Former Penguins forward Domink Simon signed a one-year deal with the Flames worth $700,000 on Thursday.
"I was talking to some different teams but the Flames showed a lot of interest in me," Simon told reporters after signing the contract. "I liked them right away, right from the beginning, it sounded good. So, I said 'yes.' I just really liked the interested they had in me. You could see there was some space in the lineup, some spots (for forwards) and I liked that."
Simon, 26, was an unrestricted free agent this offseason after not being given a qualifying offer by the Penguins. Jim Rutherford said that there was concern that because Simon had arbitration rights, it was possible if they qualified him that Simon could have elected arbitration and locked the Penguins into a contract that would have caused salary cap problems, given the flat cap for next season.
Rutherford did tell Dave Molinari before free agency began that the Penguins had an offer on the table for Simon, but if they went into free agency and began signing forwards that offer could disappear.
"I've told Dominik's agent that, if at a certain number, he wants to play in Pittsburgh, it's still open to him," Rutherford said. "There's a place for him between now and (the start of) free agency, but when free agency opens, if a player comes along that we like at a relatively low number that fits into our cap, that could take that opportunity away from him."
The Penguins signed Evan Rodrigues and Mark Jankowski to matching one-year, $700,000 deals early in free agency, and Rutherford said afterward that those signings made re-signing Simon impossible.
"He was in the mix, and we talked about these three players -- Rodrigues, Jankowski and Simon," Rutherford said. "Part of not qualifying Dominik was the arbitration case. That was obvious. We still had some interest in him and he still had some interest in us. He was in the mix, but having Rodrigues and Jankowski, who are more comfortable at center, made more sense for the flexibility for the coach."
After signing with the Flames, Simon posted a message on Instagram thanking the Penguins and praising the city of Pittsburgh:
Simon reflected more on the move to a new team in a Sportsnet radio appearance after the signing.
"I've been in the organization for like five years," he said. "But I feel like that's hockey life. Sometimes you have to change a team. I thank the Pittsburgh Penguins for everything they did for me, it was an amazing time there."
Simon was the Penguins' fifth-round pick in 2015 and made his North American professional debut the following season with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He led the team in goals as a rookie with 25 in 68 games, and made his NHL debut that same season, appearing in three games. He spent his sophomore season again primarily in Wilkes-Barre, only playing two games in the NHL. He split his third season between Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre, and finally became a full-time NHL player in the 2018-19 season.
Simon spent almost a third of his ice time in the 2018-19 season on the top line with Sidney Crosby and Jake Guentzel, and while he only scored eight goals and 20 assists himself that season, the top line produced the most by far when Simon was on it, at a rate of 5.30 goals per 60 minutes. His 18 even strength assists that season were the sixth-most on that team that season, following Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Guentzel, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang.
"At the time, you don't realize it, how fortunate (to play with Crosby)," Simon told reporters Thursday. "It's amazing. You don't think about that you're playing with one of the best in the game. He was an amazing teammate and an amazing player to play with. I was extremely lucky I was able to play with him."
On Sportsnet, Simon was asked about what he learned from that time with Crosby.
"You just see all of the good things he does," he said. "And there's many of them. You see how strong he is on the puck, how competitive he is, how good of a teammate he is. There's a bunch of things that you learn watching him, and playing with him even more. I'm really thankful for all of those."
Simon played in 64 games in his final season in Pittsburgh, scoring seven goals and 15 assists. His season ended on Feb. 29 when he sustained a shoulder injury in a game against the Sharks. He delayed surgery for two months, hoping to be able to rehab and play through the injury when the NHL season restarted. When it became clear that the shutdown was going to last several months, he had shoulder surgery on April 29, ending his season and giving him an expected six to seven months before he'd be able to return.
Simon said in his Sportsnet appearance that it was tough to sit out and watch from the sidelines as the Penguins played in the playoffs without him.
"It was definitely bad," he said. "Playoffs are the most fun time of the year, you're looking forward to it. It was definitely hard to miss it."
Simon said on Thursday that he's been training in Prague, and plans to move to Calgary soon to continue training. He says that he's been fully healed for a few weeks and will be ready for the start of the season, whenever that may be.
"I'm so excited to meet everyone in there," he said. "Can't wait to get in there, meet the whole team and get going."
"I just want to make the team as strong as possible," he said. "I'll try to play my best game, try to be strong on the puck and make scoring opportunities or shoot the puck when the chance is there. It starts from responsible defense; you make offense from there. That's what I'm going to try and bring to the team."
