Penguins' Vokoun leaning towards retirement after this season

The Pittsburgh Penguins loaned veteran netminder Tomas Vokoun to their American Hockey League affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, on conditioning assignment this week. Vokoun is expected to get into a professional game shortly, for the first time since undergoing a procedure to dissolve a bloodclot in his pelvis this fall.

While Vokoun appears to be nearing a return to full health, his place in the Penguins' goaltending hierarchy is very much in doubt. Marc-Andre Fleury is clearly Pittsburgh's starter, while Jeff Zatkoff has cemented himself in the backup slot, and even signed a two-year, one-way contract extension this season.

"It's tough to practice with three goalies when we are in Pittsburgh," Vokoun admitted to the Pittsburgh Tribune this week. "That's the main reason I'm here. I want to get a full practice and hopefully get a couple of games and see where I'm at."

While Vokoun appears to be the odd man out in the blue paint in Pittsburgh, he's trying to remain flexible. He also seems resigned to retiring at the conclusion of this season: "When we talked back in January, I told them I'm open-minded. Regardless of what happened, I was 90 percent sure it was going to be my last season anyway."

Vokoun has appeared in 700 games in his NHL career, and has managed 300 wins while posting a very impressive .917 career save percentage. He's been excellent, and he's been excellent for a long-time. 

His experience and perspective surely serve to inform his admirable outlook on his current situation: "I'm here to help. It seems like the coaches and the management want me to be around. Whatever my role is, I'm fine either way."