Ranking the top free-agent signings in Penguins history
Brandon Tanev’s timing was right on the money.
If he hit free agency this summer, with a pandemic crippling the global economy and the future of the NHL’s salary cap hanging in the balance, who knows what kind of contract he could have commanded?
Instead, he hit free agency last summer, signing a six-year, $21 million contract with the Pittsburgh Penguins in a deal that now seems like a bonanza for both sides.
The Penguins got a speedy forechecker, a plus defender and a capable secondary scorer who injected some juice into a team that lacked it the previous campaign.
Tanev found a place that feels like home.
“I’ve enjoyed every moment of this year,” Tanev said. “I made the right decision to come to Pittsburgh.
“The guys in the locker room are great, the coaching staff, everybody in the organization does such a great job and I think that made things so much easier for me coming in as a new player. When you’re able to come in and it almost feels like you’ve been here for years, you’re extremely comfortable and confident in your situation.
“The city of Pittsburgh has been great. I’ve loved everything about it, every moment we’ve had this year. I’m really excited to continue this for many years and to finish off this season as well.”
The Penguins players who will hit unrestricted free agency this summer — Conor Sheary, Patrick Marleau and Justin Schultz, most notably — could have a harder time finding as good a fit. Tanev, however, isn’t pessimistic about their plight.
“It’s a little difficult, but I think with them being surrounded by their families and loved ones and seeing that they’re all hopefully doing well and are healthy, I think maybe gives them a little light at end of the tunnel that when this is all through that things will resume and get back to normal, and they’ll be in their regular positions and where they want to be at the end of the day,” Tanev said.
Tanev is one of the Penguins’ most successful free-agent additions in recent times, but what about the entire five-decade history of the club? Beat writer Seth Rorabaugh and former beat writer Jonathan Bombulie came up with a list of the five best free-agent signings in Penguins history.
BOMBULIE’S TOP FIVE
1. Bryan Trottier, July 20, 1990
When Trottier wrapped up his 15th NHL season in 1990, the New York Islanders thought he was finished. They offered him a front office job, and when he didn’t take it, they bought out the final two years of his contract. Craig Patrick had a different view. He signed the 34-year-old to a one-year deal worth $400,000. Trottier was a perfect fit, embracing the third-line center role and bringing championship experience to a pair of Stanley Cup teams.
2. Sergei Gonchar, Aug. 3, 2005
Critics suggested the five-year, $25 million deal Patrick gave Gonchar in 2005 was too rich for a 29-year-old defenseman whose better days were behind him. Critics were wrong. Gonchar was the perfect veteran addition to a maturing team. He mentored star players like Evgeni Malkin and Kris Letang and was one of the most understated, underrated power-play contributors in hockey.
3. Matt Cullen, Aug. 6, 2015
It’s hard to imagine a free-agent addition living up to his billing better than Cullen did when he signed for $800,000 in 2015. Here’s what GM Jim Rutherford said the day he signed: “He’s a guy that’s won a championship, so he knows what it takes. He’s a really good guy in the room. … He’s a guy that is later in his career, obviously, but he’s still a guy that plays an important role on a team. He’s a good faceoff guy. Good penalty killer. He still skates well. He can move up in the top nine, not on a long-term basis, but if needed at times.” Two championships later, correct on all counts.
4. Martin Straka, Aug. 6, 1997
The Straka signing was one of the most successful course corrections in franchise history. The diminutive Czech winger was a Penguins’ first-round pick in 1992, but he was traded away to Ottawa in 1995. After he bounced around the league for a couple of years, the Penguins gave him another chance on a $400,000 deal. He erupted for 346 points in 403 games and was a key cog for the franchise’s strong teams in the late 1990s.
5. Robert Lang, Sept. 28, 1997
The Penguins don’t get full credit for finding a diamond in the rough when they signed Lang to a $400,000 contract in 1997. They left him exposed to the waiver draft shortly after signing him, and he was claimed by Boston. After claiming him back, they sent him to the Houston Aeros of the IHL for a few weeks. No, it took a while for the team to realize what it had in the talented Czech center. But once he clicked, look out. Playing primarily between Alexei Kovalev and Martin Straka, he averaged 23.5 goals a year from 1998-2002.
RORABAUGH’S TOP FIVE
1. Sergei Gonchar, Aug. 3, 2005
Forget about his splendid on-ice acumen. Don’t even think about how’s puck-moving abilities helped the Penguins adapt to the “new NHL” following 2004-05 lockout and how he went to an All-Star Game in 2008 or that he was a vital component to two teams that played in the Stanley Cup Final. Gonchar’s nurturing of an introverted teenager from Russia allowed Malkin to become a dominant force of nature in the NHL for nearly a decade and a half (and running). Three Stanley Cup titles later, the Penguins still are enjoying quite a return on their investment in Gonchar.
2. Bryan Trottier, July 20, 1990
With franchise center Mario Lemieux hobbled by a debilitating back injury which would require surgery, the Penguins needed depth at center. They also needed a veteran presence for a talented roster full of 20-somethings such as Mark Recchi and Kevin Stevens (to say nothing of an 18-year-old from Czechoslovakia named Jaromir Jagr). By the time Trottier joined the Penguins, he was no longer the dynamic offensive force he was with the Islanders dynasty of the early 1980s. But he still had enough guile to not only get by but be a vital contributor to the Penguins’ first Stanley Cup title in 1991.
3. Matt Cullen, Aug. 6, 2015
The 2015 offseason might have been the most monumental in franchise history as Rutherford embarked on a course correction in July by trading for forwards Phil Kessel and Nick Bonino then signed forward Eric Fehr. Quietly, Rutherford also turned to a personal favorite in August by signing Cullen. In addition to offering scoring and success in the faceoff dot from the fourth line, Cullen served as a coach of sorts to young teammates such as Bryan Rust, Tom Kuhnhackl, Conor Sheary and Matt Murray.
4. Paul Martin, July 1, 2010
Within minutes of losing Gonchar as an unrestricted free agent, general manager Ray Shero boosted his defense by signing Martin as well as Zbynek Michalek. The duo was successful as a shutdown pairing in 2010-11 but struggled in 2011-12, prompting management to deal Michalek to the Arizona Coyotes in the 2012 offseason. Martin hung around for all five years of his $25 million contract, and during that time, he provided a safe, reliable puck-moving presence but also served as a disciplined defensive shadow against the opposition’s top forwards.
5. Michel Dion, June 30, 1981
The Penguins were a last chance for Dion. A star in the World Hockey Association, Dion nearly washed out of professional hockey after he literally walked out of a home game for the Quebec Nordiques after being booed by fans during the 1980-81 campaign. Following an unremarkable cup of coffee with the Winnipeg Jets later that season, he signed a one-year contract (financial figures for contracts rarely were revealed in those days) with the Penguins and became the first All-Star goaltender in franchise history in 1981-82 and also finished third in voting for the Vezina Trophy. After nearly leading the Penguins to an upset of the Islanders in the first round of the 1982 playoffs, Dion spent three more seasons with the Penguins but never enjoyed the same success.
Note: This story has been updated to reflect that Bryan Trottier was signed on July 20, 1990, not June 20, 1990.
Jonathan Bombulie is assistant sports editor for the Tribune-Review. You can contact Jonathan at jbombulie@triblive.com or via Twitter @BombulieTrib. Seth Rorabaugh is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Seth by email at srorabaugh@triblive.com or via Twitter @sethrorabaugh.
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