that could be wearing WBS uniforms in the fall.
Two other names WBS Pens fans should keep tabs on are incoming defenseman Harrison Ruopp and Nick D'Agostino. Ruopp (3rd round - 2011 Phoenix) came to the Pens organization in the trade that sent Zbynek Michalek back to the Coyotes last summer. D'Agostino is a product of Cornell University and will look to turn pro in the fall.
Of course, much can change on the Penguins blueline based on what Ray Shero and company decide to do regarding Kris Letang and Douglas Murray. Letang is entering the final year of his contract and Douglas Murray (as well as Mark Eaton) are set to become free agents in July.
Here's the list of defensemen in the organization that are signed through next season:
NHL
Paul Martin
Brooks Orpik
Kris Letang
Matt Niskanen
Simon Despres
Deryk Engelland
AHL
Scott Harrington
Brian Dumoulin
Philip Samuelsson
Reid McNeill
Harrison Ruopp
Nick D'Agostino
NHL UFA's: Douglas Murray, Mark Eaton
NHL RFA's: Robert Bortuzzo, Alex Grant
AHL UFA's: Joey Mormina, Peter Merth, Cody Wild
From an AHL perspective, the Penguins have a young and potentially talented blue line. All that the WBS blue line lacks currently is a veteran presence.
That void could be filled by a guy like Joey Mormina and bolstered with some veteran depth defensive moves this summer in free agency. I'd expect the Penguins to add a couple more established pros to bolster the blueline this summer and focus on developing their high-end defenseman in Dumoulin, Samuelsson and Harrington.
Stay tuned all summer long for all the latest on the Penguins!
Dylan Reese Signs Overseas in KHL
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| Dylan Reese (left) has signed overseas. Alex Grant (right) is the Penguins lone restricted free agent on defense. Photo courtesy of Amy's WBS Picture Page |
AHL Penguins Free Agents: Understanding "Restricted" vs. "Unrestricted" 6/6
Thursday, June 6, 2013
"Restricted" and "Unrestricted" are two words put in front of free agents that put available players for the upcoming season in two very different categories.
My best explanation? A restricted free agent is a typically younger player who has an expiring contract that was either his first professional contract (aka an entry-level deal) or a subsequent contract in which a team submitted a qualifying offer (see below) to the player from the previous year.
Teams have until June 25th to submit what is called a qualifying offer to their restricted free agents to retain their rights or else they will be come unrestricted free agents and be free to sign with any team they choose when the NHL's free agency begins on July 5th.
A qualifying offer is a raise of 110% the player's salary from the previous season if he made under $660,000 (NHL-level) or a raise of at least 105% if he made up $1 million. Players making over a million must be offered 100%. Still with me?
What you should get out of all of this is that a team's restricted free agents have almost no bargaining chips in their stack. If a team qualifies their restricted free agent, they retain his rights through next season. It is only after June 25th and no qualifying offer, that a restricted free agent becomes unrestricted and is free to sign with any team who is interested in him.
Unrestricted free agents, on the other hand, are only exclusive to the team the played on last season until NHL free agency begins. They can reject any contract their team offers and opt to hit the market and field offers from other teams. Thus, it is a little more difficult to retain unrestricted free agents than it is a restricted free agent.
I hope all of that made sense. If you are interested in finding out more or have any specific questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to clear the air.
My best explanation? A restricted free agent is a typically younger player who has an expiring contract that was either his first professional contract (aka an entry-level deal) or a subsequent contract in which a team submitted a qualifying offer (see below) to the player from the previous year.
Teams have until June 25th to submit what is called a qualifying offer to their restricted free agents to retain their rights or else they will be come unrestricted free agents and be free to sign with any team they choose when the NHL's free agency begins on July 5th.
A qualifying offer is a raise of 110% the player's salary from the previous season if he made under $660,000 (NHL-level) or a raise of at least 105% if he made up $1 million. Players making over a million must be offered 100%. Still with me?
What you should get out of all of this is that a team's restricted free agents have almost no bargaining chips in their stack. If a team qualifies their restricted free agent, they retain his rights through next season. It is only after June 25th and no qualifying offer, that a restricted free agent becomes unrestricted and is free to sign with any team who is interested in him.
