Ashamgame3bruins

The Pittsburgh Penguins announced this afternoon that they agreed to a one-year, $700,000 contract with free agent winger Aaron Asham.

Asham spent the last two seasons with the Flyers, accumulating 18 goals, 44 points, and 281 penalty minutes in the Orange and Black, not to mention 4 goals in last season's deep playoff run.

With the Flyers' current cap situation and offensive depth, there was simply "no room at the inn" for Asham in Philadelphia. However, he possesses the ability to throw punches and contribute offensively, with most people underrating Asham's shot and hands. While I don't think the Flyers will necessarily miss him, Pittsburgh signed a very valuable player at a bargain price. A 10-year NHL veteran, he will provide leadership in a young Penguins locker room and get the opportunity to be a scoring winger flanking Sidney Crosby. By signing with Pittsburgh, Asham has played with every team in the Atlantic Division besides the New York Rangers.

Although Asham was only a role player, I'm going to have a hard time watching him stand up for Crosby and the rest of the crying Penguins. You can bet he's going to score a couple goals against Philly next year, just like every former Flyer who comes back to town (see Ruslan Fedotenko and Dainus Zubrus).

Additionally, with the loss of Asham, the Flyers lost their only Eskimo-looking player.