Penguins Options To Play On Sidney Crosby’s Line
The Pittsburgh Penguins reportedly took a swing at acquiring veteran free agent winger Vladimir Tarasenko to play in their top-six forward group alongside Sidney Crosby but lost out on his services to the Detroit Red Wings. Tarasenko signed a two-year $9.5MM deal with the Red Wings and the Penguins’ interest indicates that they aren’t satisfied with their top two lines as they head into what is likely to be a transitional season for the franchise. The Penguins have Bryan Rust, Rickard Rakell, and Michael Bunting returning next season and finished last season with youngster Drew O’Connor replacing Jake Guentzel on the top line as Crosby’s left winger.
O’Connor played well for the Penguins, but he would be better served as a third liner in an ideal world. But given the Penguins’ lack of cap space, and apparent eye towards the future, none of their options will be ideal, but they do have some options when it comes to Crosby’s left winger next season.
Trade Options
Nikolaj Ehlers: Ehlers hasn’t been given an opportunity to be a top-line player with the Winnipeg Jets despite being one of their most effective players. He is the type of player that has thrived with Crosby historically, as he has high-end skill, is a high-level thinker, and is very deceptive and skilled at finding open space. The issue with Ehlers is that he is a year from free agency and the price tag to acquire him will be far too high for the Penguins’ taste given their apparent pivot to acquiring draft picks and younger players. Murat Ates of The Athletic reported a few weeks ago that Ehlers isn’t likely to extend in Winnipeg but given his age and recent injury history, it’s hard to imagine the Penguins acquiring and extending him long-term.
Patrik Laine: The 26-year-old has fallen on hard times in recent years with the Columbus Blue Jackets but remains an intriguing option on the trade market. Laine is a former second-overall pick who has dealt with injuries in recent seasons but can still score when he is healthy. The Tampere, Finland native was a point-a-game player from 2021-23 but had just nine points in 18 games last season. While the drop in offensive production is alarming, Laine averaged almost four minutes less per game in ice time and wasn’t playing with a skilled center. That being said, his injury issues are a concern and could reduce the cost of acquiring him from Columbus. Laine is a liability defensively and doesn’t necessarily compete on every shift, however, if he were to play on the Penguins’ top line, he would be the best pure goal scorer that Crosby has ever played with.
Unrestricted Free Agent Options
Max Pacioretty: The 35-year-old Pacioretty is well removed from his days as a perennial 30-goal scorer as injuries and the aging curve have slowed down his production. Last year he dressed in 47 games tallying four goals and 19 assists while registering a -14. Pacioretty’s offensive numbers don’t look terrible at first glance, however, nearly half his points came on the power play as he tallied just two goals and 10 assists at even strength. Pacioretty won’t be expensive to sign on a one-year deal, but he hasn’t played more than 47 games in three seasons and his body likely wouldn’t be able to withstand the stress of playing almost 20 minutes a night next to Crosby.
James van Riemsdyk: van Riemsdyk is another former 30-goal scorer on the wrong side of 35 but is coming off a decent offensive season with the Boston Bruins. The Middletown, New Jersey native posted 11 goals and 27 assists last season in 71 games and wasn’t a burden on his teammates. The former second overall pick doesn’t have the pace to play in the top six anymore and would likely be a non-factor in transition which would be a big problem playing with Crosby. JVR could work on the Penguins’ power play and would give the team a net-front presence that they’ve lacked since trading Patric Hornqvist in 2020, however, he might not be physical enough at this point to be effective in the role. At this stage of his career, van Riemsdyk is best served as a fourth-line winger, something the Penguins have more than enough of.
