Pittsburgh Penguins sign Vinnie Hinostroza to one-year contract

The Pittsburgh Penguins have signed UFA forward Vinnie Hinostroza to a one-year contract worth $775,000. Hinostroza is an NHL veteran who has been playing in the league since 2015-16. He was originally selected by the Chicago Blackhawks in the sixth-round of the 2012 NHL Draft.

Hinostroza played the 2022-23 season in the Buffalo Sabres’ organisation. He played 26 games in Buffalo, scoring two goals and 11 points in that span as well as 11 games in the AHL with the Rochester Americans, scoring nine points there. He is coming off of a one-year $1.7 million deal he signed with the Sabres last offseason.

After nearly a week of free agency, teams clearly weren’t going to open up the pocketbook for Hinostroza so he took the best offer he could get, a league minimum one-year deal. However, he is still under 30 years of age so he could get a solid opportunity to play with good linemates in Pittsburgh and put himself in a good position for next year’s free agency.

Hinostroza’s last full season was in 2021-22, when he was playing with the Sabres. He scored 13 goals and 25 points in 62 games on a rebuilding team. The Chicago, Illinois native was a key part of the Sabres’ depth scoring and put up decent numbers. His best season was in 2018-19 with the Arizona Coyotes when he scored 16 goals and 39 points in 72 games, finishing third on the team in goals and fourth in points.

Hinostroza will be a sought-after player at the trade deadline and free agency in 2024 if he can become a solid contributor in the Penguins’ middle-six this year. In his career, he has scored 53 goals and 148 points in 360 games played. He has been a member of five NHL organisations, including the Blackhawks, Coyotes, Sabres, Florida Panthers, and now the Penguins.