New Penguins forward Josh Currie led Bakersfield in goals (24) and points (41) last season.
Paul Vernon | AP file photo
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Wilkes-Barre/Scranton finished 23rd in goal scoring when the 2019-20 season abruptly ended. On the first day of free agency for next season, the Penguins made a quick move to add some more firepower to the AHL lineup.
Parent club Pittsburgh landed forward Josh Currie in the opening hours of the signing frenzy, a move that likely gives Wilkes-Barre/Scranton a four-time 20-goal scorer.
Currie, 27, is coming off two of his best seasons as a pro, leading the Bakersfield Condors in goals (24) and points (41) in 2019-20. A year earlier, he scored a career-high 27 goals for the Condors and finished with a professional best 46 points in 2017-18.
Those numbers likely put him in demand for other teams looking to add depth scoring to the system. The Penguins helped lure the unrestricted free agent with a one-year contract that will pay him $350,000 while in the AHL, according to TSN’s Bob McKenzie. That’s more than double his salary from last season, which he spent entirely with Bakersfield.
While Currie will have a shot to make the NHL roster in training camp, Pittsburgh also filled some holes for its lineup by bringing back forward Evan Rodrigues and signing center Mark Jankowski. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton alum Sam Lafferty also signed a two-year, one-way extension this week and looks to be an NHL regular at this point.
Currie has spent the vast majority of his career in the minors, with his only NHL experience coming in 2018-19, when he played 21 games for the Edmonton Oilers.
The AHL has been home for the Prince Edward Island native, where he has 188 points (103 goals, 85 assists) in 297 games.
Currie has been looked to for leadership, having served as an alternate captain for the Condors each of the last two seasons. He also captained his junior team for two seasons.
The Penguins figure to get busier adding to the AHL roster as the free agency period continues.
“We’ll sign some depth guys,” Pittsburgh general manager Jim Rutherford said Friday. “Getting a depth center would be good, a guy that’s capable of coming in and playing a couple games. Getting another goalie would be good. Possibly picking up another one, two, three players here as depth guys.”
The goaltending situation will be of particular interest to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Last year’s AHL starter, Casey DeSmith, is in line to return to Pittsburgh as the backup to Tristan Jarry. The other two goalies under contract at the moment are Emil Larmi and Alex D’Orio, and the Penguins look to be in the market for a veteran to add to the group.