All offseason the Pittsburgh Penguins’ goal was to get defender Marcus Pettersson re-signed to a long-term contract. But due to the team’s always cramped position just under the NHL’s salary cap, and without another trade to create more space, they had to settle for a shorter deal.
On Thursday the Penguins announced that they have re-signed Pettersson to a one-year contract that will pay him $874,125.
It is a short-term steal for the Penguins, but if Pettersson is able to duplicate what he did a year ago after joining the team in a mid-season trade he is going to be in line for a significant raise next summer.
“Marcus is a smart, reliable defenseman who improved our defensive corps after coming over from Anaheim last year,” general manager Jim Rutherford said in a statement released by the team. “We are fortunate to have a good, young defenseman of his caliber in our top-six.”
The Penguins acquired Pettersson in a trade that sent Daniel Sprong to the Anaheim Ducks.
He finished the season with two goals and 23 assists in 84 games (yes, 84) split between the two teams. It is not yet known where exactly he will fit on the team’s blue line this season, but he played at his best when he was paired alongside Erik Gudbranson. Whether or not they want to go with that pairing from the start remains to be seen, but it might be their best option when it comes to assembling their best and most balanced defensive lineup given the players they have.
Kris Letang and Brian Dumoulin figure to once again be the team’s top pairing.
MORE:
• ProHockeyTalk’s 2019 NHL free agency tracker
• Your 2019-20 NHL on NBC TV schedule
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Adam Gretz is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @AGretz.