Valtteri Puustinen was signed to a two-year contract worth $775,000. After starting the year in Wilkes-Barre, Puustinen became one of the most productive rookies this season scoring five goals with fifteen assists in 52 games. The hope is that this is the start of the young infusion into the Pittsburgh lineup.
He worked with both the second and third lines but seemed to have his best work with the third line and Lars Eller. He showed great speed, the ability to get off a fast one-timer and the ability to create high danger scoring chances.
Something that is a priority for the Penguins this offseason is to find a solid third line center to work with Puustinen. He should have the chance to play in all 82 games this next season, so the Penguins should look to help build around him on the third line.
Puustinen should help the Penguins with the much-needed depth next year. The bottom six needs to help produce and this is hopefully the first step. With the work that Sidney Crosby has put in and the rest of the core still showing signs of not slowing down, the Penguins have a small window where they can still get Crosby into the playoffs and hope for another Cup run.
