The Pittsburgh Penguins are expected to turn their attention to extending defenseman Marcus Pettersson once they have finalized a new contract for captain Sidney Crosby (as per David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period). Pettersson is entering the final year of a five-year $20.13MM contract that he originally signed in January 2020. The deal has been an absolute bargain for the Penguins as the 29-year-old has blossomed into Pittsburgh’s most reliable defender.
Pettersson was originally acquired by Pittsburgh from the Anaheim Ducks back in December 2018. The deal was a one-for-one with forward Daniel Sprong heading back to the Ducks. The deal turned out to be fairly one-sided as Sprong has become a journeyman depth scorer while Pettersson has developed into a legitimate top four defenseman.
There is no indication on what kind of a contract Pettersson will be seeking, but given his importance to the Penguins, it’s not hard to picture him getting an extension in the range of $5.5MM to $6MM per season on a long-term pact. The Penguins don’t have another defender like Pettersson and might not be a top destination as the team enters a period of transition where they are attempting to remain competitive while building for the future.
Pettersson is hardly a household name but could certainly command a lucrative long-term deal in free agency, particularly if he can match his production from last season when he posted career highs in goals with four and assists with 26 as well as a +28 rating.
Why? Wait until the trade deadline at least. If the team is horrible, just trade him for picks.
Because whether you think it’s the right decision or not, they’re trying the Kings model to rebuilding. Which is rebuilding on the fly while still making the playoffs (albeit not being a big Cup threat). As long as Crosby is on the roster, they’re going to try to win.
Plus, Petterson is a good player, still in his 20’s, and won’t break the bank.
I’m not doubting any of that, but if they end up in lottery position this year, wouldn’t you want to keep the option open to trade him? There’s no rush to sign him yet.
“Pettersson was originally acquired by Pittsburgh from the Anaheim Ducks back in December 2018. The deal was a one-for-one with forward Daniel Sprong heading back to the Ducks. The deal turned out to be fairly one-sided as Sprong has become a journeyman depth scorer while Pettersson has developed into a legitimate top four defenseman.”
Yep. Another one of those terrible trades by Mr. Magoo Rutherford. He was coincidentally only good the two years they won the Cup. Good thing we ran him out of town. Yinzers know best.
I think FSG ran him out more than anything else.
Rutherford quit long before FSG bought the team.
He’s never said why….but the fans and media had turned on him for no reason other than he didn’t win the Cup every year by then.
I must have conflated my dates, I remember hearing on local radio he was having disagreements with ownership possibly about wanting to break up the big 3 at the time maybe?