Penguins lose forward Brandon Tanev to Kraken in expansion draft

Brandon Tanev made history with the Pittsburgh Penguins the moment he signed with them in the summer of 2019.

His six-year contract was the longest deal the franchise had inked with an unrestricted free agent.

But they never really intended on him completing the full term of the deal while wearing a Penguins jersey.

“You either give the player close to what he wants, or you don’t get the player,” former Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford said July 1, 2019. “And we felt so strong about Tanev that we were willing to go as far as we had to go to make sure that we got him. You never know with any player, as to the term of the contract, whether it works or how long it’s going to work.”

Whether it be through a mechanism such as a buyout or a trade, the Penguins likely would have found a way to avoid the final years of Tanev’s contract.

They just probably didn’t expect an expansion draft to liberate them from the final four years of his contract.

On Wednesday, Tanev became a member of the newly formed Seattle Kraken as the Penguins lost the pneumatic drill of a forechecker through expansion.

In two seasons as a member of the Penguins, Tanev became an instant favorite through his speed, tenacity, intensity and abrasiveness. Appearing in 100 regular-season games, Tanev scored 41 points (18 goals, 23 assists).

Tanev, 29, was also the team’s leading checker by a wide margin over those two seasons with 383 hits. Regular linemate Zach Aston-Reese was a distant second with 231.

Tanev and Aston-Reese typically skated on the wings of center Teddy Blueger. That trio formed an effective fourth line that often was deployed as a third line and placed in matchups against the opposition’s top lines.

The departure of Tanev, who carried a salary cap hit of $3.5 million, creates a substantial bit of financial flexibility for the Penguins as they approach key junctures of the offseason such as this weekend’s entry-level draft — when many trades are orchestrated — as well as the opening of the free agent signing period July 28.

On Saturday, they began the process of clearing salary by dealing away a player they might have lost in the expansion draft. They sent forward Jared McCann, and his $2.94 million cap hit, to the Maple Leafs in exchange for forward prospect Filip Hallander and a seventh-round draft pick in 2023. As it turned out, the Maple Leafs exposed McCann in the expansion draft and lost him to the Kraken.

According to Cap Friendly, the Penguins have $7,446,795 of salary cap space with which to operate. That financial flexibility could be applied to any number of needs the Penguins have such as improving their goaltending depth or adding some toughness. It could also be devoted to re-signing a pending restricted free agent such as Aston-Reese or an unrestricted free agent like right-handed defenseman Cody Ceci.

As for who replaces Tanev, that won’t be easy given his unique nature.

The Penguins originally acquired Tanev not only for his obvious on-ice attributes but for his off-ice presence as well.

Rutherford routinely used the word “hunger” when speaking of Tanev.

There are some cheaper in-house options to replace Tanev in the lineup such as reserves Sam Lafferty, Anthony Angello, Radim Zohorna or high-end prospects along the lines of Sam Poulin and Nathan Legare.

Replacing Tanev the person? That will be a more daunting task.

“He’s a maniac out there in so many good ways,” Penguins forward Jason Zucker said this past season. “He brings a lot of energy to our team. He’s a fighter in every sense of the word.”

Note: The NHL is slated to reveal the 2020-21 schedule Thursday.