CRANBERRY, Pa. -- Ron Hextall said at last week's draft that he was "pretty comfortable with our defense."
He made a pretty significant signing for the defense corps in the opening hours of free agency Wednesday.
The Penguins signed 6-foot-3, 201-pound right-handed blueliner Jan Rutta to a three-year contract worth $8.25 million, Hextall announced. The contract runs through 2024-25 season, and has a cap hit of $2.75 million.
Rutta, who turns 32 later this month, will be 34 when the deal expires.
Rutta spent the last three and a half years with the Lightning, winning back-to-back Stanley Cups with Tampa in 2020 and 2021. He appeared in 76 games with the Lightning last season, scoring three goals and 15 assists and recording a plus-25 rating. He scored one goal, four assists and recorded a plus-5 rating in 17 postseason games this year as Tampa returned to the Stanley Cup Final for a third consecutive season.
The signing gives the Penguins eight NHL defensemen: Kris Letang, Brian Dumoulin, Mike Matheson, John Marino, Marcus Pettersson, Mark Friedman, Chad Ruhwedel and Rutta. That's not including P.O Joseph, who was re-signed to a two-year, one-way deal on Tuesday.
If one includes Radim Zohorna and Drew O'Connor (but not Joseph) on the roster, the Penguins have 11 forwards, eight defensemen and two goaltenders under contract with $1,458,158 in cap space. That figure does not include a contract for Kasperi Kapanen, who was qualified by the Penguins on Monday and remains a restricted free agent.
With a surplus of defensemen and holes to be filled on the roster at forward, the Rutta trade seems to suggest that a trade of at least one defenseman is coming.
