7th year defenseman Simon Despres(7) was bought out of the final four years of a five year contract by Anaheim Ducks after concussions sidelined him for all but one appearance in the 2016/2017 season.
The big blue liner played only 49 games for the team after being dealt from draft club Pittsburgh Penguins at the 2015 trade deadline.
Never one to connect on the scoresheet with high frequency, he’s thought of as being tough to play against in his own zone and had a +31 total rating through 193 NHL games and a +5 in the AHL.
The recently turned 26-year old is set to make very decent money from his deal gone south but isn’t waiting around to sign another term in North America, instead splitting for the KHL agreeing to one year with HC Slovan Bratislava.
If he can stay healthy, he should fit in nicely over in Russia.
Simon Despres(47) Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins‘ 1st pick in the 2009 draft (#30 overall) defenseman Simon Desprese(47) started his rookie season with their AHL affiliate Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
In 22 games, he has 3 goals and 4 assists and is a +3.
At 6’4″ 205 lbs. he’s bound to put on at least 15 more pounds of muscle in the next couple seasons to fill out his frame and overall game.
He received his first recall and had an assist in his NHL debut, a win vs. Washington Capitals.
He wears the same number 47 in the NHL as he does in the AHL.