The Pittsburgh Penguins have handed out an unusually lucrative and lengthy contract extension to a young forward who has had limited NHL production so far in his career.
The team announced on Thursday, Aug. 6 that it had reached an eight-year contract with Ville Koivunen worth an average of $4 million per season. Koivunen was a restricted free agent.
The 23-year-old was drafted 51st overall by the Carolina Hurricanes in 2021 and was acquired by the Penguins in the deal that sent Jake Guentzel to Raleigh in 2024. He had seven assists in eight games after the trade.
Last season, Koivunen scored two goals and tallied five assists for the Penguins at the NHL level and had 13 goals and 28 assists in 34 games for their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton American Hockey League affiliate. He helped the AHL Penguins reach the conference finals with four goals and five assists in 15 playoff games.
Please log in or sign up to comment.