Talbot signs extension, Whitney assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton - 12-19-08

The Penguins made a few moves today. First they signed forward Maxime Talbot to a two-year extension. He was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent after this season.

The team demoted Ryan Whitney (right) to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for conditioning purposes. He has not played all season due to a foot injury.

Additionally, prospect Jonathan Filewich was traded to the Blues for a conditional draft pick in 2010.

EN Says: Obviously anything that keeps Talbot in the organization is a positive move, assuming the cap figure is smart. He's a player who is so valuable in ways that don't show up on the scoreboard.

A healthy Whitney can't return to the lineup soon enough in order to help the team's inconsistent power play.

Filewich is a player who some had speculated could become a top six forward with the NHL club or even that long-lost scoring winger for Sidney Crosby. With the AHL Penguins, he had a 22-goal season in 2005-06 and scored 30 in 2006-07. Those totals fell to 10 in 2007-08 and he has only scored two this season. Jonathan Bombulie of the Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice seems to think Filewich will benefit from a change of scenery. With Filewich gone, Marc-Andre Fleury, Ryan Stone and Paul Bissonnette are the only members of the Penguins' 2003 draft class still with the organization.

(Yes, our Winter Classic photo fetish strikes again.)

(Photo: Dave Sandford/Getty Images)