The Pittsburgh Penguins continued to shore up their depth on defense Thursday, re-signing restricted free agent Juuso Riikola to a one-year contract worth $850,000.
Last year, the 25-year-old Riikola played on a two-way contract that paid him $925,000 when in the NHL and $70,000 when in the AHL.
A training camp standout, Riikola had his ups and downs during his first season in North America, recording two goals, five points and a plus-3 rating in 37 games. He eventually slipped down the depth chart and was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on March 20.
“Juuso has adjusted to the North American style of hockey seamlessly,” assistant general manager Bill Guerin said in a release. “He’s a very confident guy, and he’s also a great skater that moves the puck really well. We expect him to make an even bigger impact this year.”
Riikola was one of five key restricted free agents on the roster. The others are defenseman Marcus Pettersson and forwards Teddy Blueger, Zach Aston-Reese and Adam Johnson.
Once Pettersson is re-signed, the Penguins will have nine defensemen on one-way contracts. Add in the fact that the team will need to cut payroll to get in under a projected $83 million salary cap next season, and it’s all but certain general manager Jim Rutherford will deal away at least one defenseman this summer. Olli Maatta and Jack Johnson are the leading candidates.
Riikola is the second defensemen the Penguins have re-signed this month. Chad Ruhwedel agreed to a two-year extension last week.