Unrestricted free agents, on the other hand, are only exclusive to the team the played on last season until NHL free agency begins. They can reject any contract their team offers and opt to hit the market and field offers from other teams. Thus, it is a little more difficult to retain unrestricted free agents than it is a restricted free agent.
I hope all of that made sense. If you are interested in finding out more or have any specific questions, feel free to ask and I'll do my best to clear the air.
Not The End Of The Road 6/5
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
For me personally, it was a great season. I ended up making it to 69 of the 76 regular season games to bring live coverage of the action, including the some of the Penguins longer road trips to Adirondack, Albany, Manchester, Norfolk, Portland, Providence, Springfield and Worcester. That, in addition to covering the team for their stint in the 2013 Calder Cup Playoffs, made me a much better writer and I have learned way too much this season to explain one post.
That being said, the season is never really over for me. While the Penguins have been eliminated for contention of the Calder Cup, there is still much to be said about the team that played this season. You might have noticed (and hopefully read!) throughout the season some of my features on some of the players. I plan to have a profile feature for more players up on the site over the summer.
There is also the always important FAQ's about who is signed through next year, which upcoming free agents are "restricted" or "unrestricted", understanding the difference between the two and the dates for deadlines on qualifying offers, contract buyouts and the start of free agency. That post will be coming tomorrow and will be often re-posted in some sort of manner to touch on things as it starts to get closer to some of the above mentioned dates.
So stay tuned! The season might be over, but there will be plenty to write about as we wait for the next time some Penguins prospects hit the ice. Don't worry, you only have to wait three months. The Penguins are having a rookie tournament in London, Ontario that runs September 5th-8th.
That being said, the season is never really over for me. While the Penguins have been eliminated for contention of the Calder Cup, there is still much to be said about the team that played this season. You might have noticed (and hopefully read!) throughout the season some of my features on some of the players. I plan to have a profile feature for more players up on the site over the summer.
There is also the always important FAQ's about who is signed through next year, which upcoming free agents are "restricted" or "unrestricted", understanding the difference between the two and the dates for deadlines on qualifying offers, contract buyouts and the start of free agency. That post will be coming tomorrow and will be often re-posted in some sort of manner to touch on things as it starts to get closer to some of the above mentioned dates.
So stay tuned! The season might be over, but there will be plenty to write about as we wait for the next time some Penguins prospects hit the ice. Don't worry, you only have to wait three months. The Penguins are having a rookie tournament in London, Ontario that runs September 5th-8th.
Crunch Finish Penguins, Season Ends in June
Saturday, June 1, 2013
Not the way the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins wanted to end their season, bowing out in five games to the Syracuse Crunch tonight in New York. The final score is rough, a 7-0 loss, but the end result is the same no matter what the score reads in the deciding game. The season is over.
The Crunch capitalized on two gaffes by the Penguins in a 52 second span in the first period, added three goals in a span of 4:21 in the middle period, and for good measure added two more in the third period.
"We couldn't get the one we needed at the right time," head coach John Hynes said. "We couldn't get it within one early in the game and then it just snowballed a little bit after that."
The Crunch are a very good team. They've only lost one game this entire postseason (Game One vs. these Penguins) and dating back to last year's Norfolk team that was moved here, have swept four out of their last five playoff series. They are worthy of the Eastern Conference championship they've earned tonight. They will be tough to beat in the Finals.
The Crunch capitalized on two gaffes by the Penguins in a 52 second span in the first period, added three goals in a span of 4:21 in the middle period, and for good measure added two more in the third period.
"We couldn't get the one we needed at the right time," head coach John Hynes said. "We couldn't get it within one early in the game and then it just snowballed a little bit after that."
The Crunch are a very good team. They've only lost one game this entire postseason (Game One vs. these Penguins) and dating back to last year's Norfolk team that was moved here, have swept four out of their last five playoff series. They are worthy of the Eastern Conference championship they've earned tonight. They will be tough to beat in the Finals.
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