Best Penguins By Jersey Number: #49

The Pittsburgh Penguins’ organizational history has a plethora of great players, and we’ve decided to go through the best Penguins’ players to wear each jersey number. Today, we continue the list by naming the best #49 in Penguins’ history.

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Only four players have worn #49 for the Penguins dating back to 1999. There is really only one player who hung around long enough and did well enough to earn this distinction.

That player is Dominik Simon.

Simon was drafted by the Penguins in the fifth round of the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. He spent parts of six seasons with the Penguins, the only interruptions being a stint in Calgary in 2020-21 and the last leg of his NHL career in Anaheim at the end of the 2021-22 season.

Not really known for his finishing touch, Simon was somewhat of an analytics darling, excelling on the forecheck and in chance creation but falling short on production. He spent a good portion of time playing next to Sidney Crosby, and he was a monster at puck possession on that line.

But that doesn’t mean he didn’t have his own moments on offense:

After his one-season stint in Calgary, Simon returned to the Penguins in 2021-22. That was short-lived, however, because he was traded to Anaheim last-minute at the 2022 deadline, along with teammate Zach Aston-Reese, in the exchange that brought Rickard Rakell to Pittsburgh.

Over the course of his Penguins’ career, Simon registered 22 goals and 73 points in 228 games. He is currently playing in the Czech Republic.

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