Ryan Craig will return as a Penguin for the 2011-12 season on a two-way contract valued at $525,000, according to an official team release.
Craig served as the captain for the Wilkes-Barre Penguins last season and joined the parent club for a total of six games. Here's a quick recap of Craig's year from the season review that went up on the site a few weeks ago:
In his six games with the Pens back in mid-to-late February, Craig finished with zero points, a plus-minus of -3 and 22 penalty minutes. Granted he was also receiving just around 10 minutes of ice time per game, but he did get to play a part in the brawl with the Islanders back on Feb. 11. I distinctly remember Craig having a few close calls in front of the net on some rebound goals, but by that point in the season the Pens were really trying to hang on to whoever was healthy enough to lace up their skates.
It's not an earth-shattering signing by any means, but still one done out of relative necessity when it comes to stocking up the WBS squad. Good to see the captain will return for another season with the team. Odds are he won't see much time with the Pittsburgh team, but depending on how things pan out with some of the free agents, who knows for sure?
I know at least one thing heading into the new season: If we see his face again as a result of too many injuries, it's definitely not a good thing.
Tony gets into this a bit more on his blog Highland Park Hockey.