Penguins Add Depth to the Organization

The Penguins added a couple of depth players yesterday in defenseman David Warsofsky and forward Andrew Agozzino. Agozzino and Warsofsky both spent last season with the Colorado Avalanche organization, playing for their AHL affiliate, the Colorado Eagles. Both have spent some time in the NHL and could be nice fill-in players if someone is hurt or traded during the season.

Warsofsky has previously spent time in the Penguins organization. He was signed by the Penguins as a free agent on July 1,2015, and was then claimed off waivers by the Devils on February 29, 2016. He was then signed again on July 1, 2016 by the Penguins playing for the organization all season. This is his third time signing as a free agent with the Penguins organization.  He has played in 55 NHL games over his career, scoring two goals and adding nine assists. He has spent most of his professional career in the AHL, where he has played 403 games and scored 45 goals and added 155 assists for a total of 200 points. Warsofsky is a solid defender that could fit in nicely on the blue line if needed for a few games and could be a veteran leader for the younger guys with the Penguins’ AHL affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He has played for multiple organizations over the years without ever really finding a home, but maybe in his third stint with Pittsburgh, he’ll stick in the system as a depth player for many years to come.

Agozzino has been in the Colorado Avalanche organization for his entire career. He has played for the four different AHL teams that the Avs have had in the last eight years. In those eight AHL seasons, Agozzino has 352 points in 467 games. He hasn’t had a lot of NHL experience, playing in just 21 games and scoring five points in three seasons. Agozzino, like Warsofsky, is someone we can bring up if a forward gets hurt or traded without having to worry about whether or not he clears waivers when we send him back down. He will be a great guy to slot in on the fourth line for a few games if needed throughout the year.

Jim Rutherford had a good day one of free agency and he addressed the many issues the team had. The Penguins needed some help with their forward depth and they added it today by signing Brandon Tanev. There is a more in-depth post on the website. It was a good start, and then he went out and added some AHL depth in Warsofsky and Agozzino later in the day. I think Pittsburgh will be quiet over the next few days, maybe adding some more AHL depth, but I hope he does more. Ideally, I’d like to see a defenseman with a larger cap hit moved soon like Jack Johnson or Erik Gudbranson. The team has just $1.5 million remaining in cap space and they still need to resign Teddy Blueger, Zach Aston-Reese, Marcus Pettersson, Adam Johnson, and Blandisi. $1.5 million will not be enough. I see Pittsburgh making another move to free up cap space soon before the rest of the good free agents are taken.