Apologies for this being out there for a few days, but there are reports that the Penguins have offered former Montreal Canadiens defenseman Francis Bouillon a two-way contract. As Spector puts it:
LA PRESSE: Richard Labbe reports former Habs blueliner Francis Bouillon is expected to know the identity of his new team soon. The NY Rangers, Chicago Blackhawks and Pittsburgh Penguins are believed interested in Bouillon. He could have a new contract by the end of this week.
SPECTOR'S NOTE: It was erroneously reported earlier this week he'd signed with the Rangers. The Blackhawks and Penguins are in the market for affordable blueline depth so they'd be good alternatives for Bouillon if the Rangers deal doesn't go through.
If you think about it, the Penguins lost 3 NHL caliber defensemen (Hal Gill, Rob Scuderi and Philippe Boucher) and have only brought one (Jay McKee) in. They hope youngsters like Alex Goligoski and Ben Lovejoy can grow into NHL roles, but depth is always crucial. Harken back to last year when Sergei Gonchar didn't make it out of the pre-season and guys like McKee and Mark Eaton have acquired labels of not being ironmen and getting some injuries. There's always room for more defensemen when there's room under the cap.
Rumors have gotten out that Boucher has been talking to the Pens about being a mentor/player role, so he also could be a candidate to re-join Pittsburgh in 2009-10. Either way, I'd expect the Penguins to add one more defenseman before camp.