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Pittsburgh Penguins To Sign Drake Caggiula

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have added more depth to their roster, signing free agent forward Drake Caggiula to a one-year, two-way contract (link). The deal will pay Caggiula $750K at the NHL level and $400K at the AHL level.

Originally signed by the Edmonton Oilers as an undrafted free agent out of the University of North Dakota, Cagguila has had a very odd career to this point. Despite playing for four different teams in six seasons, and recording just 91 points in 278 games, he has never suited up for a single minor league match. Instead, he just spends as much time in the press box as on the ice, bouncing around the league to provide fourth-line minutes wherever needed.

In Pittsburgh, that streak might break, unless he’s able to beat out some of the younger options that he’ll be competing against for playing time. There is a chance he makes the NHL roster and plays all season, but the two-way nature of the deal suggests that is not a lock, and the fact that he had just two goals and five points in 18 games this season doesn’t help his case.

The 28-year-old represents someone who could potentially be claimed off waivers at the end of camp, but if he clears, could bounce up and down throughout the year to fill in whenever other Penguins forwards suffer injuries.

Pittsburgh Penguins To Sign Josh Archibald

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In the middle of a press conference, Pittsburgh Penguins general manager Ron Hextall announced that Josh Archibald will be returning to the team. The one-year deal will carry a salary of $900K.

Archibald, 29, started his career with Pittsburgh after being selected 174th overall in the 2011 draft. He played just 14 NHL games for the Penguins before a trade took him to the Arizona Coyotes in 2017, where he then established himself as a valuable bottom-six option.

The last three seasons have been spent in Edmonton, though this season saw Archibald play sparingly because of his vaccination status and health concerns. The energy winger has some scoring upside, though it’s now been a while since he provided it.

In both 2018-19 and 2019-20, Archibald scored 12 goals and more than 20 points. In the 60 regular season games he has played since he has just seven goals and 14 points.

For $900K he won’t be expected to score much but it does suggest that he’ll have a regular (or at least semi-regular) role in the NHL. Archibald will get a chance to show Penguins fans what they missed out on years ago.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Jan Rutta

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have added another defenseman, and this one comes with a Stanley Cup pedigree. Jan Rutta has signed a three-year contract with the Penguins worth a total of $8.25MM. That means an average annual value of $2.75MM, likely more than the Tampa Bay Lightning could afford.

While he likely doesn’t regret his time in Tampa Bay–he did win the Stanley Cup twice, after all–it’s been hard for Rutta to really show what he was capable of on the powerhouse squad. During 158 regular season games with the Lightning, he averaged fewer than 16 minutes a night and that number actually went down in the postseason.

The team’s heavy reliance on its top four left little for Rutta and others to cover, though when he was on the ice he was quite effective. Now in Pittsburgh, he currently projects in basically the same situation.

The Penguins have five defensemen that carry cap hits of at least $4MM, meaning Rutta’s signing only gives more credence to the idea that someone will be moved out in the coming days and weeks.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Dustin Tokarski

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have effectively moved on from the legend of Louis Domingue, signing former Buffalo Sabre Dustin Tokarski to serve as their third-string netminder. The contract is a one-year, one-way deal worth $775,000.

Tokarski, 32, has spent most of his professional career as a quality third goalie and should be able to handle that role successfully in Pittsburgh. Tokarski is actually coming off of perhaps the most successful tenure of his career, as he’s played in more NHL games in Buffalo than on any other stop in his career. Tokarski, taking advantage of an unsettled situation in net in Buffalo, played 29 games in 2021-22, posting an .899 save percentage. That’s not an elite number, there were games where Tokarski certainly looked like an NHL goalie.

This will be Tokarski’s second tour of duty with the Wilkes-Barre Scranton Penguins, the team he played with in 2019-20. He had a .924 save percentage in 18 games there, and that memory was likely fresh in the Wilkes-Barre Scranton management’s mind when they made this deal. In all likelihood, Tokarski will take the role of starting goalie for the Penguins’ AHL affiliate and be able to provide competent backup goaltending in case he’s needed in Pittsburgh.

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Xavier Ouellet

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The Pittsburgh Penguins have added a bit of depth, signing Xavier Ouellet to a two-year contract according to Renaud Lavoie of TVA Sports. The deal will be a two-way contract with an NHL cap hit of $750K and AHL salary of $450K.

The thing that sticks out about this signing is Ouellet’s $450K AHL salary. That’s a premium number for an AHL-er, and likely a representation of the Penguins’ desire to improve things in Wilkes-Barre Scranton. Ouellet can help them do that, there’s no question about that. Ouellet, the Captain of the Laval Rocket, led the Rocket on a run to the AHL’s Eastern Conference Final and led them there as the team’s number-one defenseman. Ouellet, 178 career NHL games, led the Rocket in average ice time, eating over 22 minutes per night. He also was a major player on both the Rocket’s special teams units and finished with 41 points in 61 games.

