After odyssey, Dea thinks he’s back where he belongs

OTTAWA, Ontario — When the Penguins made Jean-Sebastien Dea one of their final cuts at the end of the preseason, they figured he would be back up in Pittsburgh at some point, perhaps contributing the occasional goal.

They probably didn’t figure he’d play against them twice before then.

But after a “crazy couple of months” for Dea — who just days before the season was claimed off waivers by New Jersey and appeared in 20 games for the Devils before they waived him — there he was Saturday in Ottawa, the lone Penguin to beat Senators goalie Craig Anderson in a 2-1 loss.

“It’s crazy,” Dea said. “I never thought I’d be back two months later.”

Coach Mike Sullivan said Saturday that the Penguins felt Dea, whom they originally signed as an undrafted free agent in 2013, had a strong training camp. But he didn’t do quite enough to separate himself from the pack.

So the Penguins tried to stash Dea down in WilkesBarre/Scranton, but the Devils, run by ex-Penguins general manager Ray Shero, nabbed him.

Dea had three goals and two assists in 20 games with New Jersey. The two assists came against the Penguins at PPG Paints Arena in a 5-1 win for the Devils on Nov. 5. But after scoring three goals in his first four games with the Devils, those assists were his only points in his next 16 games.

Two weeks ago, the struggling Devils, who have dropped to the bottom of the Metropolitan Division standings, tried to send Dea down to the minors. The Penguins reclaimed him and, since they were the team that initially lost him, were able to send him straight to their AHL affiliate.

“I knew if I was going to go back on waivers, they had a chance to pick me up again and go to Wilkes right away,” Dea said. “But obviously, you never know. It could have been another team that was going to pick me up before Pittsburgh. So I’m happy I ended up coming back here.”

After playing two games in Wilkes-Barre Scranton, Dea was recalled to Pittsburgh on Friday after Patric Hornqvist had an upperbody injury in Thursday’s win and Dominik Simon was placed on injured reserve.

Sullivan played the 24year-old for 11 shifts in his official return Saturday and counted on him to kill penalties in the third period with the score tied.

“He’s real excited to be a Pittsburgh Penguin again, and we’re excited to have him,” Sullivan said. “We didn’t want to lose him in the first place.”

Dea previously played six games with the Penguins, contributing one goal.

“What J.S. brings, first and foremost, he can skate,” Sullivan said before the game. “He’s going to bring speed to the line he plays on. J.S. has really worked on his game over the last couple of years to turn himself into a reliable, responsible player. He’s a guy that can really shoot the puck.”

Dea showed that speed and shot Saturday.

After the Senators coughed up the puck outside their blue line, it was seized by Dea, who cruised past defenseman Ben Harpur then roofed a shot over the left shoulder of Anderson, who stopped 35 other shots.

“It feels really good, obviously, to get that first goal in the first game,” the forward said. “It gives me a lot of confidence moving forward.”

With Hornqvist and Matt Cullen poised to return soon, perhaps on this road trip, he knows he might have to keep it going to stick around. “Obviously, you don’t wish for injuries, but you’ve got to take advantage of those,” he said. “I’m happy to be here. I’m happy to have another shot.”