Pittsburgh, October 26th 2006.
The Penguins General Manager Alex Tousignant announced today that they signed left winger Antti Laaksonen to a two year deal. This follows the signing earlier in free agency where they picked up loyal defenseman Darius Kasparaitus and also traded for right winger David Vyborny. Laaksonen comes to the team from Colorado where he played last year, accumulating 17 points in 75 games while being a +1. Overall, Laaksonen has 32 points in 156 career OTHL games.
Laaksonen comes in and will play on the left side of center, behind veteran Mike Sillinger in the depth charts. The team has not yet determined if he will see checking line duties because of his good defensive awareness or if he will see some 2nd line time as well.
GM Tousignant was happy with the signing, stating that "Adding a good veteran like Laaksonen gives us depth on the left side and he is good enough to play a bottom six or top six role for the team. We will start him on a line with Cullen and Lupul and see how they work together, and Antti will defintely be playing all season on the penalty kill.
Laaksonen looks to enjoy his stay in Pittsburgh, as he signed a 2 year deal worth approximately $1,000,000 a season with bonuses. He is excited about coming a to a team with a ton of youth and is hoping he can build upon last year and he believes he could reach 30 points this year playing in Pittsburgh.