While Sidney Crosby’s potential for a contract extension will certainly dominate the offseason speculation in Pittsburgh, he’s not the only Penguins player of note who is eligible for a new deal. Blueliner Marcus Pettersson will be entering the final year of his contract next season, making him eligible to sign an extension as of July 1st.
While many expect Crosby will sign quickly, Rob Rossi of The Athletic reports (subscription link) that the team is optimistic that Pettersson will also put pen to paper on a new deal quickly this summer. The 27-year-old is coming off his best season, one that saw him post career-highs offensively with four goals and 26 assists while also logging 22:40 per night, another benchmark that also put him third on the team in that regard. Producing like and playing the minutes of a second-pairing defender should have Pettersson in line for a fairly sizable raise on his current $4.025MM price tag.
More from Pittsburgh:
- Alex Nedeljkovic certainly played well down the stretch, playing a big role in their late push for a playoff spot. That performance may push him out of Pittsburgh altogether though as Rossi notes that the team is operating with the belief that the 28-year-old will get better offers in free agency than what the team can afford to offer. That means that Tristan Jarry would return as the starter next season with prospect Joel Blomqvist potentially moving up from the minors to serve as the backup. Nedeljkovic finished with 2.97 GAA and a .902 SV% in 38 games, positioning himself for a raise on the $1.5MM he received this season.
- Still from Rossi, winger Reilly Smith wasn’t moved at the trade deadline with his market being thin due to having another year at a $5MM price point but the team believes there will be more interest this summer now that he’ll be a rental. The 33-year-old took a step back offensively in his first season with the Pens, going from 26 goals and 30 assists to 13 and 27 respectively, good for seventh in team scoring. A capable two-way forward with over 100 playoff games under his belt, Smith should definitely have some suitors this summer but GM Kyle Dubas may need to retain salary to maximize the return for him.
- One winger who struggled this year was Rickard Rakell who was limited to 15 goals and 22 assists in 70 games. If you take out the pandemic-shortened 2020-21 campaign, this was Rakell’s lowest output since his first full NHL season back in 2014-15. Speaking with SportExpressen’s Gunnar Nordstrom, the 30-year-old indicated that he had been playing through a shoulder injury going back to his return to the lineup back in December (when he missed a dozen games due to that issue) which certainly could have played a role in his decline in production. Because of the injury, Rakell has declined an invitation to play at the Worlds next month.
It’s going to be a buyer’s market for goalies this summer. The same way I can’t find an obvious taker for Jarry in a trade, I’m not sure which team is going to pay big bucks to make Ned a starter.
If there is such a team, the Pens should resign Ned and then offer Jarry to that team.
I think he comes in around $3 M AAV to end up in a tandem very similar to the one he played in here.
So, I still think resigning him makes sense for us.
OTOH, I don’t know that I’d offer a big deal to Pettersson, as good as he is. If takes a Rust type deal, OK, sure. But, his value might be greater to us in a trade to nets assets and clears cap space.
For sure, move Smith. Added nothing.
I’d also offer a deal to DOC before he gets too expensive.
As much as I would like to rush into shipping Jarry for nothing, I think the most logical move is to bring him back next year and have Blom as the backup. Worst case Blom performs very well and overtakes Jarry in the net like Ned did this year.