The Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed forward Joona Koppanen on Tuesday to a one-year, two-way contract that carries a salary cap hit of $775,000.
Koppanen was scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent July 1. He initially joined the Penguins by signing a two-year, two-way contract with a salary cap hit of $775,000 during the 2023 offseason.
A left-handed shot, the 27-year-old Koppanen appeared in 11 NHL games this past regular season and scored one goal, his first at the NHL level.
Pittsburgh goal!
— NHL Goals (@nhl_goal_bot) March 18, 2025
Scored by Joona Koppanen with 15:20 remaining in the 1st period.
Assisted by Vladislav Kolyachonok and Kris Letang.
Pittsburgh: 1
New York: 0#NYIvsPIT #LetsGoPens #Isles pic.twitter.com/DQVNhalayd
Primarily stationed with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton throughout the 2024-25 campaign, Koppanen (6-foot-5, 215 pounds) skated in 56 games for that club and posted 23 points (eight goals, 15 assists) while largely operating as a bottom-six center.
With Koppanen re-signed, 17 players who finished the 2024-25 season under contract with the Penguins are scheduled to become free agents with regard to their NHL status on July 1:
Unrestricted
Forwards: Jimmy Huntington, Marc Johnstone, Mathias Laferriere, Matt Nieto
Defensemen: Nathan Clurman, Matt Grzelcyk, Mac Hollowell, Filip Kral, Colton Poolman
Restricted
Forwards: Raivis Ansons, Emil Bemstrom, Connor Dewar, Vasily Ponomarev, Philip Tomasino
Defensemen: P.O Joseph, Conor Timmins
Goaltender : Taylor Gauthier
(Notes: Ansons has signed an AHL contract with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton for the 2025-26 season. Hollowell, Kral and Ponomarev have signed contracts with European teams.)
