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2010 NHL Free Agency: Penguins add more sandpaper to forward group with Arron Asham

Stanley Cup Finals - Philadelphia Flyers v Chicago Blackhawks - Game Five

of the Philadelphia Flyers of the Chicago Blackhawks in Game Five of the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Final at the United Center on June 6, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois.

Jim McIsaac

The Pittsburgh Penguins added a little bit more sandpaper to a forward group that - beyond Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin - is actually sneakily rugged by signing Arron Asham today. TSN reports that they nabbed the ex-Philadelphia Flyers depth player to a one-year, $700K contract.

Asham joins a group of forwards who are versatile and tough but can only bring so much offense to the table, like Chris Kunitz, Matt Cooke and Mike Rupp.

The Penguins roster is now nearly full. Adding his $700K to CapGeek’s roster figures, the team will have about $1.4 million left with two spots to fill (13 forwards, six defensemen and two goalies). It will be interesting to see which of those forwards ends up being a healthy scratch most nights. I’d be surprised to see Tyler Kennedy sit in the press box but Penguins blog The Confluence at least brings up that question while Craig Adams and wet-behind-the-ears power forward Eric Tangradi also strike me as possible scratches.

While he won’t cure Pittsburgh’s woes when it comes to scoring wingers, it’s clear that GM Ray Shero wants to make the Penguins a tough team to play against. That’s been the trend ever since Shero shipped floating, turnover-prone offensive defenseman Ryan Whitney to Anaheim for Kunitz and Tangradi; I don’t expect him to buck that trend anytime soon.