The Pittsburgh Penguins have taken care of business with one of their pending restricted free agents, re-signing forward Valtteri Puustinen to a one-year, two-way contract with a $775K cap hit. PuckPedia reports Puustinen’s deal will earn him $385K at the AHL level, a solid reward for a productive season in the minors.
Pittsburgh selected the 24-year-old in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft as an over-age selection. It’s quickly looking like he’ll outpace a typical career trajectory of a late-round pick. The Finnish winger has produced back-to-back 20-goal seasons in the minors with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins since coming to North America in 2021, and he scored an assist in his lone NHL appearance (which came in 2021-22). Puustinen’s 59 points in 72 games this season led the team, while his 24 goals finished second behind Alexander Nylander.
The NHL cap hit on his deal comes in a tad lower than the $787.5K qualifying offer he was due, but this contract guarantees him thousands more dollars at the AHL level than he would’ve received had he accepted a qualifying deal. He’ll be a restricted free agent again next year and will be due a qualifying offer of $814K, per PuckPedia. With the Penguins headed for some roster turnover this offseason, and considering Dubas’ past penchant for rewarding his AHL talent in Toronto, expect Puustinen to see a string of NHL games next year.
It’s the first signing in Pittsburgh for interim general manager and president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas.