Penguins/NHL
Penguins GM Jim Rutherford was in conversations today to upgrade the roster but came out of the deadline with one small minor league deal in acquiring forward Josh Jooris from the Carolina Hurricanes.
Rutherford cited the high prices of why the Penguins stood pat at the NHL level.
The biggest news of the day, though, is Rutherford announcing the Penguins are close to an extension with Patric Hornqvist.
An agreement is in place and will be announced tomorrow.
The deal is for 5 years To read this insider news, subscribe to get “Inside Access”!
For months the Penguins believed a deal was looking unlikely but talks intensified between the Penguins and Hornqvist’s agent Craig Oster of Newport Sports in the past couple days that led to a breakthrough.
[hide] A source involved in the negotiations said Penguins GM Jim Rutherford bended on term to go 5 years and pushed hard to get it done this week.
Rutherford is notorious for not negotiating during the season but made a special exception for Hornqvist.
“Over my career, I’ve done very few contracts in the middle of the year,” said Rutherford. “think it says a lot about what Patric Hornqvist means to us to do this now… If everything goes well, the deal should be done tomorrow.”[/hide]