Internal Options
Drew O’Connor: is coming off a career year in which he posted 16 goals and 17 assists in 79 games (all career highs). While those numbers aren’t earth-shattering, they are a remarkable improvement on his previous career year in 2022-23 when he posted just five goals and six assists in 46 games. O’Connor is not a pure offensive player and doesn’t possess strong passing skills or a great, however, he is fast and physical and plays a smart game. All traits they were possessed by one of Crosby’s former long-time wingers Chris Kunitz. O’Connor might be the easiest option for Pittsburgh to slide in alongside Crosby and might be the one they have to use if they don’t facilitate another transaction.
Brayden Yager: Pittsburgh’s 2023 first-round pick (14th overall) is coming off an incredible season with the WHL’s Moose Jaw Warriors in which he posted 35 goals and 60 assists in 57 games. He is likely a season or two away from being ready for the NHL, but the Penguins might opt to give him a nine-game audition to see what they have in the youngster. Yager is a sneaky good shooter and is excellent at taking passes in his shooting pocket, allowing him to fire off shots quickly and accurately. If he can show in training camp that he deserves a longer look he could play his way onto Crosby’s wing for at least a few games if not longer.
Crosby’s Next Winger
The Penguins had issues finding Crosby a linemate early in his career but eventually found a perfect match with Jake Guentzel. Now with Guentzel signed long-term in Tampa Bay, the Penguins are tasked with finding new linemates for Crosby in what will be the final stretch of his NHL career. While all of the options above present some downside, the Penguins are unlikely to find another Guentzel-like player and will need to make some type of concession heading into next season while keeping an eye on the future.
Snapshots: Dillon, Swayman, Yager
The New Jersey Devils were quick to bring in defenseman Brenden Dillon when free agency opened on July 1st, signing him to a three-year, $12MM contract. But that wasn’t the first time the Devils tried to acquire the physical defender, with Dillon sharing on Sportsnet’s The Hockey PDOcast that the Devils also wanted to acquire him at the Trade Deadline. He added that Winnipeg was hesitant to move any of their pending unrestricted free agents amid a strong season.
Dillon was a focal piece of the Jets’ success, once again returning to his stout role on the team’s second pairing and posting 20 points for the third year in a row. He found ways to make his presence felt every single game, leading Winnipeg with 241 hits in 77 games – 20 hits ahead of anyone else on the team – and ranking third with 111 blocked shots.
It’s clear to see why the Devils of all teams would be interested in Dillon’s services. New Jersey is entering next season with an incredibly skilled, but underdeveloped, blue-line – headlined by Luke Hughes and Simon Nemec. Both players are still rounding out their two-way game early in their careers and could stand to benefit from the physical punch that Dillon brings to the lineup. His veteran status is a nice perk as well, with Dillon appearing in 892 games across 13 seasons in the league.
Other notes from around the league:
- The deadline for clubs to file for salary arbitration with their arbitration-eligible restricted free agents passed on Saturday with no clubs filing additional cases, shares Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman (Twitter link). Notably, this leaves star goaltender Jeremy Swayman off the list of arbitration cases. Swayman has emerged as one of the league’s strongest goalies over the last four seasons, posting 79 wins and a .919 save percentage across 132 career games. All of those games came in tandem with Vezina Trophy goaltender Linus Ullmark, though, making Swayman’s value as a standalone starter hard to gauge. That led many to anticipating arbitration, though the Bruins will now get to negotiate with Swayman directly. He’ll be set up for the lions share of Bruins’ starts next season, regardless of how these contract talks pan out.
- The Pittsburgh Penguins are leaving the door open for top prospect Brayden Yager to make the 2024-25 roster, shares Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Yager is coming off a championship-winning season in the WHL, scoring 122 points across 77 games while serving as the Moose Jaw Warriors’ top centerman. He also posted five points in five World Juniors games – on the back of very dynamic playmaking in the middle lane. It was a standout year for Yager, capping off what’s been a stellar WHL career, with Yager totaling 250 points in 211 juniors games. Even with the optimism around his chances next season, Yager has not yet signed his entry-level contract and remains eligible for the WHL next season.
