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Marcus Pettersson

Pittsburgh Penguins Sign Marcus Pettersson

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As expected, the Pittsburgh Penguins have signed defenseman Marcus Pettersson to a one-year, one-way deal and will have him in training camp. Pettersson accepted his qualifying offer salary of $874,125. GM Jim Rutherford released a short statement on the deal:

Marcus is a smart, reliable defenseman who improved our defensive corps after coming over from Anaheim last year. We are fortunate to have a good, young defenseman of his caliber in our top-six.

Pettersson, 23, will come back to the Penguins on a very reasonable deal after he broke out as a full-time player last season. Originally selected in the second round by the Anaheim Ducks, he ended up on Pittsburgh as the return for Daniel Sprong and immediately found a home. Playing nearly 18 minutes a night, Pettersson recorded 19 points in 57 games with the Penguins and finished tenth in Calder Trophy voting. After Erik Gudbranson was acquired from the Vancouver Canucks, the two made up a very solid second pairing and actually posted some of the strongest possession numbers on the team.

That strong season made many expect a more expensive deal for the young defenseman, but the Penguins have convinced him to come back for at least one more year at a reduced price. While it doesn’t give them much certainty going forward, a near-minimum contract that can be plugged in gives the team a lot more flexibility in designing their roster. The Penguins currently project just over the cap meaning there very well could be another trade coming at some point, though with such a low number for Pettersson they could actually just start the season with fewer than 23 players on the roster and make the decision down the line.

Either way, something will have to change at some point on the blueline. The team has up to nine defensemen with NHL experience and all of them will require waivers in order to be sent to the minor leagues. If they all get through training camp healthy, Rutherford will have to make a decision on who he wants to expose to the rest of the league.

Pettersson will be a restricted free agent again next season and will have arbitration rights.

Morning Notes: Theodore, Flyers, Pettersson

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You can bet Shea Theodore didn’t have the summer he was expecting. After failing a random drug test at the World Championship because of an elevated hormone level, Theodore was informed that it was not because of a supplement but he in fact had testicular cancer and would need surgery right away. The Vegas Golden Knights defenseman opened up about the situation in an article for the Players’ Tribune today, explaining that though it was a frightful time in his life he has fully recovered.

Theodore said that Phil Kessel reached out this summer to give his support, given that the veteran forward dealt with the same diagnosis years ago. Theodore credits that drug test with potentially saving him from a battle that would have much more difficult, and implores everyone to get checked regularly and be open with your physician.

  • The Philadelphia Flyers are getting closer to a deal with Ivan Provorov, according to Bob McKenzie of TSN. The two sides are still working through the negotiation and both three and six year deals are on the table, but things have turned positive in recent days. It seems as though things aren’t so rosy for the other Flyers’ RFA, as McKenzie tweets that Travis Konecny is not close to a new deal. The pair are huge parts of the Philadelphia future and will hopefully join the team in training camp soon with freshly inked deals.
  • That’s exactly what is happening for Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who is joining the team and expected to sign in the “next day or so” according to McKenzie. The deal will be a short-term contract, but would mean the team has their full complement of players in camp. The Penguins do appear to have too many NHL-caliber defensemen on the roster at the moment, meaning a trade or waivers is coming for at least one. Of course, that is contingent on the rest of the group staying healthy through camp, which is not a certainty anywhere around the NHL.

RFA Profile: Anthony DeAngelo

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If asked to rank the remaining unsigned restricted free agent defensemen by offensive efficiency, most would easily be able to tab Zach Werenski and Charlie McAvoy as the top two. However, few would name Anthony DeAngelo third ahead of the likes of Ivan Provorov and Marcus Pettersson. In fact, last season DeAngelo finished just behind Werenski and McAvoy in points per game, with 0.49 compared to their 0.54 and 0.52 respectively. He also did so with three minutes less of ice time on average. DeAngelo has quietly developed into a potent offensive contributor on the blue line and working out an extension will be no small task for the cap-strapped New York Rangers. Here is a closer look at his situation.

