Last year, after training camp broke, among the players the Penguins tried to sneak through waivers was goalie Dany Sabourin. Sabourin was an AHL all-star and arguably outperformed Marc-Andre Fleury and Jocelyn Thibault in 2006's training camp. But the powers that be wisely decided that Fleury needed to stay in the NHL, and Thibault was going to be his veteran backup, so there was no room at the inn for Sabourin. Vancouver scooped him up, and rumor has it he actually appeared in 9 games for the Canucks when Luongo must not have been in....You know the rest of the story: Sabs returned to the Pens as a free agent pickup and is Fleury's backup this season.
History has repeated itself this season with admitted Sweater Ted growing favorite, Mike Weaver. Weaver seemingly had a good camp in Pittsburgh, played within his limitations and offered a right handed shot for the blueline. Pittsburgh, however decided the devil you do know (Robert Scuderi and Alain Nasreddine) were better options to fill the 6th and 7th defensemen slot and tried to send Weaver down to the AHL.
...And who sweeps in but Vancouver...They probably know a little something about Weaver, since he's appeared in 92 NHL games for the Los Angeles Kings over the past two seasons. Like me, Vancouver obviously thinks Weaver could be a viable option as a bottom pair/depth NHL defensemen.
Time will tell if the cycle comes full circle and Weaver ends up back in Pittsburgh's organization this time next year.
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