Make no mistake, this deal is a major win for Wilkes-Barre Scranton and unlikely to have any major impact in Pittsburgh. Ouellet’s last NHL action came during the Canadiens’ two-round run in the bubble, and over the course of his NHL career, Ouellet has been simply a fine injury replacement/depth defensive defenseman. That’s the role he’ll occupy in Pittsburgh, and he may get games if the team suffers poor injury luck, as they often do.

But in Wilkes-Barre Scranton, his impact will be far greater, as the Penguins have just gotten an AHL number-one defenseman for their affiliate, at a price that affirms the Penguins’ new ownership’s commitment to building a winner at the AHL level as well as the NHL level.

Evgeni Malkin Signs Four-Year Extension

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Turns out Evgeni Malkin isn’t heading to market after all. After going back and forth for months, the Pittsburgh Penguins and their Russian superstar have come to an agreement just 12 hours before he was set to hit the open market. Malkin has signed a four-year extension that will pay him $24.4MM ($6.1MM AAV).

General manager Ron Hextall released the following statement:

Evgeni is a generational talent who will be remembered as one of the greatest players in NHL history. His hockey resume and individual accomplishments speak volumes about him as a player, and we are thrilled to watch him continue his remarkable legacy in Pittsburgh.

Malkin, 35, will now be under contract through the 2025-26 season, one year longer than teammate Sidney Crosby (but two years shorter than the recently-extended Kris Letang, who now carries the same cap hit). Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic reports the full details of the contract:

  • 2022-23: $4.0MM salary + $4.0MM signing bonus
  • 2023-24: $6.0MM salary
  • 2024-25: $5.6MM salary
  • 2025-26: $1.0MM salary + $3.8MM signing bonus

The deal also includes a full no-movement clause throughout, though trade speculation will likely never stop, as it has followed Malkin through most of his career.

What a career it has been. The second-overall pick from 2004 stepped into the NHL in 2006 as an instant superstar, winning the Calder Trophy in a landslide over Paul Stastny (Malkin received 120 of the 143 first-place votes) and scoring 85 points in 78 games. By year two, he was already the Hart Trophy runner-up and by year three he was taking home the Art Ross as the league’s most productive player. He also happened to take home the Conn Smythe that year, as the Malkin and the Crosby-led Penguins lifted the Stanley Cup for the first time. They would do it twice more with that dynamic duo in place, and now look to try it again while they are still effective.

It has never been Malkin’s effectiveness that is questioned, only his consistency and health. The big center has only played 70 games in a season once over the last decade, usually missing significant stretches due to injury. This season he played in just 41 games, though he still managed to score at a better than point-per-game pace, registering 20 goals and 42 points.

The negotiation, obviously stressful on both sides, has resulted in a deal that seems more than reasonable. The Penguins get to have Malkin back for a cap hit quite a bit lower than the $9.5MM he had been carrying since 2014, while the veteran forward gets the security of a four-year deal to play out his career in Pittsburgh.

Now the question of whether Malkin, Crosby, and Letang are still good enough to lead this team to the promised land will be asked–or whether all this contract confirms is that they will each be Penguins for life.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

Pittsburgh Penguins Re-Sign Pierre-Olivier Joseph

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The Pittsburgh Penguins announced Tuesday that the team has signed defense prospect Pierre-Olivier Joseph to a one-way, two-year contract extension to carry him through the 2023-24 season. The deal carries a cap hit of $825,000.

It seems like the 23-year-old Joseph is set to make the jump to the NHL full-time any day now, and the willingness of Pittsburgh to hand out a one-way extension is proof the organization believes that to be true. A 2017 first-round selection by the Arizona Coyotes (acquired in the Phil Kessel trade), Joseph has improved steadily throughout his three years of professional experience in AHL Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, capping off his 2021-22 season with 33 points in 61 regular-season games and five points in six playoff games.

With 20 NHL games under his belt over the past two years, Joseph knows what he has to do to play at this level and fit in with the Penguins’ system under Mike Sullivan. It wouldn’t surprise anyone at this point to see Pittsburgh aggressively try to shop a defenseman to make room for Joseph in the lineup (and to clear much-needed cap space), most likely John Marino or Marcus Pettersson.

Snapshots: Kane, Bowman, Malkin

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Forward Evander Kane is nothing if not the most polarizing and interesting free agent on the market this offseason. The 30-year-old power forward has had his fair share of off-ice controversies in his career, including a pending arbitration hearing that may award him back to the San Jose Sharks after the team terminated his contract during the 2021-22 season. Yet Kane was still spectacular on the ice after signing a one-year deal with the Edmonton Oilers for the remainder of the season, notching 39 points in 43 regular-season games and leading the NHL in scoring during the playoffs with 13 goals in just 15 games.

