The Penguins' bottom-six was dealt a blow on Wednesday when the Seattle Kraken selected Brandon Tanev in the expansion draft.
Tanev's $3.5 million cap hit comes off the Penguins' books, giving the Penguins a projected $7,446,795 in cap space with which to work.
Some of that will go toward re-signing free agents. Ron Hextall told our Dave Molinari last week that the Penguins are interested in re-signing unrestricted free agents Cody Ceci, Freddy Gaudreau and Evan Rodrigues. Restricted free agents Zach Aston-Reese and Radim Zohorna still need to be re-signed as well.
With the money left over, the Penguins still could look for someone to replace Tanev in free agency, or they could target a player in a trade this offseason.
But what about some of the in-house options?
Let's take a look at some of the forwards already under contract who could conceivably step into the Penguins' bottom six and fill a similar role, bringing energy and physicality. For purposes of this discussion, I'll say that the player doesn't necessarily have to be a right wing, just a forward capable of bringing some of what Tanev brought to the lineup.
JORDY BELLERIVE
Of the forward prospects who have yet to make their NHL debuts, Bellerive is probably the closest comparison when it comes to style.
At 5 foot 11, 194 pounds, Bellerive's about an inch shorter and 15 pounds heavier than Tanev. He's a left-handed shot who primarily plays center, though he did shift to left wing for a handful of games last season.
He's physical and is reliable defensively. Last summer his main focus was getting faster, and the speed he added was evident from the first days of training camp in Wilkes-Barre. That allowed him to take steps offensively this past season with 10 goals, 8 assists in 29 AHL games (two goals and two assists shy of the previous season's totals, despite playing in 24 fewer games) because he was able to use that speed to create more time and space for himself on the ice. That speed was one of the reasons when that he was frequently on the ice during overtimes last season, because he was really able to use it to his advantage with all of the open ice during three-on-three. The best example of that is this rush up ice in the next-to-last game of the season to set up Kasper Bjorkqvist for the overtime winner:
"He was shot out of a cannon," J.D. Forrest said after that game. "He goes to the net with a purpose. He's had some big goals for us and big points late in games in overtime."
Forrest also described Bellerive to me as someone who "just never really stops."
"He's one of those guys that has endless amount of effort, and he really, really cares big time about his game and our team."
KASPER BJORKQVIST
Bjorkqvist, another left-handed shot, is capable of playing both wings but is more comfortable on his natural left side. At 6 foot 1 and 198 pounds, he brings some size.
Development coach Tom Kostopoulos mentioned on our 66 to 87 podcast after the season ended that he thought Bjorkqvist would be one of the forwards who could compete for a spot in training camp next season.
Bjorkqvist hasn't played many AHL games to date. He tore his ACL in a fluke collision with a teammate two seasons ago, requiring surgery and cutting his season short at six games. Then because of the timing of the different leagues' starts last season as a result of COVID, the Penguins opted to let him spend the year in Finland because that would allow him to get the most playing time. When the Finnish season ended, Bjorkqvist came back to Wilkes-Barre for the final five games of the season. In a conversation with director of player development Scott Young this week, Young didn't seem concerned with Bjorkqvist needing to re-adjust to the smaller sheet of ice here, since he was familiar with the North American game from his time at Providence College.
In that short sample size at the end of the season, Young praised Bjorkqvist's "good, hard, physical game." Forrest spoke about the speed and energy Bjorkqvist brought, and noted that he picked up on improvements in Bjorkqvist's game with his hands and work in tight spaces, likely a result of the heavy focus on skill work Bjorkqvist had while he was unable to skate. After one of his games, I asked teammate Anthony Angello what his impressions were of Bjorkqvist's game since returning from Finland.
"He's got exceptional speed," Angello said. "He's definitely strong in the corners and on the puck."
ANTHONY ANGELLO
Angello is capable of playing both center and right wing, but he played exclusively right wing last season, both in Pittsburgh and Wilkes-Barre.
At 6 foot 5 and 210 pounds, Angello brings a size element in a way that not many players in the organization can.
Though Angello's NHL time last season was a short sample size at 19 games, he was the only player on the roster who recorded hits at a higher rate than Tanev at five-on-five. Tanev averaged 18.8 hits for every 60 minutes on the ice. Angello averaged 22.16.
Though a guy of Angello's size isn't ever going to be the fastest player on the team, he's shown the speed needed to keep up in the NHL, and I thought his skating was a real strength when he was in Wilkes-Barre.
DREW O'CONNOR
O'Connor is another forward who would add some clear size at 6 foot 3, 200 pounds.
