Necessity is the mother of invention, and the Pittsburgh Penguins dearth of draft capital — the cost of semi-constant contention — has spurred them to trade elsewhere, settling for undrafted free agents as the return on investment.

As of this writing, the Penguins roster features as many as seven undrafted free agents. They’re trading Iraqi dinars and bringing home British pounds.

The most recent exchange might yield returns as early as next season — or the return of this one, one might suppose — if former Western Michigan Broncos defenceman Cam Lee has anything to say about it.

The Penguins and Lee put pen to paper on a two-year entry-level contract about this time in March, a mere week after Drew O’Connor left Dartmouth for the Steel City.

With the expiration of Justin Schultz’s contract