CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Dominik Simon said it was a "shock" to hear that the Penguins were offering him a contract this offseason.
"I didn't see it coming," he said after Saturday's training camp practice at the Lemieux Complex. "It's amazing, it's hard to describe."
Simon, 27, is in his second stint with the Penguins after returning to Pittsburgh on a one-year, two-way contract worth the league-minimum $750,000 for this season.
Simon played in 64 games in his last season in Pittsburgh in 2019-20, recording seven goals and 15 assists, before a shoulder injury sidelined him in late February, shortly before the season was paused due to COVID-19. 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.
Simon was an unrestricted free agent that offseason after not being given a qualifying offer by the Penguins, something Jim Rutherford said at the time was in part due to concern over Simon's arbitration rights if qualified. Simon then signed a one-year deal with the Flames, and played 11 games in the NHL and one in the AHL, recording no points in either league.
Simon described his time in Calgary as "so much practicing," and said that he viewed last season as a positive experience despite the limited playing time, using it as an opportunity to get in shape after his surgery and get over the psychological impact of his injury, like apprehension about going into the corners.
When the Penguins signed Simon on the first day of free agency, Ron Hextall made it clear that Simon would have competition for a spot in the lineup.
"You know, we'll see what what training camp dictates," he said. "We do have some kids that are going to be fighting for some spots, and Dom will be in the mix as well."
In the first three days of training camp, Simon has played on the left side on a line with Evan Rodrigues and Nathan Legare. Though Simon does have experience playing center at the international level and was used at center in the preseason in his first stint with the Penguins, he hasn't played center at all in this camp, and is seemingly not a candidate for one of the Penguins' two openings at center with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin both injured to start the season. Asked about his comfort level playing center on Saturday, he made it clear that he prefers to play on the wing.
"It's different, more responsibility to play centerman than winger," he said. "In some ways it's probably harder than winger, I feel like I'm more used to playing winger. But obviously we're trying to be ready for any role. The game is so fast that coaches are telling us to be ready to play anywhere."
Mike Sullivan pointed to Simon's versatility right off the bat when I asked him about Simon on Saturday, and didn't rule out using Simon as a center during the season.
"He has played center in the past," Sullivan said. "I know it's not his preferred position, but he is capable if that's a need for our team."
Simon was a lightning rod for criticism from the fanbase for his perceived lack of production despite having the opportunity to play on the top line at times. While his individual goal totals weren't ever that impressive, the success the top line had while he was on it and Simon's rate of assists at even strength reflected the positive impact he had on that line.
Simon spent almost a third of his ice time in the 2018-19 season on the top line with 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, even though it definitely wasn't Simon putting most of those goals in the back of the net. His 18 even-strength assists were the sixth-most on that team that season, following Crosby, Malkin, Guentzel, Phil Kessel, and Kris Letang.
"He's a very good playmaker, he sets up opportunities," Sullivan said of Simon. "A lot of our guys like to play with him because they get scoring chances when he's on a line. That, I think, is an indication of his ability to create.
Sullivan pointed to Simon's strength on the puck and abilities in tight spaces and battle areas as some of his strengths that he's shown again in this training camp, and added that he thinks that Simon's defensive game has improved since he was last a Penguin.
"He's pretty good along the wall for a guy that's not overly big (5-11, 190)," Sullivan continued. "He's brave, he'll protect pucks. And he's not afraid to block a shot. He's got good awareness defensively. So he's another one of those versatile players that depending on what the need of the team is, we could utilize him in different circumstances."
Simon said that "a lot of little strength stuff" was his main focus this offseason, but other than that, his training was pretty typical. Reflecting on his time away from Pittsburgh as a whole in the last year, he said that he just tried to keep improving his game in hopes to receive an opportunity like this once again.
"I've been trying to get better all the time, if this chance showed up," he said. "You try to keep working on yourself all the time, gotta keep improving. That's what I tried to do."