Yet, reports surfaced earlier this week that Kane and the Oilers weren’t close on an extension. Today, The Fourth Period’s David Pagnotta adds that there haven’t been any conversations yet today between Kane’s camp and the Oilers, adding to the likelihood Kane hits the open market tomorrow. It doesn’t limit Edmonton’s ability to re-sign him, and quite frankly, it’s still the most likely destination for him. Kane’s risk factor is only increased by the pending arbitration decision, and other teams will be hesitant to commit term to Kane without either having a deal in place with San Jose to trade back for him or having clarity on his future.

  • Legendary coach and executive Scott Bowman is moving on from the Chicago Blackhawks organization this summer, per the man himself. Now 88, Bowman had been a senior advisor for the Blackhawks since 2008. A winner of 12 Stanley Cups, Bowman will likely have any job he wants if he wants to continue his management career in the NHL.
  • Pittsburgh Penguins president of hockey operations Brian Burke spoke today, denying rumors that the team didn’t offer Evgeni Malkin his desired term of four years. He did say that giving a six-year contract extension to Rickard Rakell yesterday didn’t rule out Malkin’s return, and said that “the window is still open” for Malkin. However, with all the varying reports of Malkin’s unhappiness with the situation, his moving on in free agency is likely still a done deal.

Pittsburgh Penguins Expected To Re-Sign Rickard Rakell

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As The Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli reports, the Pittsburgh Penguins appear to be keeping their trade deadline acquisition around a while longer, re-signing forward Rickard Rakell. Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette adds that the contract is expected to be for six years at $5MM per season. Pittsburgh had acquired Rakell at the trade deadline from the Anaheim Ducks in exchange for a 2022 second-round pick, forwards Zach Aston-Reese and Dominik Simon, and goaltender Calle Clang.

Rakell’s extension at this rate is an interesting one, the winger having recorded as many as 34 goals and 69 points in 77 games in 2017-18, but has not come close to either of those marks since. This season, Rakell scored 20 goals to go along with 21 assists in 70 games, four goals and 13 points of which came as a member of the Penguins in 19 games after the trade. Dealing with injury, Rakell played in just two of Pittsburgh’s seven postseason games. If the forward can get back to the player he was from 2016-2018 and be a reliable 30 goal scorer, then the contract should pose great value for the Penguins.

After carrying a $3.79MM cap hit, the extension brings Rakell up to $5MM, leaving Pittsburgh with just over $10.3MM in available salary cap space, without factoring in a new contract for RFA forward Kasperi Kapanen. The deal does not necessarily foreclose the possibility for re-signing superstar Evgeni Malkin, however the earlier news that Malkin would test free agency does put his future in the steel city squarely in doubt. Still, without Malkin, the remaining space would allow the team to pursue an extension with Evan Rodrigues, who is also slated to hit the open market on Wednesday afternoon and potentially even pursue a few extra additions to round out the roster.

Evgeni Malkin Expected To Test Free Agency

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Earlier today, Pierre LeBrun of The Athletic had tweeted that there was some progress in the last 24 hours between Evgeni Malkin and the Pittsburgh Penguins, but it now appears talks have broken down. Darren Dreger of TSN reports that the superstar center will test free agency on Wednesday. Dreger tweets that Malkin “wants to see what his options are,” given that he has never been a free agent previously.

From the beginning, things had appeared fractured between the Penguins and Malkin. Rob Rossi of The Athletic relayed a text from the Russian star over the weekend, that simply asked “do they want me?” The negotiations have been very public, with offer details leaking every few days, and quotes from Malkin himself being part of the reporting out of Pittsburgh.

Still, it seemed as though the two sides would inevitably get together, given their long history together and the fact that Kris Letang was re-signed for less money than he likely could have gotten on a short-term deal. The team could certainly fit Malkin under the cap at the moment, as they sit with more than $15MM in space.

Previous management groups have called Malkin a legacy player and suggested that there was no way he would pull on another team’s sweater before he retired, something the player himself has reiterated publicly. With new ownership and a front office that doesn’t have the same long-term ties to him though, things never progressed as quickly as expected.

If the 35-year-old center does hit the open market, it will be interesting to see what kind of contracts will be waiting for him. Without that built-in franchise connection, it’s hard to see the four-year deal that Malkin wants, or even maybe a three-year pact given his age and oft-injured status. Still, rival teams are likely pre-dialing his agent in hopes of snatching away a player that has been so good against them for so long. Contenders across the league would be wise to try and add him on a short-term deal if it is possible.

When he’s healthy, Malkin can still be quite effective. He scored 20 goals and 42 points in 41 games this season for the Penguins, and was still a weapon on the powerplay. In the past, a motivated Malkin has been a dominant force; it’s easy to understand how being cut loose by the only team he’s ever known could fuel a resurgent season, even if a multi-year deal might still be a bit of a risk.

At any rate, the fact that he’s not re-signing will add an extra wrinkle to the festivities on Wednesday, where he’ll join plenty of other high-impact forwards on the open market.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images

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