Austin Wagner Could Push for Contract With Penguins
The options will be there for Austin Wagner in the Pittsburgh Penguins organization.
The Pittsburgh Penguins signed a trio of players to professional tryout offers and while it’s a great opportunity for them, making the NHL lineup won’t be easy.
Defensemen Libor Hajek and Mark Pysyk have their own fighting to do for a role with the Penguins, but forward Austin Wagner is in a different boat.
Wagner joins the team and will immediately have to scratch and claw his way through a lineup already loaded with a surplus of offense.
Before the Penguins even considered Wagner on a PTO, they brought on the likes of Noel Acciari, Lars Eller, and Matt Nieto and NHL level free agents.
Andreas Johnsson, Vinnie Hinostroza, and the return of Radim Zohonra were also added to battle for depth roles, while Drew O’Connor, Sam Poulin, and Valtteri Puustinen could have legit chances.
Not to mention Rem Pitlick was added with the Erik Karlsson trade and other PTO may still be signed.
It’s an uphill battle for Wagner, but one that he could earn a contract from, but likely not in the NHL.
While Wagner has 178 NHL games and 42 career points under his belt, there are just too many faces in his way to reach an NHL lineup, but the AHL may have a spot for him.
President and general manager Kyle Dubas has been hard at work updating the NHL roster, but also bolstering the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins lineup to make them much more competitive.
This might be the perfect place for Wagner to land following camp; the Penguins have plenty of options for depth forwards and won’t be hurting if Wagner misses out.
Wagner will give a good effort and camp, and pry the best play out of his peers, but maybe his next chance at the NHL level follows a little time with WBS.
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