Less than 24 hours before the NHL’s trade deadline, the Penguins secured a bit of their future.
On Sunday, the team signed reserve defenseman Mark Friedman to a two-year, one-way contract extension that carries a salary cap hit of $775,000.
This season, Friedman has appeared in 20 NHL games and has five points (one goal, four assists) and 17 penalty minutes while averaging 13 minutes, 45 seconds of ice time per contest. He has also appeared in two American Hockey League games with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on a conditioning assignment in February.
A right-handed shot who can play either side of the blue line, Friedman (5-foot-11, 185 pounds) offers a physical and antagonistic presence few others on the roster can provide. According to Natural Stat Trick, Friedman has drawn 11 penalties, fifth most on the team despite relatively little playing time.
“Yeah, I kind of loving doing it,” Friedman said earlier this month. “I like getting underneath guys’ skin, and if I can draw a penalty out of it, why not?”
Friedman has been a healthy scratch for 42 of a possible 63 games this season.
In the final year of a two-year contract that carries a salary cap hit of $725,000, the 26-year-old Friedman was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason.
The Penguins initial acquired Friedman in February 2021 by claiming him off waivers from the Philadelphia Flyers. A third-round pick (No. 86 overall) in 2014, Friedman began his professional career with the Flyers when current Penguins general manager Ron Hextall held the same post with that franchise.
