Penguins sign former Lightning forward Craig
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The Penguins signed former Lightning forward Ryan Craig.
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No one disputes that Ryan Craig is a hard-working, versatile and gritty forward.
The question is whether he is capable of doing it while skating a regular shift in the NHL.
The Penguins signed Craig, 28, to a one-year contract Friday. It will pay him $500,000 if he plays in the NHL, less if he is in the American Hockey League.
"He's played in the NHL and had some success," Penguins general manager Ray Shero said. "We think he has a chance to play here."
Craig who is 6 feet 2, 220 pounds and was an eighth-round draft choice for Tampa Bay in 2002, appeared in 184 regular-season games with the Lightning, putting up 32 goals and 31 assists.
He can play the wing and center but, perhaps because of his rugged, blue-collar style, has been prone to injuries, most notably a back problem, throughout his career.
His most productive NHL season was 2005-06, when he had 15 goals and 13 assists in 48 games.
Even if Craig cracks the NHL roster, he does not figure to step into a top-six role, and the Penguins did not get any closer to filling that void in their lineup Friday.
"We'll just have to wait that one out," Shero said.
Bill Guerin, an unrestricted free agent who played primarily on Sidney Crosby's right side after being acquired at the trade deadline in 2009, said late Friday afternoon that he had not had any contact with the Penguins.
Shero, though, said that re-signing Guerin remains a possibility and that he plans to remain in touch with Guerin and/or his agent, Bob Murray.
"We'll see exactly how we feel coming out of the weekend," said Shero, who will attend the American Hockey League's annual meetings this weekend. "We'll see what direction we might want to go up front."
Defenseman Mark Eaton, with no spot on the roster after the Penguins signed Paul Martin and Zbynek Michalek, signed a two-year contract with the New York Islanders.
It carries a salary-cap hit of $2.5 million, up $500,000 from his recently expired deal with the Penguins.
First Published July 3, 2010 12:00 am
