The Penguins have signed 35 year old forward Richard Park to a one-year, two-way contract. From the team:
Park’s contract is a two-way deal worth $550,000 at the NHL level.
Park, 35, played parts of 13 NHL seasons from 1994-95 through 2009-10 before spending the 2010-11 season with Geneve Servette of the Swiss National League where he tallied 34 points (15G-19A) in 47 games.
A native of Seoul, South Korea, Park began his NHL career with Pittsburgh, appearing in 58 regular-season games and four postseason contests between 1994-97 after the Penguins made him a second-round pick (50th overall) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. As a rookie in ’95-96, Park was a key member of the Penguins’ squad that advanced to the Eastern Conference Finals.
When the 5-foot-11, 190-pound Park made his NHL debut with Pittsburgh on May 3, 1995, he became just the second South Korean-born player to appear in the NHL, joining former Penguins defenseman Jim Paek.
During his most recent NHL season with the New York Islanders in 2009-10, Park established a career-high with 22 assists and tied the second-highest point total (31) of his career in 81 contests. Park tallied 10-plus goals and 30-plus points in three of his four seasons with New York prior to heading to Switzerland.
Park has appeared in 684 regular-season games with Pittsburgh, Anaheim, Philadelphia, Minnesota, Vancouver and the NY Islanders, notching 95 goals, 132 assists and 227 points. A solid penalty killer, Park has 14 career shorthanded goals, including a career-high four in ’07-08. Park has added eight points (3G-5A) in 38 postseason contests.
There were some rumors that the Penguins may have been interesting in bringing Park back, but given his age, European play last season plus a tough roster, it seems likely he's going to be a Wilkes-Barre depth player with the chance to maybe get an NHL stint if the Penguins need to replace a penalty killer through injury.
And hey, Pens fans have to be happy the team finally brought back a former Penguin winger who played last season in Europe...Right?