Old Skoula - 9-30-09

That might be the lamest headline we've ever come up for a post. Sorry.

Anyway, Martin Skoula (right) and Dan Bylsma talked today about the former Wild defenseman joining the Penguins.

-Skoula on being cut by the Panthers and Blue Jackets this preseason:

"The whole thing was kind of strange. First I went to Florida for a tryout. They brought in two defensemen. Then I went to Columbus. Basically they released me because they traded for another defenseman. It was a strange training camp."

-Skoula on being healthy enough to have appeared in no fewer than 79 games in a season during his nine-year NHL career:

"I would just say I try to stay in shape and take care my rest and everything else. Mainly I guess it’s just luck."

-Bylsma on why the team pursued Skoula:

"I think when you look towards an 82-game season with a condensed schedule with the Olympic year, adding a veteran defenseman, a guy who has played in 700-plus NHL game adds a different dimension than looking to a younger guy or an inexperience guy to come up and play some games. I think as a team you’re looking at eight, nine guys that are going to play for you during the year. You have to anticipate that. So with that anticipation, adding a veteran guy is a very, very good opportunity for our team to add some depth in that position. "

-Bylsma on demoting defensemen Derek Engelland and Nate Guenin to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton:

"I certainly think that as a younger player you’re in the process of learning and growing. That’s tough to do when you’re not playing a lot of games. So playing more games in an environment where they’re still going to log 20 minutes-plus as a defenseman is a chance to continue to grow as a player. Nate and Deryk earned the right to be here. Earned the right to play some games this year with what they did here in training camp and our anticipation is that if they continue to work hard and do what we think they’re going to do, that they’ll probably get a chance to play here. This isn’t an indication that that’s not what we feel. We feel they earned the right to play here and they probably will. "

-Bylsma on Skoula's durability and other traits:

"We at times had tried to sign a veteran guy in the summertime. It didn’t work out. And those players aren’t the age and don’t have the track record of Martin who has been playing a lot of games in a season. It certain was part of the equation when we talked about getting a guy with 700-plus games, experience in the league, a Stanley Cup winner and a guy who plays 75-plus games running year-to-year. So that’s a pretty valuable asset to be able to add to an already good defensive corp."

NOTE: Skoula will wear No. 41 with the Penguins.

NOTE TWO: Sidney Crosby practiced today and is optimistic he'll play in the home-opener Friday.

(Photo: Rick Stewart/Getty Images)

Penguins claim Bourque, lose Bissonnette - 9-30-09

From Dave Molinari:

The Penguins have claimed forward Chris Bourque on waivers from Washington and lost rugged left winger Paul Bissonnette (above) on waivers to Phoenix.

Bourque is the son of Hall of Fame defenseman Raymond Bourque.

Bissonnette was waived Tuesday as part of an assignment to the Penguins' farm team in Wilkes-Barre.

Added by us:

Bissonnette appeared in 15 games with the NHL Penguins last season recording one assists and 22 penalty minutes. In 57 games with the AHL Penguins last season, Bissonnette had 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) and a team-leading 176 penalty minutes.

Hockeyfights.com credits Bissonnette with four fights in the NHL last season and 28 in the NHL. He was a fourth-round pick by the Penguins in 2003.

Bourque (right) appeared in eight games with the Capitals last season recording one goal. In 69 games with the Hershey Bears, Washington's AHL affiliate, Bourque had 71 points (21 goals, 52 assists). Bourque helped the Bears win the Calder Cup, the AHL's championship, by scoring 21 points (five goals, 16 assists) in 22 postseason games.

Bourque, 23, was a second round pick (No. 33 overall) in the 2004 draft. He is expected to remain on the Penguins' NHL roster to start the season.

The Washington Post reported yesterday that Bourque was placed on waivers due to salary cap concerns.

UPDATE: Tarik El-Bashir of the Washington Post spoke to Bourque on the move.

-"I'm excited and sad at the same time. The organization has done so much for me, whether it was in Hershey or Washington. I won two Calder Cups in Hershey and scored my first NHL goal in Washington. Some of my best memories playing hockey have been in this organization. At the same time, I'm excited to get a chance with Pittsburgh. They won the Stanley Cup last year and they'll be raising the banner Friday night [against the Rangers.] That will be fun. Hopefully, I can stick with the big club the whole season."

