WBS Penguins Sign Scott Munroe

Photo from theahl.com

The wait for a backup goaltender in Wilkes-Barre is over. The Penguins have signed Scott Munroe to a one-year deal. According to the team, Munroe’s contract is a two-way deal worth $525,000 at the NHL level. Munroe played last season in the KHL and spent the 2009-10 season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (AHL).

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced the signing earlier this evening while I was enjoying a nice steak dinner at the Mohegan Sun Casino. Here's where the news broke on Twitter with Darren Dreger answering Munroe's brother Clark Munroe when he announced Scott's one-year deal with the Pens.

More insights on the Penguins new backup goaltender after the jump.

Penguins fans seemed to be growing restless over the team not signing a goaltender and initial reactions from some on the blog's Twitter feed provided mixed reviews of Munroe.

Here's what you should know about the new Penguins goalie:

He spent last season in the KHL with Nizhnekamsk Neftekhimik, posting a 9-12-2 record with a 3.03 goals against average, a .896 save percentage and one shutout in 31 games. He spent the 2009-10 season with the Bridgeport Sound Tigers after four seasons in the Philadephia Flyers organization, the team that originally signed Munroe as an undrafted free agent.

Munroe has played in a lot of AHL games (174 by my count) and has won at least 15 games in each of his last four seasons, while maintaining over a .908 save percentage.  He led the 2008-09 Phantoms team to the divisional finals after a 31-win regular season.  He followed that up with a 19 win season in Bridgeport in his last year playing hockey in North America.

I might be in the minority, but I like this signing. The Penguins weren't going to be able to find a goalie to sign with the organization that had the awe or promise of last season's backup John Curry simply because they would be good enough to find work as an AHL starter elsewhere.

Scott Munroe is a very capable AHL veteran goalie who has the necessary skills and experience to right the ship for the WBS Penguins should injury or recall occur in the 2011-12 campaign. If not, then the Penguins added a guy who will play somewhere around 20 games to give Thiessen a breather.

With this signing, the Penguins organization has 46 NHL contracts. With the limit at 50, I don't see the Penguins signing more than one or two more NHL deals, if any, before the season starts. GM Ray Shero likes to have some wiggle room in case of mid-season acquisitions.

You could still see some guys signed to AHL-only deals like Bryan Lerg and Geoff Walker.  Unless the Penguins move an NHL contract (say maybe, a defenseman named Niskanen or Lovejoy), I don't see the Penguins signing many more NHL deals this off season.