DeAngelo, 23, is already on his third NHL team, a fact that may contribute to his perceived lesser value compared to his RFA peers. The 19th overall pick in 2014 by the Tampa Bay Lightning, he never played a game for the Bolts and was surprisingly dealt to the Arizona Coyotes for a 2016 second-round pick following a productive first pro season in the AHL. The ‘Yotes did not hesitate to bring DeAngelo up, and he recorded a respectable 14 points in 39 NHL games in 2016-17. Yet, he was moved again that off-season in the deal that sent Derek Stepan and Antti Raanta from New York to Arizona. DeAngelo’s first season with the Rangers was nothing special; he again split the season between the NHL and AHL and failed to scorer a goal in 32 games with New York. Through three pro seasons, DeAngelo was beginning to look like a bust as a first-round pick.

However, the team handed DeAngelo a regular role last season and he ran with it. The talented puck-mover registered 30 points in 61 games to lead all Blueshirt defensemen in scoring despite missing more than 20 games. DeAngelo also led the entire team with a +6 rating and was second in even strength time on ice. There is no hiding the fact that DeAngelo was one of the best players for New York last season. Despite their considerable additions this off-season, especially on the blue line in Jacob Trouba and prospect Adam Fox, the Rangers will still need to sign DeAngelo to a deal that accurately reflects that value, even if they don’t necessarily have the cap flexibility to do so. After that showing last season, DeAngelo is no longer a mystery or an enigma and if the Rangers won’t pay him, another team will.

Statistics

2018-19: 61 GP, 4-26-30, +6 rating, 77 PIMS, 111 shots, 19:20 ATOI
Career: 132 GP, 9-43-52, -25 rating, 125 PIMS, 239 shots, 18:00 ATOI

Comparables

Neal Pionk, Winnipeg Jets

Platform Year Stats: 73 GP, 6-20-26, -16 rating, 25 PIMS, 132 shots, 21:10 ATOI
Career Stats: 101 GP, 7-33-40, -17, 47 PIMS, 186 shots, 21:30 ATOI

Contract: Two years, $6MM
Year Signed: 2019

There’s isn’t a much better comparable than a player who played on the same team. Last season, Pionk was given more ice time and played in more games than DeAngelo for the Rangers and still was outscored and outplayed. When it came to trading away a young defender in the Trouba deal, it was Pionk that New York was willing to part with and not DeAngelo. With similar platform and career stats, especially on a per-game scoring basis, DeAngelo can point to Pionk as a comparable but also prove his slight edge as well as argue that his younger age and greater experience help his case. Pionk’s deal is the floor for a DeAngelo extension.

Travis Sanheim, Philadelphia Flyers

Platform Year Stats: 82 GP, 9-26-35, -4 rating, 22 PIMS, 121 shots, 19:34 ATOI
Career Stats: 131 GP, 11-34-45, -10 rating, 42 PIMS, 193 shots, 18:04 ATOI

Contract: Two years, $6.5MM
Year Signed: 2019

DeAngelo took a big step forward this season, but Sanheim took a leap. A fellow 2014 first-round pick facing criticism, Sanheim finally showed he was a starting-caliber NHL defenseman with a nine-goal, 35-point campaign. However, those numbers did come in a full 82-game season. Sanheim’s career numbers also trail DeAngelo’s in almost the exact same games played and total ice time. Both young defensemen are part of busy blue lines with a fair amount of talent but have carved out a role for themselves. DeAngelo maintains a slight edge based just on per-game production, but these two players are very similar.

Will Butcher, New Jersey Devils

Platform Year Stats: 78 GP, 4-26-30, -17 rating, 18 PIMS, 108 shots, 19:16 ATOI
Career Stats: 159 GP, 9-65-74, -16, 26 PIMS, 196 shots, 17:38 ATOI

Contract: Three years, $11.2MM
Year Signed: 2019

Like Werenski and McAvoy, few would think to associate DeAngelo with Butcher, the prize college free agent of a few years ago. In reality, DeAngelo and Butcher had the same stat line last season, with the Devils standout playing in 17 more games. In his career, Butcher does have the slightly superior per-game scoring numbers, but it is hard to look at their platform seasons and DeAngelo’s more balanced game at a younger age and not feel they are at least close to equal.

