Pittsburgh Penguins sign Valtteri Puustinen to one-year contract
The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed forward Valtteri Puustinen to a one-year contract worth $775,000, according to Matt Vensel. The 24-year-old winger played for the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins this past season, scoring 24 goals and 59 points in 72 games.
The Penguins have signed RFA Valterri Puustinen to a one-year contract. $775,000 at the NHL level.
— Matt Vensel (@mattvensel) June 20, 2023Puustinen was originally selected by the Penguins in the seventh round of the 2019 NHL Draft, the 15th last player taken. He played the first two years after being drafted with HPK Hameenlinna of the SM-Liiga. In those two seasons, he scored a combined 38 goals and 81 points in 105 games. He ranked second on his team in scoring in both of those seasons, impressive numbers for a young player.
The Kuopio, Finland native made the jump to North American hockey for the 2021-22 season, playing for the WB/S Penguins and scoring 20 goals and 42 points in 73 games, leading the team in scoring as an AHL rookie. He also appeared in his first NHL game, scoring an assist in the Penguins’ 5-2 victory over the Vegas Golden Knights on March 11, 2022.
This past season he didn’t appear in the NHL but followed up his AHL rookie season with an impressive sophomore campaign. On a struggling WB/S Penguins team he led them in points with 59, six points ahead of the second-highest scorer.
According to DobberHockey, Puustinen is a “speedy offensive winger with strong playmaking abilities.” He’s also “a very effective player on the power play.”
The Pittsburgh Penguins are in an interesting situation as a franchise. They just hired Kyle Dubas as president of hockey operations and will look to extend their cup window for as long as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, and Kris Letang are on the team. It is likely that a lot of moves will be made between now and the start of the 2023-24 season.
Depending on which players are moved out and who comes in, there could be a window of opportunity for Puustinen to work his way onto the NHL roster during training camp.