Penguins sign depth defenseman Xavier Ouellet
The Penguins have reportedly signed unrestricted free agent defenseman Xavier Ouellet to a two-year, two-way contract that carries a salary cap hit of $762,500.
French Canadian outlet RDS first reported the deal.
Ouellet, who turns 29 on July 29, spent last season with the Laval Rocket, the American Hockey League affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens. Serving as the Rocket’s captain for the past four seasons, Ouellet, a native of France, appeared in 61 AHL games and scored 41 points (eight goals, 33 assists), ninth-most in the AHL among all defensemen.
A left-handed shot, Ouellet (6-foot, 197 pounds) was a second-round pick (No. 48 overall) of the Detroit Red Wings in 2011. He has played in 178 career NHL games with the Red Wings as well as Canadiens and has scored 28 points (five goals, 23 assists). His last action at the NHL level came during the 2020-21 season in the form of six games with the Canadiens.
With top defensive prospect P.O Joseph, a left-hander recently re-signing a one-way contract with the Penguins, as well as the departures of other southpaw blue liners such as Niclas Almari and Juuso Riikola leaving the organization in recent weeks, Ouellet will like report to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to open the 2022-23 season.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.
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