The Penguins have inked free agent forward Mike Rupp, formerly of the New Jersey Devils.
Here is the official release...
The Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Mike Rupp to a two-year contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero.
Rupp, 29, played 72 games with the New Jersey Devils this season, collecting nine points (three goals, six assists) along with 136 penalty minutes. Rupp appeared in seven games with the Devils tallying 14 penalty minutes during the post season.
The 6-5, 230-pound winger has played parts of six seasons with the New Jersey Devils, Columbus Blue Jackets, and the Phoenix Coyotes from 2002-2009, including two stints with the Devils. Rupp won the Stanley Cup in 2003 with New Jersey, contributing three points (one goal, two assists) in a 3-0 win over Anaheim in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final.
“We are excited to have Mike as a part of our hockey club for the next two seasons,” said Ray Shero. “He brings a physical presence along with leadership and experience as a Stanley Cup Champion.”
The veteran winger has tallied 53 points (27 goals, 26 assists) along with 412 penalty minutes in 335 career games in the NHL. Rupp has appeared in 25 career post-season games, collecting six points (one goal, five assists) and 23 penalty minutes.
The native of Cleveland, Ohio was originally selected by the New York Islanders in the first round (9th overall) of the 1998 Entry Draft before re-entering the draft in 2000 and being selected by New Jersey in the third round (76th overall).
I am sure that Rupp will slot in as the team's fourth line center. He will essentially fall into the role that would have been filled by Mike Zigomanis had the team brought him back. Rupp was 51.1 % in the face-off circle last season and played just over 8 minutes a game.
The centers for next year's squad will shake down something like this... Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jordan Staal and Mike Rupp. Max Talbot would remain on Malkin's wing in this scenario. Worked on the Stanley Cup run, why not run with it in the regular season.
Rob Rossi of the Tribune Review is also reporting that the Penguins are also trying to move some bodies to clear a little more cap room. They are hoping that with the extra fundage, they will be able to retain Ruslan Fedotenko or Rob Scuderi.
One rumor flying around had Pascal Dupuis and Eric Godard headed out of town... we will see if that comes to fruition. (Inside Pittsburgh Sports) Rossi also addressed this claim after being asked about it by a reader.
As we all know, Hal Gill has moved on to the Montreal Canadiens. Great move for Hal Gill, not so much for the Habs. Though I would have taken Gill back, he was looking pretty slow throughout the playoff run. I wouldn't underestimate the impact of Rob Scuderi on Gill's game last year and he should probably thank his former defensive partner for his new two year deal. In fact, I believe that both players helped each other. They just seemed to compliment one another very well...will either be as effective while not playing on that great shut down pairing? Time will tell...
Gill is still a good penalty killer, has amazing reach and plays well positionally most of the time. I just do not think that he and Jaro Spacek will make up for the loss of Mike Komesarik.
Stay tuned for more shortly!
The Penguins officially announced the signing of defenseman Brian Strait. Strait had been rumored to sign with the team for close to a month now, but I believe that his coaches at BU were trying to convince him to stay...
The Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins signed defenseman Brian Strait to a three-year entry-level contract, it was announced today by Executive Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero.
Strait, 21, collected seven points (two goals, five assists) along with 67 penalty minutes in 38 games with the National Champion Boston University Terriers this season.
The 6-1, 205-pound defenseman played three seasons from 2006-2009, tallying 23 points (five goals, 18 assists) and 134 penalty minutes in 111 career games with the Terriers. Strait was named runner-up for the 2007-08 Hockey East Best Defensive Defenseman.
Before joining Boston University, Strait played two seasons with the U.S. National Under-18 Team from 2004-2006. The blue-liner captained the gold-medal winning Team USA in the 2006 International Hockey Federation World Under-18 Championships. Strait scored 34 points (seven goals, 27 assists) in two seasons with the U.S. Development Program.
The native of Boston, Massachusetts was selected by Pittsburgh in the third round (65th overall) of the 2006 Entry Draft.
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