Penguins Bring Back Dominik Simon

Dominik Simon has been signed to a one year, two-way deal, with a value of $750,000 at the NHL level.

Though Dominik Simon does not seem to be a fan favorite, he also seems to not to be a fan amongst most Penguin hockey writers & analysts, our own Penguin Poop writer “The Other Rick” has quite the distain for him. I personally find this a fairly low risk move, though if you go to twitter the fans are panicking that the Penguins seem to be going the wrong direction and keeping the team mostly the same.

I do agree that Simon does not impress me as a player, I find him to be fairly mediocre, he does have his moments, but those seems to be very sparse, he’s just a John Doe kind of player to me. So why then do I not find this too worrisome that Simone has been brought back as it seems more of the same old Penguins? This is a two-way deal, so I believe they will keep him in the AHL, and only call him up during injuries, this also seems like a compromise between Sullivan and Hextall, as Hextall is forcing some more size and supposedly grit to the team. So Hextall is keeping a player Sullivan likes on the back burner incase of injuries, I really don’t see him having a prominent role on the team, if he does and I’m wrong, that would just be embarrassing for the Penguins, and you can kiss any potential cup run GOOD…bye. By this year or next you would see the boot to Hextall & Sullivan, if they do “more of the same” and we tank either in the season or the playoffs, as it’s do or die for the Pens and the aging core.

Via NHL: The Pittsburgh Penguins signed forward Dominik Simon to a one-year contract, it was announced today by general manager Ron Hextall. 

The two-way contract runs through the 2021-22 season and carries an average annual value of $750,000 at the NHL level.

Simon, 26, returns to Pittsburgh for his second tour of duty after spending one season in the Calgary Flames organization where he appeared in 11 games. Prior to his time with the Flames, Simon played in parts of five seasons with Pittsburgh from 2015-20, appearing in 173 games and recording 64 points (19G-45A). He’s also dressed in 12 Stanley Cup Playoff games, notching four assists.

The 5-foot-11, 190-pound forward’s best season came in 2018-19 while with Pittsburgh, where he picked up a career-high eight goals, 20 assists and 28 points in 71 games. His 20 assists were tied for sixth on the team while his 28 points were tied for eighth-best on Pittsburgh, while seeing time on all four of the Penguins’ forward lines.

Simon has played in parts of four seasons in the American Hockey League, split between the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins and the Stockton Heat, registering 111 points (44G-67A) in 160 games. His best AHL season came as a rookie in 2015-16 when he led the team with 25 goals, and tacked on 23 assists and 48 points in 68 games. His outstanding play earned him a spot in the 2016 AHL All-Star Game.

The Prague, Czech Republic native enjoyed a breakout campaign as a prospect in his hometown while playing in the 2014-15 season with HC Plzen, a Czech Extraliga team owned by former Penguins player Martin Straka. He finished tied for third on the team with 30 points (18G-12A) in 52 games. Simon, the youngest player on the Czech team at the 2015 World Championships, was paired on a line with the team’s most senior member, former Penguin Jaromir Jagr. Simon finished that tournament with six points (1G-5A) in 10 games.

Simon was drafted by the Penguins in the fifth round (137th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft.