Penguins A to Z: Sam Lafferty shows he's more than a nice story

While the NHL is on hold due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the Tribune-Review will offer Penguins A to Z, a player-by-player look at all 55 individuals under NHL contract with the organization, from mid-level prospect Niclas Almari to high-profile trade acquisition Jason Zucker.

Player: Sam Lafferty

Position: Center

Shoots: Right

Age: 25

Height: 6-foot-1

Weight: 195 pounds

2019-20 NHL statistics: 50 games, 13 points (six goals, seven assists)

Contract: Final year of a two-year entry-level contract with a salary cap hit of $767,500 . Pending restricted free agent this upcoming offseason

Acquired: Drafted in the fourth round (No. 113 overall), June 28, 2014

This season: When Sam Lafferty was drafted by the Penguins and made his debut with them this season, it was a nice story. The local kid plays for the hometown team.

The same was true for Nate Guenin, Ryan Malone, Dylan Reese and Bill Thomas.

But Lafferty appears bound to share a distinction with Malone the other three don’t.

Granted, Lafferty has a ways to go before he can be considered a peer with an 11-year NHL veteran such as Malone. But the Hollidaysburg native has the look of a player who will be much more than simply a guy who fills in for a game or two because of injury.

After being drafted in 2014, Lafferty spent four seasons with Brown University before making his professional debut in 2018-19 with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. Showing he can aptly handle the rigors of the pro game with 49 points (13 goals, 36 assists) in 70 games, Lafferty impressed enough during the 2019 preseason that he was one of the first recalls this season when injuries began to take their toll in October.

Primarily used as a winger in a bottom-six capacity, Lafferty collected five points (two goals, three assists) in his first four games.

(Video courtesy NHL)

Given his deployment, that type of production was never going to be sustained, but he went long stretches without any offense. In the next 46 games he played, he only contributed eight points (three goals, five assists).

Often used as a fourth-liner and penalty killer, Lafferty also saw time as a second-line center when the team’s injured list was particularly prolific in October.

On the rare occasions the Penguins had a surplus of healthy forwards, Lafferty was assigned to Wilkes-Barre/Scranton three times but recalled in fairly short order.

By the time the NHL season was suspended in mid-March, Lafferty was back in the lineup as an injury replacement for the oft-hobbled Nick Bjugstad.

The future: Assuming the NHL season resumes, the hiccup-quick Lafferty will finish the campaign on the NHL roster for two reasons.

First, the AHL canceled its season. But more importantly, Lafferty has proven he is an NHL player. He hasn’t been perfect, but for a mid-level draft pick in his second full professional season, he has been more than adequate.

Lafferty is the classic example of a player who would be on the NHL roster regularly if it weren’t for the salary cap forcing him and his waivers-exempt two-way contract to be assigned to the AHL.

Beyond this season, the Penguins will have to make some decisions with the salary cap given the NHL’s finances are bound to be impacted harshly by the pandemic. If management opts to shed a heavy salary cap hit such as Bjugstad’s ($4.1 million), Lafferty could be a much cheaper (and healthier) option, even if he’s bound to get a slight pay raise on his next contract.

With the considerable assumption the Penguins are fully healthy upon the potential restart of the NHL season, Lafferty likely will be a scratch. And he’ll probably only get into the lineup as an injury fill-in.

But he’s shown that he’s much more than that.

Follow the Penguins all season long.