O'Connor started the season in a limited fourth-line role in Pittsburgh, but really got to show more of his strengths in the second half of the season once he got sent down to Wilkes-Barre. He was on the top power play and top penalty kill. He was moved back and forth between center and left wing, and played a handful of games at right wing as well.
O'Connor finished just under a point-per-game in Wilkes-Barre, with 19 in 20 games. And he was really, really good in his play along the boards, forcing turnovers and making plays happen.
"Man, he really has a knack for getting his stick, his tenacity on pucks," Forrest said of O'Connor's game. "He seems to create turnovers. And his shot is getting good, he's definitely dangerous there. He's using his speed and his length and creating a lot of turnovers and getting himself some opportunities."
Forrest talked about O'Connor's abilities in that area in another instance too.
"Just his puck pursuit and his ability to get his stick on pucks around the net, and recover pucks down low, loose pucks," Forrest said. "He gets into battles and seems to come out with the puck on his stick. And he makes it real hard for the other team to break out cleanly, because he just has a knack for getting a piece of it."
I spoke with O'Connor when he first got sent down from the NHL and asked what the message was from the coaching staff, and one of the main things he mentioned was that wall play, noting that it wasn't something that was "as big" in college. As the season went on, he clearly improved in those areas, which should set him up for more NHL time next season.
SAM LAFFERTY
Lafferty is yet another guy capable of playing center and both wings and could fill that fourth-line type of role.
Lafferty brings size at 6 foot 1, 195 pounds. And other than Angello, he's the only forward who dished out hits at a rate remotely close to that of Tanev's, averaging 16.17 hits per 60 minutes of ice time at five-on-five in his 34 games this season.
Lafferty took some penalties near the end of the season that played a role in knocking him out of the lineup, but his offensive struggles were what prevented him from having a bigger role too. In those 34 games he recorded no goals and six assists. That just can't happen. Lafferty's shown the ability before to score at a rate that's a little more acceptable for a fourth-line player, putting up six goals and seven assists in 50 games as a rookie.
If he can contribute offensively next season, that would go a long way toward earning him a permanent spot in the lineup.
SAMUEL POULIN
For Poulin (as well as the last two prospects I'm going to list) I think it would be best development-wise to start in the AHL. But I wouldn't rule out NHL time during the season.
Young told us on our podcast that Poulin is someone who could compete for a spot right out of training camp, and that if he doesn't make the team out of camp and ends up needing more development, then he's not far off. He definitely has the size, at 6 foot 2 and 213 pounds.
His skill offensively is evident:
It's tough to say how a player from the QMJHL will handle the defensive responsibilities of professional hockey, especially the NHL, but Poulin has a well-rounded, two-way game. Still, Kostopoulos said that in the cases of both Poulin and Legare, Mike Sullivan was "pretty clear" that he wanted both players to work on details of their game, "puck decisions at the blue line and playing defensively in their own end" in order to earn more trust.
Poulin plays more of a power forward-type role, which is different from the one Tanev had. But being hard on forechecks, playing a heavy physical game while putting up points could earn him a spot on the team.
NATHAN LEGARE
Legare is another player who Young said isn't very far off from making the team.
If there was a main knock on Legare's game before this season, it would have been his speed.
"He's got a great shot," Young said. "He's really strong, he competes hard. He's an extremely driven player. He finishes checks, he gets in hard on the forecheck. He needed to get a little quicker."
Legare changed his eating habits and lost 12 pounds this season, and is still aiming to lose more this offseason. Young said that when Legare shed the weight, he saw "immediate results," and that Legare "looks a lot faster on the ice." It's not clear what his size is now, but when he was traded to Val-d'Or midseason in the QMJHL he was listed at 6 foot, 208 pounds.
FILIP HALLANDER
Hallander can play center and wing, though he's played almost exclusively left wing in the past two seasons in Sweden.
Hallander will most likely start the season in the AHL, especially given that he's never played in North America in his career. But Young said that he thinks Hallander's game is better suited for the smaller ice than what he's used to in Sweden.
"He's a big, strong winger that is strong in the corners, protects the puck really well and likes to get to the front of the net," Young said of Hallander. "I just think it's going to benefit him to play that more physical, grinding style in a smaller rink."
In the past year, Young said that he thinks Hallander's added more speed to his game, something that should help with that transition to the smaller ice. He's added an inch and a couple pounds, now listed at 6 foot 1 and 196 pounds. The stats also show that Hallander started shooting the puck more over the last year in Sweden, going from 1.81 shots per game to 2.47 per game.
Young added that in Hallander's first stint as a Penguins prospect, they used to show him videos of Patric Hornqvist, showing him "how to position himself in front of the net and create some havoc."
