The Pittsburgh Penguins are interested in signing Russian forward Sergei Plotnikov, according to a source close to the situation. The story was first reported by Russian news agency TASS.
Plotnikov, 25, most recently played for Lokomitv Yaroslavl of the KHL, where he scored 15 goals and had 21 assists in 56 games in 2014-15. He also represented Russia in the 2015 IIHF World Championships, where he had four goals and an assist in 19 games. He was a teammate of Penguins center Evgeni Malkin at the tournament.
Plotnikov, a 6-foot-2, 205-pound winger, is a native of Komsomolsk-na-Amure, which is on the east coast of Russia, near the Pacific Ocean. He is a left-handed shot and can play either wing.
His contract will fall under the guidelines for entry-level compensation, but the TASS report claimed that his salary would be in the $1 million range.
CAP CONCERNS: The NHL has set the salary cap at $71.4 million for the 2015-16 season. The Penguins have 13 players on one-way contracts for next season. Those players, combined with defensemen Olli Maatta and Derrick Pouliot, who are on two-way contracts but are likely to make the team, leave the Penguins with about $11.8 million in cap space remaining.
None of the Penguins free agents are included in that figure. Beau Bennett, Ian Cole and Brian Dumoulin are restricted free agents and will most likely be re-signed. Salary info courtesy of GeneralFanager.com
WORKING OVERTIME: The NHL general managers have approved a plan submitted by the NHLPA to change overtime to 3-on-3 for the 2015-16 season.
The general managers wanted to reduce the impact of shootouts on the league’s standings, and it is felt that 3-on-3 overtime would be a higher-scoring environment than the current 4-on-4.
The American Hockey League experimented with a seven minute overtime, the first part of which was played 4-on-4, and the second part of which was played 3-on-3 last season. The NHLPA vetoed that idea, which added two minutes to the length of overtime, in favor of five minutes of 3-on-3.
The change still needs to be approved by the NHL Board of Governors.
NEW BEGINNING: The Penguins will start the 2015-16 season on the road, with the season opener on Wednesday, October 8 against the Dallas Stars. The Pens will the then travel to Phoenix to take on the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday, October 10 before returning to Consol Energy Center for their home opener on Wednesday, October 13 against the Montreal Canadiens.
The rest of the 2015-16 schedule is expected to be announced on Thursday.
MAJOR AWARD: Penguins defenseman Kris Letang is one of three finalists for the Masterton Trophy, which will be given out as the annual NHL Awards Show this evening. Also in the running for the Masterton, which is given out to the “player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.”
Minnesota Wild goaltender Devan Dubnyk and Ottawa Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond are the other two nominees. The show will be televised on NBCSN at 7:00 p.m. with a one-hour pre-show on NHL Network.
Photo credit: Reuters
