The Pens confirm.
Real simple ... the Pens never recovered from the disastrous first 2-3 months of the season. Vanek is having a strong season, but he's 34, and we're getting younger and looking to next year and beyond with Bjork.
Dougherty is a longer-term prospect ... especially with the Preds organizational depth on defense ... but we need to build out prospect pool too after a few years of trading picks/prospects. He still projects as a solid third-pairing defenseman, and I think he'll get a shot in a few years.
Thanks, Halo. Good luck!