Via The Boston Globe
While not a trade or FA signing, the Penguins made a move yesterday that is going to help them build a better club in the future. On Monday, general manager Ron Hextall announced the hiring of Chris Butler (player development coach), Greg Pateryn (professional scout), and Garrett Peters (global crossover scout).
Chris Butler spent 11 seasons in the NHL playing for Buffalo, Calgary, and St. Louis. Butler played in 407 career games, tallying 14 goals and 72 assists. Butler is responsible for developing the Penguins’ defensive prospects, and will report to Tom Kostopoulos (director of player development).
Greg Pateryn spent 10 seasons in the NHL playing for Montreal, Dallas, Minnesota, Colorado, San Jose, and Anaheim. Pateryn played in 290 career games, tallying 5 goals and 39 assists. Pateryn will be based on the west coast, and will focus on scouting western conference teams.
Garrett Peters played junior hockey in the QMJHL, and has had previous scouting roles in the past. Primarily, for the past five seasons Peters was an amateur scout for the St. Louis Blues, winning a Stanley Cup in 2019. Peters will be responsible for scouting amateur players in both North America and Europe.
As of today, the Penguins are (-$1,480,175) in cap space and will be tight for the foreseeable future with the new contracts of Evgeni Malkin (4x$6.1m), Kris Letang (6x$6.1m), and Bryan Rust (6x$5.125m). Adding to the scouting and development staff is a step in the right direction of finding and developing better (and most importantly cheaper) talent.
The Scoring Touch 