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In their first official move of Free Agent Frenzy 2021, the Pittsburgh Penguins looked to have brought back a familiar face.
Forward Dominik Simon will be returning to the Steel City on a very reasonable contract, according to NHL insider Frank Seravalli:
Dominik Simon is returning to the #Pens on a one-year, two-way deal.@DFOHockey @Sportsnet
— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) July 28, 2021
The deal is worth the league-minimum $750,000 at the NHL level, and $375,000 if he spends time in the AHL.
Simon spent the 2021 season with the Calgary Flames organization, playing in just 11 games while recording zero points.
Before his trip to Calgary, Simon had garnered quite the reputation here in Pittsburgh. While his advanced metrics were very attractive, he took criticism for his inability to find the scoresheet more frequently while playing alongside Sidney Crosby.
Simon has a career CF% and FF% of 54.7 and 54.8, respectively. Points-wise, he has registered 19 goals and 64 points in 184 career NHL games.
The two-way part of this deal suggests that Simon could be sent to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, but given the Penguins’ questionable depth in the bottom-six, don’t be surprised to see Simon fight for a spot with the NHL squad again.