Penguins Re-Sign Corey Andonovski To Two-Way Deal
The Penguins have re-signed right winger Corey Andonovski to a one-year, two-way deal, the team announced today. It carries the league-minimum $775K cap hit. The team didn’t disclose his AHL salary.
Andonovski, 25, is coming off his second full season in the organization, both of which have been spent entirely on assignment to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, aside from a one-day call-up last October that didn’t result in his NHL debut. He set career highs in 2023-24 with 23 assists and 30 points in 63 games, leading WBS forwards in assists and ranking fifth on the team in points.
Dating back to his AHL debut on an ATO for the Baby Pens to close out the 2021-22 season, Andonovski has 49 points (15 goals, 34 assists) in 130 games. The 6’1″, 194-lb forward was initially an undrafted free agent signing out of Princeton, where he recorded 21 goals, 29 assists and 50 points in 80 career NCAA games.
While he’s taken a step forward, the chances of him making his first NHL appearance on this new deal are slim. There is a bevy of either more experienced (Jonathan Gruden, Bokondji Imama) or higher-ceiling (Vasiliy Ponomarev, Samuel Poulin) forward options available in the Pittsburgh system that would likely get a call-up ahead of Andonovski.
As he was this summer, he’ll be an RFA again in the 2025 offseason. He still won’t require waivers to head to WBS in the fall, although it’s his last season with an exemption.
Snapshots: Buchnevich, Cajkovic, Leafs, Durandeau
Just a few months after shopping him around the Trade Deadline, the St. Louis Blues have agreed to terms on a long-term extension with top winger Pavel Buchnevich a year early. But general manager Doug Armstrong acknowledged that the team had to cave to Buchnevich’s term, telling Matthew DeFranks of the St. Louis Post, “We talked [with Buchnevich’s side] again on the first, did the deal on the second. I’ll be honest with you, I budged.” Armstrong added that giving ground on term is the cost of doing business in today’s market.
For their effort in the negotiations, the Blues have now locked up Buchnevich at a manageable $8MM cap hit, set to begin in 2025-26 after his current deal expires. The 29-year-old winger recorded 27 goals and 63 points in 80 games this season, the lowest scoring of his tenure with the Blues. He had a career year in his first year with the club in 2021-22, recording 30 goals and 76 points in just 73 games. Buchnevich scored at a similar pace last year, though an ankle injury would limit him to just 63 games and 67 points.
Buchnevich has emerged as a premier winger in St. Louis, and a great addition to the high-tempo duo of Robert Thomas and Jordan Kyrou. He’ll look to really get comfortable in that role next year, after agreeing to what will be the longest contract of his career.
Other notes from around the league:
- Pittsburgh Penguins forward Maxim Cajkovic has signed with HC Verva Litvinov of Slovakia’s Tipsport Extraliga. The Penguins acquired Cajkovic from the Minnesota Wild in January, sending Will Butcher the other way. The deal proved moot for both teams, as Butcher currently awaits a new deal on the free-agent market. Cajkovic, 23, is returning to Europe after spending all year in the minor leagues, tallying five points in 10 AHL games and four points in 13 ECHL games. He’ll be playing in his third European pro league on this deal, after spending time in Sweden’s SHL and Austria’s ICE Hockey League during his U21 career.
- The Toronto Maple Leafs have announced a new ECHL affiliation, signing an agreement with the Cincinnati Cyclones set to begin next season. The duration of the deal hasn’t been revealed. Toronto turns to the Cyclones after their previous affiliate, the Newfoundland Growlers, ceased operations before the end of the 2023-24 season. The Cyclones are a familiar face in the ECHL, appearing in 23 of the league’s last 30 seasons. They’ve won two Kelly Cup Championships in that span – in 2008 and 2010. Cincinnati will look to return to those heights now in partnership with the Leafs: the fifth NHL club they’ve been affiliated with.
