Monday: The Penguins have officially announced the contract.
Saturday: The Pittsburgh Penguins have made a splash on the European free agent market. CapFriendly reports (Twitter link) that Pittsburgh has signed center Oula Palve to a one-year, entry-level contract. The deal will carry an NHL salary of $700K (the league minimum) as well as a maximum $92.5K signing bonus and games played incentives of up to $132.5K.
The 27-year-old had a strong first full season with TPS Turku in the Finnish sm-Liiga, leading the team in scoring with 16 goals and 35 assists in 53 games. His 51 points were a career high and ranked tied for sixth overall in league scoring. He’s a bit of a late bloomer as only three years ago, he was a regular in the Mestis, Finland’s second division and was the top scorer in that league back in 2015-16.
This will be Palve’s first foray into North America and he will be going to a team whose fourth line has been in flux over the last couple of years. Veteran Matt Cullen isn’t expected to return which creates a vacancy down the middle that Palve will likely have a chance to fill. If he doesn’t make the team, he will be waiver-exempt for the 2019-20 season and regardless of what happens, he will once again be an unrestricted free agent in the 2020 offseason.