The Penguins finally have all of their players under contract.
Defenseman Marcus Pettersson, who had been a restricted free agent, has accepted a one-year contract worth $874,125.
Both sides had been hoping to work out a longer-term deal, but the Penguins' lack of salary-cap space appeared to mitigate against that.
Pettersson, who was acquired from the Ducks for winger Daniel Sprong last December, was coming off an entry-level deal that had an average annual value of $894,125 when bonuses were factored in.
Pettersson, 23, had two goals and 23 assists in 84 games last season, including two goals and 17 assists in 57 games with the Penguins. He added one assist in four playoff games against the Islanders in April.
Although he was only with the Penguins for a bit more than five months, Pettersson made a positive impression on management with his work at both ends of the ice.
"He has a good overall, two-way game," Mike Sullivan said. "We were so excited about his passing ability when we got him last year and watched him develop throughout the time that he was with us. He's a guy I think helps us offensively, on the offensive blue line, and he makes good passes on our breakouts.
"Offensively, he's a guy we think has more upside to him and we're going to try to get that out of him. Also, he defends well. He has really good gaps, for a guy who's as big (6 foot 3, 177 pounds) as he is."
With Pettersson's contract in place, CapFriendly.com says the Penguins have $82,531,625 -- that's $1,031,625 over the NHL salary-cap ceiling of $81.5 million for 2019-20 -- committed to 24 players (13 forwards, nine defensemen, two goalies) on their major-league roster. Teams are allowed to carry as many as 23 players at any time, but most try to stay one or two below the limit to preserve salary-cap space for personnel moves that might be made as the season progresses.
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