Free agent frenzy day, usually July 1st on most years, have been a time for the Penguins to offer up some really bad contracts in recent years. It was Matt Hunwick in a three-year deal in 2017. Jack Johnson and a five-year contract in 2018. Brandon Tanev and a whopping six-year agreement in 2019.
It’s a trend that, mercifully, will almost certainly be broken this season if only due to the circumstances the team finds themselves in.
“We won’t be in on the big free agents on Friday,” GM Jim Rutherford said Wednesday after the draft.