Penguins GM Announces Major Re-Signing + Two Trades

PITTSBURGH

Today on his conference call with the media, General Manager Ian Gurtowski announced the following roster moves:

-Jason Zucker has re-signed to a four year, $16,000,000 contract extension
-Joel Armia and Will Butcher have been traded to the Dallas Stars for Mark Pysyk and Brandon Sutter
-Prospects Jacob Olofsson and Mackenzie Entwistle have been traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Mike Matheson.
-Rau, Gambardella, Stoykewych, Fitzgerald, and Archambault have been signed to varying in length extensions
-Sandin and Ehn have been signed to their ELC's

These announcements come as the 2019 EHE Silly Season gets underway. Gurtowski is expected to be heavily involved in the offering of free agent contracts to multiple UFAs, though wouldn't comment on any potential moves, only on confirmed moves so far.

On Zucker:
     "We've liked what Jason has brought to our team from day one. He and his wife Carly have been very active in our community and that level of off ice dedication is something we highly value in this organization. Couple that with his immediate impact on the ice and chemistry with Pauly is undeniable, and we're beyond excited to make this committment to Jason and his family for the next four years.

On the two trades: 
     "The players we moved out today were really good people, but we identified a need and desire to get more well rounded defensively and help take some pressure off our goaltender, which we feel Brandon, Mark, and Mike will help us do."

On contract extensions:
     "These players we signed here are guys who are going to be fighting for a spot in our bottom six. We're really going to stress this competition early on in training camp. Kyle Rau is a good example of the type of player we'll be watching. He's done really well at the AHL level and we want to give him and the others every opportunity to make this team. And those who don't will have large opportunities with Wilkes-Barre and could always be candidates for call ups.

On ELC's:
     "Rasmus and Christoffer both had really good seasons last year and even though they are just coming into our organization, they're just as in the thick of fighting for top spots as the guys who have been here are. We are excited for the competition and youth this season will bring."

Gurtowski also instilled a level of confidence in his captain, Jamie Benn, who's entering the final year of his contract:

"Bottom line is that Jamie is our captain, and we've had conversations about last years playoff run. He, Coach Julien, and I are all ready to move on and look forward to this season and we know Jamie's going to be our guy this year. As for after this year, Jamie is franchise tagged, but we've both agreed to wait until next summer to talk about anything involving contracts."

This is just the beginning of the build up to the season, and if you want to be in the know for all the news and updates, be sure to follow the us on Twitter @PenguinsEHE