Penguins/NHL
The Pittsburgh Penguins had some cap maneuvering going on this afternoon to get cap compliant. Here’s a rundown on the announced roster moves:
*Kris Letang and Tomas Vokoun have been placed on injured reserve
*Beau Bennett has been assigned to Wheeling of the ECHL.
*Simon Despres and Andrew Ebbett have been assigned to Wilkes Barre/Scranton.
*2012 1st round pick Derrick Pouliot has been returned to juniors.
*The Penguins have recalled defenseman Harrison Ruopp.
OFFICIAL 23-MAN ROSTER AS OF 5:00 P.M.
*The Penguins current active roster as of 5:00 p.m. has 13 forwards, 8 defensemen and 2 goaltenders. The official roster we see right now isn’t going to be the one Thursday night.
FORWARDS: Chris Kunitz, Sidney Crosby, Pascal Dupuis, Jussi Jokinen, Evgeni Malkin, James Neal, Brandon Sutter, Matt D’Agostini, Tanner Glass, Craig Adams, Joe Vitale, Dustin Jeffrey, Chris Conner.
DEFENSEMEN: Brooks Orpik, Paul Martin, Matt Niskanen, Rob Scuderi, Olli Maatta, Robert Bortuzzo, Deryk Engelland, Harrison Ruopp
GOALTENDERS: Marc Andre Fleury, Jeff Zatkoff
INJURED RESERVE: Kris Letang, Tomas Vokoun
WHAT TO KNOW ABOUT TODAY’S MOVES
Beau Bennett going to Wheeling is nothing more than a paper move. It’s the same move the Penguins made with Eric Tangradi at the start of the 2010 season. Bennett will be back with the team this week and in the lineup Thursday night.
Simon Despres to Wilkes Barre is not considered a paper move. All indications are he will be starting the year in Wilkes Barre even with Kris Letang’s injury.
*Chris Conner cleared waivers but remains on the NHL roster for now.
*The callup of Harrison Ruopp is nothing more than a paper move but I’m not sure at this point how it impacts the cap. Checking on that one.
The big news of today’s roster moves is Olli Maatta staying with the team and getting a nine-game window. Maatta was the Penguins third pairing defenseman in Sunday’s practice with Robert Bortuzzo. He could play there Thursday night vs the Devils. More on this later.
Chuck Kobasew’s PTO officially expires today and as of an hour ago, sources on both sides said they were still working on a contract. Still up in the air where this goes. Kobasew had been seeking around $925,000 on a one year deal. Pittsburgh is not in that ballpark.
I will update things when there’s a little bit more clarity on things.
