Pettersson OK with contract’s resolution
If Marcus Pettersson’s contract impasse felt endless, you’re not alone.
“It was a long summer,” the recently signed defenseman said Friday.
Pettersson did not arrive at the first day of training camp with the long-term deal both the Penguins and he had hoped for. The Penguins were unable to clear a big enough chunk of salary-cap space to lock him up beyond this season. So the sides settled for a one-year deal worth $874,125 that was signed Thursday.
Pettersson wanted to be kept in the loop as his agent, Peter Wallen, negotiated with Jim Rutherford, Jason Karmanos and the Penguins front office. He also kept an eye on other top restricted free agents, several of whom remain unsigned.
“We had a good negotiation. We were kind of on the same page there,” he said. “But obviously the situation being what it is, I knew Jim worked hard and Jason worked hard to try to get that done. That’s what happens sometimes.”
But, hey, at least now he can get back to focusing solely on hockey.
“You can speak all you want about it money-wise. I just wanted to make sure that I was here and could skate all camp and prepare,” the 23-year-old said. “This is my first Penguins camp, so I wanted to make sure I’m here for all of it.”
Pettersson joined the Penguins in December in the Daniel Sprong deal and soon seized a significant role. He played nearly 18 minutes per game in the regular season and tallied two goals, 17 assists and a plus-13 rating in 57 games.
He also realized Pittsburgh is where he wants to be for the long haul.
“It’s a great place to grow and a great opportunity to win, too,” he said.
The Penguins want him to grow into an even bigger role this season. Pettersson, who focused on bulking up this summer, was mostly used at even strength last season. He was on the second power-play unit and was seldom used as a penaltykiller. He hopes to earn more opportunities in both phases.
“You want to play in all situations,” said Pettersson, who partnered with Justin Schultz on the first day of camp. “You want to be a guy coaches can rely on. Obviously, it’s up to the coach, but, yeah, you want to be out there.”
Bjorkqvist cleared
Kasper Bjorkqvist, a 22-year-old winger who is expected to push for a roster spot this season, was all systems go Friday after offseason shoulder surgery. He wasn’t quite ready to play in the Prospects Challenge in Buffalo, N.Y., last week.
Bjorkqvist played through the “nagging” injury this spring as he finished his junior year at Providence College. He got it fixed shortly after their season.
“Obviously, it’s been a long time,” he said. “It just feels good to be back at it.”
Bjorkqvist skipped his senior year to sign an NHL contract with the Penguins.
Odd-mans out?
Coach Mike Sullivan indicated that during camp there will be systematic tweaks and an emphasis on the Penguins paying greater “attention to detail” after the team had one of the NHL’s highest totals of odd-man rushes against last season.
“We have looked at how we’ve played in the past and areas where we think we can tweak our game in order to play to our strengths,” he said. “We’re going to introduce some of those strategies and concepts throughout training camp.”
But, he said, he still wants to “empower” the Penguins to play instinctively.
“There’s a difference between systems or strategy and hockey decisions,” Sullivan said. “From our standpoint, we’re not trying to play a high-risk game. We’re trying to play a calculated game. But it allows for players to make hockey decisions.”
Waiting game
Because the Penguins have dispersed their top talent throughout three squads at the start of training camp, they did not practice their power play Friday.
But there is plenty of intrigue surrounding the top unit, which will definitely have new personnel with Phil Kessel gone. There might be a new approach, too.
“He played that spot for a long time,” Sidney Crosby said. “We’ll have to find some chemistry and some different looks. The good thing is we have a good chunk of guys who have played together here in the past, which helps. It’s not totally new. I’m sure there’ll be different looks and we have to find identities.”
Parked in the left circle, Kessel paced the Penguins with 24 goals and 54 assists on the power play over the past two seasons. Jake Guentzel and Alex Galchenyuk are the leading candidates for the minutes Kessel left behind.