- Montreal Canadiens winger Arnaud Durandeau has signed with Amur Khabarovsk of the KHL, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. Durandeau went on a quick tour around the minor leagues this season, playing for three different AHL clubs this season after a mid-year loan was followed with Montreal acquiring Durandeau from the New York Islanders in exchange for Tyce Thompson. Durandeau scored 24 points across 48 AHL games this season, bringing his career totals to 132 points in 215 games. He also appeared in four NHL games during the 2022-23 season, though he failed to score.
Blues Sign Pierre-Olivier Joseph
July 3: Joseph’s deal with the Blues is now official.
July 2: The St. Louis Blues are expected to sign defenseman Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-year contract, per Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports (Twitter link). The deal was confirmed by Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman, who shared that it is a one-year deal with a $950K cap hit (Twitter link).
This reported signing comes on the same day that St. Louis traded for Mathieu Joseph, Pierre-Olivier’s brother. The siblings will reunite in St. Louis, after not playing together since the 2012-13 season, well before either of their QMJHL careers.
Pierre-Olivier Joseph fought his way into first-round precedent through his juniors career, getting selected 23rd-overall in the 2017 NHL Draft by the Arizona Coyotes. Arizona traded Joseph’s rights before the end of his juniors career, dealing him to the Pittsburgh Penguins alongside Alex Galchenyuk, in return for Phil Kessel, Dane Birks, and a fourth-round pick.
Joseph turned pro just a few months later, recording 17 points in 52 games with the 2019-20 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. The low-scoring rookie year has stood out as an oddity for Joseph, who earned a call-up to the NHL with 13 points in 23 AHL games the following year. He recorded five points through 20 NHL games in 2020 and 2021, though he wouldn’t establish a full time role until the 2022-23 season.
Finally playing through his NHL rookie season, Joseph managed five goals and 21 points in 75 games, becoming a solid member of Pittsburgh’s blue-line. That role slipped a bit this year, though, after a lower-body injury forced Joseph to miss a month of action in November/December. His spot on the team’s bottom pairing didn’t seem as secure upon his return, likely not helped along by Joseph’s 11 points in 52 games.
Joseph, who turned 25 on Monday, will now pursue a more concrete role on a St. Louis blue-line no longer featuring Marco Scandella. That should slot Joseph in behind Torey Krug and Scott Perunovich on the Blues’ depth chart, though he might face heavy competition for minutes from veteran Nick Leddy. Joseph’s ability to earn a strong role despite that competition will like be what the Blues look for, as they plan for him to become a restricted free agent next summer.
Metro Notes: Tarasenko, Perreault, Hurricanes
Josh Yohe of The Athletic is reporting that the Pittsburgh Penguins have made a contract offer to free agent forward Vladimir Tarasenko. Fresh off the second Stanley Cup of his career and his first with the Florida Panthers, Tarasenko passed through the first day of free agency unsigned. It’s familiar territory for the 32-year-old as he didn’t sign a contract last summer until July 27th.
Tarasenko is no longer a perennial 30-goal scorer, but he remains a solid option on the wing, particularly for the Penguins who are looking for short-term options to play alongside Sidney Crosby. Tarasenko had a good year for Ottawa and Florida, tallying 23 goals and 32 assists in 76 regular season games.
The Penguins have just $3.5MM in available cap space (as per CapFriendly) at the moment but could bury salary in the AHL to open up room should they decide to do so. They also have a stockpile of fourth-line options and could presumably trade Lars Eller or Noel Acciari to open up room for Tarasenko.
In other Metropolitan Division notes:
- Vince Z. Mercogliano of USA Today tweeted that New York Rangers forward prospect Gabe Perreault will be going back to Boston College for his sophomore season in the NCAA. The Rangers’ 2023 first-round pick (23rd overall) isn’t sure what direction he will go after the season but given his numbers last year in the NCAA (19 goals and 41 assists in 36 games) it’s fair to wonder if he’ll turn pro. Perreault is the son of former NHLer Yanic Perreault and shares many of the same on-ice traits as his father, right down to their height at 5’11”. He has yet to sign his entry-level contract but at this point, it doesn’t appear to be an issue that is bothering Rangers management.