-"I always had my best success in the minors was against the Wilkes Barre Penguins. I always put up points against them, obviously I played against [Pittsburgh Coach Dan Bylsma] so he knows how I play."

VIDEO: This clip is really fuzzy, but here's Bourque's only career NHL goal. It came in a 4-2 defeat of the Sabres, Dec. 30, 2008:

EN Says: Once he gets used to the Penguins' system, Bourque is a legit candidate to get some time on the Penguins' top two lines. He has shown an ability to score regularly at the AHL level and were it not for Michael Nylander's contract fouling things up, he would've been on the Capitals' season-opening roster. Bourque's biggest assets are his stickhandling and skating. His biggest downside is his lack of size (5-foot-9, 173 pounds).

Fans are going to miss "Biz Nasty." He was a consumate, team-first player who played with every ounce of his heart. And given how he fought his way up from Wheeling of the ECHL (literally), he was an easy guy to root for. But he was very limited in what he could offer the Penguins. And as long as Eric Godard was on the NHL roster, Bissonnette was going to have trouble finding regular work with the Penguins.

The Coyotes don't have true enforcer. Bissonnette should have a much easier time making their roster.

(Photo: Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press)

What's in a name? - 9-30-09

The Penguins released an image of the Stanley Cup's latest renovation:

Personally, we would've added another ring to fit "The Great" in front of the last name listed there.

UPDATE: EN commenter AlexandreGiesbrecht comes up with a big-time "correction:"

Empty Netter Assists - 9-30-09

Penguins

-The Penguins' hands all got a little heavier last night.

-Introducing the Penguins' opening night roster.

-"They have to gain that confidence and that only comes with time." - Goaltender John Curry on proving to Penguins management he can hang in the NHL.

-Forward Wade Brookbank is happy to be back in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

-Faceoff-Factor profiles forward Nick Johnson.

-The Stanley Cup and some other trophy will be on display tomorrow at the City-County Building.

Atlantic Division

-Assuming he plays this season, Michael Del Zotto will be comes the first 19-year-old defenseman to suit up for the Rangers since Brian Leetch in 1988.

-The Rangers will have a bunch of players on "The Late Show with David Letterman" tonight.

-The Islanders claimed forward Robbie Schremp off waivers from the Oilers. Schremp, the Oilers' first-round pick in 2004, spent part of the 2006-07 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins when Edmonton did not have its own AHL affiliate.

-The Devils put forward Patrik Elias (right) and defenseman Mark Fraser on injured reserve and put defensemen Jay Leach, Rob Davison and forward Tim Sestito on waivers.

-The Flyers recalled Johan Backlund from Adirondack of the AHL and demoted forwards Jason Ward, Lukas Kaspar, David Laliberte and Patrick Maroon to Adirondack. Additionally, Flyers defenseman Randy Jones cleared waivers.

-The Devils got a goal and an assist each from Zach Parise and Travis Zajac in a 4-2 win against the Islanders.

Northeast Division

-Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman (hand) and forward Drew Stafford (concussion) are dinged up.

-Maple Leafs defenseman Mike Komisarek is dealing with a hamstring ailment.

-With the retirement of Colorado's Joe Sakic, Ottawa's Daniel Alfredsson (right) is now the longest tenured captain in the NHL. Time to throw a shirtless cigar and champagne party.

-The Senators demoted defenseman Christoph Schubert and Brian Lee to BInghamton of the AHL.

-The Canadiens demoted forwards Ben Maxwell, Tom Pyatt, defensemen Yannick Weber, Mathieu Carle and goaltender Curtis Sanford to Hamilton of the AHL.

Southeast Division

-The Panthers signed defenseman Dmitry Kulikov, their first-round pick in this summer's draft, to an entry-level deal after Kulikov was released out of a contract he had with a KHL team.

-Florida put former Penguins forward Jeff Taffe on waivers.

-Lightning forwards Adam Hall, a former Penguin, Ryan Craig and Brandon Bochenski all cleared waivers and were demoted to Norfolk of the AHL. Defenseman Matt Lashoff and Mike Lundin were put on waivers.

-The Thrashers signed forward Maxim Afinogenov ($800,000) and defenseman Mark Popovic ($600,000) to one year contracts and put defenseman Nathan Oystrick on waivers. Afinogenov (right) and Popovic were each in training camp on a tryout basis.

-The Capitals put forward Chris Bourque on waivers. He is the son of hall-of-fame defenseman Ray Bourque.

