Hopping across the Metropolitan Division to join the club he has long tormented, forward Eric Fehr signed a three-year, $6 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins, the team announced Tuesday morning.
Fehr’s departure from the Washington Capitals, who picked him 18th overall in 2004 and later re-signed him after trading him to Winnipeg for the 2010-11 season, comes as little surprise. After Washington inked goaltender Braden Holtby to a five-year, $30.5 million contract, General Manager Brian MacLellan only had roughly $4.3 million available before reaching the salary cap ceiling, with forward Marcus Johansson currently trending toward arbitration. The Capitals had shown early interest in Fehr, who smoothly transitioned into a full-time, checking-line center over the past two seasons, but had other, more pressing needs to address at the time.