Penguins Can Build Future With Restricted Free Agents
The Pittsburgh Penguins have several pending restricted free agents to deal with.
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Penguins are wasting no time negotiating contracts with multiple players. With just a few unrestricted free agents to attend to, a bulk of Kyle Dubas’ offseason work will be taking care of the restricted free agent group.
The most prominent of this group, Sam Poulin, is already wrapped up. He signed a new two-year deal with the Penguins, giving him a shot at cracking the NHL lineup next season.
Beyond that, the Penguins have seven more RFAs to make decisions on. Let’s take a look at this group to see who should be returning to Pittsburgh for the 2024-25 season.
P.O. Joseph
This is last chance territory for P.O. Joseph with the Penguins. He ended the year on an extremely positive note, but he’s yet to solidify himself as a top four defenseman as imagined. The Pens are short on promising left handed defenseman, so Joseph is almost a lock to return, but beyond that, who knows.
Emil Bemstrom
No thanks. The Penguins took a flyer on Emil Bemstrom's shooting abilities, but he never panned out. Bemstrom played 24 games after his arrival prior to the trade deadline, but the Penguins should move on from him this summer.
Jack St. Ivany
Jack St. Ivany seemingly burst out of a cannon once arriving in Pittsburgh. Physical, consistent, and steady on the back end, he has an inside track for the third defensive pairing in 2024. The Pens should absolutely re-sign him.
Jonathan Gruden
Jonathan Gruden is another player the Penguins ought to re-sign. With the open spots on the fourth line, the team has several in-house candidates like Gruden waiting to take over. He can provide.a boost to the penalty kill and at only 24 years old, there is room for his offensive game to develop.
The Rest of the Bunch
The remaining restricted free agents spent the entire season in the AHL or ECHL, so there isn't much to consider. Corey Andonovski is the most intriguing of the names in this group, putting up 30 points with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this past season. He could be re-signed, but it would likely be another minor league deal. If the team goes in another direction, his presence wouldn't be missed much.
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