Projected Contract

There are several fair comparisons to DeAngelo, all of whom have signed extensions within the last few months. It paints a pretty clear picture of what a defenseman of DeAngelo’s age, experience, and production should be seeking: a short-term deal worth $3-4MM.

The Rangers are tight against the salary cap and have several long-term contracts on the blue line already, as well as a handful of prospect defenders who could push for a role sooner rather than later. For that reason, the team will likely push for a shorter, more affordable bridge deal, taking the risk that DeAngelo could continue to improve and boost his price tag, but landing a contract that they can accommodate more easily in the short term. If DeAngelo is slightly better than Sanheim, who makes $3.25MM on a two-year deal, and slightly worse than Butcher, who makes $3.73MM on a three-year deal, a two-year deal with a $3.5MM AAV is likely just right for the young Rangers defensemen.

Now, even at a very fair two years and $7MM, a DeAngelo resolution is still too much for the Rangers to carry at current time, with RFA forward Brendan Lemieux still to sign as well. The team has a number of young players they can freely demote as well as multiple veterans that are candidates to be buried in the AHL, but nevertheless the team may still need to make a space-saving trade before the season begins.

Penguins Unlikely To Make Cap-Clearing Trade

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The Pittsburgh Penguins are currently over the salary cap limit, per CapFriendly, with $81.66MM committed to 23 players. That does not include restricted free agent defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who reportedly has been waiting for the Penguins to clear the necessary space to sign him to a long-term contract. GM Jim Rutherford even stated that he hoped to sign the 23-year-old blue liner to a long extension and would likely need to move out another roster player to do so. So, a trade is coming to Pittsburgh before the start of the season, right? Probably not, as it turns out. The Athletic’s Josh Yohe recently caught up with Rutherford who has changed his tune on making a deal. “It might turn out that we won’t be able to give Marcus the contract that we want to be able to give right now,” Rutherford said, “But if that’s the case, we’ll make everything work with the cap. And we can do that without trading anyone.”

Yohe speculates that the Penguins could fit Pettersson under the cap on a cheap one-year deal, even though that is not the preference of either side. By demoting one of the defensemen Pettersson would be replacing on the roster, Zach Trotman or Juuso Riikola, the salaries offset somewhat. Trotman in particular appears to be more of a placeholder on the roster if Pettersson is not signed by the beginning of the regular season, as the veteran did not see any NHL action last year. Yohe also adds that keeping Tristan Jarry at $675K as the backup goalie over Casey DeSmith at $1.25MM would also add much needed space, although would be a risky endeavor. DeSmith would be an attractive claim candidate for a number of teams as an affordable backup with term on his contract. The team could choose instead to trade DeSmith, but Rutherford clearly doesn’t see that as a possibility in the current market.

Making a trade remains the simplest way for Pittsburgh to clear space for Pettersson, but Rutherford’s hands appear to be tied. “You can’t make a trade when you can’t find anyone to trade with” he stated to Yohe. The Penguins have been a fixture on the trade market over the last few years and may be running out of willing partners. Last year alone, Rutherford made nine trades during the regular season, only to keep going this off-season with trades shipping out Phil Kessel and Olli Maatta. It could also be the competitors aren’t buying what Rutherford is selling. Defenseman Jack Johnson remains the player that the team would most like to move, but he has little to no market value at his inflated salary. The team also has reportedly tried to flip former Florida Panthers forward Nick Bjugstad, whose value has declined somewhat. As for their more homegrown products, defenseman Justin Schultz and winger Bryan Rust have come up in trade rumors, but have been associated with high asking prices as well.

