The Pittsburgh Penguins added a highly regarded European free agent to their depth chart Monday, signing 27-year-old Finnish center Oula Palve to a one-year deal.
The 6-foot, 176-pound Palve was among the top 10 scorers in Finland’s top league in each of the last two seasons. This year, he recorded 16 goals and 51 points in 53 games for TPS Turku.
According to capfriendly.com, Palve’s two-way contract will carry a salary cap hit of $792,500 in the NHL and pay $70,000 in the AHL. His NHL base salary is $700,000 with the possibility of $225,000 in bonuses.
There is no obvious path to NHL playing time for Palve, but the Penguins have the flexibility to make room for a promising center. Fourth-line center Matt Cullen could retire. Nick Bjugstad, Jared McCann and Teddy Blueger have shown an ability to play effectively on the wing.
