Rumor: Penguins a frontrunner for UFA Zaripov?

Should the Pens take a run at the 36-year-old Russian?

HockeyFeed
HockeyFeed
Published 6 years ago
Rumor: Penguins a frontrunner for UFA Zaripov?
Keystone Press

With reports yesterday that indicate that the Pittsburgh Penguins have shown interest in disgraced KHL star Danis Zaripov, Pensburgh blogger Hooks Orpik takes a look at the 36-year-old Russian hockey lifer to assess whether or not he’d be a fit in Pittsburgh.

The Penguins have about $3 million in salary cap space to spend, so finances shouldn’t be an issue. But, fitting Zaripov into the team’s lineup may not be as simple as it seems. While Zaripov is a skilled winger, the Penguins already boast some good depth with Phil Kessel, Jake Guentzel, Conor Sheary, Bryan Rust, Patric Hornqvist and Carl Hagelin all factoring into the team’s scoring lines. 

Further complicating matters is the fact that the Pens and GM Jim Rutherford may be wary of bringing over an unproven Russian from the KHL given how badly the Sergei Plotnikov experiment turned out two seasons ago.

What do you think? Would you like to see the Pens take a chance on Zaripov? Or would you rather them give an opportunity to one of the team’s younger players like Scott Wilson or Daniel Sprong?


Source: Pensburgh