Central Division

-The Blue Jackets put forward Alexandre Picard and defenseman Mathieu Roy on waivers with the hopes of sending them to Syracuse of the AHL, returned forward Matt Calvert to his junior teamm signed defensemen David Liffiton and Dylan Reese, a former member of the Pittsburgh Forge, to two-way contracts and put forward Fredrik Modin on injured reserve due to a sprained right knee.

-The Predators demoted defensemen Alexander Sulzer, Nolan Yonkman, forwards Triston Grant, Peter Olvecky and Cal O'Reilly to Milwaukee of the AHL.

-Red Wings captain Nicklas Lidstrom (right) was proclaimed the Ambassador of Honor from his home county of Dalarna in Sweden. We assumed whoever bestowed the honor on Lidstrom shook his hand in order to avoid the wrath of Kris Draper.

-Another NHL team falls in Europe. The Blackhawks lost to Switzerland's ZSC Lions, 2-1, and lose the VIctoria Cup. Cam Barker scored Chicago's only goal.

-Paul Kariya scored two goals for the Blues in a 6-0 defeat of Linkoping HC in Sweden.

Northwest Division

-The Canucks returned forward Cody Hodgson, a first-round pick in 2008, to his junior team and put defenseman Brad Lukowich, Michael Funk and Lawrence Nycholat on waivers.

-Vancouver demoted forward Michael Grabner and goaltender Corey Schneider to Manitoba of the AHL. Grabner (2007) and Schneider (2004) are each former first-round picks.

-Due to the Olympics, the Canucks will have a 14-game road trip this season.

-The Wild demoted forward Craig Weller to Houston of the AHL and put forwards Derek Boogaard and Benoit Pouliot on injured reserve.

-The Oilers demoted defenseman Theo Peckham to Springfield of the AHL and put forward Liam Reddox on waivers with the hopes of sending him to Springfield.

-Edmonton forward Fernando Pisani is dealing with a wonky back.

-Former Avalanche forward Peter Forsberg is dealing with another foot injury.

-Shootout goals from Mikko Koivu, Martin Havlat (right) and Antti Miettinen gave the Wild a 5-4 win against the Flyers.

Pacific Division

-"Those are my friends and guys who I grew up with in the minors, so it was tough. I'm not going to lie to you." - Ducks defenseman Ryan Whitney on watching his former team, the Penguins, win the Stanley Cup last season.

-The Coyotes signed former Canadiens and Penguins forward Robert Lang (right) to a one-year contract.

-This will actually be Lang's second run as a professional in Phoenix.

-"I think Nabby has something to prove to himself, to his teammates and to us." - Sharks coach Todd McLellan on his goaltender, Evgeni Nabokov.

-The Sharks signed goaltender Thomas Heemskerk to an entry-level contract.

Norris Division

-A preview of the Eastern and Western Conferences.

(Photo: Crosby-Peter Diana/Post-Gazette; Elias-Bill Kostroun/Associated Press; Alfredsson-Photobucket and your nightmares; Afinogenov-Gerry Broome/Associated Press; Lidstrom-Dave Sandford/NHLI via Getty Images; Havlat-Bruce Bennett/Getty Images; Lang-Mike Stobe/Getty Images)

Bling - 9-29-09

The Penguins got some mad ice.

You know, we were all set to make a cute little joke about Jostens and cruddy high school rings and then we came across this:

So with that potential snide remark shot out of the water, we'll turn to an old reliable punchline.

(Clears throat.)

The Pirates also showed off their rings:

UPDATE: The Post-Gazette's Peter Diana captured a shot of Sidney Crosby and his ring:

Look out Brett McLean!

Penguins set roster - 9-29-09

The Penguins set their roster at 21 players today and forwards Paul Bissonnette, Ryan Bayda and Chris Conner and defensemen Nate Guenin (above) and Deryk Engelland are not on it. All five were placed on waivers with the hopes of demoting them to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the AHL.

Defenseman, Martin Skoula, signed earlier today, will be on the season-opening roster as the No. 7 defenseman.

