Penguins extend qualifying offers to 5 restricted free agents

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The Pittsburgh Penguins extended qualifying offers to five of their nine pending restricted free agents Thursday.

Forwards Jonathan Gruden, Filip Hallander and Drew O’Connor; defenseman Ty Smith; and goalie Filip Lindberg were extended offers.

Forward Ryan Poehling and defensemen Peter DiLiberatore, Colin Swoyer and Josh Maniscalco did not receive offers and will be become unrestricted free agents as of Saturday.

After opening the 2022-23 campaign at the American Hockey League (AHL) level, O’Connor broke though as a full-time NHLer by December, appearing in 46 NHL games last season and scoring 11 points (five goals, six assists).

Smith, acquired July 16 in a trade with the New Jersey Devils, spent most of the 2022-23 season at the AHL level with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for salary cap purposes. In 39 AHL contests, Smith scored 24 points (seven goals, 17 assists). A mid-season recall allowed him to play in nine NHL games and score four points (one goal, three assists).

Gruden made his NHL debut this past season, appearing in three games with no points. Primarily stationed with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, Gruden played in 54 AHL games and scored 31 points (16 goals, 15 assists).

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Hallander signed a five-year contract with Timra HK of the Swedish Hockey League on April 28. The Penguins’ second-round pick (No. 58 overall) in 2018, Hallander played in only three NHL games over two seasons for the Penguins, with no points.

Like Hallander, Lindberg signed in Europe, joining TPS of Finland’s Liiga on May 5. An undrafted free agent signing in 2021, he endured two injury-filled seasons with Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. In 2022-23, Lindberg played in 19 AHL games and posted a 6-11-1 record, a 3.13 goals against average and an .896 save percentage.

While Hallander and Lindberg are signed overseas, today’s transactions allow the Penguins to maintain each player’s NHL rights.

Acquired in a trade from the Montreal Canadiens on July 16, Poehling played in 53 games last season and scored 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) last season. While his play was mostly satisfactory in 2022-23, it is believed management would have preferred to avoid Poehling receiving a hefty award in a potential arbitration hearing and opted to allow him to become an unrestricted free agent.

The Penguins acquired DiLiberatore on March 1 in a deal that sent forward Teddy Blueger to the Vegas Golden Knights. He appeared in eight games for Wilkes-Barre/Scranton and scored two goals.

An undrafted free agent signing out of Arizona State in 2020, Maniscalco just completed a three-year entry-level contract and never rose above the AHL level. In fact, he spent most of the 2022-23 season in the ECHL…