The Penguins avoided arbitration and re-signed restricted free agent forward forward Zach Aston-Reese to a one-year contract with a salary cap hit of $1.725 million.
Aston-Reese, 26, recently completed a two-year contract that carried a salary cap hit of $1 million. Last season, Aston-Reese, one of the team’s better defensive forwards, appeared in 45 games and scored 15 points (nine goals, six assists). He missed the first 11 games of the 2020-21 campaign while recuperating from offseason shoulder surgery.
The team and Aston-Reese were scheduled for an arbitration hearing Aug. 23.
This type of deal is typically referred to as a “bridge contract” as it could potentially lead to a multi-year contract extension.
Undrafted, Aston-Reese joined the Penguins as a free agent signing out of Northeastern in 2017 and has spent parts of the past five seasons with the franchise.
Aston-Reese was the team’s only remaining unsigned restricted free agent this offseason. According to Cap Friendly, the Penguins have have $121,795 of salary cap space.
