In his first significant personnel move of the summer, Penguins general manager Ron Hextall signed center Teddy Blueger to a two-year contract extension worth $4.4 million, with an average annual value of $2.2 million.
“Teddy has proven to be a versatile, two-way center, as well as a fixture on the penalty kill,” said Hextall. “He is a valuable player for our team.”
The signing short hopped a potential arbitration hearing for the restricted free agent. The 26-year-old native of Riga, Latvia, earned $750,000 in each of the past two seasons.
Blueger, indeed, enjoyed a solid season in 2020-21. Decent enough when filling in on the third line and terrific as a fourth-line center, he tallied seven goals and 22 points in 43 games, a highly respectable 13-goal, 42-point pace over a full 82-game slate. Numbers all the more impressive when you consider he and linemates Zach Aston-Reese and Brandon Tanev served primarily in a shutdown role, as witnessed by Blueger’s paltry share of offensive zone starts (31.6 percent).
One of the black-and-gold’s top penalty killers as Hextall noted, Blueger paced the club with three short-handed goals, including a spectacular 3-on-5 effort versus the Capitals on January 19.
