Penguins Re-Sign Forward Valtteri Puustinen to a One-Year Contract

The Pittsburgh Penguins have re-signed forward Valtteri Puustinen to a one-year contract, it was announced today by president of hockey operations Kyle Dubas.

The one-year, two-way deal will run through the 2023-24 campaign and carries an average annual value of $775,000 at the NHL level.

Puustinen, 24, spent the 2022-23 season with the Wilkes Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League recording career highs across the board with 24 goals, 35 assists and 59 points in 72 games. His 35 assists and 59 points ranked first on WBS, while his 24 goals only trailed Alex Nylander.

The 5-foot-9, 183-pound forward has played two seasons with WBS, appearing in 145 career AHL games and accumulating 101 points (44G-57A). Since making his AHL debut at the beginning of the 2021-22 season, no player on WBS has more goals (44) or points (57) than Puustinen. He also appeared in one NHL game with the Penguins during the 2021-22 season, recording one assist and was a plus-2.

Prior to his professional debut, the Kuopio, Finland native spent three seasons with HPK of Liiga, Finland's top professional league, registering 94 points (48G-46A) in 152 games. Puustinen helped HPK win the Liiga Championship in 2019, notching five points (2G-3A) in 16 playoff games.

Puustinen won a gold medal with Team Finland at the 2019 IIHF World Junior Championship, where he suited up for six games and had three assists.

He was drafted by Pittsburgh in the seventh round (203rd overall) in the 2019 NHL Draft.