Free Agent Frenzy
Free agency started on July first, however, many teams including the Pittsburgh Penguins have made many signings. So far a total of $542,492,500 million dollars have been spent in free agency.
Shopping Spree in Pittsburgh
New Penguins general manager Kyle Dubas was not afraid to spend the $15 million dollars in cap space as he spent a total of $44,060,000 million on ten players. In matter of fact, new Penguins defenseman Ryan Graves, was given the largest contract in total dollars when he signed a six-year deal worth $27 million.
Key Departures
However, there were some key departures the Penguins had starting with Jason Zucker. Zucker signed a one-year deal with the Anaheim Ducks. He was acquired in 2019 and has been solid when healthy. He has struggled with injuries but was the spark plug this past season having the best season of his career since the 2017-18 season.
The next loss and this one may break some Penguins fans hearts is defenseman Brian Dumoulin. He signed a two-year $6.3 million dollar deal with the Seattle Kraken. He spent his entire ten year career with the Penguins and was a part of those two Stanley Cups back-to-back in 2016 and 2017.
However, it was time to move on, he did have a career season offensively with 24 assists and 25 points. However, he had a negative +/- for just the second time in his career which the Penguins could not continue to have. Their struggles defensively was part of the reason they did not make the playoffs snapping that 16 year playoff streak.
Depth Departures
Josh Archibald was one of the more physical players on the team as he was a decent depth forward and penalty killer. He signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning. Archibald is coming off the best season of his career defensively with a with a +6 +/-.
The Penguins shockingly did not given the qualifying offer to Ryan Poehling. He also was not re-signed and joined the in state rival Philadelphia Flyers on a one-year deal. At just 24 years old, Poehling still has a bright future and is an incredible skater.
The last notable loss for the Penguins was Nick Bonino. Bonino was acquired at the trade deadline last season and only played three games. However, like Dumoulin he was also a part of those Stanley Cups. The best part about having Bonino is he is a high character guy who can be a leader in the locker room and mentor the younger players. He will now be playing for the New York Rangers.
Biggest and Best Move
The best move the Penguins made in free agency was the signing of Graves. He is one of the best defensive defenseman in the league which fixes a huge hole with the Penguins team. Also, at 28 years old he somewhat helps another problem with is age. The Penguins were the oldest team in the league this past season and it showed.
Fixing the Bottom Six
Dubas and company did not want to go all-in acquiring the big names in free agency. Instead, they chose to fix the bottom six forwards and that is what they did. Starting with signing forward Noel Acciari. Acciairi is a decent forward that will either be on the third or fourth line and also offers some physicality as he had 76 hits this past season.
Another depth signing is another guy with physicality and championship experience is Lars Eller. Eller won the Stanley Cup with rival Washington Capitals in 2018. He is no longer what he used to be offensively but it never hurts to have a physical forward with championship experience.
The Pittsburgh Penguins made another depth signing with the addition of Matthew Nieto. Nieto had a solid season and once he joined the Colorado Avalanche, he tied his career high in +/- with +7.
Headscratcher with Tristan Jarry
Take a look at his statistics and Tristan Jarry is a top-ten goalie in the league. However, there are two major problems with Jarry which are health/availability and pretty much any shot above his shoulders.
In Jarry’s seven-year career he has never played at least 60 games. The closest was two seasons ago where he played 58 games. When they made the playoffs that year he only played in Game 7 and he played that game still not 100% in a win or go-home scenario.
As mentioned earlier, Jarry struggles with shots above his shoulder. Listen not every goalie is perfect however, Jarry listed at 6’2, 194 pounds, he is one of the smallest goalies in the league.
It is very frustrating to see him constantly give up that type of goal. There were rumors the Penguins were going to trade for disgruntled veteran goaltender John Gibson. However, with the Jarry extension, that is no longer a possibility.
Another issue with the extension is the contract. It is understandable to lock him up and there are no problems with him getting five years. However, the problem is the annual $5.375 million. That feels a little high for someone that cannot stay on the ice and has such a notable weakness that tons of teams take advantage of.
Depth Goaltending
Dubas watched the Penguins use three goaltenders in the playoffs two years ago and realized the Penguins need depth at the goalie position. In addition to Jarry and backup goalie Casey DeSmith, the Penguins signed Alex Nedeljkovic. Nedeljkovic in the 2020-21 season was on the NHL All-Rookie Team and was third in the league for Calder voting. That year he also led the league in save percentage and goals against average.
Since then, his career has been shaky as he no longer the same player he was with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, that is simply due to him being with a much worse team in the Detroit Red Wings.
For more depth, the Penguins signed another Red Wings goalie in Magnus Hellberg. However, if Hellberg makes the team he will most likely be in Scranton Wilkes-Barre.
Penguins Not Done
There are still moves left to be made as the Penguins roster is not done. They currently have $-1,516,842 million in cap space. The easiest ways to fix that cap space issue is by trading Jeff Petry and Mikael Granlund.
Dream Player Target
Once the Penguins create that cap space, the player on Penguins fans wish list is the three-time Norris winner and five-time all star defenseman Erik Karlsson. Karlsson wants out of San Jose and wants to contend for a championship. Well as long as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Kris Letang, and Jake Guentzel are healthy and wearing a Pittsburgh Penguins jersey, they are championship contenders.
Karlsson is coming off an 101 point season as a defenseman which is absurd. If acquired, the Penguins can pair him with Letang or pair him with an elite defensive defenseman in Graves. Acquiring Karlsson would be crucial for the Pittsburgh Penguins to try and win their sixth Stanley Cup.
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