PITTSBURGH (93.7 the Fan) The Pittsburgh Penguins have added some new Stanley Cup experience with their most recent free agent signing.
It was announced that the Penguins signed defenseman Jan Rutta to a three-year contract worth $2.75 million annually.
Rutta is a right-handed shot defender and adds to the stock pile of players the Penguins have on that side of the blue line.
Kris Letang, John Marino, Chad Ruhwedel, and Mark Friedman are all right hand shot defenders and can all play NHL minutes.
Rutta is a native of Pisek, Czechoslovakia and is coming from the Tampa Bay Lightning where he played an average of 16:23 minutes a night.
He helped man the blue line as the Lightning went to three straight Cup Finals, winning two of them.
In 238 career games, Rutta has scored 12 goals and 49 assists for 61 points.
Thanks to the surplus of defenders within the organization, a trade is likely right around the corner for the Penguins.