The roster:

FORWARDS

27 - Craig Adams

24 - Matt Cooke

87 - Sidney Crosby

9 - Pascal Dupuis

26 - Ruslan Fedotenko

28 - Eric Godard

13 - Bill Guerin

48 - Tyler Kennedy

14 - Chris Kunitz

38 - Mark Letestu-*

71 - Evgeni Malkin

17 - Mike Rupp

11 - Jordan Staal

25 - Maxime Talbot-*

DEFENSEMEN

7 - Mark Eaton

3 - Alex Goligoski

55 - Sergei Gonchar

58 - Kris Letang

6 - Ben Lovejoy-*

74 - Jay McKee

44 - Brooks Orpik

XX - Martin Skoula

GOALTENDERS

29 - Marc-Andre Fleury

1 - Brent Johnson

*-Injured reserve

EN Says:  It might be a bit surprising that the Penguins aren't going with a 13th forward, but all the potential candidates for that position are on two-way contracts. The Penguins save a little bit of money and Bayda, Bissonnette and Conner each get playing time at the AHL level instead of being a regular scratch at the NHL level.

As far as Skoula versus Engelland or Guenin, it's still a bit of a head-scratcher for us, but he's a veteran who has found a way to be an NHL regular for the past nine seasons. Guenin and Engelland have struggled to break into the NHL throughout their professional careers. On paper, the move make sense.

That all said, NHL teams still have roughly 24 hours to set their rosters. The Penguins could still make a claim off waivers.

UPDATE: According to Bob McKenzie of TSN, Skoula's deal is worth $575,000.

(Photo: Jay LaPrete/Associated Press)

Penguins sign Skoula - 9-29-09

The Penguins have signed former Minnesota Wild defenseman Martin Skoula (above) to a one-year contract. Financial terms of the deal were not made available.

Skoula (6-foot-3, 226 pounds) was in camp this preseason with the Panthers and Blue Jackets on tryouts.

The 29-year-old appeared in 81 games last season scoring 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) and was a minus-12.

Skoula was a first-round pick (No. 17 overall) in the 1998 draft by the Avalanche. He has also played with the Avalanche, Mighty Ducks and Stars in his career. Skoula won a Stanley Cup title with the Avalanche in 2001.

Additionally, the team put Ryan Bayda, who was signed to a two-way contract the day before, on waivers. Assuming he is unclaimed, he will be demoted to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

EN Says: So much for the assumption that the No. 7 defenseman spot was going to either Nate Guenin or Deryk Engelland.

Skoula offers a fairly complete, all-around game, but is very inconsistent when it comes to defensive positioning, especially for a player who has nine seasons of NHL experience. There's a reason the Panthers and Blue Jackets - team which aren't exactly Stanley Cup contenders - each dumped him this preseason.

Skoula might be most infamous for this unfortunate video:

Skoula's most valuable asset is his durability. He has appeared in no fewer than 79 games a season during his NHL career.

Should Skoula appear in one game with the NHL Penguins this season, he'll continue a streak of 18 seasons of having at least one native of the Czech Repulic on the roster.

(Photo: Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images)

Bad starts - 9-29-09

History won't be on the Penguins side when they host the Rangers Friday.

The Blueshirts are one of three teams to have served as an opponent four separate times in a home opener at Mellon Arena. And they've had the most success by far:

(Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Empty Netter Assists - 9-29-09

Penguins

-Marc-Andre Fleury (above) is still getting better.

-A position-by-position look at the Penguins' roster.

-"We're probably even more confident than we were before." - Sergei Gonchar.

-Random YouTube Find of the Day: The Penguins' bus leaving Joe Louis Arena after Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final:

-Happy 32nd birthday to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton enforcer Wade Brookbank.

-Happy 32nd birthday to former Penguins forward Jon Sim. During his brief 15-game career as a Penguin, Sim scored the game-winning goal in a 4-0 win against the Stars, March 9, 2004.

Atlantic Division

-The Devils and new/old head coach Jacques Lemaire claim they're now an offensive team.

Northeast Division

-"I like to think I'd be Tom Brady." - Canadiens defenseman and former Penguin Hal Gill (right) pondering his fate had he stayed with playing football, a sport he played in high school.

-Bruins forward Marc Savard is entering the last year of his contract.

-Boston demoted forwards Zach Hamill and Brad Marchand to Providence of the AHL.

-Can forward Michael Ryder replace the departed Phil Kessel on Boston's top line?

-The Senators put defenseman Christoph Schubert on waivers and demoted forward Zach Smith to Binghamton of the AHL.

-Maple Leafs overlord declared Vesa Toskala his team's top goaltender.

