NHL Free Agency: Penguins re-sign Tristan Jarry for 5 years, fill out forward depth

The Penguins signed defenseman Will Butcher to a one-year contract, the team announced Monday.

The 28-year-old spent the 2022-23 season with the Texas Stars of the American Hockey League.

The Penguins' free agency moves aren't done just yet. 

On Sunday morning, the team announced the signing of three players, Magnus Hellberg, Marc Johnstone, and Radim Zohorna. 

This is Zohorna's second stint with the Penguins after spending two years with the club from 2020-22 when he split time between the NHL and AHL. 

He scored four goals and six assists for 10 points in 25 games with the Penguins in the NHL. 

Zohorna is signed to a one-year, $775,000 contract at the NHL level. 

Goaltender Magnus Hellburg was signed to a one-year, $785,000 deal at the NHL level and spent time with the Ottawa Senators, Seattle Kraken, and Detroit Red Wings this past season. He recorded a 2-2-0 record in the NHL and a 2.50 goals-against average and a .932 save percentage in the AHL. 

He has played parts of 13 seasons of professional hockey across the NHL, AHL, ECHL, KHL, HockeyAllsvenkan, and Eliteserien from 2011-23. 

Forward Marc Johnstone was signed to a two-year deal worth $775,000 at the NHL level. 

The 27-year-old forward spent last season with the Toronto Marlies in the AHL and scored nine goals, and 13 assists, for 22 points in 69 games. 

So much for not taking big swings. 

While it appeared that Penguins' President of Hockey Operations Kyle Dubas hinted that his plan this offseason would be to weaponize the team's cap space by taking on contracts other teams could no longer afford, July 1 was a big spending day for Pittsburgh. 

"I think we're in a good spot and fortunate that the cap has remained flat," Dubas said prior to the draft, hinting toward the Penguins being active in the trade market. "It allows us to take on people from other clubs that can bring us good value and have us push to contend."

While the Penguins didn't sign any prolific scorers, they did completely reshape their bottom-six forwards and bring in some reinforcements on defense. 

Dubas, suddenly ever the gambler, now adds Tristan Jarry to the players he is daring people to bet against. 

Read my full day-one breakdown right here!

The Penguins have signed defenseman Ryan Shea to a one-year contract.

Shea, 26, is signed through the 2023-24 season with a contract that carries an average annual value of $775,000.

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound blue liner spent the 2022-23 season with the AHL's Texas Stars, scoring seven goals, 21 assists, for 28 points, and a plus-37 rating in 70 games.

After making some big splashes earlier in the day, Kyle Dubas and the Pittsburgh Penguins have begun to turn their attention to filling holes at the AHL level.

The organization has signed forward Joona Koppanen to a two-year contract. The contract will run through the 2024-25 season and carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.

Koppanen, 25, spent 64 games with the Providence Bruins (AHL) in 2022-23. He recorded career highs in games played (64), goals (12), assists (23), and points (35), the Penguins said in a news release.

The 6-foot-5, 216-pound forward has spent parts of the last six seasons in the AHL with Providence, scoring 39 goals and 93 points in 245 games.

Kyle Dubas continues to rework the team's bottom six, this time adding another veteran to the team.

The Penguins have signed forward Lars Eller to a two-year contract.

The contract will run through the 2024-25 season and carries an average annual value of $2.45 million. 

Eller, 34, spent the 2022-23 season with the Washington Capitals and Colorado Avalanche. He tallied seven goals and 16 points in 60 games with Washington.

Once traded to the Avalanche, Eller played in 24 games, registering three goals, four assists, and seven points.

In 954 career games, the Rodovre, Denmark native has earned 163 goals and 371 points.

Another goalie joins the squad. The Penguins have signed goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic to a one-year contract. 

The one-year deal runs through the 2023-24 season, carrying an average annual value of $1.5 million.

Nedeljkovic, 27, spent the 2022-23 season split between the Detroit Red Wings and their AHL affiliate, the Grand Rapids Griffins. 

Last season, Nedeljkovic earned a 5-7-2 record in the NHL. With Grand Rapids, he went 13-9-3 with a 2.71 goals-against average, a .912 save percentage, and one shutout in 26 games.

The 6-foot, 208-pound netminder has played parts of six seasons in the NHL split between the Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit, playing in 103 regular-season games, accruing a 42-38-15 all-time record, with a 2.96 goals-against average, a .907 save percentage, and seven shutouts.

The Penguins have beefed up their blue line after the departure of Brian Dumoulin.

The Penguins have signed defenseman Ryan Graves to a six-year contract, the Penguins announced Saturday.

The contract runs through the 2028-29 season and carries an average annual value of $4.5 million.

Graves, 28, has spent the last two seasons with the New Jersey Devils. In 2022-23, the defenseman recorded eight goals, 18 assists, and 26 points in 78 games played.

Graves is a massive, 6-foot-5, 220-pound defender who has played in 302 career NHL games split between the Devils and Colorado Avalanche.

The Penguins are keeping one of their own for the foreseeable future. Goalie Tristan Jarry has signed a five-year contract with the club, the Penguins announced Saturday.

The deal begins in the 2023-24 season and runs through the 2027-28 campaign, carrying an average annual value of $5.375 million.

Jarry, 28, appeared in 47 games this past season, going 24-13-7 with a 2.90 goals-against average, a .909 save percentage, and two shutouts.

The Penguins have reportedly signed forward Noel Acciari to a three-year contract, according to TSN insider Pierre LeBrun.

The contract is set to have an average annual value of $2 million per season.

Kyle Dubas is no stranger to Acciari, having traded for the 31-year-old as general manager with the Toronto Maple Leafs last season.

The 5-foot-10 right-hander scored 14 goals and 23 points in 77 games last season between the St. Louis Blues and Maple Leafs.

Kyle Dubas staying true to his word and working to improve the Penguins' depth. 

According to TSN's Darren Dreger, the Penguins are signing LW Matthew Nieto to a two-year, $900,000 deal. 

In 81 games last season, Nieto put up an even 24 points, scoring 12 goals and 12 assists in 81 games with the Colorado Avalanche. 

One of the names to watch this offseason is three-time Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Erik Karlsson. 

The San Jose Sharks are beginning a rebuild and part of that plan is to likely trade the 33-year-old defenseman. 

TSN and The Athletic's Pierre LeBrun is reporting that the Penguins are among the teams interested in acquiring Karlsson. 

Karlsson is coming off another Norris-winning season, despite the Sharks missing the postseason. He scored 25 goals, 76 assists, and 101 points all while playing a full 82-game season. 

It's not clear what the Penguins would offer in a trade to San Jose, but they'll be up against the Kraken and Hurricanes, both teams with more cap space and picks to offer. 

A key contributor to the Penguins' back-to-back Stanley Cup championships will most likely not be returning next season. 

According to several reports, including The Athletic's Rob Rossi, the Penguins are not planning to offer a contract to free-agent defenseman Brian Dumoulin.

Acquired by the Penguins in 2012 as part of the trade that sent Jordan Staal to Carolina, Dumoulin spent 10 seasons with the club, playing 546 regular season games, scoring 19 goals, 120 assists, good for 139 points. 

Also, in 81 playoff games, he added 4 goals and 21 assists for 25 points. 

He was Kris Letang's long-time defense partner on the blue line.