Who could be leaving the Penguins this summer?
On July 1 the NHL’s free agency market will open, but teams will have to prepare and plan for their moves in the weeks to come. Here’s what the Penguins are looking at in this cycle.
Notable Unrestricted free agents
Matt Grzelcyk
Matt Nieto
Boko Imama
Joona KoppanenFilip Kral (already signed with a Czech team next season)
Nathan Clurman
The Penguins don’t have that many UFA’s left after trading Lars Eller, Marcus Pettersson, Drew O’Connor and Anthony Beauvillier during the course of the season.
Kyle Dubas didn’t close the door on Grzelcyk’s potential return but his answer was very diplomatic, much like after the deadline when no contender wanted to trade for the erstwhile defender. Grzelcyk told the Trib that the Pens hadn’t reached out yet about keeping him for next year and that might be where that goes.
Beyond that, Nieto got waived and isn’t of NHL quality, his days look over. Koppanen is good depth (but could be less desirable as an “AHL veteran”). It could be fond farewells to almost everyone on this list, with a notable exception. The organization is keen on Imama as a depth/energy player, his return seems like the most likely bet of the lot.
Notable Restricted free agents
Filip Hallander (agreed to contract, will return from Sweden)
Philip Tomasino
Conor Timmins
Connor Dewar
P.O. Joseph
Vasily Ponomarev
Emil Bemstrom
Taylor Gauthier
The RFA list has become the intrigue spot this time around. On the surface, the first reaction might be “qualify them all” but that is not how teams operate these days, preferring contract amounts over the control aspect. Recently the Pens have allowed Ryan Poehling, Danton Heinen and P.O. Joseph to walk as unrestricted free agents even though they could have retained their rights (even though, remarkably, Heinen and Joseph found their ways back).
Tomasino leads the class of RFA’s, coming off a Pittsburgh-portion of his season with 11 goals and 23 points with the Penguins over 50 games. Tomasino has a projection of a $1.4 million contract for one year via AFP Analytics. Tomasino also was basically a non-factor down the stretch (four points in 15 games from March 1st – April 5th) when the shiny new toys of Rutger McGroarty and Ville Koivunen came up to the NHL and took large roles and power play time away from Tomasino. Pittsburgh did invest a fourth round pick in him, it stands to reason they might want to see if he can contribute more, but with capable replacements already on hand they also have to decide what role and best fit there is, or if one even is still available.
One RFA you can bet on remaining with the team is Timmins. Kyle Dubas’s season wrap-up was very clear that the Pens were pleased with Timmins and are excited to see what his future will bring.
On the flip side, there doesn’t seem to be much need for Bemstrom after an unimpressive season and minimal NHL impact. Maybe the team wants to retain him for depth or to boost the AHL but there doesn’t look like anything to gain from the soon-to-be 26-year old at the NHL level. Similarly, team sources have suggested that Joseph’s second stint with the Pens will be over this summer and the team will move on, reinforced by the team signing Ryan Shea in that depth defender role.
Ponomarev should be an easy qualify, assuming the team still wants him. Dubas has said since acquiring the forward that he is “close” to being ready for the NHL, but that’s amounted to seven games and no points so far. At 23, the Pens may give him one more season to see if he can contribute but that could be another case where he’s barely done enough to stay in the plans.
Then there’s Dewar, who popped a little after coming over from Toronto but then faded. He’s a low-cost option for a bottom-line player if the Pens want one, but considering they already have a glut of similar forwards under contract projected to the lineup already it’s up for debate on how much more they will want to have. The re-incoming of Hallander back into the organization this fall only bolsters those numbers further.