The Pittsburgh Penguins have added another quality veteran to their roster today, signing 2018 Stanley Cup champion center Lars Eller to a two-year, $2.45MM AAV deal.
The Penguins have made upgrading their group of bottom-six forwards a priority this offseason, and adding Eller definitely helps in that pursuit. A veteran of nearly 1,000 games, Eller never quite became the top-six center he was projected to be as a top prospect earlier in his career. Instead, he became one of the league’s best third-line centers, routinely flirting with the 40-point plateau while also contributing heavily on the penalty kill.
Now 34 years old, Eller might not still be one of the better third-line centers in the NHL, though he’s likely to be an upgrade over Jeff Carter in that role for Pittsburgh. Carter’s play drew significant criticism over the course of last season, and Eller fits the role better as a more well-rounded player who can contribute on the penalty kill.
With a two-year term attached there’s risk that Eller’s regression from top-end third-liner to more regular bottom-sixer continues, and the Penguins end up paying for a caliber of play Eller can no longer provide. But those risks are inherent in shopping for veteran free agents, so it’s not like Penguins management can really side-step them in their search for bottom-six help.
At a reasonable price tag, they’ve acquired an upgrade to their third-line center role while also adding someone who can chip in on the team’s penalty kill. Tough to complain about that.
How many roster spots does Pittsburgh get per game? Seems like they’ve brought in 10 new guys this offseason.
They also had a boatload of UFAs
Even now, only looks like
Guentzel-Crosby-Rust
Smith-Malkin-Rakell
Nieto-Carter-Granlund
O’Connor-Eller-Acciari
Graves-Letang
Pettersson-Petry
Joseph-Rutta
Jarry/CDS/Nedeljkovic
I’ll go on record as saying they won’t win the Cup next season….or thereafter. ;)
Gee, we have been holding our breath for your on the record opinion.
Sorry bud, but someone had to break the bad news to you.
@mariocrosby
Denial is not just a river in Egypt
NOOOOOOO!!!! I love Lars, for scoring the Cup clinching goal in 2018. He’s now the enemy! Say it ain’t so, Lars, say it ain’t so!
They need to drop granLund or use him as a salary offset in a trade that they will have to over pay for Karlson, hanofin, or a winger
he’s overpaid but might be a viable 3rd liner