Evan Rodrigues is still taking calls from teams across the league and the Pittsburgh Penguins are showing their interest.
As the 2022-23 NHL season draws near, the Pittsburgh Penguins still have to make a couple of roster decisions to make to finish their lineup.
One of the Penguins most productive players through the first half of the 2021-22 season has yet to find a new contract and is still worthy of an NHL spot.
29-year-old Evan Rodrigues scored 43 points in 82 games in 2021-22, and is still coasting around as an unrestricted free agent.
According to Greg Wyshynski of ESPN, the Penguins have shown interest in bringing back Rodrigues.
So far this summer, Rodrigues swapped agents from Peter Fish to Darren Ferris who said teams have been in contact.
Ferris says that “a good seven or eight teams” have interest and “two or three teams” are good fits for Rodrigues.
Cap restraints were cited as a reason why some teams may be hesitant to sign a deal at the moment.
“There are guys trying to move [money] to make room for it,” Ferris said.
The Penguins are one of those teams in the NHL that are struggling with the cap at the moment being $1.4 million over the ceiling.
Only being one player over the roster limit also becomes an obstacle not only in signing a guy like Rodrigues, but also filling a lineup under the cap.
If the Penguins are able to shuffle the cards and make a new Rodrigues deal official, that would cap off the Penguins 12 man forward core.
According to Farris, the Calgary Flames are also among interested teams.
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