In the Pittsburgh Penguins’ regular-season finale, a 5-4 road loss to the New York Islanders, on Wednesday, rookie forward Valtteri Puustinen scored his fifth goal of the season.
Twice.
At first, Puustinen got behind former Penguins defenseman Robert Bortuzzo and snapped a wrister by the blocker of goaltender Ilya Sorokin at 7 minutes, 5 seconds of the second period.
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But a coach’s challenge by the Islanders on the basis of the sequence being offside wiped out the score.
Puustinen persisted and scored his fifth goal legally at 14:37 of the middle frame.
As Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech tried to skate a rebound out of trouble from his own slot, Puustinen jumped him, took the puck and fired a wrister past Sorokin’s glove.
Puustinen has five NHL goals and three of them were scored on the New York Islanders ???? pic.twitter.com/n8geKLZEnQ
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As it turned out, Puustinen will have a chance to score a few more goals this season.
Approximately 15 minutes after the game, Puustinen was pulled aside in the visiting dressing room of UBS Arena in Elmont, N.Y., by president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas and informed he would be assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton of the American Hockey League. That transaction formally was executed Thursday.
It certainly wasn’t a maneuver made out of displeasure for Puustinen. Far from it. Sending him to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the remainder of the 2023-24 campaign can offer further refinement for a player who figures to be a prominent part of the Penguins’ roster to open the 2024-25 campaign.
“This is (a) good time because I see what I need if you want to play here,” Puustinen said Thursday during the team’s exit interviews at PPG Paints Arena. “I had had a good time practicing what I need more if I am (to be) a better player here.”
A seventh-round draft pick (No. 203 overall) in 2019, Puustinen long has been one of the organization’s most intriguing players in a limited pool of prospects.
Having been a prolific scorer in his native Finland, Puustinen made the jump to North America in 2021 and was Wilkes-Barre/Scranton’s leading scorer for two consecutive seasons (2021-22 and 2022-23).
Having been limited to a single NHL game during the 2021-22 season, he got his first substantial look with the Pittsburgh Penguins this season following an initial recall Dec. 8.
Typically deployed on either the second or third lines and one of the power-play units occasionally, Puustinen appeared in 52 NHL contests and scored 20 points (five goals, 15 assists) while averaging 11:45 of ice time.
Those are adequate offensive figures for a player in his circumstances. But, clearly, there is room for improvement.
“I am happy for myself but, of course, I want to score,” Puustinen said. “I have to maybe (have) a little bit more sense in what I am doing.”
Signed to a one-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of the league-minimum $775,000, Puustinen turns 25 on June 4 and is scheduled to become a Group VI unrestricted free agent per the rules laid out by the collective bargaining agreement between the NHL and NHLPA.
(Note: Per Cap Friendly, players can become Group VI unrestricted free agents if they meet all of these criteria:
• The player is 25 years or older as of June 30 of the calendar year the contract is expiring.
• The player has completed three or more professional seasons. This can include NHL, minor-league and European professional league seasons played while under a standard player contract.
• The player has played less than 80 NHL games or 28 NHL games of 30 minutes or greater for a goaltender.)
So, Puustinen could opt to sign elsewhere. But he seems to appreciate his opportunity with the Penguins, especially the luxury of being teammates with luminaries such as Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang.
“This is really nice for me because when I (was a) kid, I am watching what (these) guys do on TV or the YouTube videos,” Puustinen said. “Now, we play (on) the same team. Sometimes, we play on the same lines or (power-play units). I sit so close to Sid (in the dressing room). Yeah, that’s great.”
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If nothing else, Puustinen has great aspirations about being a key component of the 2024-25 Penguins.
“I have a good feeling because this is my first year here,” he said. “My dream is (to) play here. I can’t wait until next year. … I’m so hungry coming back.”
Notes: The Penguins signed forward prospect Tristan Broz to a three-year entry-level contract beginning with the 2024-25 season. A second-round pick (No. 58 overall) in 2021, Broz will join Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on an amateur tryout contract for the remainder of this season. … Penguins defenseman Ryan Shea was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. … Penguins forward Jesse Puljujuarvi has joined Finland’s A national team for the upcoming Euro Hockey Tour tournament. … Defenseman Isaac Belliveau and forward Evan Vierling were reassigned from Wilkes-Barre/Scranton to the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL.
Seth Rorabaugh is a TribLive reporter covering the Pittsburgh Penguins. A North Huntingdon native, he joined the Trib in 2019 and has covered the Penguins since 2007. He can be reached at srorabaugh@triblive.com.