The Pittsburgh Penguins have announced they have picked up the playing

 rights to former Prince George Cougars defenseman Dan Hamhuis.

The Pittsburgh Penguins have acquired the rights to defenseman Dan
Hamhuis from the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for a 2011 third-round
draft choice; it was announced by executive vice president and general
manager Ray Shero.

Hamhuis, 27, spent his first six NHL seasons with the Nashville Predators
before being traded to the Flyers last week. He was originally drafted
12th overall by the Predators in 2001 when Shero served as Nashville's
assistant GM.

The 6-foot-1, 209-pound Hamhuis, who will be an unrestricted free agent on
July 1st, appeared in 78 games for the Predators this past season, scoring
five goals and adding 24 points to go with a plus-4 rating.

Hamhuis, Smithers, British Columbia native, has recorded 32 goals and
161 points in 483 career regular-season contests. His best season came in
2005-06 when he posted career highs across the board with seven goals, 31
assists, 38 points and a plus-11 rating while appearing in all 82 games
for the Predators.