NHL analyst cites that Pettersson is the next priority for the Penguins after Crosby

Crosby and Kyle Dubas know a deal will happen, with Crosby even saying that he wants to do what is best for the Penguins. We do not know if he means he will take a pay cut so other players can be signed. But if that is the case, then he needs to make a deal soon so that the next player up, Marcus Pettersson, can get an extension before the season ends.

Today David Pagnotta of The Fourth Period sent out a tweet confirming that this could be the Penguins thought process.

In addition, according to Dan Kingerski of Pittsburgh Hockey Now, the Penguins are delaying any talks with Pettersson until the Sid deal is done. Pettersson is in the final year of his five year, $20.1 million dollar contract with the Pens.

Pettersson had the best season possibly of his career last year. It was his first full season played since the 2018-19 season. He scored a career high in goals with 4 and accumulated 30 total points. He logged some very important minutes with the Penguins, nearly playing 23 minutes a game. His worth is show in this chart, predicting a contract worth around the same amount of $5 million a year he is getting now.

The Penguins did not make any noticeable additions to the left side of the blue line, so losing their best left-side defenseman would be a blow. Pettersson's value to the team is not measured in offensive, with Letang and Karlsson capable of handling that. His defense is a perfect pairing to play with either of those two, so hopefully the Penguins will look to extend his deal once Crosby inks his.

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