I showed up late to a 4th of July party today because right when I was leaving to go, the Penguins announced that they have signed Boris Valabik to a 1 year contract.
Valabik, you will remember, was the 6’7 giant on defense for the Chicago Wolves when they defeated the Wilkes-Barre / Scranton Penguins in six games in 2008.
It is a veteran signing. He will probably spend most of his time, if not all, in Wilkes-Barre. If you are content with a body on D then this is great news. If you are more analytical towards the signing and want to delve deeper into the numbers then read on.
Valabik hasn’t scored a goal since 2008-09 when he was with the Chicago Wolves. He has a grand sum total of 13 assists in AHL games since. If my math is correct, he is a -2 in those AHL games also, a sum total of 76 games since. Now, in 50 NHL games for the Atlanta Thrashers in 2008-09, he had 5 assists and was a -14. (source: HockeyDB)
These numbers are a bit concerning. There are speedy wingers in the AHL East division. Probably the most speedy in the entire AHL. I am not saying it’s a bad signing, I am just saying that I’d like to know more in what the thought process is bringing Valabik in. We / I may never know.
Bombulie had a blurb about it. Jonathan references two memorable fights which involved Valabik I went out and found:
and this one, more well known to the main stream:
Elsewhere, a very quiet day on Free Agent Movement and how it affects the East Division. Vancouver signed Bears pest Steve Pinizzotto. I’d suspect that business will pick up again Tuesday.
If anything happens tomorrow, check my Twitter feed or on the blog for a quick recap. If not, Happy 4th everyone! Stay safe.
WBS News
Chirps from Center Ice 