For the first two-thirds of this season, it looked like the Penguins would have to break the bank to bring back forward Jared McCann.
For the last quarter of the season, it looked like they’d be ill-advised to give him minimum wage.
When the dust settled, they met McCann in the middle, signing the restricted free agent Friday to a two-year deal with an average annual salary of $2.94 million.
That’s a sizeable increase on the $1.25 million he made on his second pro contract this season, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s not that much. Among the players currently under contract, McCann is the team’s ninth highest-paid forward.
“This definitely sets me up for a great future,” McCann said in a video conference with reporters Friday night. “I’m very thankful for that.”
Becoming a scorer who is less prone to wild hot and cold streaks is something the 24-year-old McCann said he’ll work on over the course of the deal.
This season, he had 14 goals, 28 points and a plus-15 rating in his first 44 games and no goals, seven points and a minus-9 rating in his last 22 games. He was a healthy scratch for Game 3 of a first-round playoff loss to Montreal.
“I’ve kind of been through that a couple times where the puck just doesn’t go in for you, for whatever reason,” McCann said. “One thing I’ve learned, especially after this year, is you can’t grip the stick. You can’t take it too seriously. You’ve just got to focus on the little things.
“Myself and coach (Mike) Sullivan talked about that a lot. I need to kind of let things go. I’m pretty hard on myself when it comes to helping the team and scoring goals and stuff like that. That’s something I need to grow as a player and realize as long as we’re winning, we’re all good.”
When announcing the signing, general manager Jim Rutherford noted McCann’s versatility.
“Jared is a good offensive player who can play center or wing,” Rutherford said in a press release. “We saw improvement in his play this year and feel that there is more upside to his game.”
Perhaps that upside would be realized if McCann stuck in one role or another, something he hasn’t done since joining the Penguins in the Derick Brassard trade in February of 2019.
His high-end shot makes him a candidate to play on the left wing in a scoring role, but an analytical look at his game paints him as a fairly defensively responsible third-line center.
“Ever since I’ve got to Pitt, I’ve kind of been all over the map when it comes to my role or anything like that,” McCann said. “I’m just trying to do whatever I can to help the team win, whether that’s put points on the board or kill a penalty, that kind of stuff.”
Based on how the roster is currently constructed, McCann looks to slot in as the third-line center. Nick Bjugstad has been traded to Minnesota and the left-wing spots beside Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin are filled by Jake Guentzel and Jason Zucker.
According to capfriendly.com, the Penguins are a little less than $7 million under the salary cap with 11 forwards, seven defensemen and one goalie — back-up Casey DeSmith — under contract. At forward, Dominik Simon and Sam Lafferty are the most prominent restricted free agents still unsigned.
The goaltending situation remains unsettled. Matt Murray and Tristan Jarry are both restricted free agents. The most likely scenario would see the Penguins trade Murray and sign Jarry to a contract that gives him a significant raise to the $675,000 he made this season.
The Penguins could, theoretically, use their remaining cap space to complete those basic roster-construction tasks and be ready for the start of next season, whenever that may be.
Given Rutherford’s track record and recent public comments, though, it seems likely that more moves will be made.
McCann’s name was mentioned in trade rumors before the deal was announced Friday. Re-signing doesn’t take him out of those conversations, but it does turn the heat down a few notches.
“Hockey’s a business. That’s something I’ve learned pretty early in my career,” McCann said. “Things happen. For whatever reason, a team wants you or doesn’t want you. There are different situations like that. I don’t try to focus on it too much. If it happens, it happens.
“Right now, I’m just excited and thankful for the Penguins to be able to give me this contract and give me this opportunity.”
