As part of their quest to replenish their center depth following the departures of Nick Bonino and Matt Cullen via free agency, the Penguins announced that they have brought in veteran Jay McClement on a professional tryout deal.
McClement has spent the past three seasons with Carolina but has seen his role dip in recent years. In 2016-17, he collected just five goals and three assists in 65 games while his 48.2% success rate at the faceoff dot was well below the 55% marks he put up the previous two seasons. McClement will likely battle Carter Rowney for a spot on Pittsburgh’s fourth line but the Penguins will undoubtedly continue their search for someone to play behind Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin on their third trio.
Other notes from around the hockey world:
- The Sabres had expressed interest in college free agent center Blaine Byron, notes Mike Harrington of the Buffalo News. However, Byron ultimately chose to take a minor league deal with Florida in the hopes of earning a spot on Canada’s Olympic team. Had he signed a two-way NHL pact, he wouldn’t have been eligible. Buffalo only has 43 committed contracts out of the limit of 50 at the moment so it’s not surprising to see them active in this segment of free agency.
- After spending last season on an entry-level deal with Vancouver, the Canucks have brought back goalie Michael Garteig on a minor league deal, their affiliate in Utica announced. Garteig wasn’t able to build on his strong numbers over four years with Quinnipiac in the NCAA and spent the bulk of last season with ECHL Alaska, posting a 3.11 GAA and a .906 SV% over 22 appearances.
- The Red Wings have retained some depth at the minor league level as their farm team in Grand Rapids announced the re-signing of center Colin Campbell to a two-year deal. He signed an entry-level deal back with Detroit back in 2014 out of college but has been kept around on minor league deals since that ELC expired a year later. Last season, he had a career best 20 points in 56 games.
McClement is a great depth pick up. If they have to play a good piece of the season with Rowney and McClement as the bottom six centers, that’s fine.