The Pittsburgh Penguins aren’t waiting around for restricted free agency. The team has re-signed Teddy Blueger to a two-year contract that carries him through the 2022-23 season. The deal comes with an average annual value of $2.2M, locking the centerman in at a reasonable price.
GM Ron Hextall released a short statement on the deal: "Teddy has proven to be a versatile, two-way center, as well as a fixture on the penalty kill. He is a valuable player for our team."
Blueger, 26, was a year away from unrestricted free agency, meaning the Penguins have bought out one of his open-market years with this contract. Originally a second-round pick way back in 2012, he finally made his NHL debut during the 2018-19 season and has been a fixture in the Penguins lineup ever since. During the 2019-20 season, he even received Selke Trophy votes as one of the best defensive forwards in the NHL, but it was really this season when he added 22 points in just 43 games that his true value as a two-way option came out.
There are few forwards in the league who receive tougher deployment than Blueger, who starts nearly three times as many shifts in the defensive zone as the offensive. The idea is that if he can be a positive with such defensive responsibility, the other centers on the Penguins — of which they have some good ones — will be free to contribute more at the offensive end of the rink. While some of his possession statistics are punished heavily because of that deployment, the Penguins still generally come out on the winning end of the goals-scored battle with him on the ice.
With this new contract, his role in Pittsburgh likely won’t change, with heavy penalty-killing and defensive minutes baked right into his role. Of course, with a Penguins team facing some real decisions in terms of who to protect at the expansion draft, Blueger may actually end up exposed to the Seattle Kraken. If he does, a $2.2M contract might actually be pretty enticing to a team that could give him a bigger offensive opportunity. It’s not like Blueger doesn’t have the ability to contribute at that end, as he showed in college and the minor leagues. While there will be other interesting options available, this is exactly the kind of player an expansion team might target now that he’s on a reasonable two-year deal.
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