- David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period tweeted that the Carolina Hurricanes will be hiring a new president for the organization with an announcement coming in the coming weeks. Former president and general manager Don Waddell resigned back in May and his GM duties were eventually handed off to Eric Tulsky. Waddell oversaw the Hurricanes’ business operations for nearly ten years after he was hired back on July 1st, 2014. There are no indications as to who the Hurricanes new president could be, and it will add another layer of change to an organization that has seen quite a bit of it over the past six weeks. Carolina was busy in the first two days of free agency as they looked to replace the losses of Brett Pesce and Jake Guentzel who both signed elsewhere.
Penguins Sign Sebastian Aho To Two-Year Deal
The Penguins have signed UFA defenseman Sebastian Aho to a two-year deal carrying the league minimum $775K AAV, per a team announcement. Stefen Rosner of NHL.com and The Hockey News was the first to report the signing Tuesday afternoon.
Minor Free Agent Signings: Metropolitan Division
With over 180 deals signed during the first day of free agency yesterday, some smaller names may have gotten lost in the shuffle. Here’s a list of names that have inked two-way deals with Metropolitan Division clubs since the market opened yesterday, per CapFriendly. Some of these may have been included in our main coverage yesterday, while others went under the radar. All contracts carry the league-minimum $775K cap hit unless stated otherwise). Those listed here are likely to begin 2024-25 with each team’s AHL affiliate.
Carolina Hurricanes
none
Columbus Blue Jackets
D Cole Clayton (one year, $950K entry-level cap hit)
F Owen Sillinger (one year)
New Jersey Devils
F Mike Hardman (two years)
D Colton White (two years)
New York Islanders
none
New York Rangers
none
Philadelphia Flyers
none
Pittsburgh Penguins
D Nathan Clurman (one year)
D Mac Hollowell (one year)
F Jimmy Huntington (one year)
F Bokondji Imama (one year)
D Ryan Shea (one year)
Washington Capitals
G Mitchell Gibson (one year)
D Chase Priskie (one year)
Penguins Sign Anthony Beauvillier, Blake Lizotte; Three Others
The Penguins have signed winger Anthony Beauvillier to a one-year contract in a deal that will pay him $1.25MM next season per a team announcement. Additionally, Matt Vensel of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports the team has also come to a contract agreement with Blake Lizotte on a two-year, $3.7MM contract.
Pittsburgh also announced they’ve signed forward Jimmy Huntington to a one-year deal. His pact carries the league minimum $775K cap hit. They’re also bringing in 26-year-old right-shot defenseman Nathan Clurman on a one-year, two-way deal worth $775K NHL/$125K AHL, per PuckPedia. They also re-signed 25-year-old forward Emil Bemstrom to a one-year, one-way deal worth $775K after not issuing him a qualifying offer yesterday, PuckPedia reports.
Beauvillier finds a new home after a tough 2023-24 season that saw him bounce between three different clubs. In 60 games with the Canucks, Blackhawks and Predators, the 27-year-old had only five goals and 17 points with a -8 rating. That’s a far cry from the 15-goal form he consistently flashed with the Islanders from 2017 to 2023 until his involvement in the Bo Horvat trade sent him to Vancouver.
Pittsburgh will bank on a bit of a rebound from Beauvillier on a deal that’s almost fully buriable in the minors. After moving out Reilly Smith to the Rangers today, there could be an opening for him in the top nine and on the second power play to help him rediscover some offense. He’ll challenge players like Drew O’Connor and Rickard Rakell for a potential top-six spot but should be relatively guaranteed a third-line wing spot at worst unless more additions are coming.
