The Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins have re-signed forward Tom Kostopoulos to an American Hockey League contract for the 2015-16 season.
Kostopoulos enters his 17th season of professional hockey and ninth year with the Penguins organization. The 36-year-old native of Mississauga, Ont., appeared in 72 games this season for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, finishing tied for second on the team with 44 points, second with 28 assists and fifth with 16 goals.
A two-time captain for the Penguins, Kostopoulos is the organization’s all-time leader in games played (478), goals (138), assists (206) and points (344). He is also first in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s postseason rankings with 18 goals and 35 assists for 53 points in 76 contests. Kostopoulos was selected to the AHL All-Star Game for the third time (2002 and 2005) when he was named captain of the Eastern Conference AHL All-Stars for the 2015 event in Utica.
Since beginning his pro career in 1999-2000 as a member of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins inaugural team, Kostopoulos has played in 1,172 regular-season matches between the AHL and National Hockey League. He is one of seven players in hockey history to have appeared in at least 500 games in both leagues.
In 630 NHL games with Pittsburgh, Los Angeles, Montreal, Carolina, Calgary and New Jersey, Kostopoulos has totaled 61 goals, 96 assists, 157 points and 723 penalty minutes. He has compiled 415 points (163 goals, 252 assists) over 542 AHL contests between Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and Manchester.
Kostopoulos was originally drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the seventh round (204th overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.
