The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed defenseman Brian Dumoulin to a two-year, one-way contract worth an average of $800,000 annually, according to a statement released by general manager Jim Rutherford on Thursday.
Dumoulin, 23, played in eight regular season games for the Penguins in 2014-15, scoring his first NHL goal on December 15 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In 62 games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League, Dumoulin had four goals, 29 assists and had a plus-25 rating. He led the Penguins in assists and points amongst defensemen.
In the playoffs, he was called up to Pittsburgh and played well on the third pairing against the Rangers, playing in all five games with a plus-1 rating and six shots while averaging 14:06 of ice time.
Dumoulin came over to the Penguins from the Carolina Hurricanes in 2012 as part of the Jordan Staal trade. He played three seasons for Boston College before turning pro and was drafted by Rutherford – then the Carolina general manager – with the Hurricanes’ second-round draft pick in 2009.
For the first time in his career, Dumoulin will not be exempt from waivers in 2015-16. That means that if he does not make the Penguins team out of training camp, he will have to be offered to the rest of the NHL first before he could be assigned to Wilkes-Barre.
PA’S FINEST: The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins signed Shavertown, Pa native Patrick McGrath to a one-year AHL contract on Wednesday.
McGrath, 22, spent most of the 2014-15 season with the Wheeling Nailers, scoring three goals and five assists in 59 games. More notably, McGrath had 246 penalty minutes as the Nailers primary enforcer.
McGrath also appeared in two AHL games, recording 12 penalty minutes.
Photo credit: NHLI/Getty Images, WBS Penguins
