3 Former Penguins Forwards Worth Bringing Back
The Pittsburgh Penguins’ offseason began one month ago on Sunday, and the NHL free agent frenzy is less than six weeks away, as the hockey world enjoys the bruising calm before the storm that is the conference finals and Stanley Cup Final, which will last four weeks.
The Penguins have seen a surprising amount of roster turnover in recent offseasons, despite the fact that the roster foundation remains unchanged.
The Penguins’ roster is largely set right now. With Jeff Carter’s retirement, the team will need to rely on scoring, penalty killing, and right-handed faceoffs.
Finding a player who can fill some of the leadership void left by Carter’s departure would also be a smart move.
However, these types of players are difficult to find. Since the Penguins have not achieved the desired results with a player like Carter, perhaps they can improve with different players in the lineup.
On paper, the Penguins have only one spot on their four lines, with Noel Acciari under contract for two more years and Jesse Puljujarvi under contract for another season at $800,000.
However, Reilly Smith’s future in a Penguins uniform appears uncertain. He has only one season left on his contract with a $5 million cap hit, and he underperformed significantly last season. Valtteri Puustinen’s lagging performance of 20 points in 52 games, combined with limited contributions in other areas of the game, should not guarantee a roster spot, potentially freeing up space in the Penguins lineup.
As Penguins president of hockey operations/GM Kyle Dubas prepares his shopping list to try to get the 204-25 Penguins back to the playoffs after a two-year absence, a few former Penguins forwards could be good fits. The list also includes a surprise who could improve the Penguins’ power play and one who could add grit and scoring to the bottom six.
There are a few former Penguins who will become free agents. The most notable is the recently traded Jake Guentzel, but it is extremely unlikely, if not impossible, that the Penguins will not bring him back. So he won’t be on the list.