Southeast Division

-The Lightning put forwards Adam Hall, a former Penguin, Brandon Bochenski and  Ryan Craig on waivers and released forward/former Sidney Crosby punching bag Brett McLean.

-The Thrashers released forward Dan Fristche and goaltender Manny Legace. Both were in camp on tryout agreements.

-Only the Panthers could lose to a Finnish team. Former Penguins forward Ville Niemenen's shootout goal gave Tappara of Finland a 3-2 win against the Panthers in an exhibition match.

Central Division

-The Red Wings demoted forwards Jeremy Williams, Evan McGrath, Jan Mursak, Kris Newbury, Francis Pare and Mattias Ritola, defensemen Doug Janik, Andy Delmore, Jakub Kindl and Logan Pyett and goaltender Thomas McCollum to Grand Rapids of the AHL. Forward Brad May was released from his tryout agreement.

-The Blue Jackets acquried defenseman Anton Stralman from the Flames in exchange for a third-round pick in 2010. Defenseman Martin Skoula was released from his tryout agreement.

-Columbus returned defenseman John Moore, the club's first-round pick in this summer's draft, to his junior team. The Blue Jackets also demoted defenseman Grant Clitsome, Nick Holden, David Liffiton, forwards Tom Sestito, Stefan Legein and Maksim Mayorov to Syracuse of the AHL and placed forward Derek MacKenzie and defenseman Jonathan Sigalet on waivers.

-The Predators want more points from forward Jordin Tootoo (right).

-Nashville demoted forward Nick Spaling to Milwaukee of the AHL.

-Patrick Kane and Radek Smolenak each had two goals for the Blackhawks in a 9-2 troucing of HC Davos, the defending champion in the Swedish Elite League.

Northwest Division

-Flames forward Theoren Fleury announced his retirement.

-From the "We-Don't-Really-Know-What-It-Is-Exactly-But-It-Sounds-Incredibly-Painful" files, Oilers forward Marc Pouliot is dealing with an inflamed pubic bone.

-The Oilers demoted defenseman Taylor Chorney, forwards Rob Schremp, Kip Brennan and goaltender Devan Dubnyk, to Springfield  of the AHL and returned forward Jordan Eberle to his junior team.

-The Wild demoted forward Colton Gillies to Houston of the AHL and put forwards Nathan Smith, a former Penguin and Craig Weller on waivers. Additionally, the team offered former Penguins forward Andy Hilbert a two-way contract.

-The Canucks demoted defensemen Nolan Baumgartner, a former Penguin, Nathan McIver, forwards Alexandre Bolduc, Mario Bliznak, Guillame Desbiens, Michael Grabner, Matt Pope and goaltender Cory Schneider to Manitoba of the AHL. Scneider (2004) and Grabner (2006) are former first-round picks.

-The Avalanche demoted goaltender Tyler Weiman, defenseman Derek Peltier and center Chris Durno to Lake Erie of the AHL.

-Colorado forward Paul Stastny (right) needs to step up his game big-time this season.

Pacific Division

-The Kings returned goaltender Jonathan Bernier, defenseman Thomas Hickey and forward Kevin Westgarth to Manchester of the AHL and returned forward Brayden Schenn to his junior team. Bernier (2006), Hickey (2007) and Schenn (2009) are all former first-round picks.

-The Coyotes signed forward Ryan Hollweg to a one-year contract. He was in camp on a tryout basis.

Norris Division

-Former North Stars forward Todd Elik has joined HC Thurgau in Switzerland.

-Check out this goal by Mike Farrell of the OHL Kingston Frontenacs recently scored:

(Kudos to Sean Leahy of Yahoo! for the find.)

-Happy 59th birthday to former Pittsburgh Hornets defenseman John Miszuk.

(Photos: Keith Srakocic/Associated Press; Gill-Richard Wolowicz/Getty Images; Tootoo-Gerry Broome/Associated Press; Stastny-Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Penguins sign Bayda - 9-28-09

The Penguins have signed Ryan Bayda (above) to a one-year two-way contract. Bayda was in camp on a tryout basis. Terms of the deal were not available.

EN Says: Bayda brings a nice set of skills for a fourth-line forward. He'll mix it up along the boards and in front of the net, go hard on the forecheck and isn't afaid to drop the gloves. He can chip in the occasional goal, but he's nothing more than a fourth-liner.

(Photo: Bob Donaldson/Post-Gazette)