By saying that no one will make a trade, Rutherford likely just means that no team is currently willing to bite on the players he is open to moving at the price he is willing to take. If that continues, and Pettersson is willing to take a one-year deal with the hopes of driving the price up on an extension next summer, then Rutherford and the Penguins would be better served not to make a desperation trade and instead try to squeeze the young defender onto the roster. It may be difficult season for Pittsburgh when it comes to roster flexibility, but it may be their best solution to the current issue.

RFA Notes: Tkachuk, Perlini, Pettersson

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The Flames made a move earlier this week to free up some funds to re-sign winger Matthew Tkachuk when they bought out defenseman Michael Stone.  While they still have some work to do to in order to free up enough cap room to get a new deal done, GM Brad Treliving told NHL.com’s Aaron Vickers that he expects to get Tkachuk signed before training camp.  Calgary currently has $7.75MM in cap room per CapFriendly but also still needs to get a deal done with RFA winger Andrew Mangiapane.  With Tkachuk being one of the players at the top end of the RFA market, it’s quite possible that his new contract will exceed their current cap room so expect more movement from the Flames in the weeks to come.

More notes from restricted free agency:

  • The Blackhawks and winger Brendan Perlini appear to be about $500K apart in contract talks. Scott Powers of The Athletic reports (subscription required) that Chicago is offering roughly $1MM while Perlini is seeking closer to $1.5MM.  While that’s far from an insurmountable difference, the team does want to keep some salary cap flexibility for in-season movement so it’s unlikely they’ll move too much off of their current offer for a little while.  Perlini has scored at least 14 goals in each of his three seasons but also spent considerable time in Chicago’s bottom six last season.
  • The Penguins and defenseman Marcus Pettersson both prefer to get a multi-year deal done this summer, GM Jim Rutherford told Mike DeFabo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Pettersson’s agent stated last month that the blueliner doesn’t intend to sign until Pittsburgh makes a trade to free up some cap room although Rutherford indicated if they had to, they could push the 23-year-old to simply accept his one-year qualifying offer of just over $874K.  Pettersson had 25 points in 84 games last season between Anaheim and Pittsburgh (which allowed him to play more than the standard 82) while he logged nearly 18 minutes a night with the Penguins.

Marcus Pettersson Doesn’t Intend To Re-Sign With Pittsburgh Until They Clear Cap Room

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With the Penguins re-signing center Zach Aston-Reese earlier this week, they’re down to just one remaining restricted free agent in defenseman Marcus Pettersson.  However, it doesn’t appear as if a contract will be getting done for him anytime soon.  His agent, Peter Wallen, told Dave Molinari of DK Pittsburgh Sports that they are waiting for the team to make a move to free up salary cap space before agreeing to a new deal.

As things stand, Pittsburgh is basically right against the $81.5MM Upper Limit depending on who fills the final few spots on their roster.  GM Jim Rutherford has indicated that he doesn’t believe he needs to make a move to add cap room and that they’re content running with a roster size below the maximum of 23 in order to make that happen.

However, it’s hard to argue that Pettersson doesn’t deserve a raise on his base salary of $832.5K from last season.  After being acquired from Anaheim, the 23-year-old played a regular role for them, logging nearly 18 minutes a night in 57 games while chipping in with a respectable 19 points as well.  While he didn’t have salary arbitration eligibility, he has done well enough to surpass the $1MM mark on his next deal, a price tag that the team probably can’t afford at this moment.

While Wallen indicated that Pettersson wants to be signed well before training camp gets underway in order to get a work visa in place so that he doesn’t miss any time, he also stated that the blueliner is willing to be patient:

There’s no rush.  We have good conversations with management. We’re not in a fight or anything. The communication is good. We know where they are. We know what they want to do.

As teams have made their final settlements with their arbitration-eligible players, there are a few teams around the league that are going to be dealing with a cap crunch.  Pittsburgh appears to be one of those squads as they look to get Pettersson signed in the weeks to come.

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