Lizotte slots in nicely to the fourth-line center position, taking away some responsibility from Noel Acciari, who struggled in his first campaign with Pittsburgh last year. The former King has had good possession metrics throughout his six-year, 320-game career and is coming off a solid 15 points and +11 rating in 62 games last year. Interestingly, he’s only one year removed from a breakout campaign that saw him post 34 points in 81 games – if he can recapture that kind of offensive production, that would be a major jolt of energy into a Pittsburgh bottom six that was abysmal offensively in 2023-24.
Bemström should likely stick around on the NHL roster after inking a one-way deal, but whether he opens the season in the lineup or as an extra forward is a different question. The 25-year-old Swede has been a prolific offensive producer in the minors but hasn’t carried it over to the NHL on a consistent basis, finishing the year with a mediocre three goals and five points in 24 games with Pittsburgh after they acquired him from the Blue Jackets. There are certainly worse options to insert into the lineup in a pinch, though, and there’s always hope he can rediscover his rookie season form (10 goals, 20 points in 56 games with Columbus in 2019-20).
Huntington and Clurman will head to AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and are highly unlikely to see NHL action next season. Neither has any major league experience to their name thus far in their professional careers. Huntington, 25, spent last season on a minor-league deal with the Hershey Bears, where he finished the season with 14 points in 20 playoff games en route to a Calder Cup win. Clurman, a stocky 6’2″, 205-lb defender, is 26 years old and played only 37 games for the Colorado Eagles last season, recording a goal and four assists with a +5 rating.
Rangers Acquire Reilly Smith From Penguins
The Rangers are expected to acquire winger Reilly Smith in a trade with the Penguins, per Sportsnet’s Elliotte Friedman. Pittsburgh is receiving a second-round pick and a fifth-round pick in return, The Athletic’s Shayna Goldman reports. The teams confirmed the second-rounder is in 2027 and the fifth-rounder is a conditional 2025 selection. The Penguins are retaining 25% of Smith’s salary, bringing his cap hit down from $5MM to $3.75MM for New York. The conditional 2025 fifth-rounder will be the worse of the two picks New York owns in that round – theirs and the Wild’s.
The Penguins are moving on from Smith after just one season, having acquired him in exchange for a 2024 third-round pick during the 2023 NHL Draft. Smith went on to total 13 goals and 40 points, failing to translate his strong scoring upside to a shakier role with the Penguins. He was much more robust in Vegas; one of many players to see a breakout year in Vegas’ inaugural season, scoring 22 goals and 60 points in 67 games and adding 22 points in 20 postseason games. He held onto the scoring through his next five years with the Golden Knights, consistently rivaling 50-point pace and even twice topping 25 goals.
Smith has developed into a capable middle-six scorer, whose offense held up even amidst an inconsistent role in Pittsburgh. What’s better, he’s an unrestricted free agent next summer, giving the Rangers a chance to test out his roster fit before committing to him long-term. The Rangers have rotated through veteran scorers over the last few seasons, cycling in players like Patrick Kane, Vladimir Tarasenko, and Blake Wheeler. Smith will be the latest iteration, set for the same role in the lineup as his predecessors.
But unlike those before him, Smith offers the perk of playoff consistency, having totaled 26 goals and 79 points across 106 postseason appearances, including 14 points in 22 games during Vegas’ 2023 Stanley Cup run. The Rangers have boasted some of the best offenses in the league over the last few seasons, only to fall short in the Eastern Conference Finals in both 2022 and 2024. A lack of goal-scoring depth has proven the fault both times, forcing New York to lean on, and quickly tire out, their stars.
Smith could also provide a good shot to match Alexis Lafreniere‘s quick playmaking, with the pair likely bound for New York’s second line. Lafreniere was among the most polarizing Rangers late in the season, scoring eight goals and 14 points in 16 playoff games after netting a career-high 28 goals and 57 points in the regular season. Veteran additions like Smith could point towards New York’s investment in yet another young star, though that will ultimately sit with how Peter Laviolette chooses to deploy his top-six.