New deal for Pettersson next for GM
Some salary- cap room must be freed up first
In the aftermath of the Penguins disappointing first- round playoff exit, coach Mike Sullivan made his intentions for the offseason clear — get younger, get faster, get tougher to play against.
In the months s i n c e , P e n g u i n s general manager Jim Rutherford has done just that.
Aging star Phil Kessel, who will turn 32 in October, was shipped to the Arizona Coyotes for 25- year- old forward Alex Galchenyuk and defensive prospect Pierre- Olivier Joseph. The Penguins got younger.
Stay- at- home defenseman Olli Maatta, who was arguably the Penguins’ slowest skater, was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks for forward Dominik Kahun, a player whose speed is one of his best attributes. The Penguins got faster.
And the Penguins signed a six- year deal with Brandon Tanev, a defensively responsible winger and penalty- killing specialist who was third in the NHL with 278 hits and third among forwards with 81 blocked shots. The Penguins got tougher to play against.
Add in Matt Cullen’s retirement, a contract extension for Sullivan and a couple of deals for restricted free agents, and it’s been a busy offseason for Rutherford and company.
But it’s not over yet.
There are two more key matters of business to address: Make a trade to clear cap space and sign defenseman Marcus Pettersson to a multiyear deal. In all likelihood, the moves will be made in that order — but not necessarily.
The Penguins extended a one- year qualifying offer to Pettersson after the season in order to retain negotiating rights. This offer gives the Penguins the opportunity to match any offer sheet that might be submitted by another team, or they receive draft pick compensation. Opposing teams, however, almost never submit offer sheets in an attempt to poach players, so that’s of little concern.
Pettersson could sign the one- year qualifying offer and play out this season. But both sides seem to favor a multiyear deal.
“There can be a contract with his qualifying offer,” Rutherford said Tuesday. “We can do that. But we’d like to put a little bit more term on his contract. That’s what we’re waiting to do.”
After he was acquired in the Daniel Sprong trade, Pettersson, 23, logged nearly 18 minutes per game in the regular season and recorded 2 goals, 17 assists and a plus- 13 rating in 57 games.
He has earned his place as a top- four defenseman for the Penguins — something both sides hope remains the case in the future.
“There aren’t any issues as far as the contract goes,” Rutherford said. “The agent understands where we’re at.
“It’s just a little bit of a timing thing right now.”
Pettersson’s agent, Peter Wallen, said that the Penguins will need to clear cap space in order to fit his client under the cap. The NHL’s upper salary- cap limit is $ 81.5 million this season. The Penguins currently are $ 157,500 over that limit, according to CapFriendly, with 23 players on their roster.
A trade would be the most likely option to create the needed space. Rutherford admitted as much when the Penguins signed Tanev, saying “There’s a good chance we’ll have to make another move.”
So when might that come?
“I don’t have a timeline,” Rutherford said. “In our business, you don’t know when things are going to happen, especially when you’re getting into late July and August following a season, a draft, a free- agent period. It’s hard to read the market.”
They got younger. They got faster. They got tougher to play against.
Now, it’s just a matter of waiting for the Penguins to get a trade done.